Our Guest speaker today is Pastor Mike Souder who has served 19 years at Grace Covenant Church and currently serves as the associate pastor there.

Ears To Hear

Overcoming 5 common Barriers to hearing from God

I am the gate; Whoever enters though me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

John 10:9-10

Overcoming the 5 Barriers of Hearing God

1. Asking Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find… If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7,11
2. Listening Conviction From the Spirit Clear and direct way out of the problem Forward thinking- hope filled Affirms our identity, positivity Condemnation From the Enemy Vague and unclear, no ‘good’ way out Backward thinking- hopeless Attacks our identity
3. Truth
4. Relationship
5. Sin If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalm 66:18 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16 But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back. Matthew 18:28-29

Over The Walls: The Broken

All throughout Scripture, Jesus urges us to show compassion to the broken and was the perfect model of love during his ministry on earth. Join us as we learn what it means to love over boundaries and walls and more like Christ!‭‭Luke‬ ‭7:36-50 ‬‬When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”6 observations:1. There was a woman who was a sinner and she needed forgiveness.2. There was a religious Pharisee who was a sinner and needed forgiveness.3. Jesus came to seek and save all sinners.4. Sinners are closer to the kingdom than the self-righteous.5. Like Jesus, we should welcome sinners into our fellowship.6. There were 2 sinners, which one are (were) you?‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:4-10‬‬But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.3 ways we can respond: 1. Ask God to give you the same heart of compassion that Jesus had for those who are outside the wall. 2. Ask God to help you recognize those who are outside the wall. 3. Ask God to give you favor with those who are outside the wall.

http://bible.com/events/48921004

The Wanderers – The Promised LandThe Wanderers Part 5: “The Promised Land”

Welcome to our summer teaching series “The Wanderers”Over the last few weeks we have traced the story of God’s people as they were brought up out of Egypt and began their journey through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land.It’s a story full of God’s Grace, Mercy, and Faithfulness. It’s also a story of God’s patience with people. An idolatrous, unfaithful, and quick to complain group of people that God desired to enter covenant relationship with.Basic principle of the Mosaic Covenant:Obedience to the commandments of the Lord brings blessing and God’s favorDisobedience brings discipline and God’s judgement.‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1:1-3‬‬ After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.‭‭Joshua‬ ‭3:9-17‬‬Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.‭‭Joshua‬ ‭4:19-24‬‬ On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”10th day of the first month ate the Passover meal then was led out from Eqypt (slavery/bondage) and miraculously through the Red Sea on dry ground…40 years later they miraculously cross the Jordan river on dry ground and celebrate the Passover meal as they are led into the land of promise (God’s best).‭‭Joshua‬ ‭5:1-12‬‬ Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So, he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan. If the giving of The Ten Commandments was the original Covenant act in the wandering, the circumcision at Gilgal was the final, consecrating act.‭‭Romans‬ ‭2:28-29‬‬ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.God’s promises aren’t predictions; they’re facts for the faithful.‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:20-22‬‬For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so, through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:7-15‬‬So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So, I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” The OT story shows our deep need for a savior Jesus is our greater Joshua and God’s promises are indeed facts for those found in Him Overview of Joshua This video gives a brief overview of the book of Joshuahttps://youtu.be/JqOqJlFF_eU

