Here is a video clip that I used Sunday in my sermon, "Making Positive Change in Our Lives." It is hilarious.
While this kind of blunt, direct, talk featured in the skit may not always work, the point I made was that we need others in our lives to help us make positive change.
In Sunday's sermon, I highlighted three ingredients needed to make change: relationships, a desire to change, and the Holy Spirit.
Do you like the skit? What do you think it takes to make positive change in our lives?
A Tale of Two Leaders
6 years ago
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6 comments:
I happened on your blog here at nearly 3 in the morning (insomnia sucks!). I googled "spiritual encouragement" and then clicked over to page 10 of the results because I tire of the expected trite Christian sites offered. I'm thankful I found your blog - I'm a huge Bob Newhart fan, but even more so I tire of people not "doing right" - not just making good decisions...and then I find myself in the same boat. I need to stop the complacency and live out the purposeful life given to me. I'm about to add you to my GoogleReader!
While many in today's culture may not like the direct approach, it is Biblical. Too often, 'direct' is misinterpreted as 'hateful'.
Just a few examples of the direct approach from Scripture would be John 5 (Jesus to the lame man healed at the Bethesda gates when he encoutnered him later on), John 8 (Jesus to the woman caught in adultery) and I Cor 15 (Paul regarding worldly associations).
This Bob Newhart video is a humorous way to emphasize how simple the answer really is. After all, doesn't "repent" actually mean to "stop it"?
To answer your questions:
Yes, I liked the skit. Very funny.
About the ingredients for change, I would say that realization of wrong behavior would be first.(whether the realization comes from confrontation, finding yourself in trouble, self-examination, etc) Desire to change would be next. Without both of these, nothing is going to happen. Once you get this far, the Holy Spirit's assistance and encouragement is vital. Support from our human relationships is certainly helpful, but not a necessary ingredient.
Hi Bunny. It's great to have you come this way--we'll welcome your thoughts and comments.
Yes, many Christian sites are very dull. Being a spiritual person should not mean that we do not enjoy life, a good joke, or the like.
To our anonymous friend-Yes, a direct approach is at times appropriate. It all depends upon the person involved and the situation. Jesus dealt with all people--sometimes being brutally direct, like with the religious leaders.
Repentance means literally to turn around. It involves both stopping something (a direction) and going in a new (better) direction. Even the act of repentance, however, requires, God's help.
To our visitor friend--Yes, it is possible to change without another relationship. However, it seems that few have this kind of willpower, particularly with addictions. So, perhaps not absoltely essential, but very, very helpful.
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