We’ve probably been on our phones more this year than in previous years. Between staying at home through the pandemic and going through an election year, we all have logged more hours on our phones. And while our phones can be a great asset to our lives, research shows that the time we spend on our devices is causing more anxiety and stress then it is doing good. The Bible says that there is a better way for us to live lives that are good, pleasing, and perfect. Are you ready for that life?

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MESSAGE NOTES

We’ve been on our phones more in the past year than any other time.

 

  • Our phones are taking over our lives and the way they make us feel about ourselves
  • You can google the way our anxiety increases in proportion to our social media habits
  • “There’s something about social that’s NOT working”

 

 

Paul says there is a way for us to discover a better way for our lives. A way that is “good and pleasing and perfect.”

  • How many of us would prefer that kind of path?
  • But there are conditions to be met…

[Romans 12:1-2]

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

 

Each of us can live a better, more pleasing and perfect life by meeting three conditions:

 

  1. PRESENT YOUR LIFE TO GOD AS A LIVING SACRIFICE

 

 

 

 

Your choice to live your life as a living/holy sacrifice is an act of WORSHIP

 

2. DON’T COPY THE BEHAVIOR/CUSTOMS OF THE WORLD

 

This is a whole more difficult than we think because it’s so easy to slip into the same patterns as everyone around us.

  • The problem is that some of these patterns take us farther from God or the person he’s helping us become

Law of Cognition – the idea is that we move toward the things we think about

Law of Exposure – the idea that we start to become like the things we spend the most time around

  • The formula for this could be: TIME + CONTENT = WHO I BECOME

 

Mark Lee, “There was a day when phones were on leashes and people were free. Today, phones are free and people are on leashes.”

 

ALLOW GOD TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

2 Life Hacks for you:

Start your day better – What if you didn’t touch your phone until AFTER you had touched your Bible?

 

[Psalm 119:11-16]

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us. I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.”

  • End your day better – put your phone to sleep an hour before you go to sleep

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Application Questions

1. What stood out to you from this message and why?

2. What is one thing God is telling you to START doing because of this message?

3. What is one thing God is telling you to STOP doing because of this message?

4. How will this message change how you act at home, work and in the your relationships?