Let’s be honest, we’re all worried, aren’t we? Some of us are worried about catching the coronavirus. All of us are worried about the economy and the impact on our jobs, our homes, our education, and our families. Even the most confident and hopeful of Christians have been shaken by this sudden turn of events. Worry stalks us and haunts us at various points of the day and night, and sometimes all day and all night.

Worry is not a pleasant experience, is it. Our thoughts go round the same thing again and again, each time imagining worse and worse outcomes and results. Our minds become a “What-if Factory,” playing out innumerable scenarios. What if this….what if that…what if the next thing…” and on and on.

That then starts what’s often known as the “Worry-Anxiety-Stress” cycle. Worry starts in our thoughts, but these worrying thoughts then produce anxious feelings. We feel fearful, hopeless, doomed. But it doesn’t end there. Worried thoughts produce anxious feelings which then produce stressed bodies. We feel pains in our bodies, we feel short of breath. We have headaches. We can’t eat, we can’t sleep. And these bodily pains and malfunctions of course, make us think there’s something seriously wrong with us, which gives us something else to worry about, and so the vicious cycle starts all over again.

Does that sound like you and your life right now? The good news is that God knew this day was coming and in Matthew 6:25-34, he has provided counsel for us to stop worry at its source. And if we can stop worry at its source, we can then stop the resulting anxiety and stress and live more peaceful and joyful lives even in the midst of worrying times and events.

For more, see my sermon notes.  Scroll down a bit further and you’ll find a one-page sermon summary infographic.

Sermon Notes

Matthew 6 Notes Pic

Infographic

 Matthew 6 Pic