In January we began a series on "The Church"...since I was in the US, Rose and Susan began the teachings brilliantly! They are such faithful servants of the Kingdom!
So - the weeks I missed were entitled; Understanding the Church, Defining the Church, Design of the Church, New Testament Church, Building Healthy Relationships Part 1. I joined in for Building Healthy Relationships Part 2, which was all about Communication.
As always Susan opened our session with a lovely devotion based on Matt 5:43-45 which encourages us to love our enemies, to pray for them and to leave the outcome to God.
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| Susan opened with a word of prayer |
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| Susan reading from Matthew 5 |
The ladies were so blessed they even jotted some notes!
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| Leona and Josephine |
Then Rose began with a quick review of the previous week, which was about offenses and forgiveness.
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| Rose preparing to teach |
The ladies had much to share as Rose moved on to the homework questions...
What is a recent offense committed against you...
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| Leona sharing about a recent offense |
What is a recent offense you committed towards someone else...
What is the biggest offense that has been committed against you...
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| Josephine sharing about a recent offense... |
She then moved into this week's lesson healthy communication.
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| Mauryne and Christine |
We learned from Eph 4:15 to speak the truth in love.
Love makes the truth safe; love makes the truth gentle and humble.
Truth gives love strength and keeps it focused on the real issues.
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| Leona, Josephine, Elida |
Second we learned from James 1:19 that "everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."
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| Christine is a serious student! |
Communication is not just about talking; it is also about listening and responding to what is being said. "Quick to listen" means to focus our attention on what is being said as a person begins to speak.
Too often we begin to craft our response as soon as a person begins to speak so that instead of really listening we are simply waiting for them to finish talking so we can speak our mind.
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| Christine finds it difficult to be open and honest |
"Slow to speak and to become angry" tells us that we must check our reaction as the other person is speaking. Often we may feel anger boil up...James is reminding us take time to choose our words carefully...
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| She has resolved to be more open and honest. |
Being slow to speak also gives us time to become calm so that we can respond in a calm and loving way. Careful and gracious words can heal and restore relationships.
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| Josephine knows her words sometimes offend... |
This lesson also touched on the importance of forgiveness and clear communication in our personal relationships, our relationships within the church as well as relationships between churches.
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| Rose wrapped up the lesson by reminding us how to really listen well |
i loved the part of the teaching that spoke of churches maintaining healthy relationships with other churches...the Kingdom of God is much larger than any one church or denomination...
As churches learn how to work together and support one another we can make a great impact in the world...our common unity and grace in Christ are larger than any issues that may divide us.
After the lesson was complete Rose asked me to say a few words about my visit to the US.
Then was time for prayer requests and praise reports...
Salome joined us just in time for prayers...
Josephine led us in a time of prayer, praying over all the requests and praising God for answered prayers...
We found a new place for our debriefs! Here Rose and Susan are pulling out the report forms...
It was good to be back...I was especially happy to re-connect with these two amazing women!
