Sunday, March 22, 2026

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9 and 1 Peter 5:7

Sermon Title: Worry and Anxiety

All Lent we have been in a series called “Masterpiece,” inspired by the verses from Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT) Let’s say that together one last time, “We are God’s Masterpiece.”

We began with talking about the famous David Statue sculpted by Michelangelo. When Michelangelo was asked how he did it, he said he chipped away at everything that wasn’t David until only David remained. Like us, God is chipping away at the things of us that are not of God, until only a masterpiece remains.

This Lent we’ve talked about confession, pride and selfishness, anger, and last week Pastor Sharon talked with you all about self-control. Today we’re finishing up our series talking about worry and anxiety. It’s hard to believe next week we’ll celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter is only 2 weeks from today.

Now to be clear, I didn’t plan the topics each week. Scott Smith at First United did, and I liked it, so I took the topics as well to share with all of you. And I have to say I find it so funny how the Holy Spirit works, because I didn’t plan that the last topic in this series would be worry and anxiety, and its actually the one topic I have been struggling with the most personally these last couple of weeks.

I’ve shared with you all before, but even though I love to travel, I’m an anxious flyer. Not really when it comes to domestic flights, but long haul flights over the ocean make me nervous. We just got back from our trip to South Korea late Friday Night. And I will admit, I was dreading the 15 hour flight from Toronto to Seoul, South Korea.

There’s something about the idea of flying over nothing but ocean and having nowhere to divert to if there is a mechanical emergency that really freaks me out. In the weeks leading up to our trip, I was imagining all of the worst-case scenarios. Then in light of the war in Iran, I was worried if we were at increased risks of attacks against us.

As excited as I was about the opportunity to visit our friends and see another side of the world, inside, I was a ball of nerves. The night before we left, I said to Jesse, “I’m not sure I can do this,” and he basically said, “well we’re going.”

Over and over I found myself meditating on our verse from 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I spent a lot of time these last few weeks casting my anxiety on the Lord.

And yet I love that the Lord kept meeting me in my worry and anxiety. I laughed that in our Wednesday Morning Bible Study, I think at least 4 people shared they had been to South Korea before. Then when I shared with Ellie’s school teacher that we were going to South Korea, she shared that she had been 5 years ago.

For me, it was a reminder in the midst of my worry and anxiety that many people have flown there and returned home safely.

Thankfully, I’m happy to share, our flights went smoothly. I was dreading our 15 hour flight from Toronto to Seoul, and was happy when we got on board to hear that our flight would only be 13 hours and 44 minutes. I rejoiced in that extra hour and 16 minutes of not flying over the ocean. And I praise the Lord, it was a really smooth flight.

We had a great time with our friends who live in Seoul, and then traveled together to Jeju Island for a few days. I’ll be sharing more about my trip at the United Women of Faith’s Meeting in April. Men and Women are all invited to attend.

But since we’re talking about worry and anxiety today, I’ll share one more story from our trip that was Jesse experiencing worry and anxiety instead of me. The day before we were scheduled to go home, Jesse could not find our passports in his backpack. We had flown back from Jeju Island the day before, so I said, “Did you leave the passports in the seat back of the seat in front of you on the plane?”

And as soon as I asked that question, Jesse knew that he had left the passports on the plane. Jesse was in a panic, thinking we’d have to call the American Embassy and get new passports. He was worried and anxious that we’d have to spend a few more days in South Korea while that got all straightened out. And I’ll admit, I wasn’t too worried if we had to stay longer because I was thinking, “that gives me a few more days until we have to fly over the ocean again.” My biggest worry would have been finding someone to preach for me today if we hadn’t made it back.

Now I’m not sure if Jesse cast all his anxiety on the Lord or what, but I’m happy to share when he called the airline and gave them our seat numbers, they had found 4 passports in Jesse’s seat. Jesse and our friend just had to drive to the airport to pick them up. So we did not have to stay a few more days in South Korea and made it home in time to be with you all today.

But the night before we flew home, I prayed with the girls tucking them in, and said, “Lord give us a safe flight home tomorrow.” To which Isla added, “yeah and let there not be a fire on the plane so we don’t have to do the slides.” Apparently someone has been looking at the emergency briefings too much on the flight over. I’ll let you all guess how that statement added to my anxiety.

But I’m happy to share that other than the mishap with the missing passports, we had a great trip. We made it there and back safely and smoothly, and I look forward to sharing more with you all next month at the United Women in Faith Meeting.

