Pre Game: Walking with God Sermon Sept. 21, 2014

I imagine that most of us, at one time or another, have felt like the fella in our video.   In fact, I know that many of you here today, and  many other parishioners feel like this one an ongoing basis.       Of course, all the overwhelming  demands faced by working families with stresses out many families.

·       But even the unemployed find that their time evaporates too quickly.

·       But believe it or not, retired folks do, too: Projects around the house, paper work are often deferred, thereby stacking up the  necessary work needed to run a household.

The rock group, known as “The Who,” probably speak for many of us, when they sing about returning from a QUOTE  “busy day, knowing that there has got to be a better way.”  UNQUOTE

Are we missing something here?  PAUSE  I wonder if some of us are unknowingly missing a key ingredient in life????? PAUSE

Have any of you ever cooked up a recipe, and left out a crucial ingredient?  Back when I was single, I remember an occasion when I was house sitting and I decided to make myself some chili for dinner.   Now I was born and raised in Cincinnati—and Cincinnati is the self-proclaimed chili capital of the world. 

·       There are chili parlors on every corner; and 90% of Cincinnati natives grow up loving chili.

·       So, the night I was cooking, I got together the ground beef, the beans, tomatoes, green pepper, salt, crackers, & cheese.

·        But I looked all over that kitchen, and for the life of me, I could not find any chili powder. I had never been sin such a house.  This was an outrage.

·       Well, I was too lazy to go to the store, so I found some hot sauce, which I used as a substitute.

·       Once it  finished cooking, I tried eating the concoction. PAUSE    Oh, was that horrible!!!  It was inedible !!!!!!!!!.

·       Chili without chili powder is not chili. Rather, it’s merely hamburger stew.

·       Without the missing ingredient, my recipe was incomplete and unsatisfactory.

Well, the same is true for our Christian recipe for happiness.  For most of us a missing ingredient from our lives, which adds all the spice to life—and that missing ingredient is prayer.

·       Now, I am not referring to quickly prayer before dinner or a cry for help in times of desperation.  I am talking about taking some time to speak to God, and to listen to Him.

This is what is going on in today’s Gospel. Martha is a good hearted faithful and generous hostess; but she is also like the fella in today’s video. So, Jesus called out to her to slow down, to speak to Him and to listen to him, which is what prayer is for us.

Prayer improves all of life. There are many reasons why one should pray, but today I would like to look at 2—the 2 “P”s: physiology & priorities----

Scientists have demonstrated through hundreds of scientific studies that prayer has strong physiological benefits. Many of these studies have demonstrated that people who pray live healthier and longer lives.

·       Prayer results in increased levels of the dopamine hormone, which contributes to our state of wellbeing and joy.

·       Studies have demonstrated that half of all doctor visits for depression, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and the like, are all prompted by undue stress. Therefore, when prayer alleviates stress, we simultaneously reduce the risk of disease.

One reason that prayer can reduce stress is through the 2^nd “P,” which is priorities. 

·       You see, there is just too much to do in life…and we cannot do it all. If we try to do everything, then our lives will fall out of balance and we become overstressed.

·        However, if we choose the priority of praying, God can guide us in making decisions on how to use our time, which can result in a more harmonious and balanced life.

Come walk with God and He will lead you to a more balanced life.    This is what Paul is saying in our first reading today, when he wrote,” When you make decisions, you will feel peace as you live out God’s plan. So, be guided by this sense of peace when making decisions about what to do in daily life. Follow God’s guidance and you will find more peace.”   Wow. Think of that.  PAUSE

Do you want to how to do this for yourselves?  Well, you are in luck.  Next Sunday, we begin our 6 week  “Walking with God” program which will help you to do just that.

·       On Sunday mornings through Nov. 2, we are all going to learn a simple, yet powerful,  way to pray.  Many of us do not pray because we don’t know how, or we have forgotten how. Prayer is so simple that children can do it, and we can learn to do it as well, thereby following God to more peaceful and harmonious lives.

·       Also, as most of you know, we will have an accompanying weekly Small Group series, we will learn to let God lead as we walk with Him.  And as we learn to let Him lead us, then we will follow Him  to a  life so much richer than you have now, for your great joy and His great glory.

So, stop spinning around in circles.  Join us as we all learn to walk with each other as we follow our guide, our savior and friend, Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.