Bod4God – Dedication
Sycamore Creek Church
Tom Arthur
February 2/3, 2014
You lack discipline friends! Ha! Arnold says something we all know. There’s only one problem with it: discipline isn’t enough. Saying you need “discipline” isn’t enough. “Just do it” doesn’t work. We know what to do, we just don’t do it. Sin, or missing God’s mark, is not just a lack of knowledge, it’s being stuck and unable to save ourselves. And when it comes to our health and weight, we are definitely stuck.
Too many of us are overweight or obese. Those terms are actually technical terms. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), if you are my height, 5’9”, then you have a healthy weight range of 125-168 pounds (Body Mass Index/BMI = 18.5 – 24.9). You are overweight if you are 169-202 pounds (BMI = 25 – 29.9), and you are obese if you are 203 pounds or more (BMI = 30+). (This isn’t completely accurate because some athletes who have a lot of muscle weigh more because muscle weighs more than fat even though their body fat is less.) According to the CDC, one of every three adults (35.7 percent) is clinically obese. When you are overweight or obese you have a higher risk for:
- Coronary heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
- Stroke
- Liver and Gallbladder disease
- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
- Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
- Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)
Just in case that wasn’t enough sad news, here’s some even worse news. According to Ken Ferraro, the lead researcher on a study at Purdue University, “America is becoming a nation of gluttony and obesity, and churches are a feeding ground for this problem”
(http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june/fitness-driven-church.html). People who attend church are some of the heaviest people in our culture! The church is part of the problem! Another “18-year Northwestern University study released in 2011 found those who attended youth group as teenagers were 50 percent more likely to be obese by the time they were 50 than those who didn’t” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june/fitness-driven-church.html). Ouch! And then there’s pastors. According to one study done in North Carolina, “nearly 40 percent of North Carolina’s United Methodist clergy are obese…By comparison, the average North Carolinian in the study fares much better — only 29 percent of North Carolinians are obese” (http://www.faithandleadership.com/features/articles/body-and-soul).
We chose to do this series, Bod4God, because when we did demographic research on the Lansing region we found that one of the top three needs of people in Lansing is health and weight loss. According to the research I just shared, churches have been part of the problem! We wanted to be part of the solution rather than the problem. So we decided to do this series, Bod4God.
Now you may look at me and think, this guy doesn’t know anything about struggle with health and weight. He’s skinny as a stick. One of the churches I worked at in rural North Carolina while I was in seminary took it as a personal challenge to fatten me up over the summer! So let me share with you a little bit about my health history.
When I got married at the ripe age of 23, I went on my honeymoon and came down with Hepatitis A from something I had eaten three or four weeks before I got married. I lost thirteen pounds in three weeks! Then I gained three to five pounds a year through my married life. That’s not that unusual. I’ve been married sixteen years so three to five pounds a year = forty-eight to eighty pounds I’ve put on since I got married. That’s enough weight to put me in the obese category. The only difference is that I have also lost three to five pounds a year through my married life. I have never let the weight add up before deciding to take it off. One reason I did this was because of family. My uncle recently died of complications to obesity (and lots of other things). My dad is currently suffering complications of obesity as he wrestles with diabetes and various other things. My brother is overweight if not obese. Add that family history in to the fact that I have a serious sweet tooth with no discipline. My mother-in-law once found out that I like Gummy Bears so she bought one of those bulk containers at Sam’s Club. I was ecstatic when I saw them, and to the horror of my mother-in-law, I ate the entire bulk container of Gummy Bears in one sitting. She never bought me Gummy Bears again! I was reading through the Proverbs, the book of wisdom in the Bible, and came across this one:
If you have found a bulk container of Gummy Bears, eat only enough for you, or else, having too much, you will vomit it.
Proverbs 25:16 NRSV
Ok, it doesn’t say “Gummy Bears.” It says honey. But both are true.
When it comes to exercise, lately I’ve had a lot of motivations not to exercise. I was in a car accident three years ago with some fairly significant back pain complications. When my first son, Micah, was born, I couldn’t hold him for more than a minute or two without back pain. I also have a degenerative disk in my neck that is painful, especially in the cold. I used to be very active in sports as a teenager, but now I mostly sit at a computer or at a table drinking coffee and talking to people.
I share all of that not to throw a pity party for Tom. I share it with you so that you know that I struggle with these issues too. I may not look like it, but I pay a lot of attention to my health and weight. So what I want to share with you today is where to start. Where do you begin when it comes to improving your health and getting your weight under control? And remember, even though Arnold says you lack discipline, you can’t start with discipline. Discipline isn’t enough. You’ve got to start somewhere else. So where? Let’s turn to the Bible, the oldest health book in the world, and we’ll see two basic principles about our health and weight.