The Wanderers, the story of God’s people brought out of Egypt followed by 40
years of wandering.
One of the most important things we’ve learned as we close this series is that God
wants a relationship with His people. He wants a relationship with me, with you!
He wants to connect with us. He wants to speak with you. Sometimes He’s
subtle. Sometimes He’s obvious.
And one of the most important ways God speaks to us…God speaks to you. Is
through His promises.
The purpose of this last text in our series is for you to understand God, not only
as being One who keeps His promises, but God who is diligent in making sure all
His promises are fulfilled, even when we work against Him.
The things that have resonated with me have been: God’s grace, God’s saving
power, God’s redemption, God’s forgiveness and God’s faithfulness.
 After the Israelites were in captivity for 430 years the Lord used Moses to
lead the people out of Egypt.
The LORD delivered Israel from the hands of the Egyptians through
the plaques.
The crossing of the Red Sea.
The final point of deliverance was God’s powerful display of the
parting of the Red Sea.
We can trust the Lord when there seems to be no way.
Bitter water at the Waters of Marah and Elim.
After three days without water the people were at a point of
desperation.
God was inviting the people to trust Him no matter their
circumstances.
The Israelites arrived at the Desert of Sin and they were hungry.
The Israelites were weeks away from their recent crossing of the Red
Sea and God’s providence of the water, yet they quickly forgot.
2
Even though their complaining, God came through again. His grace is
not dependent on our perfect behavior.
The Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai and God spoke the Ten
Commandments.
God desired a covenant relationship with His people.
Through this covenant, they would be His treasured possession of all
creation.
One loud-and-clear lesson from this series is that we tend to complain.
Our natural self has a bent towards grumbling. And although we grumble, God is
faithful. We can trust God for every area in our lives.
Is there anyone here today that agrees that sometimes your tendency is to
grumble when things are not going your way?
Maybe something is off in your family, or at work, or in a relationship, or there is
something that you want really badly and doesn’t seem as though God is
answering your request. You’re frustrated; You find yourself grumbling about it.
This series has reminded me of when I relocated here from Tampa after living
there for 12 years.
I accepted Jesus in Tampa.
I was actively serving Christ.
I had a good paying career job and a nice apartment.
I loved living in Tampa!
God moved in mysterious ways to make it absolutely clear to me that He
wanted me to move home to Elkton.
I moved home 23 years ago.
The first job I worked after returning home was on the Skyline Drive as a Room’s
Inspector.
I learned quickly that if a housekeeper didn’t report to work then I
was going to clean rooms for the day. It was a hard job.
I remember sitting down on a bed, in one of the rooms that I was
cleaning, crying, and asking God “Why did you move me back to the
valley?”
I had a bad attitude! I wanted to go back to Tampa, to my friends,
good paying job and nice apartment.
3
I couldn’t see God’s plan for my life, so I grumbled. I doubted His call
to move home. How long would it be before I saw God’s promises
come to pass for me?
Not until I surrendered to God’s will, that I didn’t understand, did I
obtain peace.
Immediately upon accepting God’s will, I landed a job at a local bank
as a manager.
Our last area of focus is God’s people FINALLY entering the promised land.
But there was never any doubt.
We can trust the LORD today and for all of our tomorrows. Once the Promised
Land was promised by God to the Israelites, it was theirs.
Today, I am sharing from Joshua Chapters 1-4. In the interest of time, I will not
read the full text. Please make time to read these chapters in their entirety.
The context of today’s message is that Moses has died.
The people are grieving Moses death.
The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the wilderness because they had
refused to obey God.
The disobedient generation wandered until they had all died.
Moses was a great leader and he was a servant of God.
Moses had been mentoring Joshua who was a young man born as a slave
while the Israelites were in Egypt.
Last week we learned that Moses had sent 12 spies into the Promised Land.
There were two different reports. 10 said “the people are giants and
we are as grasshoppers”.
Joshua and Caleb gave the minority report to cross over to the
Promised Land, “it is good”.
Joshua knew what was waiting for the people in the Promised Land. Joshua
trusted God’s promise.
Today the Israelites are on the edge of the Promised Land for the second time.
Let us pray for God’s blessings over the reading of His word and this message.
Joshua Chapter 1: 1-9
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of
Nun, Moses’ aide: 2
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these
people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to
them—to the Israelites. 5 …As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never
4
leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead
these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses
gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful
wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it
day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you
will be prosperous and successful. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will
be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua knew:
Here we have God speaking to His people in the language of a Promise.
“Get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give
them…”
They were going to face enemies who were big and strong and they would
experience challenges.
Often we face tough situations, difficult people and temptations. God
promises that He will never leave us.
A heart that trusts God’s promises sees adversity as opportunities for God
to work. The more adversity, the more opportunity.
God’s word tells us to:

1. Be strong and courageous. The scripture repeats this three times. The
   repeating of the scripture is like using an exclamation point.
2. Constantly read and study the Bible.
3. Obey God’s Word. The only way you know how to obey it is to know what
   it says. Blessed is the man who walks in the LORD.
   The land of wandering is the wilderness. Crossing over to the Promised Land is
   moving into the things of God, the place of maturity for the believer.
   Joshua Chapter 2 verse 1
   2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the
   land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a
   prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
   2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look,
   some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.”
   3
   So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came
   to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole
   land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. 8 Before the
   5
   spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know
   that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us,
   so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10We have
   heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea[a]
   for you when you came
   out of Egypt… 12 “Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show
   kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. 14 “Our lives for
   your lives!”
   Rahab is found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
   No matter what kind of past we have had, or insignificant we may seem to
   others, God will use simple faith.
   Rahab trusted God. She may not have known Him well, but she knew that
   He was the perfect promise keeper.
   Rahab didn’t let her past prevent her from the new role God had for her.
   She could have said, “Who am I? I’m the lowest of the low…” But she
   didn’t. She had the courage it took to believe God’s promise.
   Joshua Chapter 3
   5
   Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do
   amazing things among you.”
   The Israelites were to perform a purification process. That’s what that word
   “consecrate” refers to.
   The consecration or purification ceremony pictured the importance of
   approaching God with a pure heart.
   Like the Israelites, we need God’s forgiveness for our sins before we
   approach Him.
   6
   Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of
   the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.
   8 Tell the priests who
   carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters,
   go and stand in the river.’”
   9
   Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen
   to the words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living
   God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites,
   Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11
   See, the ark of the
   covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12Now
   then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as
   soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set
   foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in
   a heap.”
   6
   Joshua had witnessed God’s promises fulfilled many times in the past.
   Joshua trusted God’s promise.
   When God spoke, Joshua, for one, knew God was trustworthy.
   We have all had promises made to us. We live in a time that we are more familiar
   with promise makers than promise keepers.
   We live in a time when people treat their words lightly.
   People are good at making promises but they don’t really care if they break
   them
   It’s sad. And, even more sadly because people so often break their
   promises, there are those who wonder if God breaks His promises. Why
   should we trust God?
   Several examples of broken promises:
   Sometimes in the heat of a moment we make a promise and we really didn’t
   mean it.
4. Sometimes we say we are going to do something and we never show up.
5. As a manager and as a co-worker, I have experienced jobs where I worked
   with individuals who promised to arrive to work on time, only to constantly
   arrive to work late.
   Do you know anyone that promises to arrive on time?
   Spouses this is not the time to hunch your honey, wait until you get
   home.
6. Everyone is aware of New Year’s resolutions to get back in shape, to eat
   healthier, or simply make time to have more fun and we fail to follow
   through to achieve these goals.
7. Here’s a broken promise that I can still remember at 60 years old…
   When I was child, we use to raise German shepherd dogs.
   As the dog grows, their ears begin to naturally stand straight up.
   I remember as a little girl, probably around 4 years old, taking a
   clothes pin and pinning their ears together so they would stand
   straight up.
   They were puppies and I thought they looked pretty with their ears
   pinned together.
   Over and over, I would promise mom that I would stop doing that.
   A broken promise hurts. Think of the time when someone has made a promise to
   you and then let you down.
   What we can learn from Joshua:
   Focus on God’s power to fulfil His promises and not on the circumstances.
   7
   Joshua knew that God was willing and able to keep every promise to the
   Israelites.
   Joshua knew:
   That as soon as the priests who were to carry the Art of the Covenant (which was
   the Old Testament symbol of God’s presence)
   set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream would stop instantly.
   The Bible tells us:
   That the Jordan was at flood stage during the harvest season.
   God backed the water up like a wall about 20 miles north upstream to the
   town of Adam.
   The people shouldn’t have been surprised, of course, since it’s not the first
   time he parted waters for them.
   To the people, the river seemed like an insurmountable obstacle.
   But to God, it represented a decisive turning point.
   But the priests obeyed God.
   God worked a miracle in response to the people’s faith.
   Often God provides no solution until we trust Him and move ahead with
   what we know we should do.
   The solution sometimes only comes with our first step.
   Joshua Chapter 4
   4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to
   Joshua, 2
   “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and
   tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right
   where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down
   at the place where you stay tonight.”
   6…in the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7
   tell
   them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the
   LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These
   stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
   The Israelites had witnessed the miracle of the Red Sea and now the Jordan.
   God did not want them to plunge ahead without focusing on Him first.
   As we move about our busy days, always set aside quiet moments,
   times to build your own memorial to God’s power. Time to hear Him
   speak.
   Remember what He has done for you and recognize the blessings of today.
   8
   Be diligent about remembering.
   There are times that we are very much like the wanderers.
   Over the last several weeks we have heard repeatedly that the Israelites
   grumbled when things did not go their way. They said “We want to go back to
   Egypt.”
   But what if they had?
   Imagine all they would have lost.
   All of us, at times, fight discouragement over situations and circumstances that
   we face. God is greater than the highs and the lows! It is a daily choice to trust
   God. He will keep His promise to you.
   We must choose to trust God in every area of our lives. God is bigger than the
   problem and He will go for us.
   He speaks. He speaks often. And He often speaks through promises you can
   bank on.
   Psalm 145:13 says, “The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all
   He has made.”
   This message requires a ‘response of action’. Remember, the priests obeyed God
   by walking into the Jordan when it was flooding. Often God provides no solution
   until we trust Him and move ahead with what we know we should do.
   God desires movement today. Will you rise up, submitting yourself to the
   sovereignty and guidance of God the Father and choose to trust Jesus in all
   situations?
   Although you have experienced doubt, fear, and anxiety and there have even
   been times that you have worked against God, you choose:
8. Not to grumble.
9. To trust God to answer, to provide, and to work in the relationship that
   needs healing. You choose to trust God with the problem.
10. By faith, you believe that God is diligent in making sure all His promises are
    fulfilled.
    Trust God. He is a promise keeper. Today say “Even though I can’t see that He
    is working, I choose to trust God that He is working good for me.”

