The Cure for Anxiety

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark opened his first Sunday back from two weeks in Costa Rica with Matthew 6:25-34, the closing section of the Sermon on the Mount that the church has been working through together. The passage carries a repeated command: do not be worrying. His aim was to show that Jesus is not offering a shallow "don't worry, be happy" sentiment, but a specific alternative to anxiety rooted in where a...

Read together

1. Psalm 63 quoted at the opening of worship: 'because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you'
2. Romans 1:16 quoted during worship: 'I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation, everyone who believes'
3. Matthew 6:25-34 the main sermon text, read in full and expounded throughout
4. Psalm 90 referenced in connection with not knowing the number of one's days
5. Matthew 5:6 quoted to support seeking righteousness: 'blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied'
6. Matthew 5:10 quoted on persecution for righteousness and the kingdom of heaven
7. Matthew 6:9-13 referenced as the Lord's Prayer, appearing just above the worry passage in the Sermon on the Mount
8. Matthew 6:19-24 cited as the immediate context before verse 25: storing treasures, the lamp of the body, and serving two masters
9. 1 Corinthians mentioned as containing a positive use of the word translated as anxious, where dividing attention can be good

Talk about it

1. The pastor mentioned that the Greek word behind 'worry' in this passage carries the idea of a divided focus, being pulled in opposite directions. Where in your own life do you feel most pulled in different directions right now, and what does that do to you?
2. The preacher pointed to the birds and the lilies as examples of creatures doing exactly what God designed them to do, without anxiety. What do you think it looks like practically for a person to do what God designed them to do, and does that idea bring you peace or its own kind of pressure?
3. He said that worry and anxiety show a divided allegiance, and that it is a kind of practical atheism to worry when you claim to trust an almighty God. How do you respond to that? Does framing worry that way help you or feel too hard on people who genuinely struggle with anxiety?
4. The pastor brought up the desire to be accepted, loved, and needed as things we chase after the same way the text says the Gentiles eagerly seek food and clothing. Which of those desires, acceptance, control, fame, power, do you find yourself seeking most, and how does 'seek first his kingdom' speak to that specific one?
5. The closing prayer asked God to heal unbelief and open the space inside that was molded and meant for Him. Karl connected communion to surrendering other allegiances. What is one allegiance or worry you want to bring to God this week, and what would it look like to actually lay it down?