Comparison

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Comparison

7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia

February 6, 2022 • Nate Hilgenkamp • Luke 18:9–14, Exodus 20:17, Genesis 4, Luke 9:46, Isaiah 6:5

Where in life are you prone to compare your life to others? What happens in your mind and heart when you compare to others? Is it helpful? Hurtful? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches us about the sin of comparison by studying Luke 18:9-14.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-It’s been well said that comparison is the thief of all joy.

-A parable is a story told in order to emphasize a single point of truth.

-Comparison views life as a competition.

-Some of you have an exhausting life because you are always comparing yourself to and competing with other people.

-Where do you find your worth and value in life? Your salary? Social media likes and comments? How much playing time your kid gets? Your neighborhood?

-If you really want to succeed and you can’t celebrate when other people succeed, you struggle with comparison.

-The sin of comparison is not new or exclusive to Suburbia. It shows up as early as Genesis 4 when Cain kills Abel. There are many examples of comparison all throughout the Scriptures.

-There are typically two different buckets of comparison: materialistic (“I want what they have”) and moralistic (“I’m better than they are”).

-When you pray, who is the focus of your prayer? You or God?

-Comparison crushes relationships.

-When your life is a competition, it makes everyone else your competitor and you isolate yourself, both of which kill your relationships.

-Comparison is killed by humility.

-How do you become humble? Compare yourself to God.

-When you compare yourself to a righteous, holy, & perfect God, there is no other option than to be humble before Him.

-Your job isn’t to compare to other people or Christians. Your job is to pick up your cross and follow Jesus every day.

-If you are too busy focusing on someone else’s life you won’t be able to live your own life.

MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

-Suggested Scripture study: Luke 18:9-14; Exodus 20:17; Genesis 4; Luke 9:46; Isaiah 6:5; Hebrews 10:14-18; John 21:17-25

-Sermon: Apathy

Indulgence

February 27, 2022 • Jonathan Pokluda • 1 John 2:15–17, Genesis 3:6, Matthew 6:24, James 4:4, Philippians 3:18–20

What do you want right now? In this moment as you read this, if you could have anything in the world, what do you want? As we finish our sermon series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, JP teaches about indulgence by studying 1 John 2:15-17. KEY TAKEAWAYS -What do you turn to when you are stressed? -What you want shows who you love. -We love stuff and use people to get more stuff. This couldn’t be further from what the Bible teaches. -A biblical worldview teaches us to use stuff to love people. -You can either love the world or you can love God. You can not have or love both. -You will either be full from the things of God and able to resist the world, or, you will be full from the things of this world and will resist the things of God. -Wickedness comes from wanting worldly things. -Satan is the little g god of this world. His one desire is to drag you out of a right relationship with God, and he uses the things of this world. -What marks you? If those closest to you got asked about what’s important to you, what would they say? -“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” -C.S. Lewis -Walking in the will of God is living for another world. -As you walk with God, your wants and desires will align with His. -Parenting is teaching kids what to do with their wants as well as teaching them what to want. Christianity is no different. -If you take sin it will take you. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES -Scripture to study: 1 John 2:15-17; Matthew 6:24; James 4:4; Philippians 3:18-20; Genesis 3:6; James 1:14-15; Psalm 37:4; Romans 12:2 -Sermon: Anger from Unforgiveness

Anger From Unforgiveness

February 20, 2022 • Jonathan Pokluda • Micah 7:18, Matthew 18:21–35, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Romans 14:23, Isaiah 53:10

1) God's anger toward you was satisfied 2) Forgiven people are forgiving people 3) Your forgiveness demonstrates God's forgiveness

Gossip

February 13, 2022 • Nate Hilgenkamp • John 17:20–23, Genesis 3:4–5, Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 18:8, Romans 1:29–30

Have you ever talked about someone who wasn’t present? Have you ever found out people talked about you when you weren’t present? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches about gossip by teaching through the book of Proverbs. KEY TAKEAWAYS -Gossip is sharing unhelpful or unnecessary information about someone who isn’t present. -Gossip is in the same list of sins as murder and hating God. -Gossip is enjoyable. -TMZ made $126 million in 2021…they’ve literally made an industry out of gossip. -Neuroscience has shown that the reward center of our brain lights up in response to gossip in a similar way as it does to romantic interest or eating chocolate. -We enjoy gossip because it makes us feel better than others. -Gossip also makes us feel important because someone trusts us to tell us something. -When someone gossips to you, they are really saying, “I’m OK talking about people behind their back.” -We enjoy gossip because it’s easy. It’s a lot harder to ask intentional questions of others or share specific struggles in your own life. -Gossip is divisive. -As adults it’s easy to see gossip in middle and high schoolers, but the reality is, it’s rampant and divisive in adults too. -It’s been said that gossip is the devil’s telephone. -God hates gossip because He loves you. -Before being crucified, Jesus prayed specifically for us, today, that we would be perfectly unified with other Christians the way He and the Father are perfectly unified. -Gossip can be put out. -The only way a fire can continue is by adding fuel. The same is true of gossip. Are you adding fuel or putting it out? -Even if you don’t share gossip, you have a part to play when you listen or permit it to happen. -We talk to people not about people. -On Harris Creek staff, we practice the “24-hour rule.” If someone says something to you about someone else, you give that person 24-hours to go tell the person they gossiped about, and if they don’t, you go with them to talk to the person together. -These phrases are almost never going to have helpful things behind them: “Don’t tell them I told you, but;” “This doesn’t leave this room;” & “Just between you and me.” -Venting is simply calling gossip by a different name. -If something doesn’t honor God or encourage others, just don’t say it. -If you are afraid your phone might record what you are saying about someone, don’t say it in the first place. -God hears every word you speak. Your words matter. MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES -Proverbs 18:8, 16:28, 26:20; Romans 1:29-30; Genesis 3:4-5; John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 12:36-37 -Sermon: Comparison