Why You Should Keep 1st Things 1st.

Good day friends!

I want to share something with you that I think you will enjoy.  It is my Monday Morning Sermon Summary!  Below is a summary of my sermon that was preached at Faith Presbyterian Church in Hermitage, Pa. 

I hope it blesses you.

This past Sunday we took a long hard look at why we should sweat the small stuff.  It is true that the small things indeed make up the BIG things!  It has been said that, “If you take care of the minutes, the hours will take care of themselves.”  Jesus taught this principle in Luke 16:10 when he said, “He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much.” 

After establishing the point, I moved on to a leadership lesson called the, “Compass and the Clock” taught by the late Steven Covey.  The compass represents the BIG things, the things in your life that you value.  Aspects like: family, faith, friends, and career.  The clock represents the little things, how you live your actual life every day.  So if you want to be a happy person, you must first decide and then hold on dearly to the things you truly value.  Then, you must live in a way that is in alignment with that decision.  The reason why many are unhappy today is because their Compass and their Watch are out of whack.  There is not alignment with the BIG things (their values) and the small things (the way they actual live). 

During the sermon, I used an illustration with a young man that just graduated from high school.   I asked him to first fill a bowl with small rocks representing all the little things that fill our day:  text messages, emails, phone calls, TV shows, ETC.  Then, I asked him to try and add the large rocks in the bowl and he couldn’t.  The reason he could not is because the bowl was already filled with the little rocks!  This illustration powerfully shows why we must first decide on what we are going to really value in life, and then we must guard and protect those things.  If we start with the BIG rocks first, then we can order our lives around the things that matter the most. 
 

The text I used Sunday was from Luke 14. This is where Jesus is making the point that HE should be our BIGGEST rock of all.  In fact, His rock should be so BIG and so IMPORTANT, that in comparison to the other rocks; it should almost look like we hate them!  (Remember, Jesus was a great teacher and He knew how to make a point). 

In conclusion, this sermon was a real challenge for me.

Not just in the preparation, but a personal challenge to keep Jesus first in all things.  I hope it was for you too!