But one thing is for sure, I know a lot about worry and anxiety.

And whether you are an anxious flyer or not, I’m guessing we all struggle or have struggled with worry or anxiety at various times in our lives. Maybe it was while you were waiting for the health test results of a loved one. Or maybe right now you are waiting for results and are anxious.

In our own church family, we just experienced the miracle of Jackson Tews receiving a liver transplant. And I can’t help but only imagine how anxious and worried his parents and grandparents were all day while he was in such a long surgery.

With our world news, many of us are anxious because of the war in Iran. I imagine that people who have loved ones currently serving in the military are especially nervous that their loved onemight get called to serve in that region of the world.

Maybe you find yourself nervous and anxious about your income, your job, and rising costs of things. I’m guessing if we had to list out all of our worries and anxieties the list could go on and on.

And yet 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us to cast all our anxiety on Jesus because he cares for us. Two things to notice here. One, cast our fears on Jesus to hold. We don’t have to hold these fears, worries, anxieties by ourselves. And second, because he cares for us.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need that reminder. That the God of the universe cares for us. He cares about what worries us, what causes our anxiety. He cares about our fears. When we’re awake laying in bed at night worrying about all the problems of the world, our God cares about those situations even more than we do.

When we’re worried about a child, parent, friend, whoever facing a health diagnosis, we need to be reminded that our God loves that person even more than we do and cares for that person even more than we do.

Our other scripture we heard from today was from Philippians. These are the closing words of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

I want us to zero in on verses 6 and 7. Let’s hear these words written by the Apostle Paul, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

As followers of Christ, we are called not to be anxious, but in every situation to pray to God about it. Instead of worry, we are called to pray. And when we do this, we will experience the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.

Praying about something does not mean the worst case scenario won’t happen. But it does mean that whatever happens in this life, God will be with us. And that should give us peace. The opposite of a life of worry and anxiety, is a life of peace.

Now, I want to be clear about something as we’re talking about worry and anxiety today. Some of us here might not just struggle with worry and anxiety in certain situations, but some might struggle with anxiety all the time. And if you have just been told, just trust God and pray, you maybe have felt like a failure or like there is something wrong with you.

Some of us here might have Generalized Anxiety Disorder or even Depression. Some of us might need the help of counselors or even doctors and medication to help with this. And I want to add, if that is the case for you, there is no shame in that.

I believe that modern medication and counseling and doctors are a gift from God. And if you need that for your mind, just like a person might need antibiotics for an infection or insulin for diabetes, that is ok. There is no shame in that.

So I share that to say, if someone has said to you, “your faith just isn’t strong enough,” that is not true. We can be people of faith, who deeply trust in the Lord, but still struggle with anxiety and worry, and maybe need the health of a counselor or even medication to help us in that struggle. There is no shame in that.

So today, as we are finishing up our Masterpiece Lenten Series, I invite you to invite the Holy Spirit to help you to know, where are the areas in your life do you need the Lord to do some chipping away in you, so that you look more and more like the masterpiece that God has called and created you to be?

Is it chipping away at your pride and selfishness? Is it chipping away at human anger and channeling your righteous anger for good? Is it becoming more self-controlled through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Is it surrendering and casting your worries, fears, and anxieties on the Lord, so that you trust more and more in the goodness of God in your life? Maybe it’s a combination of many of these things.

But my hope for all of us this Lent, is that we don’t just go through the motions of this season. But that we take time to meet with the Lord, allow the Holy Spirit to chip away at the sinful parts of us, and shape us and mold us into the masterpiece God has called and created us to be.

During our Dinner Church and Lenten Dinners, the children have been working on a beautiful masterpiece that I am excited for us all to see when they present it in front of the whole church on Easter Sunday. And I want it to be a reflection of the masterpiece that we are truly called to be.

Each week they have been working little by little, one color at a time. And if you just focus one color at a time, it might not seem like they are getting much done. But each week it has progressed more and more into a masterpiece.

And the truth is, we’re like that as well. At first, if we are such working on anger and not snapping at people, it might be hard for others to see. Or if we are working on being humble and not prideful it might be hard for others to notice. Or if we are working on self control or worry and anxiety, it might be hard to see. But over time, as the Holy Spirit works in us, we will be crafted into a beautiful masterpiece, that people will hopefully look at and say, “They are such a beautiful person inside and out. The love and light of God just spills out of them.”

May we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and shape us not just this Lenten Season, but all the days of our lives into a beautiful masterpiece that God is calling us to be.

Amen