Be Contagious: With Your Attitude

Philippians 2:5-11

“Be Contagious: with your attitude”

In the person of Jesus we have who we should be.

Sunday Morning Sermon

05.06.07

Intro: (Start with Title and Text)

Let me ask you a question this morning – how many of you in the last two weeks have been sick? My problems started about two weeks ago, and slowly gotten better – but I’ve been coughing and congested, everything I eat tastes the same. This sickness stuff is contagious – Amanda got it shortly after I did, same problems – congestion, coughing. Who knows where we got it from? Listen, church, just as a sickness is passed from person to person, so our attitudes can be contagious. If you are doing something, taking a test, playing a sport, asking someone on a date – and you don’t think you will succeed – the truth is – you probably won’t. If you look at every obstacle or every trial in your life as a great mountain that you are neither qualified nor ready to climb – chances are you will pack up the gear and go home.

If those things are true – than the opposite is true as well – if I look at the obstacles, and trials in my life as another chance for God to prove his presence – chances are he will be with me.

If you remember your bible history this morning – think back to Joshua – he’s suppose to take over for Moses – because Moses is dead, and Joshua’s it. He’s the leader. The Bible never says he was scared but I doubt God would have wasted his time telling him to be strong and courageous if the guy had it all figured out. His attitude would determine and feed those around him, and would dictate how God could use them. We know that God did use the leadership of Joshua, and did great things through the Israelites.

Discussion:

So let me ask you this – if your attitude about church, about God, Christianity all things that have to do with God – were contagious, would it be worth catching?

God blesses every church with a unique personality. The church in Piggott, where we were for 3 years had a very unique personality. There was this lady named Doris – Doris and I share the same birth date – although she’s in her 70’s. She’s been in church all of her life – but had this bitter attitude. She literally would sit in the back of the church and gripe to another older lady about everything – the temperature, the preacher, the preacher’s wife, the music. Doris wasn’t going anywhere – 3 services a week, she was there, special events she was there. But this other older lady that would receive the complaints slowly dropped off – she began to believe and accept those complaints as valid and truth – it affected her relationship with God. It’s unfortunate, that we – those who should take the most ownership of the church, either because of a leadership calling or because our time here – that we, do the most to run people away. We don’t even know it, but we can say things that cut the hard work of people who go beside us, in half. I wonder how many times when Doris was in the back of the church spitting out her complaints – who else heard. I wonder who made a choice not to come back. Her attitude, unfortunately was highly contagious – but not worth catching.

So let me ask you – if your attitude were contagious --- would it be worth catching?

Paul tells us a little about attitude – a church he started, a church he loved, they were having problems with unity. He tells them that the solution isn’t more fellowship or more times to come together – his solution is a change of their attitude. Changing their attitudes so that it matches that of Jesus. Changing their attitudes would not only solve their unity problems, but would also prepare them for growth. Church, I’m suggesting that we do the same – that we take our attitudes – good or bad, encouraged or discouraged, motivated or unmotivated, and we mould them to be more like that of Jesus. So that if your preacher asked you – about your attitude – you could say that it was worth catching.

Turn with me to Philippians 2:5-11 (Read) (Advance)

I see three things about the attitude of Christ:

(Advance)

I. He gave up what he had full rights to

Let me give you some history here – most of the commentaries agree that that this is a hymn – His objective is not to give instruction in doctrine, but to reinforce instruction in Christian living. He does this by looking at the life of Christ.