INTRODUCTION: A DIFFERENT KIND OF SERMON. 1 “The Secret Shame of Middle Class Americans” FED: 47% < $400 2 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
1. YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever. — 1 John 2:17 (NRSV) 3 1. YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU “When we stand before Jesus, none of our possessions will accompany us.” — Mike Slaughter 4 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
2. YOU PROBABL Y CAN’T KEEP IT WHILE YOUR HERE. House -> Apartment -> Assisted Living -> Care Home -> Hospital -> Casket 5 3. WHA TEVER YOU THINK WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY , WON’T Since 1950 our sense of well being has declined even as we have increased our consumption. 6 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
3. WHA TEVER YOU THINK WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY , WON’T Consumption is like an addictive drug. 7 4. AFFLUENZA affluenza, n. 1. The bloated sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses . (NPR) 8 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
4. AFFLUENZA affluenza, n. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste, and indebtedness caused by the dogged pursuit of the American Dream . (NPR) 9 4. AFFLUENZA Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. —Luke 12:15 (NRSV) 10 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
5. WE WERE MADE FOR GOD “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” — Augustine of Hippo 11 5. WE WERE MADE FOR GOD Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. — Matthew 8:20 (NRSV) 12 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
6. ONL Y GOD GETS TO JUDGE The neighbors don’t get to judge you. 13 6. ONL Y GOD GETS TO JUDGE Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? — Romans 8:33-34 14 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
7. YOU DON’T GET TO JUDGE YOURSELF EITHER Don’t judge yourself in comparison to your neighbors. (Facebook Warning) 15 7. YOU DON’T GET TO JUDGE YOURSELF EITHER Above all, don’t judge yourself by your stuff. That’s not the standard God will use. 16 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
8. IF YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE MAKING ENDS MEET , BRING THE ENDS CLOSER TOGETHER. 17 8. for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. … 18 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
8. … In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. … 19 8. … I can do all things through him [God] who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:11-13 20 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
8. IF YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE MAKING ENDS MEET , BRING THE ENDS CLOSER TOGETHER. Paul’s plenty was probably less than our little. 21 8. IF YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE MAKING ENDS MEET , BRING THE ENDS CLOSER TOGETHER. Need Help? Ask a friend … or an enemy. 22 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
9. DO THE MA TH Remember that the little stuff adds up and there’s a lot of little stuff. 23 10. WA TCH YOUR TRAVEL All I can say is … compare what you spend to what you give back to God. 24 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
11. YOU’RE BETTER OFF THAN 1.2 BILLION OTHER PEOPLE According to the UN, 1.2 Billion people live on less than $1.25 a day. 25 12. AVOID THE SIREN SONG OF ADVERTISING The pride in riches [possessions] comes not from the Father but from the world. — 1 John 2:16 26 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
13. DECIDE WHO TO SERVE No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one 27 13. DECIDE WHO TO SERVE and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. — Matthew 6:24 (NRSV) Wealth includes possessions. 28 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
14. PRAYER Pray for what you need, not what you want. Pray for contentment. Pray not to have what you want, but to want what you have. 29 14. PRAYER “Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have, to remember that I don’t need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity.” — Adam Hamilton 30 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
14. PRAYER “Give us this day our daily bread.” — Jesus Christ 31 CONCLUSION: MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH CONTENTMENT . 32 Sermon on Contentment — Slides.key - May 9, 2016
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