Principle 1: Your Body Is a Temple of God
Paul, the first missionary of the church wrote a letter to the church in Corinth, and told them about their bodies. Here’s what he said:
Or do you (y’all) not know that your (y’all’s) body is a temple [temple, inner part of Jewish temple, sanctuary] of the Holy Spirit within you (y’all), which you (y’all) have from God, and that you (y’all) are not your (y’all’s) own? For you (y’all) were bought with a price; therefore glorify [praise, honor; glorify, exalt] God in your (y’all’s) body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NRSV
That’s from the “New Revised Southern Version” of the Bible. English lacks a plural form of “you” but Greek, the language that Paul was writing in, has a very clear plural from of “you” and all the “yous” in this passage are plural. He’s saying that the people who make up the church are a body that is the temple of God’s Spirit. The church shouldn’t be part of the problem, the church should be part of the solution because together our bodies are where God’s Spirit resides. Our bodies together are the temple of God! Some of our bodies are the columns, some are the walls, some are the roof, some are the floor, and some are the foundation. How is your body doing at playing its part in the temple of God? The first principle is that our bodies, and your body, are God’s temple.
Principle 2: To Lose You Must Dedicate Your Body to God
So if our bodies are a temple of God, what should we do with them? Exactly what you do with a temple: you dedicate it to God! King Solomon, one of the ancient and wisest kings of Israel, also had the distinction of being the first king to build a temple in Jerusalem for God. Here’s what we read about it:
King Solomon offered as a sacrifice twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated [Chanak] the house of God.
2 Chronicles 7:5 NRSV
The word in Hebrew that is translated “dedicate” is Chanak. Chanak has two meanings. First, chanak means “to train up.” You get this sense in this Proverb:
Train [Chanak] children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.
Proverbs 22:6 NRSV
Train up your body in the right way, and when old, it will not stray. This is the discipline part of health and weight loss. But it’s where most of us both begin and end. We lack discipline so we fail at taking care of our bodies, of dedicating them as temples to God.
The second meaning of chanak is “to initiate or begin.” This has the sense of an offering or to give, donate, bestow, set aside, grant, devote, commit, or surrender. To dedicate your body is to give it up to God, to initiate it as belonging not to you but donating it to God. If your body is God’s temple, then it’s supposed to reflect something about God. Here’s the whole point of this message:
The Point
Discipline begins with dedication.
If you begin with discipline but neglect dedication, you will likely fail. You must first dedicate your body and your entire life to God as God’s temple. Have you dedicated your whole life to God including your body?
Is Being Fat a Sin?
I think this raises an important question: Is being fat a sin? Is not looking like the latest celebrity a sin? Are we all supposed to be able to wear a size 0 dress or a muscle shirt with bulging buns and guns? And what about people who have disabilities of some sort? Is someone in a wheel chair less a temple of God than someone who is not? Absolutely not. It’s not so much a matter of being skinny and perfect as it is a matter of what you’re doing with the body God gave you.
Back to Paul. He says in a letter to the church at Rome:
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.
Romans 14:20 NRSV
So here’s my question to you: is the way you’re treating your body contributing to the work of God in and through you or is it destroying the work of God in and through you? Is your cuisine getting in the way of your calling? Are your muscles getting in the way of your mission? Is your food getting in the way of your function? Is your health getting in the way of your heart’s passion? Are your provisions getting in the way of your purpose? Is your grub getting in the way of your goal? Is your stir-fry getting in the way of your service? Are your victuals getting in the way of your vocation?
Ok, so I spent too much time in a thesaurus to write that last paragraph. But the point still stands: is the way you are taking care of your body getting in the way of God’s work in and through your life? If it is, then yes, you are missing God’s mark for your life. But if you have dedicated your body to God and you are training it up and disciplining it to the best of your ability and knowledge, then your temple is bringing glory to God whether it looks like Natalie Portman or Chris Hemsworth or not, and for most of us the answer to that question will be “not.”
So here’s what I want you to do. First, dedicate your health, your body, your weight, your exercise, your walking, your running, your drinking all to God! Take care of God’s temple. Do this by giving your whole life to God by following Jesus! Then join one of the Bod4God groups in our church over the next three months. You’ll find all twenty-one of them listed below. The big group is the challenge group. Every week you’ll have the opportunity to worship at 9:30AM then go to the challenge group at 11:00AM that meets in the library. This is a Biggest-Loser-like weight loss and health competition run by Dr. Amanda Shoemaker. Then throughout the week you can join a small group support group and an activity group. There’s groups for men, women, young adults, those with special dietary needs, couples, and more. They happen all across the week at all kinds of times. Kick it all off today by going to a healthy Super Bowl party also listed below.
The Church – The Temple of God
Now here’s some good news. Dr. Harold Koenig, the director of the center for spirituality and health at Duke University, has been researching the role of faith in health for several decades and has found that people who regularly practice their faith are in general more healthy than those who do not have faith practices. In an email exchange he said to me, “What is amazing is the health benefits of religious involvement, despite the problem with weight!” Friends, faith and faith practices has a positive effect on our health. What if the church was known as a community that exercised not just your soul but also your body? What if the church was known as a community that got your soul in shape and your body in shape? What if? Maybe we’d have more people dedicating their lives to Jesus!
God, may it be so in these bodies, the temple of God!
Bod4God Groups – Join a Bunch of Losers!
