A Sunday School Lesson On Stress

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study about stress.

Giving Thanks for All Things

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

We are commanded to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1st Thess 5:18) and not to stress about it. Stress is caused from worry or anxiety about the present and the future when the truth is, we don’t know what today or tomorrow may even bring so all we can do, indeed all we should do, is to give thanks to God and not be anxious about anything at all but if there is concern, just submit it to the Lord by prayer and supplication to God in making “your requests be made known to God.”

Why is it natural to be anxious?

How can we reduce the stress and anxiety in our lives?

Should we be giving thanks for even the bad things that happen to us (Rom 8:28)?

Freedom from Fear

Psalm 118:5-6 “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

There is nothing that the children of God have to worry about once they’ve placed their trust in Christ. Even the wrath that was previously abiding on us has been removed by Jesus’ atoning work on the cross (John 3:36b). When you do have times of distress, don’t stress, just confess and cry out to God for He will answer you and “set you free” from the stress that tends to rack our bodies. If the Lord is on your side, why fear what man can do? We need fear God and not man.

Why is in natural to be fearful?

How can we be set free from our fears?

Do you cry out to God when everything seems to be growing worse?

Can our present suffering even compare with the glory that’s coming (Rom 8:18)?

Casting the Stress

Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

It’s too easy for me to carry about the stresses and strains of “what if” or “what happens when.” I need to learn to take every single burden and cast it onto the Lord’s shoulders so you and I should be “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1st Pet 5:7). If you unload all your concerns and give them up to God, you will live a life of less stress but you are also telling God that You trust Him with today and with the uncertainty of tomorrow. That’s how He sustains us; by having us “drop it!” Besides, God has promised in His unbreakable word that “he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Do you believe that? If only we understood that “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him” (Prov 12:15) then maybe we’d cast all of our burdens onto the Lord more often.

What burden do you most frequently carry around with you?

Isn’t it too heavy for you?

How does God sustain us?

Stop and Drop the Stress

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The disciples were very troubled by Jesus’ words that He was going away to die and then return to the Father. He was the only teacher that they had ever known and now He was going away, but Jesus knew that their hearts were troubled and so He told them in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” This isn’t the shallow, empty peace that the world offers but the very peace of God (Rom 5:1) so since we know that God is faithful, why take everything upon our own shoulders since Jesus wants us to come to Him for rest and take His yoke upon us? Just like a yoke that spreads out the weight between animals so it’s not such a burden on them, Jesus’ wants us to take all of the weights off of our shoulders and place them squarely onto His yoke. That’s the only way we can rest in Him.

Why does Jesus use the “yoke” as an example of give us rest?

Why do we not share the burdens of life with Christ more?

What does being “gentle and lowly in heart” have to do with finding rest in Him?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of this lesson on stress and the most important thing to remember is that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28) and the fact that God has told us, His very own children, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5b) should allow us to rest in Him. The question is, will we believe God? Can we not trust a God Who created all things with our own life?

Why is it natural for us to stress about things that haven’t even happened yet?

Do most of the things we worry about actually come to pass?

What has changed in your understanding about stress in this study?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.