Faith Changes How We React To Our World Series

### **INTRO: Faith That Moves or Faith That Sits?**

Video Ill.: Sermon Bumper

### **Opening Illustration: Asleep in the Pews**

Drawn from: https://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2017/february/sloth-seriously.html

Sloth? Seriously?

Brian Wilkerson

Imagine sitting in church week after week—same padded pew, same routine. You stand when it is time to sing, you sit when it is time to listen, you bow your head when it is time to pray. But inside, something has quietly slipped away.

It is not that you do not believe. It is not even that you are hostile toward God.

It is just... easier this way.

Easier to come, sit, nod, and leave—without letting anything really change.

Spiritually, you are awake enough to show up, but asleep enough not to be moved.

And the tragedy is—you might not even realize it.

Spiritual apathy, is not just laziness. It is resistance to action.

It is when God nudges you to forgive, to serve, to reach out—and you whisper back, “Maybe later.”

It is when the Word challenges you to change, but you excuse yourself: "That was a good sermon—for someone else."

You see, faith is not just about being present in a pew.

Faith is about being transformed in the presence of Christ.

True faith wakes us up. It moves us from *hearing* to *doing,* from *attending* to *living.*

### **Transition Illustration: Faith Beyond the Pew**

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2016/04/12/religion-in-everyday-life/

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/08/01/why-americans-go-to-religious-services/

Recent studies show that many people still attend church—some even every week.

They sing the songs. They hear the sermons.

But when asked if their faith impacts their daily decisions, their relationships, their priorities—many are not so sure.

Faith, for many, has been confined to an hour on Sunday morning.

It has become a scheduled event… instead of a living relationship.

The danger is not that we stop going to church.

The danger is that we stop letting Christ transform us.

Faith is not meant to be a Sunday habit. It is meant to be a daily life change.

And that is what this new series is all about:

**Transformative Faith: Living Beyond Belief.**

Many in our world today“believe in God” and even go to church, but still live with unchanged attitudes, unchanged habits, and unchanged reactions.

We need to have a faith that moves beyond the pew… and into how we live, love, and respond every single day.

This morning, the faith to which Jesus calls us transforms everything, starting with how we respond to the world around us.*

Transformation starts when we stop sitting and start surrendering.

---

### **Point 1: Faith Changes Our Reactions**

The World Is Watching: How Do You Respond?* by Christine Lailani Ginete

https://www.thegoodchristian.co/blog/the-world-is-watching-how-do-you-respond

---

### **Illustration: The World Is Watching**

Every day, life throws all kinds of challenges at us—addiction in our family, a cancer diagnosis, the betrayal of an affair, natural disasters, the sudden loss of a loved one, witnessing wrongdoing at work, the tragedy of a young life lost, political turmoil, theft, or facing persecution for our beliefs. These are real, painful situations we or those around us may experience.

But here is a certainty in these moments: the world is watching. How we react and respond become a testament to our faith. Do we respond with anger, despair, or indifference? Or do we embody the hope and love that our faith teaches us?

This morning, our faith, or lack thereof, shapes our reactions and responses. Are we living in a way that points others to Christ, even when life gets tough?

Paul writes to the Ephesians and shares with them that we should be different — in our thoughts, in our actions, in our example to the world. Follow along as we read his encouragement in chapter 4:

17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.