OVERCOMING: Overcoming Fear
Pastor Brian Schafer
February 16, 2025
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The Big Idea Today: Perfect Love casts out all fear.
According to psychologists, we are only born with two fears:
(1) The Fear of Falling.
(2) The Fear of Lourd Noises.
This means that every other fear you have has been
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Question: What are you afraid of? What are you insecurities?
Moses at the Burning Bush = A Case Study on FEAR and SHAME.
When you dig below the surface of your FEAR, what you will find is SHAME. **
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SHAME:
- A story we tell ourselves about ourselves.
- A negative feedback loop. (“I’m not good enough, smart enough, attractive enough, etc.”“)
- It’s feeling unworthy, unwanted, or unloved.
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GUILT says, “I
SHAME says, “I
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Exodus 3:4-6
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, MOSES HID HIS FACE, because he was afraid to look at God.
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Hiding is the posture of SHAME.
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Take your own notes here…
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How is confession and vulnerability like “exposure therapy” against shame?
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We confess our sin to God to be
We confess our sin (and fear and insecurity and shame) to one another to be
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Exodus 3:11
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
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Exodus 4:1
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?
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Exodus 4:10
But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
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Take your own notes here…
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“Arbitrary damaging labels have the power to turn the brightest people into meek shadows of the person God created them to be.”
- Adam Alter
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You are not the labels other people put on you. You are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, prepared for you in advance!
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Take your own notes here…
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Do you need confess your fear, insecurity, or shame to someone? Remember, we confess our sin to God to find forgiveness. We confess our sin to one another to be healed.
DISCUSSION GUIDE:
(1) Put yourself in Moses’ sandals. Discuss the complexity of Moses growing up in Pharaoh’s house, while also being a Hebrew man.
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(2) Read Exodus 3:1-6. What is the significance of God showing up to Moses in the midst of a burning bush?
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(3) Look at the “Perfectionism Spiral”. Do you see yourself in that?
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(4) Here are some of common fears: Fear of failure, fear of other people’s opinions, fear of not being good enough, fear of missing out, fear of the future. Do you struggle with any of these? How can vulnerability, confession, and receiving the Holy Spirit help you overcome these fears?