Depressed? Overwhelmed? Anxious? Stressed? These are NOT feelings to ignore and are NOT demonstrations of weakness. This week we will address mental health: what the Bible says about us as psycho-somatic beings, how the Gospel addresses the issues, and how the redemptive work of Jesus gives you power to face them with strength and dignity!

Guilt is the result of unresolved actions, decisions, hurt, or pain. It stifles our growth as a person and will prevent us from embracing the freedom that Christ offers us through His redemptive work. It can create such an impenetrable darkness in our life that we push everything and everyone away, including our loved ones, our church family, and even the mercy of Jesus!

Shame for repentance is a positive part of the redemptive work of God because it forces us to the reconciliation that we have with God through the atoning work of Jesus. However, shame held on to and shame that defines us is not just an unhealthy trait that will damage us and our worldview, but it is also an anathema to the Gospel of Jesus and living at peace with God.

Building on the theme of forgiveness, we as Christians must learn how to deal with people who hurt us. Hurt doesn’t necessarily mean they have committed some egregious sin, it could be a harmful word or a breach of trust; yet, it is a hurt that has influenced the relationship and can have a profound effect on our relationship with Jesus and our evangelistic witness.

Forgive and forget do not go hand in hand; forgetting our past and the pains that go with it are not an instruction ever given to us in Scripture. We are to forgive DESPITE the past, just as Christ has forgiven us. We cannot allow the memory of the past to hold our obedience, freedom, and peace hostage!

The transformation at the core of the Gospel is not a change of behavior but a complete and radical change of personhood; we are changed down to our very being. The Bible refers to this as “dying to ourselves,” but what does that mean? Today, we explore the mechanics of how Jesus transforms our past so we can follow Him in the present and in the future!

REDO can only happen if we are willing to surrender our lives in totality to Jesus. We have to be transformed so that we can move on from the pains of our past.

Transition is a hard circumstance to go through in any situation, but it is particularly difficult to go through transition after a heightened period of stress or chaos. The decisions we make during these times of transitions are directly correlated to “how” we view the world…are we in control or is God in control?