Marginal Living: Re-Prioritizing Your Life

Yesterday, we continued our series Marginal Living, with our student ministries pastor, Brad Baker, teaching on Re-Prioritizing Your Life. Here are some key points from the message:

• Margin is the space between your current performance and your limits
• As margins decrease, stress increases
• Your time is limited; your time will be spent; someone will determine how your time gets spent
• Psalm 90:12 "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Allowing God to Help Create Margin:

1. Realize your days are numbered by God - Job 14:5 "Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed."

2. Prioritize accordingly- "Your priorities determine your capacity"

3. Make your time alone with God a priority- Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

(This series is adapted from a message series originally created by Andy Stanley).

Marginal Living Intro Video

Here's a short video that was shown to introduce the Marginal Living series:

Marginal Living- Week 1

We got off to a great start this past weekend with the new series "Marginal Living." For those who may have missed it, we are talking about not living life so pushed to the limit and so close to the edge that we set ourselves up for failure. I believe Jesus wants us to live an "edgy" life, but not live "on the edge". He said, "I want you to have life, and life to the full."

The full life is found in creating margins in key areas of our lives: i.e. finances, morality, schedules and relationships. The first time I heard this concept was from an Andy Stanley message series entitled, "Take it to the Limit." He defined margin as "the extra, the reserve, the amount beyond what is needed." Just like books have margins, and highways have margins, we need margins in our lives to experience God's best.

These margins, or safety barriers, keep us from getting too far off course. I shared 3 consequences of decreased margins:

1. Stress increases

2. Our focus becomes "I" centered

3. Relationships suffer

This week, focus on what areas you need to create some margins in so you can stay on course.

Marginal Living

This Sunday I can't wait to begin our new series entitled "Marginal Living." The picture above illustrates the way many live their lives, without margins. They don't have extra space on their left or on their right. So any small mistake, or any misstep and they find themselves swept away by the storms of life.

Granted, it's sometimes fun and exciting to live life on the edge. To push ourselves to the limit. To see how far we can expand our own personal boundaries. But it is impossible to live there. Some have tried and the result is always the same: the waves of life eventually overtake them.

I believe God has a better way to live. A place of abundance, blessing and increase await those who are willing to live as God directs, a life of margin. Let's explore "Marginal Living" together this Sunday.