Joy That Defeats Worry
Teaching Notes
The Top Five Things We Worry About:
Money: Even people who have money worry about money. Once you make it, you have to find a way to hold on to it or you will go backward. This is a constant source of anxiety, even for the rich.
The Future: As Homo sapiens, we have more brain power than the other creatures on land and in the sea, but we can only see so far ahead. We can’t see around the bend. We don’t know when the other shoe is going to drop. So, we fret about it.
Job Security: We work hard to get the right job, and then we worry about keeping it. We live in a dog-eat-dog world. The golden rule of the workplace: “Do one unto others, before they do one unto you.”
Relationships: It takes two to make a good relationship. How can I count on the other person to do the right thing by me? How can I have the wisdom and fortitude to do the right thing by them? Yikes, the chances are good this is not going to work out. Let’s get our worry on.
Health: My mom passed away of pancreatic cancer at the age of sixty-two. It all started with what appeared to be an innocent cough. For years after my mom passed, whenever I got a cough or any kind of minor ache, I immediately assumed it was cancer. It occupied my mind 24/7.
Joy that defeats worry.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Give what troubles you to God.
· Anxious = to be pulled in different directions = We are internally being pulled apart.
· Worry = to strangle = Worry strangles the life right out of us.
How Appreciation Cuts off Anxiety
The threatening messages from your amygdala and the anxious instincts of your brainstem are cut off, suddenly and surely, from access to your brain’s neo-cortex, where they can fester, replicate themselves, and turn your stream of thoughts into a cold river of dread. It is a fact of neurology that the brain cannot be in a state of appreciation and a state of fear at the same time.
Dr. Dan Baker, What Happy People Know
The Joy Challenge
Give what troubles you to God.
As you cry out to God, add in what you are thankful for.
Havening: As you pray do one of the three things below:
Rub the palms of your hands together, slowly, as if you’re washing your hands.
Give yourself a hug. Place your hands on your opposite shoulders and rub them down your arms to your elbows.
Place your fingertips up high on your forehead and then let your hands fall down your face to your chin.
(Havening from a neuroscience perspective is a form of stimulating both sides of the brain which is essential for healing while you mentally bring up a stressful thought or past trauma. It boosts serotonin production in the brain which leads to satisfaction, happiness, and optimism.)
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what am I that you are mindful of me, that you care for them? You have made me a little lower than the angels and crowned me with glory and honor. You made me a ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under my feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8
Setlist
WFC Lenexa + WFC Anywhere
This Is Amazing Grace- Phil Wickham
Arise- Mitch Langley and Mike Weaver
Mercy- Elevation Worship
I've Got Joy- CeCe Winans
WFC Speedway
Take You At Your Word- Cody Carnes
God So Loved- We The Kingdom
Graves Into Gardens- Elevation Worship
O Come To The Altar- Elevation Worship
Be sure to save our Spotify Worship Playlist, updated weekly with the upcoming Sunday’s set!