Holy Habits

Pastor James C. Ward

September 14, 2025

Sunday Morning

Luke 4:16

And He Came To Nazareth, Where He Had Been Brought Up: And, As His Custom Was, He Went Into The Synagogue On The Sabbath Day, And Stood Up For To Read.

Introduction

We are creatures of habit. Some call habits artificial instincts. Others call them learned repetitive behaviors. Everyone will agree that we do them without thinking. That’s great; our mental faculties can be directed to other less routine endeavors. Here is the challenge: we can develop positive or negative habits. It seems that habits are easy to learn, but very hard to break. This is why we should develop good habits - better yet, holy habits. Jesus made it a habit of going to the synagogue and reading the Holy Word. It’s amazing when you think about it: The living Word made it a habit of reading the written Word. The question: What are some of the holy habits we should develop?

There are many. Let’s look at three.

Exposition

1. Start Each Day With God.

(Begin Each Day With Prayer.)

(Read And Or Meditate On His Word.)

(Even If You Cannot Physically Read The Bible, You Should Meditate

On The Passages You Have Hidden In Your Heart Through Memory.)

2. Spend Each Day Performing Productive Things.

(Doing Good To Others - Remember The Good Samaritan.)

(Be Courteous And Respectful.)

(Forgive Others And Self, When Necessary.)

(Apologize When In Error.)

(Needed Rest Is Also A Productive Endeavor.)

3. Strengthen Each Day By Focusing On Positive Things.

(Regret About The Past And Worry About The Future Are Downers.)

(Please Don’t Dwell On These Two Energy Thieves.)

(Recognize The Best In Others.)

(Maximize Your Positives, And Minimize And Correct Your Negatives.)

(Expect God To Come Through For You.)

(Faith In Christ Enables Us To Stay Positive In This Negative World.)

Closing Thoughts

We, humans, are unique. We have art and science. We develop habits. Let’s use everything we have to the glory of God. Make it a habit to give Him praise continuously. We should let His praises be continuously in our mouths. Give Him Glory! Give Him All The Glory!