Emotions - Joy

We are going to end our series this week on a high note and talk about joy.  For the past two weeks we have talked about how to overcome anxiety, and how to be angry like Jesus, but today we want to end with how we can experience real and lasting joy.  I’m not talking about being happy, although happiness is great.  The problem with happiness is that it just doesn’t last.  

Maybe you have heard the saying, happiness is a warm puppy, or seen that message with a picture of Charlie Brown hugging Snoopy.  Happiness is a warm puppy, but puppies don’t stay warm and cute.  Happiness is not a puppy that has rolled through the mud and then jumped on your bed.  Happiness is not a puppy that has chased a skunk and gotten sprayed in the face.  Happiness is not coming home and finding that your puppy has developed a severe case of separation anxiety and you now have no toilet paper - or wall paper.  Happiness doesn’t last, but joy does, so let’s talk about how to experience joy.

To help us understand true joy, let’s look at what brought joy to Jesus.  To do this, we are actually going to look at what made Jesus sad, because if we know what made Him sad then we will see what brings Him joy.  Luke 19:41 - As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.  As Jesus looked out over Jerusalem, God’s city, something made Him sad, something was breaking Jesus’ heart, and we get a glimpse of what it is from the gospel of Matthew.  Matthew 23:37 - Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.  

What Jesus longs for is to bring God’s people together and shelter them in God’s love.  Jesus longs to give people all the peace and power God has to offer.  Jesus said, I have come so that you might have life, and life abundant, and it is that life Jesus longed for people to have, but when He approached Jerusalem, He saw people who are far from God.  They resisted God’s love and failed to grab hold of the life God wanted for them.  This breaks His heart.  

What makes Jesus sad is a world filled with people who are lost, and alone, and far from the life God has for them.  What makes Jesus sad is when for any reason we keep God away.  Maybe we think we aren’t good enough, or that we are too sinful, and have failed too many times for God to want us close to Him, so we keep God away.  This is what makes Jesus sad.  Jesus literally weeps because so many people in the world were living without God’s love and grace.  So if being far from God is what makes Jesus sad, then drawing near to God is what brings Him joy.  And that is exactly what Jesus tells us in the story of the prodigal son.  

This is probably the most familiar story Jesus ever told and it is found in Luke 15.  The story tells us that there was a man who had two sons.  The younger son asked for his share of his inheritance so that he could go off and live his own life.  This would have been a slap in the face to the father because by asking for his inheritance now he was wishing that his father was dead.  Even today, this would be considered rude and not many fathers would agree to it.  

The first real surprise in the story comes when the father agrees.  Instead of putting the young son in his place, he gives him the money and watches his son go off into the world - knowing that things probably won’t end well.  And just as he thought, they don’t.  The young son spent all his money on wild living.  He probably had lots of friends who loved him for his money and over the top lifestyle, but when the money was gone, and the parties were over, the friends all left and he ended up alone.  Then things got worse.

A famine hit the community and with nowhere else to go to make money, the young man took a job feeding pigs.  Now remember, pigs were considered unclean animals, so for a young Jewish man to be feeding pigs would have been as low as you could get.  Almost.  You see, not only was he feeding the pigs, he was so desperate that he actually considered eating the pigs’ food.  

He had hit rock bottom.  He hadn’t planned to sink this low, in fact, he probably thought he was going to be wildly successful when he left home.  He had money, friends, and ambition.  The entire world was in front of him, but then slowly, over time, things began to break down.  He sank lower and lower until the garbage he was feeding the pigs started to look good. 

You know, most of us don’t intend to walk away from God, we usually just drift away.  We get caught up in life.  We focus on our jobs and careers, our hobbies and goals.  We go through a period when our focus is on our families and our finances, and we slowly just drift away from the things of God.  We skip worship for a few weeks thinking that we will get back in the routine someday, but that day never comes.  We forget to read the Bible or pray but then stop and ask, has it really made any difference?  And we never return to it.  We tell ourselves we have done ok without a faith community or small group to support us so we just keep going without it, and with each decision we drift further away from God.  We never set out to walk away from God, or reject Him, but in time, like this young son, we find ourselves lost and alone.

At some point, the son realized that the servants in his father's house had it better than he did so he got up, and took one step toward home.  Maybe on the way he thought about how he was going to apologize, or how he might be able to plead with his father to allow him to return as a servant, but his return started with one step.  And that’s all it took because it says while he was still a long way off, the father saw him and ran out to greet him.  

Luke 15: 20b - 24  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

And here it is… this is a picture of what brings Jesus joy, the lost being found.  The Father is God and He celebrates, Jesus celebrates, when people come to Him to find love, forgiveness, and new life.  What made Jesus sad was seeing people who had drifted away from God, but what filled Him with joy was seeing people return to God and find in that relationship all the power of love and life.  

