Where is Your Home?

As long as I begin this morning, I want to acknowledge to you that I have a great deal of trepidation up here. This morning. I'm really nervous about this fearful, that would be fair to say, I crossed, you know, some people have things, they really worried about is he thinks they're really afraid of and my top one was what happened 3 weeks ago? Did just me up here and not be able to go forward. So been a hard time. Letting you know what happened to others? Don't lose my balance. I was dizzy and notes decided just to run around all over the page and I couldn't actually focus on focus on those symbols. I got tongue-tied and I just couldn't pick up the thread. And so graciously, took me at the mercy and they ran all the tests you can ride. Yes, Sam was so helpful. If you don't know saying her name is Sam. She is a p, a office and was in a really good situation to have to be helpful and Shirley was helping the daughter of Kim and John Bates. So that's the family that said that she has There were good things that came out of it. All the, all the tests were, in fact, a checkup of the stroke and 22 there. No changes. So that was a really good sign kinda feeling. Now is that it was a A seizure and the type of seizure is very common to elderly people, especially elderly people who've had a stroke. So the good news about the seizure, it's not convulsive, and it also doesn't do permanent damage. So all those things are good at about that. A lot of people say that word,

I guess I'm going to have to go with golden age, are or whatever it is. A lot of people that are my age have this, but very few, people are those with it because when you think about it, you know, if you if you can't read, write that, if you're busy, if you're losing your balance,

Will you pull back? You just withdraw until you feel better but we had a really good attendance that day. So I had the great Fortune to have a Witnesses for Pine-Sol.

I go on from there. Let me tell you a little bit about the future. I work with Occupational therapist before and I have another with now, she's reminding me of the things, the bad habit I've gotten into just in the last four years. Her rule is, I need to take no more than 12 words with the appear and lots of white space. And I use, that's too many for a while. So I'm going to do that and she also said no no to the Starpoint. It's a distraction and the changes. My train of thought. Now, that's not permanent, but for a little while, at least I'm going to do a very very plain old per simple. This morning is just one slide, you see the whole show

My grandparents used to use the Expression, make yourself at home and it always bothered me is a kid because often they were neighbors. And I visit them, they were tells us and I need a drink out of the

I thought I'd stay with you here much anymore. It's been altered to

Play There Goes My Kind of a way to say that it's just whatever you feel like doing. And Landers are Dear Abby but there are people who are the last week or so a young couple the man has a good friend and friend loses his job. And so the young couple wants to be helpful too late if I come and live with them. And I say to him, when he shows up make yourself at home. What is about how 19 months later? Do you unsave a make yourself at home? They have been trying everything they knew and they're down to a complicated situation this morning. I'd like they're so you about home. Being home saying, home to the things we learn and feel and manifest based on home. And I have three Bible stories. I like for us to look at quickly. Look at Luke chapter, 15 verses 11 through 32, you know, the story. The Boy says Dad. Give me my inheritance and whenever I am father and how he

What does the prodigal son takes one East has coming to him and he goes into a far-off country and he wasted and swimming. And finally, he is a little place work in Dignity of all in the use of these, just Jewish boy is a young man, a man is taking care of pigs. Slopping the pigs as we we called and its business in the scriptures that that pink food starts with an idea of where he is on the scale, the guys who work for my Dad and brothers, a little bit that says women, the last chapter of that blue 15, we had to celebrate and be. Glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He said he could, he's home and we're really, really thrilled to have that hoe. Earlier was a young man gets unsatisfied or is unsatisfied. He doesn't want to stay home, I would imagine that you looked around this place. Some of the things that he asked

Sometimes music around the whole situation. And so boring. It's really good. It's not too exciting. If you haven't read the little booklet about being thankful for an ordinary day, it's really really eye-opening, it helps because we can get so caught up in what we're doing on a daily basis that it isn't challenging to us anymore and we start sometimes what we go through the rigors of life and they want to do that, she didn't realize how good he had it at home. Not until he experiences something else.

We share a little article with you. Just take me a second to find it.

This is too long to read. I'm going to read it anyway. If you weren't. So now I feel free to do that.

Research shows that regularly practicing gratitude can lead to measurable changes in the brain. This effect is driven by neuroplasticity. The brain's ability to reorganize itself on repeating thoughts and behaviors. They people intentionally focus on appreciation neural Pathways involved in motion Pro become stronger, grateful thinking also stimulates the release of dopamine serotonin.

I also release reports all.

Overtime does more than short-term emotional relief. It gradually shift away from natural biased towards detection and threat. And makes a greater focus on positive experiences is so when something negative happens in our lives, we want to mark it down.

Was this person who summarizing some recent research is saying the person who is honestly fully practicing. Gratitude is actually starting to be back that Tennessee. And a few more like the Bible tells us to think on these things because things that are positive and beneficial and that can be. So imagine how you'd feel if some of this confidence, positive, thoughts, There was a senior country, western I guess. But me, the fairways say it. He was Mac, Davis hit. Riverbank Davis, Senior Center.

He had a song that I really like to hear is I don't think it was one of his really top songs that might have been. The first, the chorus is talking to himself and he says, happiness is Lubbock Texas in your rearview mirror. He is wanted to get out of there. He's wanting to go do everything else besides live and being in love and loving the rest of the song is really about the prodigal son in the music industry. And there is the very end of the song. The last time he sings the chorus, he says something to the effect. It now happiness is seeing Lubbock, Texas on the map. He's learned. What about and he's learned, how valuable was The Prodigal Son? Learnt that lesson, the senior learnt that lesson. Now, there are truly truly intelligent people Without having to go on a journey. To go out there and be injured and I'm grateful for it and I'm glad to have it. The second Bible story. It's found in Genesis chapter 19.

