1. Busyness and Stress v. You
Round 1

2. You’re Busy

3. Joy Killer Busyness and Stress kill our joy God calls us to:
Phil 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always!”
1 Thess 5:16 “Rejoice always!”
Galatians 5:22 = Joy is fruit of the Spirit
Phil 2:14, 4:12 – Do not complain but
be content!
John 15 – Jesus came so that our
joy might be full!

4. Joy Killer
This does not mean we must be happy at every moment. It does mean that we should avoid habits or decisions that kill our ability to be joyful, thankful, and content.

5. Soul Stealer “Busyness kills more Christians than bullets.”
- Kevin Deyoung
Most of us won’t be killed for our faith, and the majority of us won’t end up deciding they hate God. But for many in the church, the busyness of life crowds out our
relationship with Christ.

6. Sin Concealer
What would be the best way to ignore my conscience or to drown it out, or to go through life without being bothered by the sense that I have sinned?
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if
there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”
- Psalm 139

7. Fear and Worry
Sometimes we do, do, do, do because we are worried about what will happen if we don’t accomplish more, work more, get more.
Psalm 127:1-2: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain…It is in
vain that you rise up early and go late
to rest, eating the bread of anxious
toil; for he gives to his beloved
sleep.”

8. Meeting Expectations
We are unable to say no to anything because we do not want anyone disappointed in us.
We’re “Caught up in our own busyness, frantically running from one crisis to the next in a
cycle that looks less like loving the
Messiah and more like trying to
become one.”
- Darren Prince

9. Distractions We are experts at cramming 2 hours of work into 4 hours.
Doing homework with a phone around, a computer visible with twitter or facebook up, or the TV on, takes students longer, leaves them more tired at the end, and leads to poorer performance.
This wasted time sacrifices our
relationship with God

10. Question for the week:
Where is busyness killing my joy, shrinking my faith, and covering up areas I need to grow spiritually, and what foolish or sinful choices are contributing to my busyness?