Sermon Summary:
- The third type of fear is what you get when our natural-God-given emotion of fear is corrupted: anxiety, stress, fearfulness
- If we are unaware of our fear, then we will flee from our negative feelings
- If we are under the control of our fear, then we will fight
- To be unaware or under the control of our fear is unhealthy. Instead we must unpack our fear with God in prayer
- Psalm 23 exemplifies how to unpack our fear with God
- We all have a need for security. God, our shepherd, provides for our needs (Ps 23:1-2)
- We have a need for love and significance. God, our shepherd, “restores our souls” (Ps 23:3a)
- When we fear, we become disobedient. God, our shepherd, protects us so we can act in faith not fear (Ps 23:3b-4)
- If this life is all we have, we become fearful when it’s threatened. God, our shepherd, promises to make us his banquet guest forever (Ps 23:5-6)
- Jesus was this true & perfect shepherd who was willing to lay down his life on the cross so that we, his sheep, could be brought to green pastures in this life and the Father’s banquet table in the life to come (John 10:11)
- Jesus continues to shepherd us everyday until the end through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 10:2-4)
- Use contemplative prayer to unpack fear & anxiety daily
Discussion Questions:
1. What part of the message jumped out for you?
2. In your own experience, do you tend to have a fight or flight response to fear & anxiety?
3. How does God provide for you need security, or significance?
4. Have you ever tried a practice like contemplative prayer where you rest in the presence of God?
5. What other practices might help you to rest in God so that your fear and anxiety is unpacked from your soul?
