sermon illustrations HABITS VOLUME 1

sermon illustrations HABITS VOLUME 1

There s Always Time for What You Want It s not about your schedule, it s your priorities Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatrist and author of CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap (Ballantine Books, 2006) writes about how he knew he had crossed into the dark side from busy to crazy busy when he got mad at a rotary phone while staying at a vacation house. Unable to use a cellphone, he was driven nuts waiting for the dial to return to start. Then calming himself, he timed how long the dialing actually took: 11 seconds. What a fool I had become, he writes. I had become a man in a hurry even when I had no need to hurry. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/31/business/31shortcuts.html Application: We are often busy for no reason. Our overstuffed lifestyles often cause us to rush around in vain attempts to be more productive. When we stretch ourselves too thin, prayer, church attendance, and Bible reading are often the first to go. What do you need to eliminate to make time for what matters?

The Worst Swimming Lessons Replace Your Bad Habits with Good Ones Imagine you re taking swimming lessons for the first time and the instructor never actually tells you what to do. There s no actual teaching portion. The whole class is just supposed to get in the pool and try swimming as the instructor stands by and watches your attempts. Every time you do something wrong, the instructor points it out to you and that s it. They only tell you what you re doing that s bad but never tell you the right way to do it instead. It would be the most infuriating and least helpful class you could take. Application: If you have a habit of being negative all the time, don t just sit around thinking I can t be negative. I can t be negative. I can t be negative. Instead, replace that habit with a positive one. Focus on introducing a healthy habit that can replace the bad habit. Say to yourself I m going to make a habit of finding one positive in every situation no matter how bad things seem.

No One Wakes Up a Master Ordinary Habits will Lead to Extraordinary Results Everyone can agree that Bruce Lee was incredibly skilled in martial arts. This video of him playing a game of ping-pong with nun chucks instead of a paddle really shows how impressive he was. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhe6vhexm6g Application: No one just wakes up one day to discover they ve suddenly mastered a skill. When you see Bruce Lee do something like this you re seeing the result of years of trying and failing. You re seeing what happens after someone has made a daily habit of practicing. When you receive wisdom from someone you look up to in the faith, you re seeing the result of years of someone s walk in the faith. You re seeing what happens when someone makes it a daily habit of drawing close to the Lord

Everything is Connected Change the Cause for a Better Effect All of the different pieces of our life are connected. Nothing is disconnected. Every piece has the potential of affecting the other pieces. Your mood can affect your work. Your spiritual life will affect your relationships. There s a cause and effect and several famous great thinkers have noticed. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. -Yoda in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny. -Ghandi Application: If you re unhappy with where you are spiritually, how things are going in your relationships, or with your work life, remember that everything is connected. There s a cause and effect. If you re unhappy with the effect, take a look at the cause. Build new habits and you build a new life.

Secret Resolutions Go Public with Your Desire to Change 45% of Americans make New Year s resolutions 73% of those who have resolutions give up before meeting their goal 1 in 3 people ditch their resolution before January is even over! At the end of all of these disheartening statistics the article provides a solution to beating the odds and actually sticking to your goals. Dr. John C. Norcross, a distinguished professor of psychology at University of Scranton, is quoted saying that you need to tell others your goal. Going public increases accountability and allows for more support. Source: http://www.details.com/story/new-years-resolutions-by-the-numbers Application: It s easy to raise your hand in a church service when everyone s head is bowed and every eye is closed. It s easy to say you ll change when no one s looking. If you really want to create new habits in your life that will bring you closer to being like Christ, you need to go public.

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