Not only do we see joy in the father, but think about the joy the son must have felt.  The apology he had rehearsed wasn’t needed.  He wasn’t coming home as a failure or a servant, but as part of the family.  There was no sermon from his father, but a party.  What joy he must have been feeling because he knew that no matter where he had been or what he had done - his father loved him.  What brought him joy was knowing that no matter where he had been or what he had done - his father loved him!  

For us, this is where joy is found.  Joy is found in knowing that God loves us.  No matter where we have been or what we have done - God loves us and if we will get up and take one step toward Jesus, we will begin to find joy.  What is one thing you can do this week to take one step toward Jesus?  

Maybe the first step is to consider how far we have drifted away from God this past year.  With all that we have gone through, drifting away has been easy. When our normal spiritual routines were upended or changed, it made our connection to God difficult.  When in-person worship stopped, and returning to in-person worship is still not comfortable for many people, it’s easy to feel far from God.  While we are so thankful for online worship and the opportunity it provides us to worship together, we know it’s hard to feel connected at times.  We are working to figure out how to create an intentional online community where relationships can be developed and nurtured no matter where we might be located and if you are worshipping online and want more connection with us, please reach out to us.  We want to connect with and help you connect with God and others.

What one step can you take toward Jesus this week to begin to find joy?  Whatever it is, get up and take it.  Joy comes when we draw near to God, that is what we learn from the younger son but we can also learn something about joy from the older son.  

The older son had always been there.  He never left.  He never disrespected his father or wasted his father’s money, but when his brother came home, instead of being happy, he was angry.  He was angry because for all the years his brother had been out living it up, he had been by his father’s side doing everything his father needed.  He had done everything his father had asked of him, but he wasn’t being celebrated.  As he is sulking in the shadows, the father goes out to him and says, My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. Luke 15:31.  

For all those years, the older son had been following the rules and checking off the boxes of what makes for a good son and in the process he had lost sight of the relationship he had with his father.  Everything the father had belonged to him.  They were together and had been together always.  He was deeply loved by his father but he had lost that joy because he was focused on all the rules.  There is no joy in just following the rules.  Joy isn’t found in checking off the boxes of our faith, it’s found in the relationship we can have with God, and with others in the life of the church.

If we come to worship each week to check off a box, it won’t bring us joy.  If we serve only because it is expected of us, or we think it is our duty, it won’t bring us joy.  Joy comes when we worship and serve and give because we know it will help us experience more of God.  Joy isn’t found in following the rules but in the relationship we can have with God through Jesus.  

Here at Faith Church, we encourage people to deepen and develop their faith by investing in three relationships: a relationship with God, the church, and the world.  Each relationship has rhythms and activities that help those relationships grow, but we try to be clear that none of these are rules to follow or boxes to check off - we embrace these rhythms to strengthen our relationship because it is in the relationships that faith grows and joy is found.  Joy doesn’t come just when we turn to God, it is found each and every time we dive deep into our relationship with God

There is one more thing that can bring us joy, and that is when we invite someone to join us.  The father called his entire family to join together in celebrating his son’s return, he even went out to invite his older son to come in and join them.  Joy increases for all of us when we bring someone with us.  

A few weeks ago we were able to experience some real joy when we gathered for our family and friends day.  It was great to not only gather and enjoy some cookies/picnic, it was great to see people and meet new people.  Family and friends joined us and it was great to be able to be together in worship, in fellowship, and together have some fun.  After being isolated and separated for so long, it was great to be together and invite people to join us.  Joy is found when we bring others with us.    

But it needs to go deeper than just inviting people to join us for cookies or a picnic, we need to invite people to experience Jesus with us, because that is where real joy is found, in Jesus.  As we look to the future, it is our desire to reach out to new people in new communities and invite them to experience new life in Jesus.  All around us there are people who are lost and alone.  All around us there are people who are hurting and searching for something meaningful and significant.  Many of these people are simply waiting for an invitation to come and experience for themselves the joy found in Jesus. Look around you this week to see who might need that invitation.  Who might need to experience some joy?  Take a bold step and invite them to draw near to Jesus and experience some joy together.  

Joy is found when we draw near to Jesus and find out that God’s love and grace and power is for us.  Joy is found when we focus on a relationship with God and develop strong ties with the people of God.  And joy is found when we invite others to experience the love of God for themselves and join us in a life of faith and trust in Christ.  In a world that is sad, and dark, and difficult - let’s reach out and grab hold of some joy and then share that joy with others.  

Next Steps

Emotions - Joy

Read Luke 19:41, Matthew 23:37.  

Why did Jesus weep over Jerusalem?  What made Him sad?  

Read Luke 15:11-32.

● What brings the father joy?

● How did the young son feel when he returned home?

● How did the older son lose his joy?  What was his focus?

● How did the father increase everyone’s joy?

Three ways we can experience true joy:

1. Take one step toward Jesus.

● How have you drifted away from God this past year?

● What is one step you can take to draw near to God?

● What keeps you from taking that step?