https://bible.com/events/48917098

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg Campus

Mental Health & The Christian – A Panel Discussion Mental Health & The Christian – A Panel Discussion

This morning we’re taking a break from our series, “The Wanderers” to focus on Mental Health & The Christian. Our panel will include Mark Sensabaugh, LPC, Ashlea Link and Pastor Margaret Michael. Mark is a Licensed Counselor for Journey Counseling Ministries in Harrisonburg. Ashlea is a School Social Worker for Rockingham County Schools and Margaret is Outreach Pastor for COTN. For more information on Journey Counseling Ministries, visit: https://www.journeycounselingministries.org And for more information about Mark, visit: https://www.journeycounselingministries.org/staff/ The American Medical Association recently concluded that the pandemic has triggered a 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. No single event has ever had that dramatic effect. One scholar writing in the National Library of Medicine recently wrote that, we are now in a ‘’tsunami of psychiatric illness.’’ Another doctor wrote that, despite all of the time at home, mental health concerns and burnout have skyrocketed in the workplace. Nearly six times as many employers report increased mental health issues among employees since the pandemic began—burnout being among the most common. And in the middle of that, those of us who are believers in Christ find we are not immune. So, what do we do about it? This panel is designed to take a practical approach toward addressing these issues.‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1:7‬‬For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬‬Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10:5‬‬We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:5-6‬‬Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Mark referenced books in his comments this morning. Those are: Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel by E. James Wilder, Anna Kang, John Loppnow & Sungshim Loppnow The Other Half of Church: Brain Science and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation by Jim Wilder & Michel Hendricks Journey Into the Divided Heart: Facing the Defense Mechanisms that Hinder True Emotional Healing by Steve Fair