This is the third message in the Excursion for June 2018. It's also message # 13 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church.
Title: "Rhythms of Life that Help You LIVE"
Message Summary: Life
has lots of rhythms that we need to pay attention to if we want to live well.
There are natural, biological rhythms like breathing in and out, and the rhythm
between being asleep and awake. You won’t get far at all if you don’t respect
those rhythms!
Spiritual life has natural rhythms too. These
may be easier to ignore, but they are no less important. The “abiding” that we
looked at last week often calls for a daily rhythm of time spent getting filled
up spiritually, which turns into “fruitfulness” in our lives. Another spiritual
rhythm is the weekly swing from a day of rest to the days of work and back
again.
Our culture however, with its obsession and
addiction to busyness and “being productive,” tends to work against these
spiritual rhythms. So this is an area
where we often need to take control of our lives and schedules and exercise
some personal discipline if we want to be spiritually healthy. This is often
one of the first places that disciples really encounter the challenge of
whether to follow Jesus or to follow the norms and expectations of our culture.
.
Conversation Questions from the Travel Guide
- How long has it been since you woke up feeling really rested physically, full of energy and ready for the new day?
- What would your life be like if that was normal for you?
- How long has it been since you felt really rested spiritually, full of joy and ready to engage the world with love?
- Imagine that you spent time most every day simply “soaking up the love” from God. What would your life be like if that was normal for you?
- Are you the kind of person who can just make up their mind about something (like a diet or exercise) and then stick with it? Or do you typically need others to encourage you and offer supportive accountability for achieving your goals?
- What would it take to improve the spiritual rhythms of your life?
Bible verses for Spiritual Rhythms:
- Genesis 1:26-2:3
- Deuteronomy 5:12-15
- Luke 4:16
- Acts 17:2
- Luke 2:41-52
- Mark 1:35
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