Sermon Tone Analysis

*Life’s Simple Seven!

What enables growth?*

*Do Good!  Look no further than God!*

*I want to show you what’s been dubbed as Humorous Headlines from across the world.**

*These headlines have appeared in print (primarily newspapers) or on television.

Ready to laugh?  /Include Your Children when Baking Cookies - Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers - Iraqi Head Seeks Arms - Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted - Miners Refuse to Work after Death - Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says!*[i]*/  NO!  REALLY?

/Something went wrong.

I need to become an expert!

/

            Sometimes things go wrong and there’s no reason why.

Other times things go wrong and we KNOW the reason why.

.  *Have you ever been sneezed on?*

You didn’t ask for it and you didn’t see it coming.

What can you do?

You get sick, but it’s not your fault.

But other times we have to take responsibility.

Forgot to put on a coat.

Having been eating well.

The American Heart Association is trying to encourage people to take responsibility for their own physical health!

The AHA along with the American Stroke Association launched a website called www.mylifecheck.heart.org

The website encourages people to take 7 small steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

Those seven steps are called Life’s Simple Seven and they are *Get Active ~/ Control Cholesterol ~/ Eat Better ~/ Manage Blood Pressure ~/ Lose Weight ~/ Reduce Blood Sugar and Stop Smoking!  Please take advantage of WCC’s mini health fair.

There are hearing screenings & vision exercises.

You can get your blood pressure checked!  **What the American Heart Association is doing physically the Apostle Peter is doing spiritually.**

**Open** up your Bibles today to 2 Peter 1!  Do you need a Bible and~/or a message outline?

**Spiritual Life Survey – 181.

I do have an invitation* today for anyone who wants to get to know Westerville Christian better.

*Come eat pizza* with us TODAY at 12N in the Fireside room!  *Allow me to introduce you to Pat & Kacey Connor*.

They were baptized on January 23rd together as a couple!

I welcomed them to this church family then and I do again today!

Just like Pat & Kacey, I’d like you to belong – to experience community in Jesus’ church whether that’s here or somewhere else!  *Let’s* *start reading again at verse 3 of 2 Peter 1.  /(Read 3-5a – add to your faith, goodness…/*

Growth begins at faith, but you can’t stop there.

*Here are Life’s Simple Seven according to the Apostle Peter.*

*(Read 5-8a)  */[8] For if you possess these qualities…  /Peter calls this list of seven – “/qualities/.”

They are qualities, practices, disciplines, virtues or characteristics of holy living.

*Peter starts the list with faith and then adds seven more!  Go back to verse 5!*  *Just what is goodness?*

Well goodness is not an attitude as much as an action.

/Biblical goodness is the “God given ability to perform heroic deeds.

/*The front page of the Columbus Dispatch printed this *headline Man loses life trying to save child in pond.[ii]

Here you have a man who dies trying to rescue a 5 year old boy he did not know.

That’s goodness.

/Goodness is alos a quality of life which makes someone stand out as excellent!”*[iii]*

Goodness is moral excellence.*[iv]*/

So when Peter says - add goodness to your faith he’s saying BE GOOD and DO GOOD!  *Let’s take BE GOOD first!*

A rich, young and probably good looking man came to Jesus in Matthew 19 and asked a question.

A good question.

/"Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" /As Jesus did on most occasions he answered a question with a question.

/"Why do you ask me about what is good?

There is only One who is good."

/When people mentioned good before Jesus he would always point them to God!  When Peter brings up good he points people to Jesus.

*Go back to verse 3.  *Jesus is the epitome~/the ultimate example of goodness.

*We are to be good because Jesus was good!  *

But I have found that’s easier said than done?

Why do we struggle in being good?

A man calls his wife and says, /"Honey, I've been invited to fly to Canada with my boss and several of his friends to go fishing this weekend.

This is a great opportunity to get that promotion I've been wanting, so would you please pack enough clothes for me the weekend?/

/And also, would you get out my rod and tackle box from the garage?//

We're leaving at 4:30 pm from the office and I'll only have enough time to swing by the house to grab my stuff.

Oh!

And please pack my new blue sweat pants."/

His wife thinks this all sounds a bit odd, but, being a good person, she does what he asks.

Following the long weekend this man comes home a little tired, but otherwise looking pretty good.

His wife asks him if he had a good time.

And he said he did.

Then she asks.

Did you catch any fish?

/He says, "Yes!

Lots of fish!

The fishing was great!" "But, he said, "why didn't you pack my new blue sweats?"

The wife replies, "I did.

I put them in a plastic bag in your tackle box"./

We kinda laugh, but he’s sooo busted!

He lied.

He chose not to be good.

My question is why?

Why would this man lie to his wife?

Why do any of us lie?  Are we foolish enough to think that we can actually cover something up?

Why is being good as Jesus is good so difficult?

It’s because we are sinners.

*Go back to verse 4.*  Remember the promises!

Promises like New birth~/salvation~/children of God~/2nd coming of Jesus which includes the resurrection of believers and the gift and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

*Maybe all of us need a little incentive for being good?

Watch this! * (*Simple Seven video here)*

I want to be useful and fruitful for God.

Peter said it this way.

*Find verse 8 in 2 Peter 1!*  What’s my incentive for being good like Jesus is good?

We become effective and productive!

We end up growing!

But growth doesn’t happen by accident.

Growth is intentional.

Peter tells us that goodness involves being good and doing good.

*Why should WE do good for Jesus?*  *Find verse 9!*

We choose to do good because we are grateful for what Jesus did on the cross.

We have not forgotten the day when all our sins were washed away.

We do good because we are thankful!

*Allow me to provide an example:*

Dan Dewey is known as the “Coffee Angel” at the Michigan Cancer Institute.

Every Thursday he comes and sits and talks with patients and their families.

He is thankful for what the hospital did for his Dad.

He asks people if they want coffee and then makes his way to his favorite Starbucks and brings back coffee for families and staff members.

Since this coming Thursday is Valentine’s Day he’ll give away roses as well as coffee.