2. Focus on relationships instead of rules

● Why do we often turn our religion into rules?

● How has your faith turned into a list of rules to follow?

● What one thing can you do this week to focus on your relationship with God?

● Take the 3 Relationships survey and read (or reread) the 15 rhythms that can deepen our relationship with God, the church, and the world.  

3. Bring someone with you.

● Who do you know that needs the joy of Jesus?

● What activity can you invite them to?  

○ Worship?  Small Groups?  A football dinner?  Volunteering with you?  

● Pray for the courage and opportunity to offer them an invitation.  

Emotions - Anger

This month we are looking at healthy and faithful ways to work through some of the emotions we have wrestled with during the past year.  Last week we heard that being anxious is not a sin and that when Jesus got anxious He did one thing to help Him find peace.  Anyone remember that one thing?  TALK.  He talked to His friends, He talked to God, and Jesus talked to His emotions.  

Many of you shared with me how helpful that was and how encouraging it was to hear that being anxious is not a sin.  Anxiety and depression are real struggles that many of us face. Too often we are embarrassed or afraid to share these struggles in the life of the church so we end up dealing with them alone when what we need to be doing is talking to one another.  Please keep talking if you wrestle with anxiety, and please know that the church can be a safe place to share these struggles.  You are not alone.  

This week we are going to explore another difficult emotion that we have seen all around us this past year - anger.  Anyone experienced some anger this past year?  Seen any anger in our community and world this past year?  Feeling angry today?  Covid protocols have made us angry.  Politics continues to make us angry.  The limitations we have had to endure have made us angry.  The injustices we have seen have made us angry.  The actions or inactions of our government or our neighbors have made us angry.  The discourse we see on social media makes us angry.  Anger is everywhere and if we are honest, it’s in here (us) as well.  

Just as it is not a sin to be anxious, it is also not a sin to be angry, but anger can quickly lead us into sin.  If we feed our anger, or allow it to go unchecked, it can lead us to hate and violence, but anger itself is not a sin.  In Ephesians 4:26-27 it says, in your anger do not sin.  Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  

Paul is not telling us that we should never be angry, or that anger is a sin, but he is saying that we cannot let anger go unchecked in our lives.  If we hang on to our anger even overnight, it can lead to bitterness, hard hearts, and an unforgiving spirit, so don’t let the sun go down on your anger.  Don’t hang on to it, and don’t give it a foothold.  The word foothold simply means room.  It means making space for someone or something, and if we hold on to our anger we are making room for it in our lives, which in time allows it to not just dwell within us but slowly shape us. 

So while anger is not a sin, it can lead us to sin and it can drive a wedge in our relationship with others and with God, so we need to learn how to deal with our anger.  Before we look at how to be angry like Jesus, let me first say that if anger is a real issue for you, please get some help.  If uncontrollable anger rises up in your relationships, or if it seems to dominate your daily activities, or if you just can’t let please get some help.  Sometimes the deep hurt and pain we carry in life can cause anger, and talking with a good counselor can help us find some peace.  Please don’t go it alone.  Get some help if your anger is constant or negatively impacting your relationships.   

What we want to do today is look at what caused Jesus to be angry and how He dealt it.  While Jesus is most often characterized by love, grace, peace and forgiveness, there is one very clear moment when Jesus got angry, and yet Jesus wasn't angry because of how He was treated, Jesus got angry on behalf of others.  

Matthew 21:12-14.  Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”  The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

So what exactly is going on here that makes Jesus so angry?  It’s not that fundraisers were being held on Sunday, or that sign up sheets to buy soup were placed in the lobby.  What’s happening is that the poor and marginalized were being kept away from God.  

This entire scene takes place at the Passover when Jewish people from around the region came to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice to God.  Historians at the time of Jesus said that the normal population of Jerusalem was about 40,000, but during the Passover it could surpass 250,000.  Since it would have been difficult for people to travel with the animals needed for the sacrifice, merchants sold animals in the temple courtyards, and since there were so many people looking to buy these animals, they raised the prices significantly.  

Do you know how a bottle of water might cost you a dollar at Sheetz but then you go to Disney World and it costs you over 5?  That’s what was going on in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover.  2 doves that might sell for 2 pennies most of the year, would be sold for over 75 at the time of the Passover.  This often kept the poor from being able to offer a sacrifice, or it drained them of all their resources just to worship God.  

On top of this price gouging, the market had been set up in the court of the Gentiles which was the only place in the temple where non-Jews were able to pray and worship.  So not only were the poor being abused and kept from God, but so were Gentiles and foreigners from around the world who came to worship God.  They literally had no place in the Temple to worship or pray.  

As Jesus entered the Temple He took in this entire scene and it broke His heart.  Those seeking to be close to God were being pushed away, and those who couldn’t afford the sacrifice were the ones being taken advantage of.  None of this had anything to do with Jesus personally.  None of this has to do with how Jesus himself was being treated.  Jesus' anger is not personal, it is on behalf of those being mistreated.   

