LISTEN

This sermon was preached by Emily Williams at the Fallowfield site of Christ Church Manchester on Sunday 11th February 2018.

SERIES

This message was part of the ‘Money, Sex and Power’ series, preached at Christ Church Manchester’s church in Fallowfield in early 2018. The full series included the following sermons:

BIBLE VERSES

This sermon was based on Matthew 6:25-33.

Do Not be Anxious

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

KEY POINTS

Why We Should Aim For Simplicity

Each stage of life gets more busy and more complicated. We need to strive to live God’s way and not the world’s way.
Living in simplicity challenges the world’s way of living in a consumerist culture.
Matthew 6:25-33 is part of the sermon on the mount and comes after Jesus’ teachings on prayer and not serving money but God. Aiming to fear, trust and love God above all things means that we will not fear, trust and love things of this world above him.
We need to seek God’s kingdom above all things. If we aren’t, are we really seeking his Kingdom at all?

The Practicalities of Living Simply

We need to be content with what we have – we should not project our middle class standards and expectations of living and quality of life onto God. We shouldn’t covet and strive to have loads of things that we do not need.
We need to live within our means – just because our salaries increase over time doesn’t mean our spending habits need to increase too. How can we live in a way that allows us to keep giving away lots of money and being generous?
Have a declutter – be open-handed and generous with your possessions. Don’t build your hope and security around the stuff you have or how much money is in your bank account. Check yourself to see if there is anything in your life that is an addiction for you e.g. phone, chocolate, laptop. Try living without it for a day or two and align yourself back to God.
See how you are affecting people – are your clothes ethically sourced? Are your food items fairtrade? What do you buy that could be exploiting someone?

Simplicity Brings Freedom

Everything we have is a gift from God. How can we use what we have to benefit others and further God’s Kingdom?
Remove yourself from things that are causing you stress and anxiety. Don’t allow yourself to be jealous of what other peope have but be content in what you have.
The world tells us to keep, save, invest in yourself and your future. But God calls us to give, to trust Him and to place our security and hope in Him, and His everlasting Kingdom.

MORE SERMONS

To see more sermons from Christ Church Manchester, you can visit our sermons page, or why not consider subscribing on iTunes.

Money, Sex and Power: Simplicity