Christ Church
Derailed Week 1 - Anxiety and Stress
Locations & Times
Christ Church Fairgrove Campus
2416 Zion Church Rd, Hickory, NC 28602, USA
Saturday 9:00 PM
Two Primary Reasons that there’s more Anxiety Today among Teens/Young Adults:
A) Culture is far more secularized.
B) Increase of technology.
A) Culture is far more secularized.
B) Increase of technology.
Principles to help us Deal with Anxiety and Stress in our Lives:
1. There are forces of evil in the world want to derail you.
1. There are forces of evil in the world want to derail you.
2. Certain levels of anxiety and tension are healthy for our growth.
3. Anxiety can grow us if we choose to live and lead differently.
Plain Truth: You won’t value the Kingdom until you realize how much the King values you.
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Many things can cause interruptions in life’s journey—doubts, disappointments, stress, anxiety, depression, broken relationships, choices of others. But instead of allowing our lives to get totally derailed, it is important to get back on-track as quickly as we can. What we don’t want is to totally fall away from moving forward in our faith journey by becoming indifferent and insensitive to the things of God. Derailment can be catastrophic and so forgiving others (and ourselves), learning from set-backs, and pressing forward is crucial if we are going to keep moving in a positive, purpose-filled direction.
In Jesus’ day the religious leaders, who were supposed to be shepherding God’s people and keeping them on-track, had allowed their own faith to become derailed. Jesus spoke to them truth and they refused to believe. Instead of humbly accepting God’s way, they scoffed, demanded miraculous signs from the Lord, and offended the Holy Spirit by accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of darkness. These are grave offenses towards the living God. Serious derailment comes from pride, unbelief, and overtime aligning ourselves with darkness.
Read Matthew 13:24-46
In the first parable (vv29-30) Jesus is the farmer sowing the good seed. The Gospel, His message of salvation, is the good seed. According to an earlier parable, when good seed is planted deeply into fertile soil, a good harvest is produced (see Matthew 13:3-9).
1. Choosing daily to live in the light of God’s truth will help keep us from becoming derailed. But life happens and we still struggle with sins of the flesh. How does the condition of a person’s heart affect their resilience in getting back on-track after being derailed?
Jesus said, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given… but for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use parables, for they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them’” (see Matthew 13:11-15).
Derailment doesn’t happen as a result of questions and honest doubt. But an individual runs the risk of catastrophic results when that individual absolutely refuses to believe. Is there hope—can a person still receive forgiveness after hardening their heart? With God all things are possible. And only God can soften the hardest heart. But we know from His Word that true restoration will require humility, honesty, surrender, and yes, daily working God’s plan for our lives. As Jesus later prayed, ‘Father, I want your will to be done, not mine’ (Matthew 26:39b).
2. Have you turned to Christ to let Him heal you and keep you on-track, or like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, are you refusing to acknowledge the Lord’s warnings? If you could pin-point one thing that could potentially derail you up ahead, what would it be?
Are you willing to surrender that one thing to the Engineer in order to avoid wreckage?
Of all people, the Lord Jesus shows us how to keep moving forward despite obstacles and opposition (see Luke 9:51, Hebrews 12:1-4). With His help we can continue moving forward and avoid derailment. The Lord loves you and you are valuable to Him. Your journey in life is important. Your staying on-track will influence others around you to stay the course and could possibly help lead others into a personal relationship with the Lord. As the Plain Truth states: “You won’t value the Kingdom until you realize how much the King values you.”
Sometimes we think our success or failure in life (staying on-track) depends on us. But if we are willing to submit to Christ—fully and totally on a daily basis—then the pressure becomes His! Instead of fretting over the journey we can live into His invitation:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
3. Read Psalm 23 in light of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30. When we yoke up with Jesus, He becomes our Shepherd, teacher, guide (our Engineer). He promises to give us adequate rest, to lead us beside peaceful streams, and to renew our strength. He will ‘guide us along right paths, bringing honor to His name.’ Looking back in your own experience, how has the Lord kept you on-track in the past?
Like a vast ocean, God’s grace is bigger than all your sin put together and all your mistakes of the past. In fact, His grace will engulf you (in a good way!) if you just step into the water. What new season in your life do you want to ask of the Lord today?