To be clear, Jesus could have gotten angry many times because of how He was being treated.  Think about it, was Jesus ever betrayed?  Rejected? Criticized?  Unjustly accused?  In any of those situations did Jesus get angry?  In any of those situations did Jesus defend Himself or fight back?  No.  His anger only came out when others were being mistreated and kept from God.  If we are going to get angry like Jesus, we have to make sure our anger is not personal.  

One thing we might want to do is take an “anger audit” and identify what causes our anger.  Do we get angry because our views aren’t being promoted?  Do we get angry because our rights are being violated?  Do we get angry because we have been personally attacked or because we have found out that others have been talking about us, sharing misinformation about us, or putting us down?  Do we get angry because of a post we don’t like on someone else’s page?  If our anger is somehow all about us - we need to think about whether we are called to forgive in these situations or fight.  Remember, Jesus was known for His forgiveness not His fighting.  When Jesus was personally attacked or persecuted He didn’t get angry, He forgave.  If most of our anger is about personal things, we need to learn how to forgive and not fight.    

If our anger comes because others are being mistreated and abused, if our anger is about a system of injustice that keeps people from God and the fullness of life God has for us, then let’s learn from Jesus how to fight back.  In this situation, when Jesus chooses to fight back, notice that He flipped tables and not people.  

Jesus flipped tables but He did not flip people.  Even in John’s gospel when it says that Jesus took cords and made a whip and drove the merchants out, it doesn’t say that Jesus used the whip to flog them.  Some people think that by turning over the tables Jesus was making a statement that the systems that had been set up that were keeping people away from God needed to be turned over.  Jesus was angry at a system of injustice that needed to be driven out, not the individual people who were selling the doves.  Jesus wanted to cleanse the Temple, not cancel the people.  

Too often today, our anger causes us to want to cancel people.  Someone crosses the line in a way that we don’t like and we want them out of their job.  Someone makes a mistake or offends us in some way and we want them to pay for it personally.  Instead of addressing the larger issues that concern us, or the injustice that breaks our heart, we focus on the people and not the problem.  Jesus wanted to change the system that allowed for the exclusion of the poor and foreigners.  Jesus wanted to make sure that people were free and had a place to worship God.  His anger wasn’t at the people but the larger problem, so He flipped tables and not people.  

Jesus’ anger never seemed to be personal.  Judas betrayed Him but He didn’t call out for his death.  Peter denied Him and Jesus forgave him.  The world rejected Jesus but from the cross He asked God to forgive them.  The only thing Jesus ever cancelled was what ultimately separates all of us from God - sin.  Colossians 2:13-14.  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Jesus cancelled sin, not the sinner - which is great news for us because we are the sinners who are forgiven and set free.  We are the ones who were dead in our sin and separated from God, but instead of punishing us, instead of cancelling us, God cancels our sin by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  

To be angry like Jesus means that we get angry on behalf of those who are being mistreated, and that we focus on the problems of injustice and not the people.  The final thing we learn about Jesus’ anger is seen in the last sentence that is often overlooked.  In fact, I’m not sure I ever really thought about it before.  After Jesus drove out the merchants and flipped over the tables it says he healed the blind and lame.  Even in the midst of His anger - Jesus loved those who were hurting.  

In the midst of our anger we can not lose sight of love.  In the midst of working for God’s righteousness in the world, we can’t forget to do the right thing and care about those who are in need around us.  While Jesus was angry about the systems that were keeping people away from God, He also stopped to heal those who were physically in need.  The anger of Jesus, the righteous indignation and anger of Jesus did not blind Him to the simple needs of those around Him.  

Too often when we start fighting for a Godly cause and desire to change the world for good, we forget to see the simple needs of those around us.  Too often in our fight for righteousness we forget to stop and do what is right.  On both sides of the political aisle we have seen people fighting for what they believe is right, but in their cause for justice they have forgotten at times to do what is right.  

When protests become violent, we have forgotten to do what is right.  When fighting for what we believe is right turns into personal attacks on people’s character, or a larger group's motives, we have crossed the line and forgotten to do what is right.  When our own agenda takes priority over seeing and meeting the needs of the people around us, we have forgotten that our focus needs to be on loving others first, last, and always.  

While Jesus did get angry and fight injustice head on, we can never forget that even in this moment He stopped to love.  Jesus is known for His love.  God is known for His mercy and patience and grace.  If we are going to be angry like Jesus and stand up on behalf of those being mistreated, let’s remember to never flip people, or flip off people, and let’s remember to always make sure love remains as the foundation of our lives.  

It is not a sin to be angry, but don’t hold on to anger, don’t make room for it and allow it to dwell in your heart and life, and if we are going to be angry, let’s be angry like Jesus and always make sure we leave room for grace, mercy, and love.  

Next Steps

Emotions - Anger

What has made you angry this past year?

What still makes you angry today?

Is your life characterized more by love or anger?

