MID WEEK MOTIVATION - (with Marc Lewis & David Burgess) "Overcoming Anxiety" Romans 12

So you did some modeling today.

I did, it was wonderful, it was nice, you know.

So you A little change of pace.

You climbed a ladder in full like gear yeah, construction gear for.

Billy, there was a whole harness that like wrapped around my chest, around my legs, and there was like a safety line.

That was part of the prop.

Did Billy have like a bunch of photographers and stuff in there, or was it just him.

It was him and another guy and they were like thinking through I guess we could take one over here or we can do it here, and I'm just like trying to, I'm like trying to have like this hard worker look in my eyes.

I'm like OK, channel the construction worker, not the village people.

I'm like okay, channel the construction worker, not the village people.

I'm picturing you climbing two rungs up that ladder in full gear with a harness on, and then Billy saying all right, and then you turning and giving the biggest cheesiest grin to that camera in the world I would have it was just Billy.

But it wasn't just Billy, they were being professional.

So I was like, okay, I need to be professional, so you tried to go the model route and actually yeah, actually be professional, Like I'm sure they're going to be me, staring at horizons, you know, staring off into the distance.

What do I?

What project do I have next?

Where's our, where's our trouble area on these lines, Bro?

I really pray that I go into one of these big box stores one day and see your picture on one of those vists hey, we're doing a shoot with DeWalt stuff, so just follow DeWalt on Instagram.

You're listening to the Midweek Motivation Podcast from DeZoto Hills Baptist Church in South Haven Mississippi.

Here's your hosts Mark Lewis, david Burgess and Pastor Grant Stegall.

Mark Lewis, david Burgess and Pastor.

Grant Stegall.

Welcome to the Midweek Motivation Podcast for Wednesday, February the 26th, here at DeSoto Hill Baptist Church.

I'm Mark Lewis, along with model David Burgess.

We hope this programming can encourage folks throughout DeSoto County and beyond.

Be sure to subscribe and share our link on social media.

Dave, we've got the calendar the church calendar we always talk about.

We have the deadline coming up.

Today actually is the deadline for the preteen retreat which is happening this weekend Friday the 28th and March the 1st and this is always a great event for our fifth and sixth graders.

It is their disciple now that we put on each year, and we've got an incredible speaker coming.

We've got the band, which is all juiced up.

It's going to be an incredible opportunity for your children.

If your fifth and sixth graders are not signed up for this event, you need to log on to our website and sign them up today, because it is going to be a ton of fun.

I don't want to reveal.

Laura gave me a little bit of hint of what they're going to be doing, but she's got something really, really fun planned for them.

They're going to do some stuff here at the church and then they're going to actually load up on the vans and go do something off campus as well, that they're not going to want to miss so Friday night?

Yes, well, that they are not going to want to miss so Friday night yes, Sign up today, the 26th, which is the deadline.

If you are not great at getting online and doing stuff, at the very least call the church office and we can.

We can help you through that process.

If you just want to sign up over the phone and then and then get us paid another day, that will work.

Spring break we wanted everybody to know spring break is coming up March the 10th through the 14th, and we will not have Wednesday night services on spring break.

We will also not be issuing a podcast over spring break.

We'll be taking that week off.

So no doubt there will still be some events going on here and there.

You're going to be doing some stuff.

Yes, we're not sure of the schedule just yet, but it's coming up, we'll figure it out.

Yeah, the kids always enjoy.

Those who do not have plans out of town with their families always enjoy coming up here and hanging out some.

So we will get that information out as well.

We wanted to cover the rest of March.

The 23rd will be our night of worship and we will follow that with a short business meeting.

That will be at 5 pm Sunday evening, march the 23rd.

It takes place up in the attic and all the guys in the church, and some of the ladies as well, are all looking forward to the Grand Prix which is coming up.

And this is for our children but it's every bit as much for the dads.

Is it really just for the kids?

No of course it's not just for the kids.

I have no doubts David's liable to just move the entire coffee bar in there.

There may be snacks, there's no telling.

The Grand Prix is absolutely a ton of fun.

As we get ready for the Grand Prix, for those who do not want their dads building their cars, the Grand Prix workdays are coming up on Saturday, march the 29th.

That is going to be from 9 in the morning to 11.

And then the very next day, march the 30th, at 3 pm.

So if your children want to come up here with Laura and work in the treehouse on their cars, they can do so.

