Tag: Fear

Fear Not, Part 4: Overcoming Fear (Matthew 1:20-21; Luke 1:11-13, 30-31; 2:9-11)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Every major character in the Christmas story receives the same angelic message: “Do not be afraid.” Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds—all of them hear the words: “Fear not.” When Christmas happens, heaven announces, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.” That’s good news because fear is universal. It’s also debilitating. It shuts people down and keeps them paralyzed in their thinking. Very often it prevents them from stepping into the future God has for them. 

But, whether it’s fear of disappointment, the fear of inadequacy, the fear of rejection, or the fear of the unknown, God can help us overcome our fears. Indeed, the only thing we have to fear is God himself. King Herod didn’t have that fear. And that’s why he’s the only figure in the Advent story who doesn’t hear the reassuring words, “Fear not.”

But those who do fear God can overcome their fears. They can surrender the lie that stands behind the fear. They can submit to the truth that contradicts the fear. And they can seek the Lord, who alone is to be feared.

Sermon Resources:

Series: Fear Not: Trusting God One Promise at a Time

Overcoming Fear (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Overcoming Fear (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Fear Not, Part 3: The Right Kind of Fear (Exodus 1:8-22)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

The command to “fear God” is found throughout the Scripture, but what exactly does that expression mean? Are people supposed to live in sheer terror of the Almighty? Are we to dread his perpetual frown as a divine commentary on our souls? Are we to view ourselves as criminals on the run, with God as the cosmic policeman in hot pursuit of us? 

Misconceptions abound when it comes to this important topic. What’s often missing from the discussion is that a major biblical motivation for fearing God is his surprising grace and forgiveness (Psalm 130:3-4; Jeremiah 33:8-9). That’s part of the biblical record, too, and it’s one that teaches us, paradoxically, that fearing God diffuses all other fears. 

Shiphrah and Puah were two Hebrew women who understood this reality. These midwives refused to throw the Hebrew baby boys into the Nile despite the direct command of the king of Egypt to do so. Why? “The midwives … feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live” (Exodus 1:17). Quite significantly, the book of Exodus preserves the names of these two courageous women, but it does not preserve the name of the Pharaoh. Was it Rameses II? Amenhotep II? We’re still not sure. It was the author’s way of commending these women while scorning the dictator.

The biblical record also teaches us that the end of all fear is the perfect love of God as fully displayed in Jesus Christ (1 John 4:16-18). He took our punishment on the cross, says John, and we no longer need to fear that punishment when we trust him for our salvation.

Sermon Resources:

Series: Fear Not: Trusting God One Promise at a Time

The Right Kind of Fear (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
The Right Kind of Fear (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Fear Not, Part 2: Moving Beyond Fear (Exodus 14:10-15)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

After getting wedged between the Red Sea on one side, and Pharaoh’s army on the other, Israel begins to panic. Their situation seems hopeless, so they begin to grumble. In response, God tells his people to “move on” from their faithless talk and unbridled fear (Exodus 14:15). But how can they do that? What is the process by which God gets us un-stuck from the fear-ditch we sometimes find ourselves in? 

It begins with realizing that God leads his people into difficult situations in the first place. He has his reasons for doing so, and they usually involve a much bigger purpose than we can fathom. At such times we’re invited to present ourselves to the God who is already present to us. When we do that, we’re in a better position to watch him work on our behalf like a master craftsman. 

Indeed, the more we trust God with our fears, the more we will participate in his plan to recapture the world. Will you learn to trust God with your fears and participate in that plan?

Sermon Resources:

Series: Fear Not: Trusting God One Promise at a Time

Moving Beyond Fear (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Moving Beyond Fear (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Fear Not, Part 1: The High Cost of Fear (Numbers 13:30-14:12)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Fear is universal. And it’s not all bad. Good fear protects us from danger and prevents us from hurting ourselves. We need it to stay safe. But that’s not the only kind of fear we experience in life. Bad fear paralyzes us from doing what we ought to do and provokes us to doing what we ought not to do. Sadly, this kind of fear is far more common. And its cost is too high for any of us to pay. 

Bad fear distorts our identity, steals our joy, and limits the progress God has for us. And that’s not the half of it. Worst of all, living in fear is a slam on God’s character. As John Ortberg has said, “Fear has created more practicing heretics than bad theology ever has, for it makes us live as though we serve a limited, finite, partially-present, semi-competent God.” 

Ultimately, the antidote to living in fear is to trust God one promise at a time. If Immanuel (“God with us”) has come, then we can step into the future God has for each of us with these encouraging words ringing in our hearts: “Fear not!”

