Comparing ourselves to others is a dead-end street. As Theodore Roosevelt aptly said, "Comparison is the thief of joy."So why do we continue to diminish our neighbor as a way to build ourselves up? Why do we find pleasure in negative gossip and the misfortune of others? Why do we feel we must win in order to feel okay about ourselves? "There is a built-in, default mechanism in the human heart that triggers us to measure our own beauty based on how we measure up in comparison to others.” –Scott Sauls, Jesus, Outside The Lines “The God of Christians is too often looked upon as an old gentleman of irritable nerves who beats people for whistling.” –Dorothy Sayers1 Peter 4:1-11Titus 3:1-11Lamentations 3:22-23Psalm 103: 1-6Psalm 146: 1-2Do you know that the words you use every day have a great impact on your mood and behavior?An experiment was conducted to find out whether or not words have a psychological effect on people's moods by bringing in three groups of people and giving each of them a word based puzzle to solve. The first group was given a puzzle that had words like "calm" and “polite”, the second group was given a puzzle that had words like "anger" and "rude", while the third group was given a puzzle that had neutral words. Right after solving the puzzle, they were all asked to go to another room and on their way they found someone who kept interrupting them and forcing them to wait for a long time. The group of people who were exposed to the rude words were found to respond more aggressively to the person who wasted their time!The group of people who were exposed to the polite words were more polite to the person who wasted their time, while the third group had a neutral response!How the words you use affect your mood and behaviorIt's clear from the previous experiment that the words you use get printed in your mind and then affect your way of thinking and performance. Now after knowing about the psychology of words have you asked yourself:• What would be the outcome of complaining about things all the time?• How your mood would be affected if you kept putting yourself down?The experiment proved that words have a temporary effect that lasts for some time right after we get exposed to them, but what if you are constantly repeating the same words to yourself over and over? What if you are always thinking negatively of yourself and of your abilities? Won’t that get reflected in your mood and performance? 2 Corinthians 1: 18-22

Comparing ourselves to others is a dead-end street. As Theodore Roosevelt aptly said, "Comparison is the thief of joy."So why do we continue to diminish our neighbor as a way to build ourselves up? Why do we find pleasure in negative gossip and the misfortune of others? Why do we feel we must win in order to feel okay about ourselves? "There is a built-in, default mechanism in the human heart that triggers us to measure our own beauty based on how we measure up in comparison to others.” –Scott Sauls, Jesus, Outside The Lines “The God of Christians is too often looked upon as an old gentleman of irritable nerves who beats people for whistling.” –Dorothy Sayers1 Peter 4:1-11Titus 3:1-11Lamentations 3:22-23Psalm 103: 1-6Psalm 146: 1-2Do you know that the words you use every day have a great impact on your mood and behavior?An experiment was conducted to find out whether or not words have a psychological effect on people's moods by bringing in three groups of people and giving each of them a word based puzzle to solve. The first group was given a puzzle that had words like "calm" and “polite”, the second group was given a puzzle that had words like "anger" and "rude", while the third group was given a puzzle that had neutral words. Right after solving the puzzle, they were all asked to go to another room and on their way they found someone who kept interrupting them and forcing them to wait for a long time. The group of people who were exposed to the rude words were found to respond more aggressively to the person who wasted their time!The group of people who were exposed to the polite words were more polite to the person who wasted their time, while the third group had a neutral response!How the words you use affect your mood and behaviorIt's clear from the previous experiment that the words you use get printed in your mind and then affect your way of thinking and performance. Now after knowing about the psychology of words have you asked yourself:• What would be the outcome of complaining about things all the time?• How your mood would be affected if you kept putting yourself down?The experiment proved that words have a temporary effect that lasts for some time right after we get exposed to them, but what if you are constantly repeating the same words to yourself over and over? What if you are always thinking negatively of yourself and of your abilities? Won’t that get reflected in your mood and performance? 2 Corinthians 1: 18-22

Comparing ourselves to others is a dead-end street. As Theodore Roosevelt aptly said, "Comparison is the thief of joy."So why do we continue to diminish our neighbor as a way to build ourselves up? Why do we find pleasure in negative gossip and the misfortune of others? Why do we feel we must win in order to feel okay about ourselves? "There is a built-in, default mechanism in the human heart that triggers us to measure our own beauty based on how we measure up in comparison to others.” –Scott Sauls, Jesus, Outside The Lines “The God of Christians is too often looked upon as an old gentleman of irritable nerves who beats people for whistling.” –Dorothy Sayers1 Peter 4:1-11Titus 3:1-11Lamentations 3:22-23Psalm 103: 1-6Psalm 146: 1-2Do you know that the words you use every day have a great impact on your mood and behavior?An experiment was conducted to find out whether or not words have a psychological effect on people's moods by bringing in three groups of people and giving each of them a word based puzzle to solve. The first group was given a puzzle that had words like "calm" and “polite”, the second group was given a puzzle that had words like "anger" and "rude", while the third group was given a puzzle that had neutral words. Right after solving the puzzle, they were all asked to go to another room and on their way they found someone who kept interrupting them and forcing them to wait for a long time. The group of people who were exposed to the rude words were found to respond more aggressively to the person who wasted their time!The group of people who were exposed to the polite words were more polite to the person who wasted their time, while the third group had a neutral response!How the words you use affect your mood and behaviorIt's clear from the previous experiment that the words you use get printed in your mind and then affect your way of thinking and performance. Now after knowing about the psychology of words have you asked yourself:• What would be the outcome of complaining about things all the time?• How your mood would be affected if you kept putting yourself down?The experiment proved that words have a temporary effect that lasts for some time right after we get exposed to them, but what if you are constantly repeating the same words to yourself over and over? What if you are always thinking negatively of yourself and of your abilities? Won’t that get reflected in your mood and performance? 2 Corinthians 1: 18-22

