My current sermon series is stretching my understanding of the Bible and how to summarize it for others. I have read hundreds of pages for each sermon and have spent numerous hours writing and rewriting. It is challenging to cover the entire story of the Bible in nine parts, and I feel like I am doing an adequate job.

While I was sitting in my office working on one of the latest sermons, my internal voice said quietly, “Why do you do this to yourself?” Why do I preach complex sermon series, thought-provoking topics, and perplexing passages?

No one is telling me I need to preach these sermons. I have no leader or group of leaders telling me what to preach. So why do I do this to myself?

I do it because I am convinced it is easy to become complacent. This is especially true in our walk of faith. The tendency is to walk the path of least resistance and not push ourselves in any way.

I genuinely want to know the Bible better, communicate more effectively, and grow in my faith. This means I must push myself. No one else will ask me to stretch and improve – only me.

If you have been a Christian for years, let me ask you: What are you doing to stretch yourself and your faith in Jesus? What are you doing that makes you uncomfortable and uneasy? What are you doing that will cause you to pray more and think more deeply?

More Christians drift into apathy than move to agnosticism. If you are not rowing strenuously against the tide of complacency by your own choice, no one else is going to push you. One way to keep a healthy faith is to continually put yourself in situations that will stretch you.