Storyside Church Storyside Church

How healthy is my thought life?



Do I let things get to me?



Do I let them get in my head? 



Am I allowing (entertaining) too many toxic thoughts? 




Genesis 6:5 — The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. He saw that they thought only about evil things all the time. 



Proverbs 15:26 — The Lord hates evil thoughts, but he is pleased with kind words.



Ecclesiastes 9:3 — Of all the things that happen in this life, the worst thing is that all people end life the same way. But it is also very bad that people always think evil and foolish thoughts. And those thoughts lead to death.



Romans 1

21 People knew God, but they did not honor him as God, and they did not thank him. Their ideas were all useless. There was not one good thought left in their foolish minds.

26 Because people did those things, God left them and let them do the shameful things they wanted to do. Women stopped having natural sex with men and started having sex with other women. 

27 In the same way, men stopped having natural sex with women and began wanting each other all the time. Men did shameful things with other men, and in their bodies they received the punishment for those wrongs.

28 People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do. 

29 They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, greed, and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst things about each other. They gossip 

30 and say evil things about each other. They hate God. They are rude, proud, and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil. They don’t obey their parents, 

31 they are foolish, they don’t keep their promises, and they show no kindness or mercy to others. 

32 They know God’s law says that anyone who lives like that should die. But they not only continue to do these things themselves, but they also encourage others who do them.



Ecclesiastes 10:2 — The thoughts of the wise lead them the right way, but the thoughts of the foolish lead them the wrong way.



Neurological Pathways 



If you allow anger and fear to dominate, you will lose the neurological ability to think logically and act compassionately toward others. It is nearly impossible to find peace and serenity if your mind is preoccupied by negative, anxious, or hateful thoughts.



Your thoughts clearly affect the neurological functioning of your body.



Optimism is essential for maintaining a healthy brain.



Positive thoughts neurologically suppress negative thoughts.



Watching violence on the news, or taking in a violent movie, will make you feel more angry, aggressive, negative, and powerless. The same thing happens in your brain when you listen to songs with hostile lyrics, even if they are presented in a humorous way. 



A meta-analytic view of video-game research found that “violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and young adults.



Our brains are designed to mimic the emotional expression of others. This is known as “emotional contagion”. When you see an angry expression, it takes less than one second for your brain to respond with fear.



Negative remarks and memories are more strongly encoded in the brain, and they are the most difficult memories to eradicate. 



Simply being around negative people will make you more prejudiced, because listening to negative opinions can easily undermine your positive opinions about virtually anything. 




My two cents on Swift. Unsaved in college, I loved Taylor Swift. I knew every word to Red and all the other albums too. Her music is intoxicating bc she’s done a very good job capturing worldly relationships and hookup culture. 

Now, as a believer– I stay far away from it. Why? Because I will like some of it. It will take my mind places that it shouldn’t go. There will be new lyrics in my head w

Colossians 3:2 — Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 



We have an average of 6.5 thought transitions per minute, and we can typically only think about 4 things. 



It’s possible that you could be repeating the same negative thoughts to yourself more than 5000 times a day. 



Come 
Consume 


We will control our thoughts — 
Or our thoughts will control us. 



Romans 8

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 

6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.



Where am I being led? 



Who has access to your mind?



FAITH 
F — Focus on the positives 
A — Affirm yourself 
I — Imagine God doing something good 
T — Trust God always 
H — Hope for the best 



Mindfulness 
Mindfulness helps us to stay in the moment. 



ABC’s 

A — Action (Activating Event) 

B — Belief 

C — Consequence (Feeling) 



Our BELIEF needs to be challenged. 



Philippians 4:8 — Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.



Is it true?

If we take this thought to court, do we have enough evidence to win our case? 

Is my thought based on facts or feelings? 

Am I taking this personally? 

Am I jumping to conclusions?



Isaiah 26:3 — Lord, you keep those people safe who continue to trust in you. You give them peace in their minds, because they believe in you.

God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you."
— Billy Graham



Luke 19:10 — The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.



Proximity: To be close. 



Luke 23

41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong. 

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”



Can you remember the day that Jesus saved you? 




Luke 19 

1 Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. 

2 In Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy, very important tax collector. 

3 He wanted to see who Jesus was. There were many others who wanted to see Jesus too. Zacchaeus was too short to see above the people. 

