MASTERMIND: PART 4: How to Have Peace of Mind WEEK OF MAY 31, 2020 Rewiring, training, and feeding your mind are all important. But the secret to having peace of mind no matter the situation depends on this: What is your constant?
MESSAGE NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS ● Philippians 4:12 (“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…”) ● “Every equation needs stability—something constant.” -Daniel Faraday, Lost ● Philippians 4:13 - “I can do all this through him (Christ) who gives me strength.” ● You need a constant that can actually stabilize you through the ups and the downs. ● You can learn a hundred techniques to improve your thinking, but if your constant is unstable, you’re still going to have a hard time finding contentment and peace of mind. ● Through Christ, I can do (endure) all things, good and bad. ● Something like money can get us through some things, but not all things. ● How have you tried to fill in the blank: “Through ______, I can do all things.” ● Philippians 4:7 (“And the peace of God...will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”) ● The way that peace works? It guards your hearts and minds in Christ. The secret to contentment? You can do all things through Christ. ● The apostle Paul uses a variation of “In Christ” almost 100 times in scripture. ● “In Christ” captures our condition: we can’t do this all on our own. ● Jesus never promises us that there will be no suffering in our lives. He promises us that he’s with us and in us through everything. ● Jesus is up to the task of being your constant. ● Fix your eyes on Jesus, and you will not grow weary or lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. In the message, Paul brought up a list of the 100 best episodes of TV in the 21st century. What’s your favorite TV show of all time? 2. If you struggle with being content or having peace of mind, can you identify what causes you to feel like that? What situations seem to take your peace or contentment away from you? 3. Philippians 4:13 says that through Christ, we can do (endure) all things, good and bad. How have you tried to fill in the blank: “Through ______, I can do all things”? (Through money? Through a relationship? Through a drug? Through control?) Another way to put it: What have you tried to lean on as your constant for peace of mind? 4. How is it possible that in/with/through Christ, we can have peace of mind through all things? Is it magic? Is it discipline? How have you seen this work (or not) for you? 5. What aspect of Jesus—what words, what actions, what experiences you’ve had with him—can you focus on to help stabilize you during shaky times?