The Grand Prix itself will take place on April, the 6th, at 4 pm in the treehouse.

Get ready, buddy, because it's going to be a packed house.

It was a ton of fun last year and last year.

It was packed out.

Last year and we had service at the same time.

This year we do not have service at the same time, so it will be even more people in there.

Plenty of time for people to get mad for losing and get angry and start hollering at each other here at the church house.

It's going to be great it is.

It's going to be so, so much fun.

You will see Miss Laura for signing up for that event.

You do have to pay for the materials of the car, so see her about that.

We'll have more information about that coming up as well because, quite frankly, me and David do not know all of those details right now.

Looking ahead, we want you to go ahead and mark down the dates for Vacation Bible School, which is going to be June the 2nd through the 6th.

In fact, me and Dave were just talking about VBS a few minutes ago because I've been working on music already.

We were already producing a lot of content for that.

Laura's already working on it.

It's going to be a fantastic week.

Your children and students are not going to want to miss that, because the youth have a ton of fun when they're doing that as well.

July the 3rd through the 7th is going to be youth camp at LaFloy Mountain Village in Gatlinburg.

Now you sent me a thing the other day.

Tell us a few of the things that LaFloy has.

It's a pretty legit retreat.

Yeah, yeah.

So it's in Gatlinburg, it's in the mountains.

They have so much stuff to do.

There's rec fields that we'll be playing rec.

We'll be splitting up into squads and playing rec, scoring points for your team, kind of building that up for the week.

Build some camaraderie and some team building.

That way we're also doing.

I mean, they have swimming pools, they have ropes, course Trails, they have trails, walking trails, they have a blob in a lake slide.

It's going to be awesome.

Kids are going to love it.

And on top of that there's like this really cool like worship space.

It's like a chapel, kind of.

In the rounds I've led worship in there before.

It is the neatest worship facility I've ever been to.

Now it's very rustic.

Yeah.

But it's literally almost like a silo feel.

It's a complete round circle with a balcony that people can be on the second floor looking over.

It's beautiful.

It's an absolutely beautiful chapel just sitting there in the woods.

So another great thing about us doing these camps, the way we've been doing them the past two years, is we're putting them on ourselves, which means we have the facility, which means we control every last detail, everything from schedule, so we don't have to be up at 530 in the morning to start if that's when the camp wants to start.

The students can actually sleep in a little bit and we can actually control that schedule, which is great.

And we have all of the amenities to ourself, which is also great.

And we have all of the amenities to ourself, which is also great.

So sign-ups they can sign up online at this point.

Yes, sign-ups are live, okay, so go online, sign up.

You're going to pay a deposit and then you will have a little bit of time to pay off that balance.

That's the way we do it here.

Children's Camp is going to be the same week, july the 4th through the 6th, and it's going to be at Camp Cordova, which is right here in the Memphis area, so a little closer to home.

Same thing they're going to have full access to, and all of the amenities to ourselves.

We are going to take over Camp Cordova for that week as well.

So we wanted to make you aware that DeSoto County Schools has released next year's school calendar, so you may want to go ahead and check that out.

We do have a full week for fall break and all of that stuff for next year, so for any of you listening, you may want to go ahead and be making your plans for next school year right now.

Speaking of great fun, you took your family to St Louis.

I did.

Now tell us a little bit Now what brought this on.

Did y'all just on a whim, say let's go to St Louis Because it is sort of a weekend city for Memphis people?

Yeah, yeah.

So we've been, you know, kind of itching to get out and the kids getting the kids out, and so we've been, uh, to St Louis.

So we uh, I mean it was like a couple of weeks we were thinking, all right, let's look at this weekend and then, as it gets closer, let's see if it's doable.

Like schedule wise, kids wise, can we pull Milo from school, you know, a couple of days early?

And so we just went for it, man.

And the only time I've ever been to St Louis was like going to Six Flags.

That's the only time Never been downtown.

And so I'm driving downtown.

I'm like this city is amazing, oh incredible.

It is so cool looking, the architecture is awesome.

And you're just driving, I'm like, oh, there's an arch right there, like I've never seen the arch in person, and so it was just way bigger and like grander than I imagined.

I'm a historical freak, so one thing that always catches my attention about St Louis obviously, on the Mississippi River, memphis, st Louis, there were a few key cities that are some of the oldest cities here in the US.

