Drop The Weight Of Sin Series

Drop The Weight

I have a backpack on…and it is really heavy!

It’s heavy because it’s filled with rocks, stones!

“Why on earth would you fill backpack w/rocks?” Good ?

The rocks in my backpack symbolize the various sins in our life.

(have someone take out rock: “sin”)

This stone today represents sin in general.

You all look good today. You all look respectable. But I know something about each and every one of you…you all have sin. In fact we all have it.

Some here today may be carrying huge sins w/you. Like stones in my backpack. Others may be carrying much smaller sins, easier to hide, less easy to detect. But still sin.

Regardless of its size it is still a weight on us.

A weight you and I were not designed to carry.

Did you know that 61% of people in America are overweight. Problems…

•Not just middle-aged spread. 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years and 14% of youth aged 12 to 19 overweight.

•nearly tripled for adolescents in the past 20 yrs.

•300,000 deaths each year in the United States are associated with being overweight.

•Being overweight is associated with heart disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, asthma, and psychological disorders, such as depression.

We were not designed to live w/ all this excess weight!

And the weight of our sin affects us even more.

In many cases sin causes us to become depressed, discouraged, it keeps us separated from God, from becoming the people He created us to be.

It weighs us down and wears us down.

So, today we begin a series which will last several weeks, called “Drop The Weight”. Throughout this series you will be asked to release the sins you have been carrying, in some cases, maybe these are things that have been a part of your life for a long time.

Imagine walking around with a huge weight on in your arms. (slide) It would really take the joy and excitement out of life wouldn’t it?

This morning, some of you may be at the point of exhaustion. You are eager to drop the weight!

Others may feel like it’s not that big of a deal.

“The weight of sin? I can handle it.”

If that is your attitude then you misunderstand the power and the effects of sin.

•Sin will always cost you more than you really want to pay.

•always take you further than you really want to go.

•always stay longer than you want it to stay.

•always change you in ways you can never imagine.

There are three things that are very important about the sin we have carried with us today. (slide)

1.How we got it? How it got into our life.

2.How it affects us?

3.What we’re gona to do with it now that it’s in our life.

I want to go on the record as saying that I love God.

I love Him with all my heart. That’s why I’m here today. You might be thinking, “No, you’re here because it’s your job to be here.”

Sure, it’s my job. But even if wasn’t, I’d still be here. If not here I would be in church someplace.

I’m seeking after God. I Want to grow. I want to Know Him more, better. I want to please Him with my life!

You’re here today. And it is not your job. I am hoping your reasons same, similar. You are here to grow. Because you love God. And you want to please Him.

So, if we all want to please God w/our lives, how does sin get into our life?

We all know sin isn’t pleasing to God. In fact, He hates sin. How did it get there?

Because we all have sin. Bible says, “For all have sinned.”

Look at Genesis 3 Story of Adam and Eve. 2:16-17

“And the Lord commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden. but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you shall surely die.’

Pretty clear don’t you think? Pretty simple.

I don’t think Adam could use as an excuse, “I didn’t understand your directions God. They were a little confusing, or too vague.” No God’s directions were pretty straightforward.

Illus. The other night I put the boys into bed. “Good night, go to bed, no talking. See you in the morning” Pretty clear right?

I was 5 feet from the door and I heard them talking.

So I went back in. Reminded them, no talking. Go to bed!

10 minutes later I hear giggling. I walk in just as a pillow soars past my head. Joshua is faking sleep. But, Jordan can’t fake sleeping because he now has no pillow. But even in his guilt Jordan reminds me that I really didn’t say anything about throwing pillows, I just said, “no talking”.