4. When we yoke up with Jesus, we must remember He doesn’t mind keeping pace with the weak (see Isaiah 40:11). He in okay taking ‘baby steps’ if that is all we can manage. While the Lord is Mighty God, He is also Everlasting Father – mindful that we are but dust (Psalm 103:13-14). How do you see yourself as valuable to your Father in heaven?
In the space below, write a prayer of surrender to Him. If you have experienced derailment, or perhaps the risk of derailment, simply ask the Lord what steps you need to take to secure your footing and get you back to a forward-moving, positive journey.
Many things can cause interruptions in life’s journey—doubts, disappointments, stress, anxiety, depression, broken relationships, choices of others. But instead of allowing our lives to get totally derailed, it is important to get back on-track as quickly as we can. What we don’t want is to totally fall away from moving forward in our faith journey by becoming indifferent and insensitive to the things of God. Derailment can be catastrophic and so forgiving others (and ourselves), learning from set-backs, and pressing forward is crucial if we are going to keep moving in a positive, purpose-filled direction.
In Jesus’ day the religious leaders, who were supposed to be shepherding God’s people and keeping them on-track, had allowed their own faith to become derailed. Jesus spoke to them truth and they refused to believe. Instead of humbly accepting God’s way, they scoffed, demanded miraculous signs from the Lord, and offended the Holy Spirit by accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of darkness. These are grave offenses towards the living God. Serious derailment comes from pride, unbelief, and overtime aligning ourselves with darkness.
Read Matthew 13:24-46
In the first parable (vv29-30) Jesus is the farmer sowing the good seed. The Gospel, His message of salvation, is the good seed. According to an earlier parable, when good seed is planted deeply into fertile soil, a good harvest is produced (see Matthew 13:3-9).
1. Choosing daily to live in the light of God’s truth will help keep us from becoming derailed. But life happens and we still struggle with sins of the flesh. How does the condition of a person’s heart affect their resilience in getting back on-track after being derailed?
Jesus said, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given… but for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use parables, for they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them’” (see Matthew 13:11-15).
Derailment doesn’t happen as a result of questions and honest doubt. But an individual runs the risk of catastrophic results when that individual absolutely refuses to believe. Is there hope—can a person still receive forgiveness after hardening their heart? With God all things are possible. And only God can soften the hardest heart. But we know from His Word that true restoration will require humility, honesty, surrender, and yes, daily working God’s plan for our lives. As Jesus later prayed, ‘Father, I want your will to be done, not mine’ (Matthew 26:39b).
2. Have you turned to Christ to let Him heal you and keep you on-track, or like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, are you refusing to acknowledge the Lord’s warnings? If you could pin-point one thing that could potentially derail you up ahead, what would it be?
Are you willing to surrender that one thing to the Engineer in order to avoid wreckage?
Of all people, the Lord Jesus shows us how to keep moving forward despite obstacles and opposition (see Luke 9:51, Hebrews 12:1-4). With His help we can continue moving forward and avoid derailment. The Lord loves you and you are valuable to Him. Your journey in life is important. Your staying on-track will influence others around you to stay the course and could possibly help lead others into a personal relationship with the Lord. As the Plain Truth states: “You won’t value the Kingdom until you realize how much the King values you.”
Sometimes we think our success or failure in life (staying on-track) depends on us. But if we are willing to submit to Christ—fully and totally on a daily basis—then the pressure becomes His! Instead of fretting over the journey we can live into His invitation:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
3. Read Psalm 23 in light of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30. When we yoke up with Jesus, He becomes our Shepherd, teacher, guide (our Engineer). He promises to give us adequate rest, to lead us beside peaceful streams, and to renew our strength. He will ‘guide us along right paths, bringing honor to His name.’ Looking back in your own experience, how has the Lord kept you on-track in the past?
Like a vast ocean, God’s grace is bigger than all your sin put together and all your mistakes of the past. In fact, His grace will engulf you (in a good way!) if you just step into the water. What new season in your life do you want to ask of the Lord today?
4. When we yoke up with Jesus, we must remember He doesn’t mind keeping pace with the weak (see Isaiah 40:11). He in okay taking ‘baby steps’ if that is all we can manage. While the Lord is Mighty God, He is also Everlasting Father – mindful that we are but dust (Psalm 103:13-14). How do you see yourself as valuable to your Father in heaven?
In the space below, write a prayer of surrender to Him. If you have experienced derailment, or perhaps the risk of derailment, simply ask the Lord what steps you need to take to secure your footing and get you back to a forward-moving, positive journey.