Sermon Study Guides

Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear” (Matthew 6:25). Worry accomplishes nothing. It merely robs you of joy and wastes your energy. There are appropriate times to be concerned, but God does not want you to live in a continual state of anxiety. Don’t let the past or what might happen in the future prevent you from enjoying today and living it to the max.

Face your fears by trusting in the Lord. ACT as if everything depends on you, and TRUST as if everything depends on God. Jesus reminded us that God takes care of the birds of the air, and we are far more valuable to Him than they are. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33).

To deal with your fears, you must decide whom you will trust. Will you trust God, or will you trust in yourself or some other counterfeit god?

You know you are trusting God when:

1. Youfind you identity and significance in Him. You cannot serve both God and money. Your heart follows what you treasure. Your heart has room for only ONE all-encompassing devotion.

Jesus warns us not to let earthly treasures become the basis of our identity or significance. We must not allow WHAT we have—or don’t have—to tell us WHO we are. As Christians our identity is based on who JESUS says we are—a royal priesthood, His precious children for whom He died!

If your treasure is all about you, success, and having lots of money and possessions, then your heart (and your time and emotional energy) will be focused on achieving these things. If God and serving God and others is your treasure, then you’ll invest your time, your talents, and your money in heavenly treasures—in things that really matter to God.

You have His eternal perspective in everything. What you treasure in life depends on how you see things. If you believe this life is all there is, you’ll have little reason to put the interests or needs of others ahead of yourself. If you see life in the light of eternity, you will invest your time and money based on heavenly values and priorities.
You pray about everything. Coming to God in prayer will grow your faith and trust in Him. Learn to worry about nothing by praying about everything. Be totally open and transparent with God when you pray; He knows what you’re thinking anyways. We worry because we are convinced that our problem is bigger than our God or because we are convinced that God won’t answer our prayer the way we want Him to. Surrender your worries to God in prayer, and He will work everything out for your ultimate good and His ultimate glory.

The primary proof of effective prayer is not getting what you asked for, but experiencing the PEACE that comes after you have given everything over to God in prayer.

You are thankful in everything—not FOR everything, but IN everything. When you are truly thankful, you will see God and your circumstances differently. To know God is to thank God. To trust God is to thank God. To worship God is to thank God.

And to thank God IN ALL THINGS is to acknowledge that God is perfectly good, perfectly just, and perfectly powerful, and that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose.

IN - PURSUE RELATIONSHIP

What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever stressed out about, only to realize later it didn’t matter at all?
How do you approach current and future uncertainties? Do you worry about them?

UP - PURSUE GOD

Read Matthew 6:19-24. What does Jesus say about our attitude toward material possessions? What should we truly value? Why?
Read Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6-7; 2 Timothy 1:12; Romans 8:28. Jesus repeats a number of times: "Do not worry." What instructions does He give to deal with worries? What other principles about worrying do we discover in Scripture? What are some things people worry about and pursue today?

OUT - PURSUE MISSION

How should we care about and plan for the future? What's the difference between planning for the future and being anxious about it?
Is there something you’re worrying about that keeps you awake at night? Share with the group. As a group, practice encouraging each other how to let go and seek God instead.

Personal Reflection

Pastor Henry outlined several practices to combat fear, anxiety and worry. Refer to the summary. Which one(s) resonate most with you? Why? Ask God to guide your thoughts and prayers this week.

The Word (NIV)

Matthew 6:19-34 ¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Philippians 4:6-7 ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This Week's Writers: Elsa Henderson, Sandi Somers, David McMillin, and Jorel Quemuel