The Sacred Art of Giving Up

Giving Up Regret

Can you imagine what it was like to be Jesus’ disciple, Judas? Talk about committing a sin that will define you forever. In fact, his name throughout the gospels is always listed as “Judas Iscariot,” which literally means “Judas the Betrayer.” And yet, the truth is, all of us—no matter how strong our faith—will betray Jesus at some point. The question is: What do we do with our regret when we fail to be faithful? This week, we’ll look at how the story of Judas teaches us the importance of giving up regret.

Giving Up Everything

The Christian life can seem so simple until you get to Jesus’ words about what’s required: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” So how do we do that? This Sunday, we’ll look at some of Jesus’ most famous—and most difficult—words about giving up everything.

Giving Up Reacting

Do you ever feel like life is coming at you so fast that all you can do is react? We rush headlong from one day to the next, handling each new crisis as it comes up, and we begin to think that that’s just the way life is. We get really good at living a “spur of the moment” kind of life. Being able to roll with life’s punches can be a valuable skill-set. The problem, though, is that, once we buy into the thinking that life is mainly just about reacting, it can affect our sense of purpose. It can cause us to forget that we were created to be more than crisis managers. God has bigger plans for us than that. But before we can live into those plans, we’ve got to know where we’re heading. We’ve got to learn to stop reacting to life’s distractions and to start focusing on our destination. Join us this week as we look at how Jesus “set his face” and kept his eyes focused on his mission.

Giving Up Hurtful Words

It’s no wonder that the Bible tells to watch we say. How many times have you seen someone get hurt simply because of what someone else said to them? As Christians, our words matter because they have the power to build each other up or tear each other down. So what would the season of Lent look like if we fasted from hurtful words? This Sunday, we’ll look at why being intentional with what we say is one of the most important spiritual disciplines of all.

Giving Up Worry

There’s no shortage of passages in the Bible that implore us not to worry. And yet, if we’re honest, many of us would admit that worry and anxiety are a constant problem in our lives. So how do we “give up” worry? Today, we’ll look at the Apostle Paul’s words of wisdom to the church in Philippi when the temptation to worry is overwhelming.