The people wanted a _____________, but Jesus came as a ___________________.

[Psalm 34:17-19] The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. [18] The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. [19] The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.

God is not _________________.

God is more _________________ than the _________________ surrounding you.

[2 Corinthians 4:8-9] We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. [9] We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

_________________ may come but they don't have final say.

[Isaiah 41:10] Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

God promises to give His people the _________________ they need to face their challenges.

[Psalm 147:3] He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

God is the only One who can heal the _________________.

[Psalm 40:1-3] I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. [2] He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. [3] He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.

God can turn our _________________ into _________________ of joy.

We need to move in towards ________________.

Only a weak God can't take ___________________.

[Mark 9:22-24] The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can." [23] "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." [24] The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

Don't let doubt have the ___________________ word.

Doubt is a ________________ part of our faith journey.

[Matthew 28:16-17] Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. [17] When they saw him, they worshiped him--but some of them doubted!

Your doubts don’t ___________________ your faith.

Don’t let your doubt be a __________ _________.

[Romans 10:17] So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Doubt doesn’t have to ___________________ us; it can ___________________ us.

[Psalm 8:3-4] When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, [4] what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

God ___________________ us to bring our doubts to Him.

[Matthew 7:7-8] "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Moving “up” is simply ______________ in our relationship with God through worship.

Anything that competes with Jesus is a ________________.

[Exodus 14:11-12] and they said to Moses, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? [12] Didn't we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, 'Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It's better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!'"

God didn't ________________ you so you could go ________________ to bondage!

[Galatians 5:1] So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Christ's work has already ________________ our chains of bondage.

True ________________ comes from Christ alone.

[Romans 6:16-18] Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. [17] Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. [18] Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

True freedom is found in surrendering to God's __________ and walking in ________________.

[2 Corinthians 3:17] For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Your mess isn't the ________________ mess God has seen.

[1 Peter 2:16] For you are free, yet you are God's slaves, so don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

True freedom isn't found in ________________ but in dependence on God.

[Romans 8:1-2] So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. [2] And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

Most people think freedom is the ability to do ____________ you want ____________ you want.

[Philippians 4:6-13] Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. [7] Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. [8] And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. [9] Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. [10] How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. [11] Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. [12] I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. [13] For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Jesus came to defeat __________ through the resurrection.

[1 John 4:9-10] God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. [10] This is real love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

We can't have _____________ until we have been rescued.

[Romans 5:6-8] When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. [7] Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. [8] But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

You __________________ save yourself.

[Luke 24:1-7] But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. [2] They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. [3] So they went in, but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. [4] As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. [5] The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? [6] He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, [7] that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day."

The stone was rolled away to show us that our rescue was __________________.

The __________ __________ is the ultimate symbol of God’s power over death.

[Ephesians 2:4-5] But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)

Death is not the __________ for those who put their __________ in Jesus.

[Colossians 1:13-14] For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, [14] who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.