The problem with Memphis is and this is just sad but it's the truth a lot of the history of Memphis has crumbled through the years and was not taken care of.

St Louis has held on to most of their historical structures, and so it is absolutely just amazing to visit that city and then be instantly transformed into the 1900s and the 1800s, even Because you see like Edison's electric factory sitting on the river right there, like the old, old building and just like my.

That's really cool, my goodness, uh.

So for anyone wondering, uh, st louis is, it's actually riley, my, my child's favorite city to visit, uh, on weekends, and we've taken I guess I've taken riley maybe three or four times to st louis.

It's her, it is her all-time favorite place to visit Pam's trip?

Yes, and she has to go.

Yes, we need to, she has to go all the time.

Her favorite part is typically Forest Park, which is the site of the 1904 World's Fair, and there is just amazing amenities in St Louis.

And there is just amazing amenities in St Louis and I'll say this the state of Missouri has funding so that all of their, most all of their museums are free, including the spec spectacular zoo.

And you didn't get a chance to visit the zoo, but I told you, I told you next time, man, the zoo and most people.

We have a great zoo here in Memphis, but but the St Louis zoo is absolutely insane.

It is a much bigger zoo and, uh, to me it's, it's a lot better.

The other thing you should definitely visit in the future day, which I told you about, was the art museum.

Which it is you about, was the Art Museum, which it is a world-class art museum.

My favorite piece at the Art Museum is called the Little Dancer, which is a Degas sculpture and it's a little girl like in a ballerina, and it's world famous and they have it just sitting there, just sitting out in the free art museum.

It's wild.

They also have Van Gogh's, rembrandt's, um monet's, picasso's all of it housed in there.

And so you walk in there and you're like, oh my, like this is like a european, like art museum that you would think of.

And the best part is that structure is actually the only structure left from the 1904 world's fair.

They built everything kind of shabby to come down for the world's fair, but because they had so many of shabby to come down for the World's Fair, but because they had so many masterpieces in the art museum and in the World's Fair, they wanted to make sure that that building was actually marble.

So it's still standing there and you can go and look.

Yeah, we'll check that out next time.

It's amazing.

Most people, when they think of St Louis, they think of the Arch.

They think of the Arch, they think of Union Station.

The Arch is amazing to visit.

It is definitely worth the trip.

Union Station is cool, but that would not be at the top of my list to go to St Louis.

There's so many other things that you could certainly go visit in St Louis.

So all of that to say.

If you are one of our listeners and you haven't been to St Louis, you definitely should.

Now y'all did hit the City Museum, which is amazing.

Now, do you know much about the history of the City Museum or how all of that came about?

I do not.

It was a shoe factory and this guy bought it for next to nothing because at the time a lot of those buildings were just sitting there in the 60s and 70s empty, just like Memphis, before the revitalization of a lot of downtown cities were happening.

And he had a deal with all of these concrete trucks that were working downtown and if they got finished with a job and still had concrete in the truck, they would bring it to him and he would pay them a little bit of money and so, instead of them wasting the concrete or it ruining, they would just dump it inside this building.

So if you've never been in this building, it is sculptures everywhere and caverns and places for kids to explore, from floor to floor to floor to floor.

And it's because he just had these concrete trucks come and dump concrete and he had all the artists who live in the downtown corridor on call and he had all the artists who lived in the downtown corridor on call and if a concrete truck had concrete sitting in it, they had like an hour or 30 minutes to get there and they would dump the concrete and immediately start sculpturing and building.

All of these amazing things in there and so he has unfortunately passed away and you can go to their museum store and actually get a book with the history of all this.

But that place is fascinating and if you've never taken your kids to the city museum, once you do it, they're going to be in there all day, by the way, and then they're going to beg to stay, and stay, and stay, and then they're going to beg to go back to st louis over and over and over, because it is.

It is disneyland for kids I mean they.

It's just an amazing place to visit.

Now, what, besides City Museum, did y'all you said you went to Union Station.

Yeah, we went to Union Station, or we stayed right next to Union Station, so we didn't really.

We ventured out to a food hall and so we ate dinner there, but we also went to on Saturday, so it was just two days.

Saturday.

We went to on Saturday, so it was just two days.

Saturday we went to the Science Museum.

Which is also fantastic, yeah.

I mean, my kids love dinosaurs, especially Milo.

