Teaching Text

Matthew 6:25-34

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Philippians 4:6-7

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.

Sermon Recap

This week, Pastor Raegan Griffith continued the FREED series with a teaching on freedom from anxiety. Raegan opened with something most of us quietly believe that the command “do not be anxious about anything” simply was not written with us in mind. She opened with her diagnosis of an anxiety disorder in middle school, and how she spent years assuming God could comfort her in anxiety but could not free her from it. 

Working through Matthew 6:25-34, Pastor Raegan identified three lies that anxiety consistently speaks to us. The first is about God: that He either lacks the power to act in our situation or simply does not care to. The second is about identity: that God does not see us, and that if we do not take matters into our own hands, no one will show up. The third is about purpose: that the small and momentary concerns consuming our minds are the most important things, when in reality we have been invited into a far larger story. Jesus is saying, look up. Isn't life more?

If left unchecked, these lies do not stay abstract. Studies on neural pathways show that meditating on anxious thoughts literally hardwires a worried response into the brain, making it harder and harder over time to find our way back to peace. Raegan’s point was sharp: this is not just a mental health crisis, it is a spiritual one, and the church, by and large, has accepted it as normal.

God gives two clear tools. The first, from Matthew 6, is to meditate on what is true. The lie that God is powerless is answered by the truth that He holds all things together. The lie that He does not see us is answered by the truth that we are intimately known and deeply valued. The lie that our lives are trapped in small concerns is answered by the truth that we have been invited to participate in the eternal work of the kingdom. When we dwell on these truths consistently, we can begin to rewire the brain's default response away from anxiety and toward peace.

The second tool, from Philippians 4:6-7, is prayer with thanksgiving. Pastor Raegen drew a sharp distinction: prayerless worry is partnership with the self-reliant lie that we are on our own. Prayer in the face of worry is defiance against that lie. And thanksgiving is the most powerful weapon we have, because it confronts anxiety with evidence of who God actually is. He has been faithful before. He will be faithful now. The promise attached to this practice is staggering: a peace that transcends understanding, standing guard over our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Raegan closed with the image of herself running late to a meeting, skipping to the subway, free. The young girl who once read Philippians 4 and thought no shot would not recognize her today.

She believes the same freedom is available to every person in the room.