Comparing ourselves to others is a dead-end street. As Theodore Roosevelt aptly said, "Comparison is the thief of joy."So why do we continue to diminish our neighbor as a way to build ourselves up? Why do we find pleasure in negative gossip and the misfortune of others? Why do we feel we must win in order to feel okay about ourselves? "There is a built-in, default mechanism in the human heart that triggers us to measure our own beauty based on how we measure up in comparison to others.” –Scott Sauls, Jesus, Outside The Lines “The God of Christians is too often looked upon as an old gentleman of irritable nerves who beats people for whistling.” –Dorothy Sayers1 Peter 4:1-11Titus 3:1-11Lamentations 3:22-23Psalm 103: 1-6Psalm 146: 1-2Do you know that the words you use every day have a great impact on your mood and behavior?An experiment was conducted to find out whether or not words have a psychological effect on people's moods by bringing in three groups of people and giving each of them a word based puzzle to solve. The first group was given a puzzle that had words like "calm" and “polite”, the second group was given a puzzle that had words like "anger" and "rude", while the third group was given a puzzle that had neutral words. Right after solving the puzzle, they were all asked to go to another room and on their way they found someone who kept interrupting them and forcing them to wait for a long time. The group of people who were exposed to the rude words were found to respond more aggressively to the person who wasted their time!The group of people who were exposed to the polite words were more polite to the person who wasted their time, while the third group had a neutral response!How the words you use affect your mood and behaviorIt's clear from the previous experiment that the words you use get printed in your mind and then affect your way of thinking and performance. Now after knowing about the psychology of words have you asked yourself:• What would be the outcome of complaining about things all the time?• How your mood would be affected if you kept putting yourself down?The experiment proved that words have a temporary effect that lasts for some time right after we get exposed to them, but what if you are constantly repeating the same words to yourself over and over? What if you are always thinking negatively of yourself and of your abilities? Won’t that get reflected in your mood and performance? 2 Corinthians 1: 18-22

Disclaimer: Due to technical difficulties the audio will be low quality for this week's sermon•Leviticus 27:30-32•Leviticus 25: 23•Luke 11: 42•2 Corinthians 9:6-8•1 Timothy 6:17-19•Tithers make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation. Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income. Christians are only giving at 2.5 percent per capita, while during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3 percent rate. Numbers like that can invoke a lot of guilt, which isn’t really the point. The larger point is what would happen if believers were to increase their giving to a minimum of, let's say, 10 percent. There would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute. The global impact would be phenomenal. Here's just a few things the Church could do with the kind of money: $25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years. $12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years. $15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day. $1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work. $100 – $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion. •Matthew 5:44-45•Phillipians 3:10•Acts 2 :41-45•Acts 5:1-11•Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.” -Wendell Berry

Disclaimer: Due to technical difficulties the audio will be low quality for this week's sermon•Leviticus 27:30-32•Leviticus 25: 23•Luke 11: 42•2 Corinthians 9:6-8•1 Timothy 6:17-19•Tithers make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation. Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income. Christians are only giving at 2.5 percent per capita, while during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3 percent rate. Numbers like that can invoke a lot of guilt, which isn’t really the point. The larger point is what would happen if believers were to increase their giving to a minimum of, let's say, 10 percent. There would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute. The global impact would be phenomenal. Here's just a few things the Church could do with the kind of money: $25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years. $12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years. $15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day. $1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work. $100 – $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion. •Matthew 5:44-45•Phillipians 3:10•Acts 2 :41-45•Acts 5:1-11•Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.” -Wendell Berry

Disclaimer: Due to technical difficulties the audio will be low quality for this week's sermon•Leviticus 27:30-32•Leviticus 25: 23•Luke 11: 42•2 Corinthians 9:6-8•1 Timothy 6:17-19•Tithers make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation. Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income. Christians are only giving at 2.5 percent per capita, while during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3 percent rate. Numbers like that can invoke a lot of guilt, which isn’t really the point. The larger point is what would happen if believers were to increase their giving to a minimum of, let's say, 10 percent. There would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute. The global impact would be phenomenal. Here's just a few things the Church could do with the kind of money: $25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years. $12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years. $15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day. $1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work. $100 – $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion. •Matthew 5:44-45•Phillipians 3:10•Acts 2 :41-45•Acts 5:1-11•Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.” -Wendell Berry

Disclaimer: Due to technical difficulties the audio will be low quality for this week's sermon•Leviticus 27:30-32•Leviticus 25: 23•Luke 11: 42•2 Corinthians 9:6-8•1 Timothy 6:17-19•Tithers make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation. Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income. Christians are only giving at 2.5 percent per capita, while during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3 percent rate. Numbers like that can invoke a lot of guilt, which isn’t really the point. The larger point is what would happen if believers were to increase their giving to a minimum of, let's say, 10 percent. There would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute. The global impact would be phenomenal. Here's just a few things the Church could do with the kind of money: $25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years. $12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years. $15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day. $1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work. $100 – $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion. •Matthew 5:44-45•Phillipians 3:10•Acts 2 :41-45•Acts 5:1-11•Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.” -Wendell Berry