So he saw the dinosaur and he was like this is where I need to be, like I love this place and so it was cool.

Then we took them to Slick City after the City Museum.

Okay.

Which is this?

Like warehouse building that's full of slides and I've never been there like really tall slides, like tall slides that have like an end, that like kind of launch you off the end in the air, oh wow.

And so all my kids were doing that and I did it, hannah did it, it was so fun and just a bunch of slick city slick city?

is it multiple levels?

So to get up to the slides, is that?

How is it?

yeah, it's in a building yeah, you have to climb staircases to get at the top and then it goes all the way to the ground.

I mean, it's so cool wow, did y'all?

did y'all go into union station and see the laser light show?

No, we didn't.

we didn't venture into the uh because the time was like time frame, whatever.

It was really cold, so we stayed next to it, but we'd have to walk to it Right, and try to stay inside most of the weekend.

Yeah.

It's a great city, so y'all would definitely go back to St.

Louis, we're going back, for sure, maybe this year.

Yeah, I mean, it's affordable.

It's an affordable thing to do.

All right, we're now going to shift to our devotion portion of the podcast that we call the midweek moment.

All right, mark, thanks again.

This is a good time that we get to spend together to kind of reflect on life and reflect on what's going on in our personal life, what the Lord's teaching us.

So I thank you for the opportunity to do that and being a part of that.

So, thinking about today, thinking about our culture, what's important to us.

You know, hannah and I we're raising a five and a six-year-old and we're trying to make the right decisions.

And we're trying to make the right decisions, make sure that we're providing just a space in life, an environment in their life, to where they can have joy.

All right, so their life is filled with all kinds of things.

They pretty much you know kids these days pretty much get what they want.

Like they lack from nothing, especially where we are in life.

You know they get whatever they want.

Oh yeah, so you know, you know about that.

Oh, a thousand percent.

So it's a different life than what I grew up with, um, but it's good, you know, uh.

But then Hannah and I are talking about, um, this book that we we started reading this book together, um, like on the trip, we kind of listened to this audio book, um, and it's uh, talks about the, the anxious generation, um, and so all the kids these days.

Uh, you know, studies are showing that we are living in like the new generation, you know, gen Z and, uh, the upcoming Gen Alpha, like they're, they're set to be the most anxious, the upcoming Gen Alpha, like they're set to be the most anxious, restless generation ever.

Oh, a thousand percent, probably.

I've got one, you agree, yeah, and so why?

What's going on?

There's something going on that is causing these kids to be so anxious, and yesterday I had some guys come up to the office and we were talking.

I challenged them and I asked them you know what's the deal with everybody being so anxious?

And they didn't know.

Well, going through the book, we're seeing and understanding and learning how the effects of social media, the effects of screen time, are causing our children to be super anxious, and I can even see it in my own kids.

They have screen time.

They have TVs, they have iPads, and so we're thinking through what does that look like?

What's behind the screens that are making our kids anxious?

And so we need to.

We wanted to figure it out.

We started reading this book.

I think it's called the Anxious Generation.

I could be wrong about that, I'll look it up.

But we're learning that the more time spent, especially with social media not just screen time, but especially with social media and the pressures of social media is leading to a more anxious generation, because and I've heard it put like this imagine going to school, okay, and the school hallway is one of the most hostile environments in the world.

Oh, I know it Right.

Like it's a school hallway you can't like.

That's the one.

It's a danger hallway it's you can, you can't like.

That's the one.

It's a danger zone.

Like you in more ways than kids you interact with your friends.

You interact with kids, other kids who call them your enemy, like they're.

They're so anxious just going to the school, the school halls, right Well, with the, with social media today, it's like they never leave the school hallway.

With social media today, it's like they never leave the school hallway.

The social media and that space has become one of the most hostile environments for the kids, and so they can't escape it.

They go home with their phones and with their iPads or screens or whatever, and they're scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and trying to find significance there, trying to get likes and trying to.

You know they're not encountering life, they're not engaging in life that's before them and so it's causing, like all this extra stress and anxiety in their lives.

And so I was talking to some guys yesterday.

I was like what do we do?

Like, if we're going to switch gears and if we see that there's a problem, where do we go?

