SayWhat?! Series was wrapped up Sunday and I’m really glad that we did it.  It’s the kind of info that you might hear at a marriage or a family seminar.  But the problem with only sharing that kind of help on special occasions is that some folks will never attend a marriage seminar.  This is why we do church a little differently!

We do church the way we do to reach people where they are, and lead them to full devotion in Jesus.

It’s a process… In other words, full devotion in Jesus may never become a priority unless someone first reaches out to that person right where they are.  And many people are right in the middle of constant fights with their spouse and parents, and kids and they are held down by past hurts and unresolved bitterness.  This is why I shared this special message series about love and forgiveness.

Here’s a reminder of the Five Love Languages

• Words of Affirmation
• Acts of Service
• Quality Time
• Gifts
• Physical Touch

And here’s a reminder of the Languages of Apology

Expressing Regret…This is about expressing that you feel hurt, guilty and ashamed about what you did.

Accepting Responsibility…This is about verbalizing that you were wrong.  You own up to it and will not deflect blame on anything or anyone else.

Making Restitution…This is about making up for what you’ve done.  Here is where the Five Love Languages and the Languages of Apology intersect.  If you want to make restitution for wronging someone, you would do best to speak the love language of the person you’re apologizing to.

Genuinely Repenting…This is about having a change of heart as well as a change of behavior.  You verbalize steps you’re taking to never do this again.

Requesting Forgiveness…This is becoming humble enough to literally ask the person, “Will you forgive me?”

If you would like to hear the message from Team Church again, click the “Message Series” tab above or click here.

If you would like to see Gary Chapman, author of the Five Love Languages, speak about the subject, click here for some great free resources.

Wow! Wow! Wow! That is about the best summary of last night’s One Night celebration that I can think of. If you were there, I hope you know what I am talking about. If you missed it, I am so sorry that you did. We had a great evening of celebration through music, child dedication, communion and baptism as well as an awesome charge from Rick Faulkner, the executive pastor for the Matthews campus, that was both encouraging and exciting.

We have come a long way here in Kershaw since God started this thing last year. It is very cool to see how God grows His plans for us. I know that I have forged some relationships here in Kershaw that I will carry with me the rest of my life no matter where I end up.

But the thing that I thought was so cool was the way when the scheduled time for service ended, we did not leave. We were a group determined to spend time together. We hung out. We laughed, we cried, we prayed, and we loved. I love being with you folks. It makes me joyful. And I know that the relationships that we form are what God wants for us. He likes seeing us this way.

I am so excited about seeing you this Sunday. Please, please, please be there and be ready to spread some more of that love.

On the Journey with You,
Scott

“I’m sorry, for your wait.  Your table will be up in a minute.”

“I’m sorry, but your credit card has been denied.”

“I’m sorry, that special is only good with the coupon.”

We hear the words, “I’m sorry,” all the time. 
But the question is do we accept those words as a sincere apology.

We may not think long and hard about whether the customer service rep or wait staff is sincere when they apologize for your inconvenience, but it does make a difference.  Certainly, you’ve walked away from a cash register thinking that somebody needs some customer service training.  In some instances, if you don’t get the sincere apology you’re looking for when a deal goes bad, you may never go back to that store or restaurant, and you may tell all your friends what crumby service they have.

We look for sincerity in an apology, and a lot of the time in the workplace it doesn’t measure up.
But what about in the home?

“I’m sorry but you are going to school today, missy!”

“I’m sorry I’m late.  You know how it gets with the guys.”

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t handle this right now.”

Maybe it would do for us to have some customer service training for families!  Too many of our apologies are crumby!  I wonder if we actually hear better apologies from the business world than in our homes.

This weekend we’re going to talk about apologies, and how families can better communicate sincere apologies to restore broken relationships.

Why talk about apologies? People often walk away from business deals for lack of sincere apologies.  What is worse is that husbands, wives, and children will also walk away literally and emotionally because of unforgiveness in their home.  Learning how to give and receive sincere apologies will help restore our damaged relationships and lead to genuine forgiveness.

Don’t miss this Sunday!  (Or you’ll be SORRY)

The SayWhat?! series has been very practical in helping families connect emotionally.  The first week was all about discovering the Love Language of you and your mate.  The second week was about discovering the Love Language of Children.

What are the Five Love Languages?

• Words of Affirmation…This is expressing love, encouragament, and praise verbally such as literally saying “I love you.”
• Acts of Service…This is expressing love by doing things for the person you love such as making a favorite meal.
• Quality Time…This is expressing love by spending time with the one you love.  It could be sharing a meal or taking a walk.
• Gifts…This is expressing love in tangible things that you give as a gift.  It may be a wildflower that you bring inside, or larger gifts that say, “I was thinking of you.”
• Physical Touch…This is expressing love through physical contact such as with hugs, kisses, and intimacy.

The most important thing to remember with Love Languages is that

–We each have a primary love language. This is how we most clearly communicate love, and most clearly receive the message “I love you.”  If we don’t receive this message clearly enough in the way we expect, we can easily feel unloved.

–You must speak the love language of your mate or your child if you want to communicate love.  Knowing your own love language is nice, but it is crucial that you know and speak the love language of the one you love.  This is not easy…it will take as much effort and will feel as foreign as learning a new language or culture.  Your spouse and your children most likely have a different love language than you.

–Finally, when it comes to children, you must speak all five Love Languages.  Of course, you should look for clues for their potential primary love language.  If you speak in this langage, you will best communicate your love.  However, you must speak all five love languages to children.  They need all of the expressions of love to develop properly.