Being angry is not a sin.  Read Ephesians 4:26-27.

● In what ways do you hold on to anger?

● Why is it dangerous to make room for anger?

● How can we be angry but not sin?  

Jesus got angry.  Read Matthew 21:12-14.

● Why did Jesus get angry when He saw the activities in the Temple?  

● Was Jesus angry at the people or the larger problem?  

● What was that larger problem?

Do an anger audit and identify what causes you to get angry.  

● Does your anger come from personal attacks or the abuse and mistreatment of others?  

Jesus got angry on behalf of those being mistreated.

● What injustice causes you to get angry today?

● How can you work to cancel the problem and not the people?

Jesus flipped tables and not people.

● How can you work to overcome systems of injustice and abuse and not just attack people or groups of people?

Jesus still focused on love.

● When has your righteous anger caused you to stop doing what is right?  

● What simple ways can you love people in need this week? 

Emotions - Anxiety

 

Again, we want to welcome all of you to Faith Church.  If you are a family or friend visiting with us, a special welcome.  We are honored that you are here and we hope that everyone will stick around after worship to enjoy some food and some time getting acquainted or reacquainted.  This month, all of our sermons are exploring some of the different emotions we have been through during the past year because there have been a lot of them!  With covid and economic shut downs came fear, doubt, and frustration.  Even the joyful times we went through, like weddings and the birth of children, were tempered with sadness as we couldn’t be together, or we worried about people getting sick if we did get together.  

If there is one emotion that has been common for many during this past year, it would be anxiety.  Has anyone felt more anxious this past year?  Anyone feeling more anxiety today?  I know I have!  Even though I know Jesus, and trust God for all that is going on, there have been times that the anxiety has been high.  Are we doing the right things?  Are we following the right protocol?  Are we keeping people safe?  It’s been an anxious time for all of us.

In 2019, 8.2% of the population showed signs of anxiety or said they were dealing with anxiety in significant ways.  In 2020, 36% of the population said they were feeling anxious.  This is a fourfold increase.  It has taken a toll on all of us.  

I want to start by saying that anxiety is a complex emotion.  It touches us physically, emotionally, financially, relationally, and spiritually, which means we need a holistic approach to dealing with it.  There are times when we need to talk to our medical doctor to discuss what is going on.  Anxiety can increase blood pressure, blood sugar, and impact our heart, so it is important to share this with a doctor.  We also might need to seek out some good counselling to work through all the emotions we are feeling.  Sometimes it takes a trained person to help us make sense of our feelings and relationships.  If our anxiety is coming from our financial situation, the “doctor” needed might be a good financial planner to give us both direction and some perspective.

Let me be clear, I am not a doctor, a trained therapist, or a financial planner, so what I want to talk about are the spiritual dynamics of anxiety.  Today I want to share three practical steps we can take to help us walk through anxious times.  Let me also be clear and say that these steps don’t come from me, they come from Jesus.  

It might seem strange to hear this, but Jesus dealt with anxiety.  That’s right, Jesus felt genuine stress and anxiety which tells us that it is NOT a sin to be anxious.  While the Bible tells us not to worry, and to be anxious about nothing, we are not being unfaithful when worry and when anxiety comes, we just need to learn how to deal with it in faithful ways.  

On the night that Jesus was arrested, He was worried and anxious in the Garden of Gethsemane.  To set the scene a little bit, Jesus knows that He is going to die.  He knows that in the next few hours He is going to be betrayed by a friend, deserted by his disciples, and tried by the religious and political leaders.  He knows the end result will be His death on the cross - and He doesn’t want to do it.  Jesus knows the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain that is coming and He is anxious about it.  He wants to be faithful to God but He doesn’t want to suffer and die.  Mark 14:32-42

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

This is an anxious time for Jesus.  It says He is deeply distressed.  Other translations say He was grieved and agitated, and in Luke’s gospel it says His sweat was like drops of blood.  Jesus is anxious.  He knows what is coming and while He wants to be faithful to God, He doesn’t want to have to carry a cross and go through the suffering that will bring.  From this anxious time for Jesus, we learn the most important thing we can do when anxious is to TALK.  Don’t ignore the anxiety, don’t push it down and hope it will go away, don’t pretend you are calm, cool and collected.  Talk.  Jesus talked.

First Jesus talked with His friends.  Jesus had dinner with them and as they sat around the table they weren’t sitting in chairs socially distanced from one another, they would have been lounging on pillows and most likely leaning up against one another.  They were close to each other and talking.  There were questions and concerns as Jesus talked about his life, death, and betrayal.   

Then they walked together to the Mt of Olives and that trip wouldn’t have been made in silence.  They were talking, and sharing, and maybe even singing or quoting psalms as they walked.  Once in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus invites His disciples to stay with Him, to be with Him, and to talk with Him.  In His own anxious time - Jesus didn’t want to be alone.  

