Sermon Tone Analysis

› Prop Slinky

How good are you at Change?

› Pull out slinky

uncomfortable change

Opening QuestionHave you ever had an experience of being stuck somewhere?

You missed a flight, Got stuck the road?

an elevator.

What is most challenging about the feeling of being stuck?

Why are some people resistant to change?

When I was, younger things were a little simpler than they are today.

We could easily be entertained by playing with a slinky.

Slinky’s can teach us quite a bit about life and transitions and change.

Once you launch a slinky the course it takes can be a little unpredictable.

You don’t have nearly as much control as you would like.

What routinely happens with a slinky is that inevitably gets stuck halfway down the stairs and then you must relaunch it again to get it going again.

·

A slinky has potential energy stored inside of it… but it must be launched to get momentum - that’s when the energy force becomes kinetic energy…

The other thing about a slinky - once you have released it you don’t have much control of where it lands.

Changes that we face in life can be a little like a slinky.

• This morning I want to talk about, how to get through transitions in our lives.

This morning we are in this series - How to get through what you are going through… today we are looking at: How to get through transitions in our lives.

T/s This morning we are talking about - transitions and how to get through transitions in our lives

We are in our sermon series on - How to getting through what you are going through.

How many of us here are either coming into a transition or coming through a transition?

and how to get through transitions in our lives

Pam

I was thinking through the last 20 years Pam and I have lived in 6 homes had three major moves.

One from Africa to the US - Maine to North Carolina.. Carolina to California… Each one of our moves has been a step of Faith… With each of our moves we never knew exactly what lay ahead of the step.

Transitions are uncomfortable for me personally… I like things to stay predictable… But I am married to an woman who prays a lot and who knows how to walk by Faith… She is the one who takes risks in the relationships… I should of figured that one out when she agreed to marry me.

Transitions are part of that fluid part of life, where things will inevitably change.

And to be honest we aren’t so good with Change…Sometimes like that slinky we get stuck in a transition and need to be relaunched -

just in case you were wondering, I am the cautious one in the relationship…

Transitions are part of that fluid part of life, where things will inevitably change.

And to be honest we aren’t so good with Change…Sometimes like that slinky we get stuck in a transition and need to be relaunched -

Transitions are part of that fluid part of life, where things will inevitably change.

And to be honest we aren’t so good with Change…Sometimes like that slinky we get stuck in a transition and need to be relaunched -

Transitions are part of that fluid part of life, where things will inevitably change.

And to be honest we aren’t so good with Change…Sometimes like that slinky we get stuck in a transition and need to be relaunched -

Transitions are part of that fluid part of life, things will inevitably change.

And to be honest we aren’t so good with Change…It is a proven fact that change is one of the most feared things that human beings encounter.

Transitions are part of that fluid part of life, where things will inevitably change.

And to be honest we aren’t so good with Change…Sometimes like that slinky we get stuck in a transition and need to be relaunched -

Transitions are part of that fluid part of life, where things will inevitably change.

And to be honest we aren’t so good with Change…Sometimes like that slinky we get stuck in a transition and need to be relaunched -

It is a proven fact that change is one of the most feared things that human beings encounter.

Why might we be tempted to resist transition and Change?

We resist it with every fiber of our being.

We love stability.

We love for things to remain as they are.

But the inevitable aspect of life is that it always changes.

One person said: the only thing constant is change.

Change is also one of the most stressful things that we can face.

Over the course of a lifetime, we can expect to experience a significant amount of change.

Some of these changes include marriage, births, new jobs, moving homes, children moving out the home, retirement… and the list of transitions is endless.

-Transitions are unavoidable.

It is impossible to get from where we are to where you need to be without making a transition.

The question is not one of avoiding transitions but how do you embrace and manage change… How do you get through what you are going through?

• Yet as difficult and as stressful as transition are - it is impossible to get from where we are to where we are going to where we need to be without making a transition.

The question is not one of avoiding transitions but how do you manage transition.

How do you get through.

In the book of Philippians, Paul gives us this picture, a metaphor a race - He could have been referring to something familiar like the Olympic games, a marathon or some foot race..

He tells us.

He hasn’t fully grasped the meaning of Christ…

picture of a race - it could be that of a marathon or some foot race..

He compares His perseverance in the Gospel as one who is running a race..

He hasn’t fully grasped the meaning of Christ…

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.

In Paul talks about forgetting what is behind and pressing forward to what is a head.

Why might it be important to let go of certain things behind you?

Is this a difficult thing for us to do?

Paul is talking about his faith - he is taking about fully apprehending the righteousness of Christ…It is a kind of disclaimer where he tells us He hasn’t fully grasped the total meaning of the perfection of Christ… He hasn’t arrived ...

He is in process..

He is incomplete… He is persevering in the Gospel.

But he tells us that he focus and determination - One thing he does is that he is letting go to what was behind and he is stretching for forward to what is ahead.

on the one thing and that at the Goal that lies ahed.

Paul is describing for us a process of becoming righteousness....

What Paul is talking about in context is his faith - he is taking about fully apprehending the righteousness of Christ…

It is a kind of disclaimer where he tells us He hasn’t fully grasped the total meaning of of the perfection of Christ… He is in process..

He is incomplete… He is persevering in the Gospel.

But he tells us that he focused with Lazer precision at the Goal that lies ahed.

He is basically saying that hasn’t arrived..

He compares His perseverance in the Gospel as one who is running a race..

The runner is of the starter block and he is somewhere in between - in the middle.

somewhere in the middle of the race, he has not arrived yet to perfection…. .

The runner is of the starter block and he is somewhere in between - in the middle.

He finds himself somewhere in the middle not arrived yet to perfection…. .

The runner is of the starter block and he is somewhere in between - in the middle.

Have you noticed that they are selling Instamatic cameras again in the stores.…

We were in Walmart the other day and Mark asked me if I had ever seen one before… “You take your photo and print it right away.”

You know you are getting old when old things come back into fashion.

Paul is somewhere in the middle of the race he tells us that he has not arrived yet to perfection….

but one thing he does is letting go of the things that are behind and stretching forward to the things that lie ahead.

Salvation and righteousness are not instant … we are in Christ positionally, but we are being saved..through the process of sanctification.

He is letting go of the things that are behind and stretching forward to the things that lie ahead.. What he is talking about is transitions… change…

but one thing he does is letting go of the things that are behind and stretching forward to the things that lie ahead.

If you find yourself in the middle – you are in between something – you are in the middle… You are not there yet.

you take your photo and print it right away… That is not how salvation works… we are in Christ but we are being saved… it’s all old school back in the dark room where God is developing us.

Salvation and righteousness are not instant … we are in Christ but we are being saved.. it’s all old school back in the dark room where God is developing us… That’s why you walk into a room like this and see imperfection… we are in process..

Life is about a series of transitions… we often mistake transitions as destinations.

It’s all old school PHOTOGRAPHY back in the dark room where God is developing us… That’s why when you walk into a room like this and see imperfection… Why do Christians say mean things to each other?