Lenten Study, Session 3

The Plan Session 1 (February 18) - Chapter 1 - Less Fret, More Faith Session 2 (February 25) - Section 1, Chapters 2-4 - Celebrate God's Goodness Session 3 (March 4) - Section 2, Chapters 5-6 - Ask God For Help Session 4 (March 11) - Section 3, Chapters 7-8 - Leave Your Concerns With Him Session 5 (March 18) - Section 4, Chapters 9-11 - Meditate On Good Things Session 6 (March 25) - Psalm 37 Philippians 4:4-8 - Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things The method Celebrate God's goodness. "Rejoice in the Lord always" (v. 4). Ask God for help. "Let your requests be made known to God" (v. 6). Leave your concerns with him. "With thanksgiving . . ." (v. 6). Meditate on good things. "Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise" (v. 8) Dear Lord, You spoke to storms. Would you speak to mine? You calmed the hearts of the apostles. Would you calm the chaos within me? You told them to fear not. Say the same to me. I am weary from my worry, battered and belittled by the gales of life. O Prince of Peace, bequeath to me a spirit of calm. As I turn the page in this book, will you turn a new leaf in my life? Quench anxiety. Stir courage. Let me know less fret and more faith. In Jesus' name, amen. ASK GOD FOR HELP (Let your requests be made known to God) Anxiety consists of triggers, conditions and responses. What makes you anxious? (Triggers) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) When are you anxious? (Conditions) How do you respond to anxiety? (Responses) • Are you laughing less than you once did? • Do you see problems in every promise? • Would those who know you best describe you as increasingly negative and critical? • Do you assume that something bad is going to happen? • Do you dilute and downplay good news with doses of your version of reality? • Many days would you rather stay in bed than get up? • Do you magnify the negative and dismiss the positive? • Given the chance, would you avoid any interaction with humanity for the rest of your life? How would you like to respond to anxiety? What we are talking about this evening is character Character - who we are when no one is looking Character - who we are under fire Romans 5:5 - James 1:2-4 - Gentleness - Philippians 4:5 - 1 Timothy 3:2-3 - Titus 3:1-2 - James 3:17 - 1 Peter 2:18- How do we develop the character trait of reasonableness? Galatians 5:19-24 - The gentleness referred to in Galatians means mild, meek , humble, pleasant. Patience - Colossians 1:9-12 - Faithfulness - Self-control - Acts 24:24-25 - 2 Peter 1:5-9 - Philippians 4:5 - 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; Community is a helpful response to anxiety. Service is a helpful response to anxiety. ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING: FINDING CALM IN A CHAOTIC WORLD LENTEN STUDY 2021 SESSION 3 MARCH 4, 2021 2 | Page