When we are feeling anxious, we need to talk with friends.  Don’t walk through anxious times alone.  Find those trusted people who can listen to you without judgement and offer support and love.  One of the reasons that anxiety may have risen 4 fold from 2019 to 2020 was due to our isolation.  People couldn’t get together to talk, and let’s be honest, it’s hard to really share our anxiety and pain on facetime or zoom.  We need to see one another and feel the support that only comes in being physically together.  During anxious times - talk to friends.

None of us should try and go through life alone.  God even said that it is not good for man to be alone - we need friends and family.  In many ways that is the power of today and the power of the church.  The real blessing of being a member of a church isn’t that your name is in a book.  It’s knowing that you are part of a community that is willing to be there for you. 

There really is power when we are with others.  We are stronger when we are with one another than when we are apart.  We can do more, and be more, and love more when we are with others.  The power of with can help us walk through and overcome anxiety, so like Jesus, talk with friends.  

After Jesus talked with His friends, Jesus talked with God.  He prayed, not once or twice, but three times.  If you think about it, anxiety is the sign that something is not right, and if something isn’t right then we should pray.  Let’s go back to Philippians 4:6-7 where it says we should not be anxious.  

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

Maybe it should say, when you are anxious about anything, present your request to God, PRAY, because when you do, God will give you peace.  So if we are anxious, we need to talk with God.  

At our last Blessing of the Backpacks we had a prayer tent with a sign that says, If it matters to you - it matters to God.  And it does.  Your anxiety matters to God and the causes of your anxiety matters to God and we know this because the #1 emotion God has for us every time He sees us is compassion. 

In love, God will listen to us when we pray.  In love, God will sit with us in the silence of our anxiety.  In love, God will fill us with strength and peace if we will talk with Him.  Too often we tell ourselves that we need to work through our anxiety on our own when God is just waiting for us to share it with Him.  If you are anxious about anything, talk with God.  

The third kind of talk we see in Jesus is that He talked to His emotions.  Jesus didn’t want to carry the cross.  He didn’t want to die.  It wasn’t His will to suffer.  So after talking with His friends and talking with God, He talked to His emotions and said, I know you are there, but I’m not going to let you win.  It’s not what I will, but what God wills.  Jesus didn’t follow His emotions.  He didn’t follow or trust His feelings, He told them to get in line behind the will of God.  

This doesn’t mean our emotions and feelings aren’t real - they are.  They are important for us to work through so we understand them well, but our emotions don’t have to guide our decisions.  In fact, anxiety and fear should never be what leads us and when those feelings become strong we need to find ways to talk to our feelings.  

One of the most powerful ways to talk to our feelings is to tell them what the word of God says.  To our fear we need to say, if God is for me, who can be against me.  To our doubt we need to say, God is the way, the truth, and the life.  To our anxiety we need to say, the God who is peace is with me and will shield me from you.  Talk to your feelings.  Don’t let them overcome you - overcome them with God’s word of truth.  

When you start feeling anxious, start talking.  Talk with friends.  Talk with God.  Talk to your feelings, and let the God of peace protect you and fill you.  Jesus talked with His friends, He talked with God, and He talked to His feelings, and when He was done, He got up and left not with anxiety, but with peace.  Jesus walked out of the garden with a power that allowed Him to not just carry the cross and endure it’s pain, but to overcome sin and death for us all.  

So when you get anxious - talk - and as you do, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  

 Next Steps Emotions - Anxiety

When have you struggled with anxiety during the past year?

What makes you anxious today?

Read Mark 14:32-42

What was causing anxiety for Jesus?  How do we know He was feeling anxious?

One help for anxiety is to TALK

1. Talk with Friends

● Read Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.

● How do these scriptures help us understand our need to talk with others and the power that comes with community? 

● What trusted friends can you confide in when anxious?

● How can you make yourself available to friends who might be anxious?  

2. Talk with God

● Read Philippians 4:6-7

● Where does peace come from?

● How can prayer ease our anxiety?

3. Talk to your Anxiety

● How did Jesus talk to His anxiety?

● What anxious situation do you need to talk to today?

● What promise of God can help you overcome that anxiety and fear?

● How can these scriptures help you talk to your anxiety:

○ Romans 8:31-39, Romans 15:13. 

○ Psalm 23, Psalm 27, 

○ John 14: 25-27, John 16:33, 

○ Deuteronomy 20:4, Ephesians 6:10-20

Emotions - Compassion

What one word best describes your emotional state right now?  Maybe it’s hope as you watch your children or grandchildren start a new school year.  Maybe it’s joy as Penn State football has returned.  Maybe it’s frustration at ever changing covid guidelines.  Maybe it’s sadness as we see the devastation across the south and north east due to Hurricane Ida.  Maybe it’s anger at the situation that has unfolded in Afghanistan.  Maybe it’s anxiety when you think about the financial future of your family or the stability of your job.  After the past year, the past month, or just this past week, what one word best describes your emotional state right now?  

