Stop rushing around

To start the year off, our pastor preached a three-week series entitled "Slow Down". I found it very helpful and I want to point it out to you, too, because you may find that you, too, have been working hard but not accomplishing what you want to.

The series is listed here in order with the date of the sermon on the same line as the title with a short summary below. The titles link to the Vimeo video for that sermon. They average around 40 minutes each.

Three questions - January 5, 2014
The three questions are:

1. Who am I?
2. Who am I pleasing?
3. What slows me down?

"Who am I?" involves asking what our gift is and what our mission is. Why am I here? We can't do everything. We need to make sure we do the things we are meant to do and to not get distracted too often which is part of the second question. "Who am I pleasing?" involves our trying to please everyone and not wanting to disappoint anyone. Don't let busyness become a badge of honor. "What slows us down?" concerns our need to get away from the busy life to recharge and renew our relationship with God through Jesus.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. John 15:4 NLT

Sabbath - January 12, 2014
The three sections of this sermon are:

1. Embrace the value of work
2. Invest in relationships
3. Schedule a sabbath

In part 1, as we see in Genesis 1:1-31, God was pleased with each part of the creation as it was completed.  We were made for something and work gives us a purpose (not just a job we work for a wage, either). Part 2 starts with the realization that it wasn't good for Adam to be alone - even when he was is Eden! As we read in Ecclesiastes:

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Eccl 4:9-10 NLT

This sermon ends with a reference back to the third question of the first sermon. Just as God's reason for resting on the seventh day wasn't because he was tired, we don't need to wait until we're exhausted to take time to get away from the world and renew our relationship with God. Our week is not complete without taking a rest.

Let it go - January 19, 2014
The three sections of this sermon are:

1. Let go of the stress of the uncontrollable
2. Let go of the fiction of domestic perfection
3. Let go of digital distractions

The main text for this sermon is the famous story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 where Martha is upset with Mary for not helping with the work of hosting Jesus, his disciples and guests who are there to listen. Jesus doesn't say Martha is wrong about doing the work but she is wrong in condemning Mary for wanting to listen to Jesus. We must not get distracted by the stress of succeeding. We must let go of the worry that everything in our house must go as we plan. This sermon ends with our pastor reminding us that while all of the electronic helpers and assistants we use are not bad in themselves, we must remember Paul's words in First Corinthians:

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 1 Cor 6:12 NLT

A great book on this subject (besides all the Bible verses used in the sermons) is Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung.


Before I go, I want to tell you a little story I read a long time ago in The Reader's Digest. It was written by someone who was traveling out west and had stopped at a scenic overlook to see the beauty of a huge canyon. They were enjoying the vast scene and reveling in the stillness. As they relaxed, a station wagon came tearing into the parking area, a family spilled out and ran to the railing to take a look. The father furiously snapped pictures of the mother and kids in various poses with the canyon's high rising walls as a back-drop. After a few minutes, the parents started to herd the kids back into the car. The children wanted to stay for a while longer but the mother rushed them off with, "We have to hurry. You can look at the pictures when we get home." Let us not do this with our life.