RELATIONSHIP KILLERS.
August 17, 2025 || Acts 5:1-11
🎉 Icebreaker: Famous Duos
If you could be part of any famous duo, who would you choose, and why?
🗓️ Announcements:
Young Adults Worship Night
Thursday, August 28th - 6:30 PM 8:30 PM
North Park Location
Dare to Connect Deeper Marriage Conference
Friday, Aug 29th 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Saturday, Aug 30th 9:00AM - 4:00 PM
Family Day at the Park
Monday, September 1st 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
MAN CAMP
Thursday, October 9th - Saturday, October 11th
Whispering Winds Camp 17606 Harrison Park Road Julian, CA
5 Lies That Ruin Relationships.
1. Recognize Success Can Be More Dangerous Than The Struggle.
Struggle makes us desperate for God while success can tempt us to depend on ourselves. Ananias and Sapphira weren’t ruined by lack, but by what they did with their increase.
Prosperity exposed their hearts more than poverty ever did. Judges 7:2 reminds us that too much strength can blind us to God’s power. Success is not the enemy, but God also wants us to recognize that unsubmitted success can become idolatry. The real test of character isn’t how you handle pressure, but how you handle blessing.
Reflection Question:
Do I steward success with humility, or hoard it for my own image?
2. Choose Healthy Disagreements Rather Than Unhealthy Agreements.
Ananias and Sapphira agreed in silence instead of standing for truth. Agreement without honesty isn’t unity; it’s conspiracy. Relationships thrive on healthy tension where truth can be spoken in love. Sapphira could have chosen correction over compliance, but an unhealthy agreement cost her everything. It’s important that we remember: In relationships, false peace is more dangerous than real conflict.
Reflection Question:
Am I enabling sin or empowering growth through honesty?
3. Guard Who You Allow To Influence Your Relationship.
Peter identified that it wasn’t just Ananias’ idea: “Satan filled his heart…” (Acts 5:3). Influence is invisible, but powerful. Who or what fills your heart will shape your choices. Wrong voices can birth wrong desires. Influence is contagious. The people closest to you either pull you toward God or away from Him.
Reflection Question:
Are the loudest voices in my life life-giving or life-stealing?
4. Relationships Die By What You Withhold, Not What You Give.
Partial surrender produces relational famine. Ananias and Sapphira’s downfall wasn’t in what they gave. It was in what they held back while pretending it was everything. Hidden portions destroy trust. In marriage, Paul says not to deprive one another (1 Cor. 7:3–5). Withholding time, truth, affection, forgiveness—or even our full obedience to God—starves relationships.
Reflection Question:
What have I been withholding that God has called me to release?
5. Commit To Cover Each Other Spiritually, Not Just Physically.
Sapphira stood beside her husband in the physical, but failed to cover him in the spiritual. Love needs us to stand in prayer for one another and leads to holiness and spiritual covering, not just comfort. Covering each other spiritually means praying, speaking life, and guarding one another against temptation. Physical presence can protect for a moment, but spiritual covering protects for a lifetime.
Reflection Question:
Am I fighting for the soul of the people I love, or just trying to keep them happy?
THIS WEEK’S DECLARATION: "Starting this week, I refuse to believe the lies that ruin my relationships. Success will not replace my surrender to God. I will choose truth over false peace, guard the influences on my heart, give freely without withholding, and cover the people I love in prayer. My relationships will be built on honesty, grace, and the presence of God. I declare with authority that what God has joined and blessed, no enemy will destroy."
