Healthy Boundaries, Healthy Relationships (1). What is a Boundary?
Rev. Jeremiah Cheung opens our new message series by defining boundaries and their importance in fostering healthy relationships. Know how and to what extent you ought to respond to different people by determining where they stand within your relationship circles.
Proverbs 23:10 “Do not move an ancient boundary stone.” The boundary had God set is not physical but a spiritual one.
Psalm 16:6 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Boundary lines represent a form of standard.
God’s standard is His Word and His Word is set in heaven; it will never change. We must live within God’s will. If we want God to be pleased with us, we must not move beyond the spiritual boundaries that God had established.
Sermon Notes
I. Not everyone is on the ________ level in relationships
1. _______ have wrong expectations of us
2. _______ have wrong expectations of others
II. ___________the Levels of Intimacy for Different Relationships
III. Once you have determined the levels of different relationships, you will know how to _______ accordingly
IV. Be ready to face _________ from others who may not understand
V. Jesus is our _________ for setting healthy boundaries
Life Groups Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever had wrong expectations of others? Or have you ever experienced other people placing wrong expectations on you? Can you share an example or two?
2. Please take a few minutes to draw a diagram of your relationship levels.
3. Are you able to give appropriate responses to other people’s requests of you? When someone rejects your request/s, how do you respond?
4. How do you feel when some people criticize you because they do not understand the boundaries you have set? (Please compare how a person who understands boundaries and a person who does not understand boundaries would respond.)
5. What lessons on boundary-setting have you learned from Jesus’ example?
Sermon Notes: Answers
I. Same Level. 1. Others 2. We
II. Understand
III. Respond
IV. Criticisms
V. Model