"Stressed Out by Activities? God Can Help!"

​SERMON TITLE:                 “Stressed Out by Activities?  God Can Help!”
SERMON TEXT:                  Mark 6:30-46
PREACHER:                         Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:                         September 11, 2016, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                As we kick-off our fall Sunday school and music programs today and launch headfirst into Hometown Mission Week, we’re mindful of how busy everyone is.  Younger folks rush to and from work and transport their children to school, sports, music lessons, scouts, orthodontist appointments, and a whole social network of birthday parties.  The precious hours at home are filled to over-capacity with household chores and homework.  Older people’s schedules might not be quite so hectic, but who hasn’t heard someone say, “Now that I’m retired, it seems like I’m busier than ever”?  Retirees don’t have to punch a 40-hour time card, but they’re involved in all kinds of volunteer activities, exercise routines, hobbies, travel, and doctor appointments—as well as keeping up the house and yard and spending time with the grandkids.  Middle-aged people are super busy too.  We’ve been called the “sandwich generation” because we have to worry about and tend to the needs of both older and younger ones—all the while managing our own lives.  It seems like, no matter who we are, we have the potential for being frustrated.  Whether our to-do list consists of things we absolutely must do or things we wish we could do, it’s easy for us to get stressed out about our activities.
                Over the next month, I’m going to preach a sermon series on various kinds of stress that we experience, and how God can help us reduce, overcome, or cope with that anxiety.  Today, I invite you to take a look at Mark, chapter 6, with me, and see how God can help us with our activity stress.

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