Identity Crisis

35% 8% 24% 44% 61%
having a sexual relationship with someone of the same sex 30% 5% 20% 41% 55%
using drugs not prescribed by a medical doctor 17% 6% 11% 25% 38%(Base: 1024 adults)
* indicates born again Christians excluding evangelicals


C.S. Lewis stated, ¡§The Christian and the Materialist (The secular mindset) hold different beliefs about the universe. They can¡¦t both be right. The one who is wrong will act in a way which simply doesn¡¦t fit the real universe.¡¨
This is what is happening to the Christian in America they have lost their way and are blending with secular society and buying in to their way of life. This lifestyle does not fit the real universe designed by God for mankind.
In our American Christian society today in is imperative that we develop a Worldwide Christian Mind Set aligned with Biblical principles. Blamire states, ¡¨There is no longer a Christian mind (in America).¡¨ He¡¦s right our society even though claiming Christianity is not a Biblical society because Christians have adopted their own view of morality ¡V in contradiction to the Bible. They have bought into the secular mindset that says anything goes. George Barna enlightens us on this mass deception in a recent survey he did; Listen to his findings on the paradoxes he discovered in a recent survey. We will look at each paradox and discover that there really is an identity crisis happening in the Christian community in America:
I. Paradox 1: The Success Paradox illustrates that Christians have a wrong view of what is considered a successful life.
a. In one national study Barna discovered that people’s views of success had little to do with their faith and spiritual wholeness.
i. People focused on personal accomplishments, family solidarity and emotional fulfillment.
ii. Barna notes that only 7% identified spiritual wholeness and development as the factor that will produce a successful life. "The Christian faith commends sacrifice, servant-hood and sharing as the means to significance," he noted. "How is it possible to have more than 120 million adults attending Christian churches on a regular basis, but only 15 million who grasp the message that success is not about personal accomplishment or material possessions?"
b. Jesus said that success was defined by ¡§How you serve one another!¡¨
i. He spelled success in life as servant-hood!
ii. John 13:12-17: 12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ¡§Do you understand what I have done for you?¡¨ he asked them. 13¡§You call me ¡¥Teacher¡¦ and ¡¥Lord,¡¦ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another¡¦s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
1. Jesus tells us that success is doing what he did. Let me ask you a very straight forward question,¡¨ When was the last time you washed someone else¡¦s feet?¡¨
a. When was the last time you served others?
b. Take a look at your calendar is it filled with serving opportunities or pleasure opportunities?
c. Jesus tells us in our passage today that he set an example for us to follow and we need to follow