Tired of endless weight-loss plans and endless years of trying to get the numbers on that scale to start moving downward? Weary of trying to find the motivation to live a healthy lifestyle? You’ve come to the right place. During February Sycamore Creek Church will be helping you find the right D.I.E.T. – Dedication, Inspiration, Eating & Exercising, and Teamwork. What have you got to lose? Weight! What have you got to gain? A Bod4God!
Sycamore Creek Church is one church in two locations. We meet on Sunday mornings at Lansing Christian School (3405 Belle Chase Way) @ 9:30 & 11:15 AM and Monday nights at Jackie’s Diner (3812 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) @ 7:00PM. For more info visit www.sycamorecreekchurch.org
Participants in the any group are eligible for:
- Original Okinawan Karate in Holt: FREE month for any adult or child or 12-weeks for a REDUCED price of $100 (includes uniform!).
Sign-up on the Connection Card in worship or email the group leader!
Pick up a book for $15 in the Connection Café on Sunday or at the diner on Monday.
#1. Challenge Group (Biggest Loser-like Competition & Health Campaign)
Sundays at 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Come worship at 9:30, drop your kids at Bod4God4Kids and then hang out for the Challenge Group during the second service while your kids go to Kids Creek! Videos each week with health experts, weigh ins, and team support time.
Amanda Shoemaker, MD and Amy Kremkow, LCS
(shoemakermd@gmail.com) (akremkow418@yahoo.com)
#2. Bod4God4Kids
Sundays at 9:30 AM @ Lansing Christian School (during worship)
Julie Soltis (juliesoltis@sycamorecreekchurch.org)
Activity Groups (Anyone)
#3. Running – Thursdays at 7:00 PM @ Hawk Island Park, Jon Rennhack (Rennhac2@msu.edu)
#4. Indoor Walking – Fridays at 9:30 AM @ Meridian Mall Playground
(Kids welcome, bring a stroller!) Tom Arthur (tomarthur@sycamorecreekchurch.org)
#5. Run/Walk – Saturdays at 9 AM @ Hawk Island Park, Emily Vliek (ekvliek@gmail.com)
#6. 5K – Autism Acceptance 5K, April 26 (www.autism-mi.org/Events/5KRun.aspx)
#7. Bike Bonanza on the River Trail – Saturday, May 3 at 1PM @ Maguire Park
Tabitha Martin (humdeelah@yahoo.com)
Young Adults
#8. Friday @ 2:30PM @ Holt Biggby, Justin Kring (kringjustin@gmail.com)
Seniors and Special Dietary Needs
#9. Mondays at 5:30 PM @ Jackie’s Diner (Healthy menu options available!)
Bev Sadilek (bsad1@sbcglobal.net) & Terri Horn (4cats4283@sbcglobal.net)
Anyone
#10. Fridays at 12:00 PM @ Sparrow – St. Lawrence Campus Cafeteria
Amy Kremkow (akremkow418@yahoo.com)
#20. Fridays at 11:30AM Lunch @ Farm Bureau Insurance on 7373 West Saginaw
Mary Ziegler (mziegle@fbinsmi.com)
#11. Agnostic Pub Group 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 8PM @ Pizza House
Discussing The Healing Power of Faith: How Belief and Prayer Can Help You Triumph Over Disease by Harold Koenig and Malcolm McConnell
Tom Arthur (tomarthur@sycamorecreekchurch.org) & Bill Vliek (billvliek@gmail.com)
Men
#12. Every other Wednesday at 7:00 AM @ Original Okinawa Karate in Holt
Mark Aupperlee (m_aupperlee@hotmail.com)
#13. Mondays at 6:00 PM @ The Avenue Café (Michigan St.), Kevin Biesbrock (kbiesbrock@gmail.com)
#14. Every other Thursday at 7:00 PM @ a Holt Home, Mark Aupperlee (m_aupperlee@hotmail.com)
#15. Every other Thursday at 7:00 PM @ a Holt Home, Bob Trout (troutrob@juno.com)
Women
#16. 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at 7:00 PM @ a Holt Home, Barb Flory (barbflory@gmail.com)
#17. Wednesdays at 7:00 PM @ Fazoli’s (S. Cedar), Tabitha Martin (humdeelah@yahoo.com)
#18. Knitting – 1st and 3rd Mondays at 6:00 PM @ SCC Office
Tammie Oates (tammie@toates.net) and Alice McKinstry (alicecleansweep@comcast.net)
Couples
#19. Select Sundays @ a Holt Home, John & Teresa Miller (rbkids@yahoo.com)
Dads
#21. Dad Kid Night Out – 2nd Tuesdays @ 5:30-7:30 PM
Jeremy Kratky (jeremykratky@sycamorecreekchurch.org)
February – Hawk Island Sledding · March – Extreme Fun @ Meridian Mall · April – Potter Park Zoo
Healthy Super Bowl Parties
Sunday, February 2
Bring a health snack to share!
John & Teresa Miller
Holt home @ 6PM
Tom & Sarah Arthur
Holt home @ 6PM
StuREV (Youth) Chuck & Debbie Bird
Holt home @ 5:30PM
Oates & Kelley Families
Holt home @ 6PM
sycamorecreekchurch.org · 517-394-6100 facebook.com/sycamorecreekchurchmi
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