What's the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? You may remember that but Abraham moved to the land of Canaan.

So rich that the people who work for them have conflict. And so Abraham says family convict Abraham has every right to take the the best land, but he doesn't do that. He allows a lot and lot looks at the Jordan Valley at Richford area today. That's where I'm going to be. And so it says, in the Old King James that he pitched his tent towards Sodom,

He's going to move his family into this region. Now, if you look at that or not Genesis chapter 19, at some point in time, they moved there. Living out there near side of their Town dwellers. There are Urban dwellers

Lot is actually one of the city leaders because when the two angels come at the beginning of this chapter to warn him and his family about the impending punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah. He's among those people who are the leaders in that City. He is so concerned about these two angels that he invites them to come home with him. There like 9. I will just stay on the street tonight and he insist. And of course, as he was figuring it terrible things to happen and the people are the angels are confronted in. God has to rescue them. They save a lot. You got to get out of here. Go, tell your son's in law and the Boogie that carefully. These are probably future sons-in-law that this place is going to be destroyed. The four people lot and his wife and his two daughters are literally pulled out of Sodom as this place is totally destroyed. We don't know exactly how there's certainly a lot of people who believe that the Dead Sea, the salt sea is a very unique kind of situation and the things that were used to create the destruction, certainly Point toward that kind of a leftover landscape.

What is a boiled egg and then of course you know that life. Lot's. Wife look back and becomes a pillar of salt. Little boy in the Bible School class hit my mom looked at it. Look back and she turned into a utility pole and the teacher was like she was in the car. And when she looked back over,

if you looked a lot, you can be pretty critical to this guy. I mean bass, you make some safe selfish moves. He makes the big mistakes but there's a passage in 2nd Peter that really complicates it. In 2nd Peter 2:7. It says, and if he rescued lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the Lawless for that righteous man living among them day-by-day, was tormented in his righteous, Soul by the Lawless Deeds. He saw in her We're tell them scripture that lot is not participating in the Sin of Sodom. And fact, he's literate as a place where it's painful to see. What happened salon? He whines up as collateral damage, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. He loses his wife when she turned around to go back. He and his daughters ultimately have 25 fly have to flee to the hills where they've been told to go in the first place. And the very end of that chapter is one of those. He does block letters into adulterous relationship with his own daughter, and produce has his own grandchildren, This guy went from being a righteous man. Teal level of depravity that we don't seem very much thankfully. What's the problem?

They were too much at home and saw them. They got comfortable there. And even though lost. Participating he gets caught up. In all of this garbage. It was right there for him.

How to share some passengers with you if I can find them.

Bible uses the word world a lot.

A lot in the New Testament and I just talked to you about a region, sometimes it's about playing it sometimes it's talking about the cosmos, literally the entire universe. But there's other places were World means something different. I can share with just a few passes with you in. Romans 12:2, do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve of God's will is as good as the pattern of this.

I don't know if this will ever happen. But I think in all honesty there will be a time when that word would be translated as it should be to culture. We think of the world oh long for what does culture is really what being referred to here. We are supposed to be changed from culture,

1st Corinthians 10:10 to. I bet you that when I come I might not have to be as bold as I expected to be towards some people who think that we live by standards of this world standard of this culture. And then I'll cut back to Matthew chapter 4. You are the light of the world. With a light of the culture.

in some situations, where the only light, that the people who around us are going to ever get me exposed to it's a tremendous responsibility. What was overwhelmed by the culture? He was destroyed by the culture and we can look around us and our own world. That we see people that we know people from our families people that are in all kinds of experiences that are really truly being defeated. By the culture. Okay, I really need to stop. I want to just one more example Esther when she's the queen of the people. Been carried a Jewish, people been carried off into captivity by the Babylonians later on the Persians. Take over and out of there is guilt is so jealous of the Jews. And so he's trying to set up a way to damage Mordecai and trying to hurt all the Jews until he gets the king. Is she would eat it that on a certain Bay all Jews are to be destroyed. And we read that it was a terrible situation. What did you go back and look at it? Historically, it's our state is a terrible situation. These people were carried out of the land of house on by the Babylonians. Now, the Persians are in charge and we're looking at somewhere around sixty to seventy-five years since the key has freed the Jews.

Why are they still in the land of captivity?

Probably has jobs and they've had extended family. They may just found themselves liking it or enjoying it. And those folks weren't where God wanted them to be. They decided that this place got to take an umbrella over there. So, they used to decide this. And sometimes we get so involved, we are so connected and we just decided we just stay right here. In conclusion this morning, where's your home?

Where's your home?

We are confident, I say and would prefer to be away from body. and at home, With the Lord. Pause and talk about dead-set quandary.

Because I'd like to be home with God. Home is a precious place. It's a playset. We can build it's a place that we can share. It's a place that we can interject some safety and refuge in two and life.

They can also be people around us who are leading us damaging us pulling up in a way that we really don't want to go. We somehow overwhelmed by the current

We need to take our chances and our opportunities that God gives us to be free. And make the proper decisions about where we're going to feel comfortable and as hell. Would you go out with me?

Dear God. We thank you for your love and care. You think, you for your kindness, we thank you for our.

Human homes. We thank you for our church homes. We thank you for the group's where we feel comfortable and we're free to be the people that God you wanted to be. Father, help us. We constantly evaluating how much other forces around us are having an impact. Help has a constantly remind ourselves that when we were choosing your way, we're choosing the right way, not only for this life, but for the life to come and father, we thank you so much that you and your son through love and sacrifice. Have made it possible that we can live with you in our true home. Please help us, guide us strengthen, and protect us, and pray this for your son.

This morning, if there's something in your life that needs to be different, we'd encourage you to take action right now. If we can help you in that process, we'd be glad to while we stand and sing