Pastor Sherman Burkhead

Worry is essentially a lack of faith in God. And so the secret to overcoming worry is to shift the focus of our minds and hearts and energy back to God away from our anxieties. We don't ignore the harsh realities of this world, instead we embrace them and accept them as the way things are and then we move past them by focusing on God and his goodness and his ability to do what he has promised to do. The goal is to go from being "me" centered to "God" centered.

Listen to part 3 of "Why Worry"

The essence of worry is a lack of faith in God. When we worry we are denying that we believe that God is good enough, strong enough and compassionate enough to take care of us. That is why Jesus said of those who worry "O You of little faith". God can and will take care of you and meet your needs even in the darkest of times. You just need to seek to glorify him! Listen to Part 2 of "Why Worry?"

Clip of John Piper is the Property of the Desiring God ministry at Desiringgod.org. All audio clips are used for educational purposes only.

We know that worry doesn't work or fix anything, and we know that worry is counter productive and anxiety can be harmful. And we don't like the way worry, and fear, and anxiety makes us feel. So why then, do we worry? Why do we engage in something we know isn't helping? Well the answer is closer to home than you might think. Listen to part 1 of "Why Worry"

The Christian life is itself a tension point as we live as saved people in a not-yet-saved word. This side of eternity our lives will continually be defied by both sorrow and joy. Listen to part 4.

Many of the decisions we make and situations we experience are things that are don't have a right or wrong answer, and are not explicitly covered in the Bible. These are called morally indifferent acts. There is no apparent right or wrong. But does care about things like this?

The truth is just because an act is morally indifferent doesn't mean that there are not moral implications that affect you and other people. God cares about all of your acts and decisions.

Listen to part there and discover the 6 principles found in scripture that help us to navigate the gray areas of life.

Paul says that we are save by grace through faith. But James the brother of Jesus says faith with out works is dead. These two truths create a tension between that all who follow Christ must deal with. Martin Luther struggled with this tension so much that he initially removed the book of Jams from his Bible.

The reality the truth about following God and our obedience to him is found in this tension. Listen to part two as we explore the tension of obedience.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was full of grace and truth. Which means he was loving and compassionate but at the same time he expected for people to change. There is exists a tension between grace and truth because it is in this tension that you find salvation. You can not have salvation with out grace and you can not have salvation with out truth. You must have both. That is why Jesus was full of both grace and truth. Listen to Part 1 of Tension.

The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of faith, and all of our hope! HAPPY EASTER

There is an expectation if you follow Christ that that you are to meet the worst that people have to offer with the best that God has to offer. Living in community with other people can be extremely difficult but we must always remember we are Ambassadors for Christ which means how we live and how we react to adversity impacts everyone around us.

The main character Andy in the "Shaw-shank Redemption" summed up the theme of the movie when he said "It all comes down to this; get busy living or get busy dying". For the Christian that is the heart of the matter! If we are a disciple of Christ then it is time that we put away the notation that our lives are about us and start doing what Jesus calls us to do which is to deny ourselves, take up our cross and get busy following Him. Listen to Part 5