Lesson 3: Fear Of Disappointing God

Read Chapter 3 from Fearless and we'll discuss the questions below. Once you have completed the discussion questions, read the lyrics to the song "Healing Rain" by Michael W. Smith. These lyrics are located in the tab above titled, "Healing Rain."

Memory Verse: “He who believes in Him is not condemned.” John 3:18

Come, Lord Jesus, and minister to us. Open our eyes. Open our hearts. Grant us signs of great freedom and healing even this week as we discover where our fears may be coming from. We know, Lord, that no flesh and blood can bring us what we need. If we come out of this journey less fearful, all glory and honor will go to You alone. We love You, Lord. Do Your thing! Amen

You may think you have no access to God – that you have disappointed God beyond repair. But it’s not true! If you fear you have blown it, take heart in these words: “Yes, you failed. We’ve all failed. But you aren’t a failure. God came for people like us.” This week you will have a chance to hand your embarrassments, failures, and regrets to God so you can start again with a clean slate, trusting Him to love you despite your past.

Noble Doss was happily married for six decades. He was a father and grandfather. He served in the navy during World War II and appeared on the cover of Life magazine with his University of Texas football team. But the memory of one dropped pass faded too slowly, a daily disappointment that he could never shake. Fifty years later, his shame still brought him to tears.

Question #1 - Do you live with a regret that you remember often?

Question #2 - What have you done to overcome a pattern of dwelling on past failures?


Many of us fear we have “outsinned” God’s patience. “God’s well of grace must have a bottom to it,” we reason. “A person can request forgiveness only so many times,” our common sense tells us. “Cash in too many mercy checks, and sooner or later one is going to bounce.” The devil loves this line of logic. He wants us to doubt that God really has unconditional love for us, a love that will survive any offense, no matter how often we make it.

Question #3 - You may know in your head that God says He’ll always forgive, but does your heart believe it? How does your spirit respond to this? What do you believe is the devil’s role in our “fear of disappointing God?”


To sin is to disregard God, ignore his teachings, deny His blessings. Sin is “God-less” living, centering life on the center letter of the word sIn. The sinner’s life is me-focused, not God-focused. And because the sinner’s life is focused inward, fear is rampant. A sinful life is absent the bedrock of God’s grace, something we will only know when we look toward God.

Question #4 - What is your definition of sin? Is it possible that we can only find real bravery when the problem of sin is solved?


When you feel unforgiven, evict the feelings. Emotions don’t get a vote. To welcome them to dinner and invite them to stay the night is to kick God out to the curb. To welcome fear with open arms is to reject Christ’s promise of security, love, and life. So, when feelings of doubt and dread creep in, send them packing.

Question #5 - How can you send doubt packing?

Read the lyrics from "Healing Rain."

Lesson 2: Fear of Not Mattering

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Read Chapter 2 from Fearless and we'll discuss the questions below.

Memory Verse: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

Loving God, Your desire is that we would not be afraid. We also desire to live a life that is not dominated by our fears. We desire to live fearlessly! Help us to see ourselves as You see us so that we may live fully, wholly, and freely – to live guided by Your Holy Spirit. May we feel your peace, power, and presence in our lives every day. In the Strong Name of Jesus. Amen


Each of us wants to matter – whether we strive for international fame or simply desire the love and respect of those we know. And when we find we have been overlooked, forgotten, or abandoned, it hurts deeply. The truth, no matter how we feel, is that we are deeply important to God. But it’s not based on anything we do – we matter to God because we are His creation.

We fear nothingness, insignificance. We fear evaporation. We fear that in the last tabulation we make no contribution to the final sum. We fear coming and going and no one knowing. That’s why it bothers us when a friend forgets to call or a colleague takes credit for something we’ve done. They are affirming our deepest fear: no one cares.

Question #1 - Describe a time in which you’ve been hurt by feeling that you do not matter.


God reassures us, in Matthew 10:29-31, of our significance to Him. And in Luke’s Gospel Jesus goes a tender step further: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God” (12:6). One penny would buy you two sparrows. Two pennies, however, would buy you five. The merchant throws in a fifth sparrow for free. But God still remembers him.

Question #2 - Have you ever felt like a fifth sparrow – indistinct, dispensable, disposable, worthless?

Question #3 - As you reflect on these emotions, do you feel motivated to help those fifth sparrows who need reminders of God’s deep love for them?


Read aloud the letter on pages 26-27 of Fearless (about the movie Hook). God is saying the same words to you. Finding the beauty the years bury; the sparkle that time tries to take. Seeing you and loving the you he sees. “There you are. There you are!”

Question #4 - What has buried your beauty? What will it take for your sparkle to shine again?.

Know that you are God’s masterpiece. May you be assured of this today and always. Amen.

Lesson 1: Why Are We Afraid?

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Read Chapter 1 from Fearless and we'll discuss the questions below.

Fear has touched every one of us in some way – whether it has entangled us or completely enchained us. But how we respond to fear, and whom we turn to for a way out, is what matters more than anything. Will your fear leave you embittered or awestruck? This week’s discussion will inspire us to live in awe of Christ, who refused to let fear have any hold on His life – and who wants the same thing for you.

You may be down to your final heartbeat, but you may be down to your last paycheck, solution, or thimble of faith. Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear. Each of us can find reasons to be afraid, no matter how “good” our life is – no one is immune to fear.

Question #1 - What causes your heartbeat to race, your palms to sweat? What makes you afraid?


Fear never wrote a symphony or poem, negotiated a peace treaty, or cured a disease. Fear never pulled a family out of poverty or a country out of bigotry. Fear never saved a marriage or a business. Courage did that. Faith did that. People who refused to consult with or cower to their timidities did that.

Question #2 - When, in your experience, has courage overcome fear to accomplish something good?


We hope for an easy ride through life once we meet Christ, smooth sailing on a crystal clear sea. But storms rise up. None of us can escape this inevitable fact – whether we are Christ-followers or not. It’s not the absence of storms that sets us apart. It’s whom we discover in the storm: an unstirred Christ. He handles our great quaking with a great calming.

Question #3 - Describe a time when your life was in chaos, but you could clearly see that Jesus was unstirred by the storm.


The disciples on the storm-tossed boat on the Sea of Galilee marveled at Jesus’ power. What kind of man is this? they thought. And likewise, I wondered at my dad’s calm when the Wolf Man lurked behind the couch in my living room when I was six years old. A loving Father, God handles our great storms with great calm.

Question #4 - In what ways have your encounters with fear increased your awe of God?

Question #5 - Describe a time when Jesus spoke to the storm in your life, and the winds calmed and the waves stilled.