Blueprints to a Healthy Relationship – The Foundation
Proverbs 25:28 says: Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self‑control.
Lack of self‑control opens the door to relational destruction.
Matthew 7:24–27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the floods rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
The foundation determines whether the house stands or falls.
Characteristics of building on sand:
- Feelings
- Attraction
- Chemistry
- Compatibility quizzes
John gives us three truths about love:
A. God Is the Source of Love
1 John 4:7-8 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.“
B. God Demonstrated Love Through Christ
1 John 4:9-10 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
C. We must love others the way Christ loves us
1 John 4:11-12 “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us”
What does selfless love look like in our relationships?
- Selfless Love Controls Its Emotions
Proverbs 25:28 says: “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self‑control.”
- Selfless Love Controls Its Words
Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
- Selfless Love Chooses Patience
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind…
- Selfless Love Forgives Quickly
Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
- Selfless Love Serves
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”Psalms 40:2 “He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.”