Sermon Resources:

Series: Fear Not: Trusting God One Promise at a Time

The High Cost of Fear (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
The High Cost of Fear (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Peter’s Restoration (Mark 14:27-31; John 21:15-17)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

One of the factors that makes the Bible ring true is that it tells the worst about its best people. There’s never any attempt to hide or gloss over the moral failings of its heroes. There’s never any attempt to dress people up with slick packaging. Very often we see the ugly truth about God’s people, and, frankly, it can be upsetting. 

Noah, Abraham, Samson, Jonah, and King David are but a few who come under significant censure by the biblical writers. So does Peter—the man to whom Jesus gave the “keys to the kingdom” (Matthew 16:19). That is surprising because Peter blew it so often as a follower of Christ. 

Still, we like this rough-around-the-edges fisherman with a big mouth, don’t we? Perhaps we think to ourselves, “If Peter can blow it so badly and so often and still make it into stained-glass windows, then maybe there’s hope for me, too.” But we never take refuge in the fact that Peter stumbled badly on more than one occasion. We take comfort in the fact that Jesus dealt patiently with Peter. He dealt graciously—and at the deepest heart level—with Peter to help him become a useful disciple.

How did Jesus do it? It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty. It certainly wasn’t overnight, either, but it was real. In fact, the Peter we meet later in the book of Acts, and then also in the epistles, is almost a completely different person from the one we see in the Gospels. What happened? Why the transformation? Jesus labored to show Peter his desperate need for grace. And after Peter saw that need, he was finally ready to lead.

Specifically, after Peter denied three times knowing Jesus, the Lord came into his shattered world and gave him a new beginning, a new hope, and a new opportunity to set the record straight. Three times he asked Peter to re-affirm his love for him—one for each denial. Peter did exactly that, and Jesus gave him his job back right there on the spot. “Feed my lambs,” he said. In other words, “Teach my Word to others.” 

Spiritually, it can be devastating to learn we can’t earn God’s favor, that his love is not for sale. It can’t even be purchased with the currency of good behavior. No, divine love is a gift. This “gospel” is good news for the broken, for those who think they’ve completely ruined their lives. Indeed, the restoration of Peter shows us that Jesus restores his people by re-storying them in grace. He takes back the pen we stole and writes a better ending than we ever could have imagined.

We cannot go back and change our past, but by the grace of God, we can start right where we are and make sure there’s a different tomorrow. “A bruised reed he will not break,” said Isaiah. “A burning wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3). That’s the Jesus Peter knew. Harsh and condemnatory religionists would have taken back his keys. Jesus never did.

Sermon Resources:

[ Please note that there is no sermon outline or PowerPoint file available for this message. ]

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Blood Covenant, Part 6: Rescued and Released (Luke 1:67-75)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Fear is a universal sensation. Everyone experiences it at some point in their lives. Thankfully, it’s not all bad. Good fear protects us from danger and keeps us from hurting ourselves. It prevents a child from getting into a stranger’s car. It causes adults to slow down on slippery roads. It even keeps spouses from forgetting their wedding anniversary! But there’s also a bad kind of fear that we have to face in life. Bad fear paralyzes us from doing what we should be doing, and it provokes us into doing what we shouldn’t be doing. Because of sin, this kind of fear is deep within all of us. In fact, the first words out of Adam’s mouth in his fallen state were, “I…was…afraid” (Gen 3:10). From that point on, many people have gone through life like the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Fear dominates their every move.

When the New Covenant dawns in Zechariah’s day, the priest praises God because the Lord had remembered “his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear” (Luke 1:67-75). Christmas happens, says Zechariah, because God made a promise a long time ago, and now he’s bringing it to pass. But it’s not just any promise; it’s a covenant promise—an oath he swore with uplifted hand to Father Abraham. One result of that covenant is that believers can now serve the Lord “without fear.” Quite significantly, all the major characters in the Advent story are given the same angelic word: “Do not be afraid.” In this sermon, we look at the various kinds of fear they experienced, and how the God of covenant love addresses each one:

  • Zechariah—the fear of disappointment:
    “It’s hard to hope again!” (Luke 1:5-25) 
  • Mary—the fear of inadequacy:
    “This is too big for me!” (Luke 1:26-38) 
  • Joseph—the fear of rejection:
    “What will people think?” (Matthew 1:18-25) 
  • Shepherds—the fear of the unknown:
    “This doesn’t make sense!” (Luke 2:1-20) 

The message for believers today is this: The more we trust God with our fears, the more we will participate in his plan to recapture the world. God says to his people, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. I know you live in a scary world. I know you’ll have to face difficult situations, but you are not alone. I am with you. Because of covenant, we’re in this together. So, fear not!” That’s a good word for God’s people today, too. 

Sermon Resources:

Rescued and Released (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Rescued and Released (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.