“But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33-34

Which of these statements are untrue?
- Anxiety is only relevant to people with mental health issues.
- 61% of teens feel a lot of pressure to get good grades, which can lead to performance anxiety.
- If we try to combat anxiety by only focusing on the present, we might neglect the necessary preparations for the future, which can lead to more anxiety later.
- Believing our anxiety, and the story in our minds, and avoiding what makes us anxious all serve to reinforce our anxiety.
Have you ever caught yourself believing a story about yourself? How does it feel to be told that you don’t have to listen to it?
Which message seems more common to you: the message that our value is determined after our performance, or before our performance? What are the effects of believing that?
Andrea Petersen wrote, “Avoiding experiences that make you anxious just reinforces your anxiety.” Do you agree or disagree with that? Why?

Engage this section as a group and post answers to the questions below in the “join the discussion box”. If the box does not show up, email Pastor John your answers.
Read Matthew 6:33-34 (see above).
- What does it mean to “seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness?” How might doing that affect our anxiety? What’s the difference between preparing for tomorrow and worrying about it?

Use this time to pray for each other. You can do that by keeping a prayer request journal or by asking for personal prayer requests or prayers that relate to the day’s topic.
- Ask each person to share one thing they do to manage anxious thoughts.
Spend your remaining time praying for each other by asking the Lord to empower a faith filled lifestyle.

Chapel - Anxiety Day 2