If I had to choose one word for my emotional state it would be weary.  Like many of you, I am weary of trying to navigate through the pandemic, weary of the political divide, weary of the uncertain future we all face in so many ways.  I’m not feeling hopeless, I’m not ready to give in or give up, I’m just tired, emotionally tired.  What one word best describes your emotional state right now?  

For the past 16 months we have been on this emotional roller coaster and it doesn’t look like it is over yet, so this month we want to learn how to faithfully deal with all of our emotions by looking to Jesus.  I read an article this week that highlighted 39 different emotions that we see in Jesus, but they are grouped into 10 major emotions: anxiety, anger, shame, sadness, pain, peace, faith, hope, love, and joy.  Jesus experienced all of these at different times and places, and if nothing else, I hope that it is encouraging to know that Jesus felt some anxiety and anger and sadness during his life.  We aren’t alone with our emotions, Jesus knows them all.  

Think about the emotions Jesus was feeling in the just last few hours of his life.  In the garden the night he was betrayed He felt betrayed, isolation, and anxiety.  The next day He felt sadness when He looked out at the people of Jerusalem who were so far from God, and His friends who had all deserted Him. Later He felt shame as He was hung exposed on the cross to die.  During His life, Jesus also got angry when He saw the hypocrisy of religious leaders who cared more about rules than about people, and He felt love and joy when He was surrounded by children or saw the faith of those who came to Him for help.  

In Jesus we see the full range of human emotions because He was human just like we are, and so we can learn from Jesus how to process and walk through some of the emotions we wrestle with.  As we begin this series, I want us to think about the one emotion Jesus has when He looks at us.  What is the one primary emotion Jesus feel when He sees you today?  It might not be what you think it is.  When we get caught up in sin, when we fail to live the way we know we should, when we wrestle with our faith or living out faith, how does Jesus feel?  When we are frustrated or angry at the situations around us, when we are at the very end of our strength, when we are weary, how does Jesus feel?  

The good news is that Jesus is not angry with us.  He is not frustrated or disappointed.  He is not ready to give up on us.  When Jesus looks at us and sees our pain, sorrow, frustration, or weariness, He has compassion.  To really dig into the compassion Jesus has for all of us, let’s look at one moment when Jesus had compassion.  Luke 7:11-16 (NLT)

Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him.  A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.  When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said.  Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.”  Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.”

There is a lot we don’t know about this passage.  We don’t know how old the young man was who died, or how he died.  We don't know how old the widow was, or how she became a widow in the first place.  There is a lot we don’t know, but here is what we do know, the young man died just the day before because without proper embalming, you didn’t hold on to bodies for more than a few hours or a day before you buried them.  What this also tells us is that the mother’s grief is real and raw.  There has not been time to come to terms with his death.  The grief and anguish is right there in front of her and the pain is real.  Nothing can or will ever be the same again and she is overwhelmed with sorrow.  

We have seen that kind of grief recently in the heart breaking pictures of families receiving their sons and daughters back from Afghanistan.  The pain of loved ones gathered around the flag draped coffins weeping is similar to what Jesus is witnessing at this moment. We have also seen this pain in the people of Afghanistan as they were trying to leave, of the people across the south who have lost everything.  It is heartbreaking and devastating.  

When Jesus looks at this woman, he not only sees her grief, he also know she is now completely alone.  She has no son and no husband which means there is no one to take care of her.  Women were completely dependent upon the male members of their family to care for them.  Without a son or a husband, this woman might have to become a slave or the property of another man to survive.  She might have to sell her body to men in order to care for herself.  She is hopeless and helpless.  Her future is filled with uncertainty and sorrow and fear.  As He walks into the city, Jesus sees it all.

Over 40 times in the gospels it says that Jesus saw people, now the reality is that Jesus saw everyone, but in these 40 situations, and probably many more, Jesus did more than just see them, He noticed them.  He took note of all that was going on around them and in them.  He observed the situation in its entirety and could not only look into the future of these people, but into their hearts as well.  Jesus saw her and it says that when He did his own heart overflowed with compassion.  Think it about, there was more compassion than His heart could contain.

The word compassion here means that what Jesus is feeling is coming from the deepest place within His being.  He is feeling this woman’s pain and sorrow from His gut.  His very being is filled with a sorrow that literally moves Him to reach out and respond.  

This is how God cares for you for today.  He sees your pain, your anxiety, your frustration, your uncertainty, and your weariness and Jesus is moved from the depth of His being to do something to help.  Jesus is moved with compassion for you, and for me.  The emotion Jesus has for us today, and really every day, compassion, and compassion moves Jesus to step in to help.  

The compassion Jesus had for this woman moved Him to reach out and touch the young man’s coffin.  Now it wasn’t a coffin the way we think of it, it would have been more like a plank of wood or a stretcher that the body would have been placed on.  When Jesus reached out to touch this board, the act would have been shocking.  

