Sermon Tone Analysis

As we read, notice how many times the word ‘anxious’ is used.

Did you notice how many times in this passage, Jesus uses the word ‘anxious’?

6 times!

He is addressing a very common human condition, anxiety.

Anxiety is synonymous with worry, concern, fear, stress.

Excessive anxiety can become pathological, an illness.

Jesus is teaching us about the common feeling of anxiety before it can become a disorder.

The disorder

Definition: An anxiety disorder is a common mental illness defined by feelings of uneasiness, worry and fear.

While anxiety occurs for everyone sometimes, a person with an anxiety disorder feels an inappropriate amount of anxiety more often than is reasonable.

E.g. school kids, high school; university.

Common symptoms: Rapid heartbeat, Excessive trembling and sweating, Nausea and dizziness, Chest pain and headaches, Weakness in the limbs and muscle tension

Anxiety Disorders: Rapid heartbeat, Excessive trembling and sweating, Nausea and dizziness, Chest pain and headaches, Weakness in the limbs and muscle tension

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illness affecting Canadian adults.

The 12 month prevalence for any anxiety disorder is over 12%

2.6% of Canadians aged 15 and older reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder, an anxiety disorder characterized by a pattern of frequent, persistent worry and excessive anxiety about several events or activities.

25% or one in four Canadians will have at least one anxiety disorder in their lifetime

There are 7 categories of anxiety disorders.

These include:

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aged 15 and older reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder, an anxiety disorder characterized by a pattern of frequent, persistent worry and excessive anxiety about several events or activities.

Again, important to note that the 2.6% mentioned above pertain to generalized anxiety disorder only.

There are 7 other anxiety disorders that are not part of this statistic.

In fact, anxiety is the most common mental illness in Canada.

There are 7 categories of anxiety disorders.

These include:

There are 7 categories of anxiety disorders.

These include:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Social Phobia

Panic Disorder

Agoraphobia -Agoraphobia is the fear of going out in public, either the fear of open spaces or the fear of being in unfamiliar places.

Phobias

- arachnophobia, or fear of spiders.

- snakes, airplanes, thunderstorms, and blood.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - past trauma, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, flashbacks.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

When Jesus speaks of anxiety, we can all identify with it.

My own story.

Bottom-line: “When you are anxious, trust in Christ Jesus!”

Series: Making Sense out of Dollars.

It’s all Yours God.

God vs Money.

But when God’s Word says lay up treasures in heaven and not on earth, you will obviously ask the question- So what about me? what about my life, my existence on earth? the things I need to survive?

Come on God, You can’t be that unreasonable!

How does Jesus respond?

He makes four statements.

1. Do not be anxious.

What are we usually anxious about?

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6:

:

Life - all of life.

Eat - very relevant to people who have to access food banks, have very little.

Eat

Drink

Body - health, weight, aging process, a diagnosis.

Clothes

Life Span - a FH of early death

Tomorrow - young people, young couples can be troubled by this.

Will I make it in life?

Can I be successful?

Jesus identifies this common problem we have.

We try to handle it by laying up treasures, by accumulating money.

But it only aggravates the problem.

The more we have, the more we are anxious.

Because we think we need it all to exist.

Anxiety enters because we overextend our lives.

Impetus to simplifying our lifestyle.

What are you anxious about?

Anxiety enters because we overextend our lives.

Impetus to simplifying our lifestyle.

Compare with some living in a village in Africa

The prevalence of anxiety disorders

2. The Gentiles seek after all these things

:

The people who do not know God, who only see what’s around them physically, materially will obviously live according to materialist values.

Gentiles seek after all these things.

This is one of the distinguishing features of the ungodly.

They chase after temporal things and seek to accumulate as much as they can so they can be secure.

They don’t trust God and don’t want to trust God.

They don’ t need Him and doesn’t want to.

Chasing after things.

They think a man’s life consists of what he possesses.

They value people and themselves according to what they have.

They pursue, seek after the food, clothes, drink etc. relentlessly pursuing these “things.”

That’s what life is to them.

yet sometimes the more they have, the less happy they are.

Don’t live like the ungodly who only pursues things.

Don’t live like the ungodly who only pursues things.

3.

Your Heavenly Father knows your need

We have a Heavenly Father who takes care of His creation and His children.

: 5-6

: 15-16

: 15-16

We have a Heavenly Father who takes care of His creation and His children.

He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field.

He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field.

And we are of more value than them both.

The grass is clothed today but burnt tomorrow.

It is temporary.

You are eternal.

Other religions speak of God as God.

Jesus brought in a new paradigm - God is my Heavenly Father.

A Father who loves, who cares, who is good, who knows what my needs are.

He knows my needs even when I don’t don’t.