Teaching Notes
Slide 1
What do we do when the thing we’ve always feared… actually happens?
Slide 2
Sometimes the shark doesn’t just circle.
Sometimes it bites.
Slide 3
“what if”
becomes
“what now”
Slide 4
Isaiah 43
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…
Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you…
Fear not, for I am with you…
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made…
I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
Slide 5
Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort or tension a person feels when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes at the same time.
Slide 6
Belief (Cognition): “God is good. God loves me. God is in control.
Slide 7
Experience (Reality): “This hurts. It feels like God abandoned me. If God is good, why did He let this happen?”
Slide 8
Unhealthy Paths
- Redefine God: “Maybe God isn’t really good after all.”
- Reject God: “If this is who God is, I want nothing to do with Him.
- Resent God silently: Staying in church, mouthing belief, but carrying bitterness.
Slide 9
When what we believe about God and what we feel about God collide, we have two choices: let pain define God, or let God redefine our pain.
Slide 10
What is a Crisis?
- A crucial time; a turning point in the course of anything.
- Medical definition: The moment in the course of a disease when a change occurs for the worse or better.
Slide 11
Cone of Uncertainty
Slide 12
Matthew 14:22-27
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Slide 13
The Greek phrase is ego eimi : “I Am.”
Slide 14
“Take heart. I Am. Do not fear.”
Slide 15
Isaiah 43
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you..
Fear not, for I am with you…
Slide 16
God’s presence doesn’t prevent the storm, but He meets us in it.
Slide 17
Matthew 14:28-33
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind,[d] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Slide 18
- Presence – Look for His presence. He comes to us in the storm.
- Identity – Remember Jesus’ identity. He is “I Am.”
- Faith – Trust His grip. Even when we are sinking, He saves.
- Worship – Let the storm lead us into worship.
Slide 19
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”
Slide 20
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Slide 1
Anxiety is everywhere.
- Nearly one in three adults in America will struggle with an anxiety disorder in their lifetime, and that’s only the clinical cases. Add to that the
- The World Health Organization calls anxiety the leading mental health problem globally.
- Among teens, that number is even higher with nearly half reporting persistent feelings of worry and dread.
Slide 2
Psychologists describe anxiety as a state of hypervigilance where your nervous system is stuck in overdrive, scanning for threats. Inside the brain, the amygdala fires like a smoke alarm, and the prefrontal cortex (the part responsible for logic and perspective) often shuts down. That’s why anxiety feels overwhelming and irrational at the same time. You know you shouldn’t worry, but your body is already in panic mode.
Slide 3
Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford neuroscientist, once said, “We are the only species that activates the stress response for purely psychological reasons.”
Slide 4
In Deep Survival, Laurence Gonzales writes:
“Survival often depends more on mental and emotional resilience than on physical strength… Recognizing the reality of the situation, maintaining hope, and making deliberate, informed decisions are essential traits of survivors.”
Slide 5
Name Your Shark: Anxiety
Slide 6
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:25-34
Slide 7
Hebrew (OT):
- The primary Hebrew root connected to anxiety is da’ag: “to be anxious, fearful, or concerned.” It paints a picture of someone weighed down or burdened.
- Jeremiah 17:8 says the one who trusts in the Lord “does not da’ag (is not anxious) in the year of drought.”
Slide 8
Greek (NT):
- The most common word is merimnao, which means “to be pulled in different directions.” More literally, it is a mind divided.
- Paul uses it in Philippians 4:6: “Do not be merimnao about anything…”
- Jesus uses it in Matthew 6:25: “Do not be merimnao about your life…”
Slide 9
This “mental division” points to an inner conflict: being torn between trusting God’s care and fearing circumstances.
Slide 10
“Girls in virtual networks are subjected to hundreds of times more social comparison than girls had experienced for all of human evolution. They are exposed to more cruelty and bullying because social media platforms incentivize and facilitate relational aggression. Their openness and willingness to share emotions with other girls espouses them to depression and other disorders. The twisted incentive structures of social media reward the most extreme presentations of symptoms.” – The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt
Slide 11
“Peace isn’t found in the absence of problems. Peace is found in the presence of God.” – Craig Groeschel
Slide 12
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7
Slide 13
Things I Can Control vs Things I Can’t Control
Slide 14
Anxiety is the check-engine light of the soul.
Slide 15
Practical Steps
Slide 16
Get Honest with God.
- Stop praying fake prayers. “Lord, bless me today.”
- No, pray the real stuff. “God, I’m scared I’m going to lose my job. I’m terrified my kid is going to walk away from faith. I can’t sleep at night because I’m scared of being alone.”
- That’s what Paul meant in Philippians 4 when he said, “Present your requests to God.”
Slide 17
Get Grateful.
- Paul didn’t just say pray. He said, “pray with thanksgiving.” Why? Because gratitude is the anxiety-killer. Gratitude reminds you that the same God who showed up before is still on the throne today.
- And you know what? Science backs this up. Psychologists say people who keep gratitude journals have lower anxiety. Crazy! Paul was right two thousand years before Harvard figured it out.
Slide 18
Get Connected.
- You need people. Stop isolating. Join a group. Text a friend. Pray with somebody.
- Because sometimes you need another person’s faith when yours is running on fumes.
Slide 19
“A non-anxious presence is the Spirit-enabled ability to remain calm, rooted in God’s sovereignty, and attentive to others in the midst of stress or uncertainty. It is not the absence of concern, but the refusal to let fear or chaos govern one’s heart, words, or actions. It rests in God’s peace, speaks with clarity, and leads with compassion, even when circumstances are unstable.” – Mark Sayer’s, A Non-Anxious Presence
Slide 1
Deborah Scaling Kiley – October 1982
Slide 2
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7
Slide 3
If fear is the main voice in our decision-making, it’s not coming from God.
Slide 4
We can’t defeat what we won’t define.
Slide 5
- Fear of failure
- Fear of rejection
- Fear of financial instability
- Fear of not being enough
- Fear of change
- Fear of conflict
- Fear for our children’s future
- Fear of losing control
Slide 6
And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 1 Samuel 17:4–11
Slide 7
Fear came from what they saw (the giant) and what they heard (the insults).
Slide 8
Three responses in the text:
- Hide: Saul retreats from the frontlines.
- Freeze: Soldiers stand in fear for 40 days.
- Face: David steps forward.
Slide 9
The Science of Fear:
- Amygdala: The brain’s alarm system; triggers fight, flight, or freeze.
- Prefrontal cortex: Your reasoning center – fear shuts it down, making you reactive instead of reflective. (Arnsten, 2009)
- Affect labeling: Naming your fear reduces amygdala activity and restores clear thinking (Lieberman, 2007).
Slide 10
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47
Slide 11
Fear is fed by what fills our eyes and ears, but faith is fed by who fills our heart.
Slide 12
- John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
- Matthew 14:27 “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
- Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Slide 13
Jesus never denied fear exists. He simply commanded that it would not rule our hearts.
Slide 14
- Fear thrives in the dark.
- Naming your shark is the first step to defeating it.