To touch a dead body was against all the religious rules of the day and to do so would make someone ritually unclean.  But to touch something that had touched a dead body would have also made a person unclean.  Those were the religious rules of the day that people were to follow.  That was the line you didn’t cross.  You don’t touch dead bodies, and yet here is Jesus, so moved with compassion that He crosses the line and crosses the road to help someone in need.  

Jesus always crossed the line and broke the rules to help those in need.  He touched the dead, He touched the lepers, He touched the sick, and He allowed Himself to be touched by sinners, Jesus invited Himself to the homes of tax collectors so He could eat with them, and He did a lot of healing on the Sabbath when no one was supposed to work.  Jesus reached out His hand and heart to sinners all the time and he broke the rules and crossed the line to do it.  He did all this because His heart overflowed with compassion.  And this is how God feels about you.  Jesus is willing to break the rules and cross the line to reach out to us, and when He does - it changes everything.

When Jesus reached out and touched the dead man, the people gasped, but so did the dead man.  He breathed in new life.  The young man was raised from the dead and returned to his mother.  With one touch, Jesus didn’t just fill this man with new life, He gave new life to his mother as well.  She now has a future, and hope, and peace, and security.  She has a life once again.  One touch from Jesus changed everything for this man and his mother.  All it took was one touch.  All it took was one touch.  

All it takes is one touch from Jesus to change our lives.  For those dealing with the grief of loss, the touch might not restore our loved ones to life, but it can bring us comfort.  Just one touch from Jesus can heal broken hearts and provide a peace in the face of death.  One touch from Jesus can open the door to our future, give us hope for relationships, or strength for the uncertain days to come.  One touch from Jesus can change everything, and that touch can come in so many different ways.  

I've been thinking back on this past year and a half to see if I could identify those moments when I felt the touch of Jesus.  That touch often came in a note from someone saying thank you for what the church was doing and how our continued ministry was making a difference for them.  It came from gifts given to help keep ministry going.  It came from personal stories about how people felt encouraged and connected by the ministry of Faith Church, or one email that said, we are praying for you.  This past week, in the midst of feeling weary, I realized that Jesus' compassion was still overflowing to me and to all of us at Faith Church.  

It came in one more note from someone saying thank you for what Faith Church is doing.  It came from a gift from a person far away made because the music ministry of the church encourages them and they want to keep it going.  It came from a story about how a few people invited their friends to attend the live stream of our worship, and after a year they are now gathering with 20 people each week.  It came from a meeting where 20 people said, we want to join Faith Church and be part of what God is doing here.  

Just when I am feeling weary and tired, God says to me, look around and see all the ways I am with you.  Look at how I am working to bring you life.  There is hope for the future.  There is new life.  There is strength because my power is overflowing.  

One touch from Jesus is all it takes to turn everything around and I know that in many ways God is here to reach out to you.  It doesn’t matter what you are going through - Jesus sees you.  Jesus has taken notice of your situation and He is getting ready to touch you with the power of His compassion.  If we will humble ourselves before God, God will lift us up.  If we will look to Jesus, the touch will come, and it will change everything.  

What is really exciting to think about is that the way God wants to touch people and fill them with hope and peace and joy and life might just be through you and me.  When we reach out to someone, it might just be the touch that will turn that person’s life around.  It was the note in the mail, the gift to the church, the story shared with us, or the prayer offered up that made the difference.  We can be the hand of Jesus that reaches out to touch those who are in need, and it can be our touch, in Jesus’ name, that can make all the difference.  

If you need the touch of Jesus today, He is here to reach out to you.  His heart still overflows with compassion.  If you have experienced the touch of Jesus, if you can identify how it has helped you during the past year, or the past week, then think about how you can bring that life giving touch to someone else.  Our compassion can be the power that brings the dead to life.  Our touch can give hope to those who are hopeless and helpless.  Our compassion can be what gives strength to those who are weary.  All it takes is one touch from God, or from us the people of God, that can change everything.  

 

Next Steps

Emotions - Compassion

What one word best describes your emotions today?  

What emotions have you wrestled with this past year?

Jesus felt all the emotions we do.  Try to identify times when Jesus felt: anxiety, anger, shame, sadness, pain, peace, faith, hope, love, and joy.  

Does knowing Jesus felt all these emotions change how you see Jesus?  Does it help you today?  

When Jesus looks at us He is filled with compassion.  

Read Luke 7:11-16.

Why is reaching out to touch this young man such a scandalous thing?  What rules was Jesus breaking?

What does this one touch do for the man and his mother?

Looking back over the past year, where have you experienced the touch of Jesus?  

● How did it come to you?  

● What impact did it make?  

● Why is it important to remember these moments?  

When have you seen Jesus break the rules and cross the line to touch you or those in need?  

Sometimes the touch of Jesus comes through other people.  

● Who do you know today that needs the touch of Jesus?  

● Where might you need to cross the line or break the rules to bring God’s compassion to someone in need?