• • • OPEN: Janna’s Elizabeth

• • • Welcome to Central Church of Christ: Not a place, but a people called out by God to Show His Love, Tell His Story, and Be His Family. Today we begin a new message series from the Bible called, “Let’s Talk About It” exploring some of the common mental health struggles people, even Christians deal with, and how Christ through His Word can help.  Please turn to Adam’s Story in Genesis 2 as we prepare for today’s Let’s Talk About It Topic. 

• • • LONELINESS: According to a 2018 national survey by Cigna, loneliness levels have reached an all-time high, with nearly half of 20,000 U.S. adults reporting they sometimes or always feel alone. Forty percent of survey participants also reported they sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful and that they feel isolated.

Such numbers are alarming because of the health and mental health risks associated with loneliness. According to a meta-analysis co-authored by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, lack of social connection heightens health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having alcohol use disorder. She’s also found that loneliness and social isolation are twice as harmful to physical and mental health as obesity (Perspectives on Psychological Science, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2015).

“There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality, and the magnitude of the risk exceeds that of many leading health indicators,” Holt­Lunstad says.

From <https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/05/ce-corner-isolation>

 

Effects of Loneliness: in Christian Counseling by Gary Collins

• Low Self-Esteem
• Depression
• Rebellious Nature
• Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
• Heart Disease & Physical Problems

WHOA!  ILLUS: Charles Swindoll mentioned an ad in a Kansas newspaper. It read, “I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for $5.00.” Swindoll said, “Sounds like a hoax, doesn’t it? But the person was serious. Did anybody call? You bet. It wasn’t long before this individual was receiving 10 to 20 calls a day. The pain of loneliness was so sharp that some were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship.”
https://bible.org/illustration/loneliness

Psalms 68:6 tell us that “God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for the man to be alone.”

• David – “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” Psalms 25:16

• Paul “make every effort to come to me soon.” (II Tim. 4:9-12 NASB).
• Jesus “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
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“So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam NO SUITABLE HELPER WAS FOUND.” (Genesis 2:20)

GOD PROVIDES THE CURE FOR LONELINESS –

Philippians 4:19 – And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

ILLUS: Psychologists Carter, Meier & Minrith have observed that “People who have constant bouts with loneliness often fall into the overly dependent style of life…. An overly dependent person… becomes excessively distraught if he is rejected by someone. He clings to people, sucking up all their emotional energy… (these lonely people get to the point where they) expect others to fulfill their needs for them. Then they begin to make demands of those on whom they depend. Naturally, this causes others to retreat from them, keeping at a distance. The dependent person finds himself back at square one, and usually continues the cycle endlessly.”
https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Loneliness-W-Leslie-Carter/dp/0800786890

 

Ways to help according to Gary Collins

• • 1. Admit that they are lonely – best step for battling it
    2. Consider the causes – work on the sources rather than the symptoms
    3. Change one’s Thinking if possible – (with a widow this is tough, some things can’t be changed) – Inadequate social networks or skills or a poor view of self.
    4. Develop Self- Esteem
       1. Lonely people must be helped to see and acknowledge their strengths, abilities, and spiritual gifts.
    5. Encourage Risk Taking – Reach Out
    6. Encourage to help others
    7. Point to God – “God is real and his presence can be sense.”

Psalms 68:6 tell us that “God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

• • • CLOSE: Coffee Shop Janna’s Story to faith and family