07/16/2023 - Fear Not, I am with you
Join me for a new Sunday Message: "Fear NOT, for I am with you." In March, 1933, the United States and most of the Western world was being battered by a severe economic downturn, known since as "The Great Depression." Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected President in November of the previous year and was now standing on the steps of the Capitol of the United States to give his inaugural address. In the introduction of the speech, He said this, “This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
The story of Jesus and His Disciples crossing of the Sea of Galilee during a ferocious storm is a story of just such fear. The disciples, at least seven of which were seasoned fishermen, were terrified so it is likely this was the "storm to end all storms." Jesus was present but asleep from the sheer exhaustion of relentless days of ministry (remember He was God but in a mortal body subject to fatigue). When they awakened Him with a question, "Do you not care that we perish?" His response was to rise from His sleep, rebuke the storm and then rebuke the Disciples for their lack of faith and their abundance of fear.
So, what keeps you up at night? What do you fear in this modern, cyber mad world? In this message we will address the subject of the things we fear and the Word of the Master, "Peace be still."