And so I was looking at Romans, chapter 12, and I really think it's not just for kids, because I've noticed in my life there's times where my anxiousness, my levels of anxiety are elevated and I realize like I can't just put this on the generation beneath me Like no, this affects us, this affects us just as much, this affects us just as much.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

And so I'm reading Romans 12, starting in verse 1, and you kind of get the context where you know God's grace in the life of the Gentiles, like when you're looking back in Romans, chapter 11, we see that the Gentiles have been grafted in.

Romans 11 · chapter mention

They've been grafted in for salvation, they've been brought into the family.

They've been grafted in for salvation.

They've been brought into the family, they've been adopted by God's grace, and so the Israelites have fallen, they've turned their back on God.

Well, it came to our benefit, to a Gentile's benefit, like we have been grafted in the family of God.

And so when it gets into chapter 12, verse 1, paul says this I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that, by testing, you may discern what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God, and what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Okay, now I I'm not out here being the enemy of screens or social media, like, everything has its place, everything can be used for good, and we're not escaping that these days.

We're not.

Yeah, it's here.

So everything can be used for good and beneficial, and equipping and learning like all that's great.

But everything, everything can also be used for evil.

And I think we're in that realm where, the more these kids are exposed to this quote high school, like school, school hallway that's on the social media, like it's it's damaging them.

And so I'm looking, I'm reading this and I'm reading Romans, chapter 12, and I'm like, how, like if we pushed and pursued the Lord and pursued Jesus and gained knowledge from the word of God, as we do in social media, as we, knowledge from the word of God, as we do in social media, as we, as we do like, I think that is where the key is to pushing down and lowering these levels of anxious, these anxious kids.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

I think the power of the word of God is what we all need to live a life in reality, rather than a life in this anxious culture that we're in.

And so Paul says I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, all right.

So what are the mercies of God?

What are the mercies of God.

He's brought us into his family, he has grafted us in.

So oftentimes we try and muster up our power to live according to God's word, to be holy, to be righteous, to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, like he tells.

Paul tells us to present your bodies as living sacrifice.

Well for a person.

For me, like what's in it.

You know, you think what's in it for me.

No, you look at it in light of God's mercies, in light of what God has already done.

Let this be your reason and purpose for your submission and your surrender and your living your life as a sacrifice.

So we're not trying to muster up the courage and strength to live as sacrifices.

No, we should be motivated about what God has done, in light of his mercies towards us.

That is what motivates us to live a life of sacrifice.

That's what God wants.

I believe it and I think if we did that and we started saying, taking God's word for truth and applying it, paul says do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

That word transformed.

It's like metamorpho.

The Greek is metamorpho, which is where we get our word for metamorphosis.

It's as a butterfly changes, a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, or the amphibians change from tadpoles to frogs, like, god wants to do that in our lives.

And I think if we, in light of God's mercy, we remember the goodness of God, remember the salvation that we have in the gospel through Christ Jesus and the adoption and the family of God that we, as Gentiles, we have access to, we remember that that motivates us to live a life of sacrifice and it motivates us to remember, hey, only God can transform us.

And so, in light of God's mercy, my challenge today in regards to everything in life, especially like kids and social media, adults and social media like let's take a step back.

Kids and social media, adults and social media like let's take a step back, let's stop letting social media and our culture transform our minds, because I think that's where this anxiety is coming in.

But if we let the in light of the mercies of God, live our lives as a sacrifice, be transformed by the renewal of our mind right here in God's word, that's the key, and so that's my challenge for our listeners, that's my challenge for us is that we would be people that are transformed by the word of God, man.

I love that, and now I'm going to be using the phrase escaping the hallways for our family, the name of the book David was referencing.

It's the Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt.

So we will be the Lewis family will be escaping the hallways for spring break because we're going to go camping at Tishomingo, which is on the Mattress Trace and there is zero cell coverage out there.

Yeah, just so you know.

It's not like a Christian book necessarily, sure, but the principles in the book can affect the Christian life majorly.

Absolutely so fantastic.

Thanks for listening.

We certainly hope that you enjoyed today's episode.

If you don't have a church home, we'd love to see you here Sunday mornings.

You can catch our services online at desotahillscom, our YouTube channel at Desota Hills Baptist Church.

For all of our church family, we love you.

We'll see you back here next Wednesday morning bright and early.

Sound good, god bless.

This has been your Midweek Motivation.

We'd love to have you join us in person on Sunday mornings.

Our services are at 9 and 10.30 am.