The Fear Series: "Introduction"

Luke 8:22-25

Pastor Eugene launches The Fear Series with a scripture reading from Luke 8. He reminds us that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather, courage is the response to fear. Rather than keeping these fears nebulous, he calls us to name our fears, in order to address and overcome them.

In Luke 8, Jesus calms the storm that was engulfing the ship during His journey with His disciples across the Sea of Galilee. God uses "storms" in our lives to build up our character. Pastor Eugene notes four reasons of why these storms exist in our lives:

1. God invites storms into our lives to deepen our character
2. We invite storms into our lives through our sins
3. The devil uses storms in attempt to undermine our lives
4. We don't know

As disciples and followers of Christ, we will be faced with storms and fears in our lives--as obedience to Christ does not exclude us from storms. But we must take courage in the fact that God is with us.