Skeletons in The Church Closet

Skeletons In The Church Closet

An Honest Conversation About Church-Approved Sins

One of the first disasters I ever witnessed on live television was the __________ of the __________ __________ __________.

It wasn’t something huge…a small device relative to the size of a space shuttle.

So, is there a lesson here for the church?

What if the big sins, you know the ones you try really hard to avoid, aren’t the greatest threat to your joy and the church’s mission?

Maybe it’s the sins hiding in the closet, the ones considered normal or acceptable, the ones going undetected.

I want to address just three of these sins.

1) WORRY (Matthew 6:25-34)

        a) Worrying is like sitting in a __________ __________….it gives you ______ ____ ____, but it doesn’t ____ ____ ______. – Van Wilder

        b) Worrying is symptomatic of a much larger issue…lack of __________.

        c) We don’t __________ to __________ God!

        d) Worry is a by-product __________ a __________that only God can __________!

2)  FEAR (1 John 4:16-18; John 14:27; Hebrews 13:5, 6; 2 Tim 1:7; Gal 2:11-13)

         a) What is the opposite of fear?

         b) The opposite of fear is __________!

         c) Sometimes, even our __________is rooted in __________!

3)  COMFORT (Matthew 8:20; Matthew 20:22-23; 1 Corinthians 10:21)

          a) __________might be the __________of the church-approved family   of sins.

          b) Jesus is saying, ‘if you want a life of __________…you’ve come to    the _________ __________.

          c) Life __________at the end of your _________ __________.

          d) __________-__________people break down into three basic tribes:

              a. _________________  b. _______________  c. _____________

CHALLENGE:

Clean your closet of the ‘small’, sometimes undetectable, sometimes acceptable sins that may be setting you (or the church) up for failure!