Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

 I've been thinking a lot about fear this month. We just finished a sermon series called Perfect Love Casts Out Fear (based on 1 John 4:18) and it hit home with so many people, including myself. This generation of students is often described as anxious; we reference the Fear of Missing out and Fear of Better Options that keeps people from community and friendship. But there's also just a very high rate of fear and anxiety in the world. World events, the future, disease, death, exams, social situations - there's so much we can find to be afraid of or at least intimidated by. 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

We can't control what's going on around us. I often tell my students that they are not responsible for how other people respond, only how they do. We can't control other people and we often have little say in our circumstances. But we can control our response to the things that worry us. We can choose to take those worries to the Lord and let Him love us with his perfecting love. He can reshape us. He can reshape our priorities, our emotions, and our concerns if we let Him.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

So, I've been thinking a lot about surrender and trusting the Lord. I thought I'd share some reflection questions that came out of the sermon series:

In prayer - 

- What am I actually afraid of happening? What's the worst that could happen?

- If that happens, what would I do?

- How likely is that to happen? Is my fear reasonable? (We talked about how fear is a natural safeguard against dangerous things but our minds build these  thought patterns that can lead to anxiety when that isn't the appropriate response.)

- What is God's heart in this? How does He want to take care of me? What might he want to teach me here out of His love for me?

I hope some of that makes sense and is an encouragement to you. I think these sermons were good for our students and for me. If you wanted to listen to any of them, they are on Spotify!

Sermons

Pizza Theology

This semester's theology talk with pizza for dinner was so good! We talked through how the Bible came to be as we have it, why it can be trusted, and how to study it more holistically. What a good time! 

Photo Dump

I am reminded every day how blessed I am to get to do what I do. And that absolutely wouldn't be possible without you paving the way with your prayers and generosity. Sincerely, thank you. 

Kindly,