Secondary Source: Soul Reset Junius B. Dotson Upper Room Books Nashville 2019

Main Point: Taking care of ourselves sustains us for whatever life throws at us, be it mountaintops or valleys. We all have mountaintop experiences, but most of our life is not lived on the mountaintop. We all have valley experiences, and fortunately, life is not lived just in the valleys. Most of life is lived somewhere in between. Soul Reset Sermon Starters Week 4

Trouble in the Text

• Following Elijah’s great victory over the prophets of Ba’al, he is exhausted and scared.
• He was in the same danger before his victory.
• He needs special care from God to get back to a place where he can hear God.

Trouble in Life

• Life had mountaintops and valleys – the valleys feel worse after the mountaintops.
• We don’t do self-care consistently.
• There are also plain places.

Grace in the Text

• God stepped in with sufficient grace to remind Elijah how to take care of himself.
• Elijah still had to do the eating.

Grace in Life

• We know how to eat the right food, sleep, go to doctors and therapists, and take medication.
• These are the tools God has provided for the work.

Reflective Work

• Our physical bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Do you eat/sleep/move in such a way that honors God’s presence in you?

Call to Action plus response

• Track your eating and sleeping this week. Take steps to make them better. Think about what your body needs to be used by God.