Sermon Template

TITLE: MAIN TEXT: You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

SUPPORTING TEXT(S): and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

INTRODUCTION:

The mind is a powerful tool that has been given to every human being. The mind encompasses many phenomena, including perception, memory, thought, imagination, motivation, emotion, attention, learning, and consciousness. It is the place where Dreams and nightmares are displayed like primetime movies often with us as the star of the show.

The mind is a terrible thing to waste" is a slogan used by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to emphasize the importance of education, particularly for African Americans, highlighting that neglecting one's intellectual potential is a significant loss of opportunity and potential. I believe that this slogan has more power in its words than just to be directed at education and at a specific group of people. Truth of the matter is our mind is a terrible thing to waste but it aint just black people who’s minds have been wasted. We live in a society where not only is the mind being wasted but its out of control. And it is out of control because people have been out here searching for answers in all the wrong places. We are trying to solve problems that only God can answer and yet because God has not moved in our time we create bigger problems by solving them on our own. At this point we need to upgrade the slogan

We are in a constant war within ourselves because of where our minds are. Christmas should be a time of joy, family, presents and the celebration of Jesus’ birth but it is also one of the seasons where depression and anxiety are at its highest. People are fighting amongst themselves, families are disconnected, trust in humanity has dwindled down to nothing, it seems like more and more people are committing the most heinous crimes all the while the church can not agree on the smallest of issues. Here we hear more people who have mental illnesses, can’t focus, can’t think straight, going in circles and it all has to do with what’s on/in your mind.

The mind is the leader or forerunner of all actions. We have already played it out in our mind before it is executed in public.

If we remove some of our makeup and the smiles we wear on a daily and be honest some of us walked in this sanctuary this morning with other things on our mind, like how can pay this bill, how will i finance Christmas, how can I make more money, Am I good enough, I can’t catch a break. Questions on your mind that seem to have no answer, but I have news for you. You come to the right place at the right time. There is a problem solver

BODY: Say It

God is a KEEPER

Because you have purpose, God is intentional with watching over you

God will never abandon you

(Hebrews 13:5)

Isaiah 43:2

Your Peace is Worth KEEPING

Hold your peace and let God fight for you

Exodus 14

When God is at work Peace is always the outcome

(Isaiah 16:12)

Your Mind has to be KEPT

Your life will not get straightened out until your mind does.

Doubt causes a person to waver between two opinions, whereas unbelief leads to disobedience.

Overcome your flesh and let the Spirit have control

(Romans 8:6)

3

CLOSE: We are people who are looking for peace. The peace that God gives is that which will go beyond our understanding. What we have to learn to do is give things over to him.

Will life be hard yes, Will you encounter storms yes but I know God who is a Keeper.

Will the devil try to disrupt my progress, yes… Will the devil try to distract me and get me off course, yes but your Peace is Worth Keeping.

Will I see posts on social media that I will want to respond to, yes…. Will everything going on around me cause me to think I am not good enough, yes but I am here to tell you your mind has to be Kept.

ALTAR: What you came for