“Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
The best preachers have illustrations they go back to again and again. This isn’t because they’re boring and unoriginal (they’re the best preachers, not the worst). It’s because the illustrations are so good they’re worth being used over and over. What we encounter here is one of the illustrations to help understand the body of Christ that Paul comes back to more than once. Let’s talk about the body, the church, and what we mean to one another.
Worry is something all of us encounter from time to time. Our circumstances stances get hard, they start to slip out of our control, and our anxiety level starts rising. The harder we cling to a need for control, the faster our anxiety rises. But what if there was a way to keep this from happening in the first place? As we continue our series, Talking to God, today we are talking about one of the most powerful potential impacts of prayer in our life. This isn’t a clinical solution for anxiety that has grown beyond our ability to manage it, but for much of the everyday, garden variety anxiety we all face, there’s a lot of potential for impact here. Let’s talk about prayer, anxiety, and how one helps with the other.
A Cure for Anxiety
Have you ever had a God-experience that just stuck with you? Not all of them do. But every now and then, you have one that you just can’t shake. Depending on the circumstances, that may be a hard thing, but often these kinds of experiences serve as important markers in our hearts and minds of God’s character. I had one of these when I was in college. I can still vividly remember a great deal of the situation. One spring, I got my schedule for the fall semester. I was going to have a pretty large class load, so I had worked really hard to make sure everything coordinated just right. Then, I got a note from my advisor that one of the classes I signed up for wasn’t going to be available, throwing my entire schedule into chaos. This disruption of my nice, neat, perfectly organized plan wasn’t just a threat to the following semester, but had the potential of moving back my entire graduation date. I quickly went into a tailspin of doubt and anxiety. But it was going to be a couple of days before I could get in with my advisor to work out a solution. Until then, there wasn’t anything I could do. So, I did the only thing I could do: I prayed.
“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12 CSB – Read the chapter)
Most days are mundane. That’s not to say they are boring, but they don’t stand out as particularly notable. They won’t likely be remembered for long. But every now and then, something happens that is going to be remembered; something happens that will define a whole generation. And while we don’t always recognize these moments as they happen, other times there’s really no doubt. Yesterday we crossed the 24th anniversary of 9/11. That was a generation-defining moment if there ever was one. The day before that our nation experienced another moment that will likely come to define this generation when a young man was murdered—assassinated, really—in cold blood. Let’s reflect for just a few minutes in Charlie Kirk.
“For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Christianity has changed the world many times over. One of the ways it has done this is through its revolution and expansion of virtue. The number of characteristics considered to be virtues and encouraged for its followers to adopt into their own lives was greatly expanded by the teachings of Jesus and His first followers. One of the most radical of these changes was the transformation of one attitude into a virtue that had always been considered a vice. Let’s talk about what it was.
“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Our culture professes to value individualism. We see this in all sorts of advertisements. We are constantly told that our buying this or that product will help us stand out from the pack as different. We are told to embrace our individualism and not be like everyone else. The truth, though, is that our culture only tolerates free expression within a pretty tight worldview range. You can do whatever you want as long as it comes out of and expresses a single set of worldview beliefs. Deviate from that, and there’s going to be trouble. The Gospel, though, is different. And if we are going to embrace it, we’re going to have to be different. Really different. Let’s talk about it.
The Nexus 