How Healing Comes

Bethel Church (Princeton, MN)

This weekend we will have a special Sunday devoted to Addiction and Recovery. In the past we've done done this in September (September is National Recovery Month). We've switched things up this year because of my travel schedule. Tomorrow I'll be looking at the story of Naaman being healed of leprosy (recorded in 2 Kings 2), and draw from it an important reminder about the challenge of finding healing from addiction. By the way, there's an important message here for all of us ... not just alcohol and drug addicts and their families. The more we learn about the brain, and specifically how addictions hijack the reward centers of the brain, the more we see that the dynamics of addiction are at work with all kinds of behaviors, not just alcohol and drugs of abuse. We can -- and do -- become addicted to many different kinds of things, and our addictions exist on a spectrum from mild to severe. Most of us can identify with some kind of struggle with how we use food, drink, sex, drugs, work, computer gaming, gambling, etc. to help us cope with stress and the challenges of life. We all need to hear about and learn from addiction and recovery wisdom ... which has its roots in the Bible. This Sunday we'll also have some special guests -- several people will give testimony and/or talk about their work with addicts. We'll also be led in worship by a special guest worship leader, Don Damborg. It's going to be a great Sunday! I hope you can join us.