Aug 23, 2026 · 46 min · 8 segments
You were built for relationships! A divine blueprint was established in the first two chapters of the Bible. But only one chapter later what you were built for becomes blocked by sin and its lingering…
Mark SpanselHost
Perhaps captured so succinctly in the often-used quip, "Get with the times." Right? The pressure in almost every sector of society that demands advances, not wanting to fall behind.
Now, don't get me wrong, the story of redemption is laid out in the Bible as one of progress.
It is a biblical theme that we might say secular society has hijacked and twisted.
Listen, it ends in glorious victory for the King and all those who are part of His kingdom.
Amen? But just let me ask you, for all the advances in tech, science, medicine, for all that we might describe as good progress, are our relationships better? Is the way we help each other grow in character and morality and joy better or worse? Has the digital age of likes and shares made us more connected or less? More loving or less? Has social media advanced societal, society relationally? Does our AI age hold out the hope of deeper, richer human friendships, IRL, or will it make us even more isolated and lonely? Maybe, uh, lastly, can these current advances even promise a greater selfless care for our fellow humans, much less deliver on that promise? I think you can see where I'm going this morning.
This morning, I'd like to zoom in on the subject of relationships, human interactions, and the design that God has established from the beginning.
To then see what are the obstacles that sin has created that make relationships difficult, and then show us a simple blueprint from the New Testament here, 1 Thessalonians 2, that we can actually follow to lean into all that God intends for us in relationship with Him and with one another, because we are built for relationship.
About thirty-eight percent of Americans have completely cut off contact with a friend or family member over the past year.
It found out that seventy-three percent admit that they are more likely to distance themselves from loved ones during difficult moments.
Glenn Scrivener, a Christian apologist, theologian, writes this, "God's preventative for loneliness is intimacy, meaningful, open, sharing relationships." How do we get there? How do we get to this kind of God-designed, built-for-relationships sort of living? And that's exactly what I aim to show you this morning, so that we might more fully enjoy those meaningful, open, sharing relationships.
Not for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of the forty-seven percent that are out there that feel lonely every day.
For the seventy-three percent that are likely, more likely to distance themselves from people than to invite people close.
So I want you to consider these five blueprints for living in relationship as God designed.
Now, if you're new to Redeemer or this is your first time at Redeemer, you're not yet a Christ follower, I'm gonna start here and I'm gonna end here.
Being in meaningful, open, sharing relationships with others is directly connected to being in a restored relationship with God.
This is about us living out the story that God has called us to with inside His story, so that more and more will join that heavenly chorus when the King returns.
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Perhaps captured so succinctly in the often-used quip, "Get with the times." Right? The pressure in almost every sector of society that demands advances, not wanting to fall behind.
Now, don't get me wrong, the story of redemption is laid out in the Bible as one of progress.
It is a biblical theme that we might say secular society has hijacked and twisted.
Listen, it ends in glorious victory for the King and all those who are part of His kingdom.
Amen? But just let me ask you, for all the advances in tech, science, medicine, for all that we might describe as good progress, are our relationships better? Is the way we help each other grow in character and morality and joy better or worse? Has the digital age of likes and shares made us more connected or less? More loving or less? Has social media advanced societal, society relationally? Does our AI age hold out the hope of deeper, richer human friendships, IRL, or will it make us even more isolated and lonely? Maybe, uh, lastly, can these current advances even promise a greater selfless care for our fellow humans, much less deliver on that promise? I think you can see where I'm going this morning.
This morning, I'd like to zoom in on the subject of relationships, human interactions, and the design that God has established from the beginning.
To then see what are the obstacles that sin has created that make relationships difficult, and then show us a simple blueprint from the New Testament here, 1 Thessalonians 2, that we can actually follow to lean into all that God intends for us in relationship with Him and with one another, because we are built for relationship.
About thirty-eight percent of Americans have completely cut off contact with a friend or family member over the past year.
It found out that seventy-three percent admit that they are more likely to distance themselves from loved ones during difficult moments.
Glenn Scrivener, a Christian apologist, theologian, writes this, "God's preventative for loneliness is intimacy, meaningful, open, sharing relationships." How do we get there? How do we get to this kind of God-designed, built-for-relationships sort of living? And that's exactly what I aim to show you this morning, so that we might more fully enjoy those meaningful, open, sharing relationships.
Not for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of the forty-seven percent that are out there that feel lonely every day.
For the seventy-three percent that are likely, more likely to distance themselves from people than to invite people close.
So I want you to consider these five blueprints for living in relationship as God designed.
Now, if you're new to Redeemer or this is your first time at Redeemer, you're not yet a Christ follower, I'm gonna start here and I'm gonna end here.
Being in meaningful, open, sharing relationships with others is directly connected to being in a restored relationship with God.
This is about us living out the story that God has called us to with inside His story, so that more and more will join that heavenly chorus when the King returns.