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January 19, 2003 - Matthew 6:25-34

Open It

1. What are your top three worries?
2. What is your favorite kind of food?
3. How would you describe your tastes in fashion?

Explore It

4. What three worries did Jesus discourage among His followers? Why? (6:25)
5. Why is food a trivial matter? (6:26)
6. According to Jesus, how do clothes stack up as a subject of great concern? (6:26)
7. What creatures did Jesus use to illustrate God's reliability as a provider? Why? (6:26)
8. Why are God's creatures consistently "fed and clothed"? (6:26)
9. Why should we take great comfort from the way the animal and plant kingdoms operate? (6:26)
10. What benefits does worry bring? (6:27)
11. What fact from nature did Jesus use to illustrate the folly of worrying over clothes? (6:28)
12. How did Solomon's wardrobe measure up to the beauty of nature? (6:29)
13. What comfort can followers of Christ find in the beauty of nature? (6:30)
14. Who is consumed by concern over food, water, and clothing? (6:32)
15. What priorities should we have in life? (6:33)
16. What does God do for His children when they keep the right perspective, refuse to worry, and trust Him? (6:33)
17. Why is it silly to fret over the future? (6:34)

Get It

18. Why do some of us worry about clothes more than others?
19. How do you think God feels about our society's preoccupation with food?
20. How do you think worry is affecting you emotionally, physically, and spiritually?
21. How would you answer someone who interprets this passage to mean that God promises to give His children everything their hearts desire?
22. In light of this passage, what would be some good principles on food and clothing for us to follow?
23. What is the difference between planning for the future and worrying about the future?
24. What worries do you struggle to keep under control?
25. What can help you entrust your worries to God?

Apply It

26. What worry will you entrust to God today?
27. What steps can you take today to change your priorities from worldly ones to kingdom ones?

Because of the ill effects of worry, Jesus tells us not to worry about those needs that God promises to supply. Worry may (1) damage your health, (2) cause the object of your worry to consume your thoughts, (3) disrupt your productivity, (4) negatively affect the way you treat others, and (5) reduce your ability to trust in God. How many ill effects of worry are you experiencing? Here is the difference between worry and genuine concern-worry immobilizes, but concern moves you to action.

What is really important to you? People, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly bump God out of first place if you don't actively choose to give him first place in every area of your life.

Planning for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference. Careful planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps, and schedules, and trusting in God's guidance. When done well, planning can help alleviate worry. Worriers, by contrast, are consumed by fear and find it difficult to trust God. They let their plans interfere with their relationship with God. Don't let worries about tomorrow affect your relationship with God today.

A few years ago I attended a minister's convocation where we talked about worry and I was given a copy of the Worry Table (Pastor Shultz).

The point of this little table being that it is 50 to 1 odds against the worry being a real cause for concern.

Maybe we ought to take a look at these statistics because I have come to believe that there is something out of kilter with them.

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