Pastor Don Mackintosh, Pastor of the Weimar Campus Church, gives us guidance through the scriptures on how we can find purpose in our lives.

<p>Pastor Don Mackintosh, Pastor of the Weimar Campus Church, gives us guidance through the scriptures on how we can find purpose in our lives.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

Finding and Maintaining Meaning and Purpose

Father in heaven, bless us today as we spend a few moments hearing your Word and thinking concepts that hopefully can help us.

Finding and maintaining meaning and purpose.

You know, 1 of the things we do in our clinical programs here is we talk about spiritual things because they actually help us get over various diseases and, you know, mental health issues.

A couple years ago this really gripped me.

A study found that for every 10-point increase in a person's intrinsic religiosity, there was a 70% increase in the speed of recovery from depression.

So can you see why it is we spend a little time talking about spiritual things?

The problem is people are kind of all over the place spiritually many times.

And so it's not really a strength to them.

And if it's not a strength to them, then it doesn't help them get better from depression.

So 1 of the things that we do is we attempt to really focus in on, hey, what is it you're thinking or not thinking about that?

Because it really can be a benefit to you.

So 1 of the things in this arena is finding and maintaining meaning and purpose.

And the reasons to focus on meaning and purpose are, well, here's some of the reasons.

Let's just pray again before we continue.

Father in heaven, bless us as we study again today in Christ's name.

Oh boy, have I been through some stress this week.

And if I didn't have a sense of meaning and purpose, it would have totally overwhelmed me.

A sense of purpose improves your mood and ability to manage intense Emotions.

My father had to manage intense emotions this past week and so did I.

But our sense of meaning and purpose helped us through those times.

A sense of purpose helps with cognitive function as well.

It improves mood, it improves memory, and improves decision making.

So how many of you think that meaning and purpose is something that you would like to have robusted in your life?

Now, research tells us that a lack of purpose is not just a symptom of depression.

So if we don't have a sense of meaning and purpose, we get depressed.

That's 1 of the reasons we had a nominating committee report.

I was talking to someone earlier today and I said, well I didn't put this name or that name on it, I said put as many names on that thing as you can.

Because when people look at that thing, they're gonna say, wait a minute, I have A sense of meaning and purpose.

So, because if we don't have purpose, it can cause depression.

So, I've talked to people recently who have said, you know, I have no purpose in life at all.

And the first thing I'm trying to do is wonder whether or not that's true or not and try and find a sense of meaning and purpose.

I remember I had this guy I was taking care of and he said to me, I don't need to live anymore.

I was very concerned, it's gonna sound terrible, but I said I needed a job for the whole summer.

And I said, I'm not sure, but I'm gonna find out.

And then I started to talk to him about everything I said, well, you know, What did you enjoy when you were a kid?

Would you like this and that and the other thing?

And finally he told me, he says, you know, I like the Cubs.

I said, well, why don't we watch the Cubs?

They're not on every day, although their games were over very rapidly back then they never won anything and so I saw the Cubs come on and I said man I better tape this I taped it at a VCR there and when I put the Cubs on this guy would just wake up the Cubs and Harry Carey would sing take me out to the ballpark and he would be into it And this was his purpose for living.

When I come, he goes, the Cubs always come on when you're here.

So I had this VCR, and I had the TV there, and I said, okay, the Cubs are on!

And then I said, man, I got to use this to help him get better.

So I'd move the cups to the left side of his bed and he'd roll over.

Then I'd move the cups to the right side of his bed because he had a bed sore.

He'd roll over and His daughter was saying how do you do that?

He's getting better I said he needs to get better.

I didn't tell anybody what I was thinking.

And I still remember, and I'm sitting there with him, and I said, man, you know, I want to surprise the family.

And I said, you know, you need to get out of bed.

He says, I'm not going to get out of this blankety blank bed.

So I said, I'm going to take the cubs down the hall.

Took the TV down the hall, turned on the TV.

They can't stand it in this room anymore he's like what you know he was using a lot of language that only Kevin that you would understand And so he goes well take me to the Cubs so I go down Take him down the hall he gets he pivots and everything he goes down the hall the family was amazed and They said well what saved his life.

But really wasn't the Cubs It was a sense of purpose and meaning that he got out of that.

Seems kind of crazy, but how many think a sense of meaning and purpose is pivotal?

That gives me enough meaning and purpose to go on.

So where there is no vision, purpose, the people perish.

This is also a biblical concept, isn't it, in our proverb for tomorrow.

Slightly ahead here, always in the sermon.

In our proverb reading for tomorrow, where there's no vision, People perish.

So where do we look to find meaning and purpose or vision?

We look outside ourselves or we look inside ourselves.

And let's just have some ideas of looking without.

Major worldview, we call them worldviews, are really articulating a vision for us.

1 worldview is the naturalistic evolutionary worldview or outlook.

Another 1 would be the biblical worldview or outlook.

And let's just consider these for a minute just by way of maybe reminder, but also I think significant difference.

Because again, remember 1 of the things we try and do in our programs is increase a person's intrinsic religiosity, which helps them get better from depression.

How many of you are understanding what we're doing here?

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Finding and Maintaining Meaning and Purpose

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