Seek, Grow, Serve – Sunday, August 20th

Last week Cynthia and I received a letter from AARP. 

I am sure they had the wrong address…but they asked me an important question: How healthy is your heart? 

They let me know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for people over the age of 45 — and Americans spend, on average, 240 BILLION dollars a year on heart health. 

So, I ask you: How healthy is your heart? 

Whether they know it or not, AARP is asking a very biblical question. The Bible claims that of all the things you can do in life, the most important is to seek a healthy heart. Of all the opportunities and challenges you will face, of all of the conditions and circumstances you will experience, the condition of your heart is the most important.

In the Bible, the word “heart” is used over 1,000 times. The Biblical definition of the heart is different from our current conception. According to the Bible, the heart: 

– is your center for all physical, emotional, intellectual, and moral activities.
– is the inner core of your being, from which all your actions flow.
– is the command center of your life, and everything you do flows from your heart.

Everything you think, say, and do flows from your heart. 

So their question is the right one: How healthy is your heart? 

Today we turn to Luke 6 and ask:
How do you get a healthy heart?
How do you get one that is strong?
One that is resilient?
One that can enable and empower you to live well?

We will see that the heart is like a tree and must be cultivated.
The heart is like a treasure and must be guarded.
And the heart is like a home that must be built upon a strong foundation.