4 So he ran to a place where he knew Jesus would come. Then he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him.

5 When Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, he looked up and saw him in the tree. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today.”


John 4 

5 In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar, which is near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 

6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his long trip, so he sat down beside the well. It was about noon. 

7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband. 

18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”



Mark 2

1 A few days later, Jesus came back to Capernaum. The news spread that he was back home. 

2 A large crowd gathered to hear him speak. The house was so full that there was no place to stand, not even outside the door. While Jesus was teaching, 

3 some people brought a paralyzed man to see him. He was being carried by four of them. 

4 But they could not get the man inside to Jesus because the house was so full of people. So they went to the roof above Jesus and made a hole in it. Then they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 

5 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” 




Jesus came…



God can give you MORE than what you came for today. 

Luke 8



40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 

41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 

42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 

43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.

44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 

45 And Jesus said, "Who was it that touched me?" When all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!"

46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me." 

47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 

48 And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." 

49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more." 

50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well." 

51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 

52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, "Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping." 

53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 

54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, "Child, arise." 

55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 

56 And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.


Don’t walk away.


What voices do I listen to? 

What voices do I value and prioritize?


‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.



"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer." - Corrie ten Boom

1 Timothy 1:15 — Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them.


1 Timothy 1:15 — So here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted: the Messiah came into the world to save sinners, and I’m the number one sinner!


Romans 8

1 Saul approved the stoning of Stephen. Some faithful followers of the Lord buried Stephen and mourned very much for him.

2 At that time the church in Jerusalem suffered terribly. All of the Lord's followers, except the apostles, were scattered everywhere in Judea and Samaria. 

3 Saul started making a lot of trouble for the church. He went from house to house, arresting men and women and putting them in jail.



Acts 9:1-2 
Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord's followers. He even went to the high priest and asked for letters to the leaders of the synagogues in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord's Way. 



Acts 9

3 So Saul went to Damascus. When he came near the city, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shined around him. 

4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

5 Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?”
The voice answered, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. 



Romans 8:3 — Saul was making trouble for the church…



Philippians 3:8-9 
Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ.



1 Timothy 1:15 — Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them.


Christ came to save sinners. 


I am the worst.



The recognition of sin is the beginning of salvation. 
— Martin Luther 



Romans 3:23 — All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 


Romans 6:23 — The wages of sin is death. 



The gospel is open to all; the most respectable sinner has no more claim on it than the worst.



Romans 10:9 — Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.



The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. 
— Tim Keller 



1 Corinthians 6

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 

10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 

11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Psalm 23:6 — Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.



I believe that every Christian ought to be joined to some visible church; that is his plain duty, according to the Scriptures. God’s people are not dogs, else they might go about one by one; but they are sheep, and therefore they should be in flocks.
— Charles Spurgeon 



The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ.
— C. S. Lewis 



What has the church done for me?



What WILL I do for God’s house?



If everyone in this church were just like me, what kind of church would this church be?




I will HONOR God’s house. 


Haggai 1:4 — You people are living in beautiful houses. But my temple is still just a heap of stones! It is time for you to do something about it!



I will SERVE God’s house. 


There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.
— Dwight L. Moody



I will WORSHIP in God’s house. 


Psalm 5:7 — But by your great mercy, I can enter your house. I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you.


Psalm 122:1 — I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.


Romans 1 

24 People wanted only to do evil. So God left them and let them go their sinful way. And so they became completely immoral and used their bodies in shameful ways with each other. 

25 They traded the truth of God for a lie. They bowed down and worshiped the things God made instead of worshiping the God who made those things. He is the one who should be praised forever. Amen.




I will GIVE to God’s house. 


Money is not good or evil. 
It has no morals or intentions on its own. 
Money reflects the character of the user. 


20% 


Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.


You don’t even have to push me…




I will DWELL in God’s house. 


Misunderstandings 
2 Peter 3:16

Expectations 
Philippians 2 

Abandonment 
2 Timothy 4

Criticisms/Skepticisms 

Disagreements 
Acts 15 

Disappointments 
2 Corinthians 11:22-29


1 Corinthians 15:58 — So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Don’t let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.


Don’t let anything change you.
Scripture — stories of people who changed…


Give Yourselves


Never Wasted