When You Don’t Like Who You’re Becoming

A Better Way: When Christianity Feels Like It Isn’t Working

Scripture References

Primary text

• John 14
• Matthew 11:28-30

Other references

• Proverbs 14:12
• Psalm 23

Overview

Pastor Craig opened a new series called “A Better Way” by naming a tension many believers feel: “Sometimes it seems like Christianity isn’t working.” Drawing from John 14 where Jesus calls Himself “the way,” he contrasted the hurried, anxious lives most of us live with the unhurried, joy-filled life of Jesus. Sharing his own recent burnout and health setback, he invited the church to sit in the discomfort long enough to admit, “I need a better way,” and promised the coming weeks would unpack Jesus’ rhythms of grace.

Context

Craig warned at the start that the message would raise a problem without solving it today. His goal was to let listeners feel the frustration of a faith-life that looks right on paper yet leaves the soul tired.

Main Points

When Christianity Doesn’t Seem to Work

• Honest question: “Do you ever feel like the way you’re serving Jesus isn’t working?”
• Examples:
  • Story: Churchgoing boy prays to save his parents’ marriage; they divorce.
  • Story: Faithful couple loses job, child, and eventually their marriage.
  • Comfortable, “decent” life yet still unfulfilled.
• Desired response: admit the dissonance instead of glossing over it.

Jesus Is the Way, Not Merely the Truth

• John 14: Jesus comforts troubled hearts and declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
• Early Christians were called “people of the Way,” emphasizing a lifestyle, not just doctrine.
• The way you do or say something matters; truth delivered the wrong way loses impact.

“There is a better way.”

Spotting the Gap Between Jesus’ Way and Ours

• Jesus lived unhurried, joyful, present; most believers live rushed, anxious, distracted.
• Humorous contrast: imagined Jesus craving Yeezys, scrolling Instagram, needing a “cold brewski” after healing people—highlights how foreign our pace is to His.
• Proverbs 14:12 warns that a way can “appear right” yet lead to death.

Craig’s Personal Wake-Up Call

• Story: Planned first true break in 25 years—flying lessons, adventure, “risk for Jesus.”
• Break derailed by:
  • Sudden death of Pastor Danny Durand.
  • Cancer diagnoses of a friend and close family member.
  • Hernia surgery that forced six weeks of complete rest.
• Extended devotional times felt silent; he recognized deep burnout.
• Journal line:

  “The way I’d been doing the work of God was destroying the work of God in me.”

Jesus’ Invitation: Trade Your Pace for His Yoke

• Matthew 11:28-30—Jesus offers rest by inviting the weary to take His yoke.
• Yoke image: always for two; Jesus partners with us so we move at His pace.
• Rest is found not in stopping work but in working His way, joined to Him.

Where the Series Is Headed

1. Unhurried rhythms of grace.
2. Unbroken fellowship with the Father.
3. Uncluttered pursuit of God’s mission.
4. Undivided attention in the moment.

• Listeners encouraged to stay for the journey toward a sustainable, Jesus-shaped life.

Key Truths

• Feeling burned-out on Christian activity does not mean Jesus has failed; it signals we may be following the wrong way.
• Jesus is both the destination and the pace-setter.
• A method that looks effective can quietly erode the very work of God within us.
• Rest is received, not achieved, by being yoked with Christ.
• God will “make you lie down” if necessary, because green pastures are part of His better way.

Response

• Admit the exhaustion and name the ways your current rhythm isn’t working.
• Come to Jesus—not merely to church programs—bringing nothing but honest need.
• Sit with the discomfort instead of rushing to quick fixes.
• Prepare to reorder your life around Jesus’ unhurried rhythms in the weeks ahead.
• Commit to return for the remaining messages to learn and practice a better way.

Closing

Craig ended by repeating the invitation Jesus gives the weary: Come to Him, be yoked with Him, and find rest for your souls. The frustration you feel is a signal, not a failure. Jesus has a better way, and the series will explore it step by step.

“Come to Jesus…take His yoke…and you will find rest for your souls.”

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, I give You my life. I surrender my heart. Forgive me of my sins and make me new. Fill me with Your Spirit so I can follow You and serve You all the days of my life. No more guilt, no more shame—my life belongs to You. Thank You for forgiveness, thank You for Your grace, and thank You for new life. Now You have mine. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”