God says over and over again.  Fear not!  Do not be afraid.  Be strong and courageous.  Trust me.   

Why?  Fear doesn’t seem like the most serious of vices, it’s not one of the 7 deadly sins, nor is it the object of church discipline.  So why does God tell us to stop being afraid more often than he tells us anything else?   

It’s not to spare us from emotional discomfort.  Rather it is because fear sabotages flourishing.  Fear keeps us from following God wholeheartedly.  As John Orberg says, “Fear is the number one reason human beings are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do.”   

Today on the Strong By Design podcast show, host Mike Westerdal sits down with friend and pastor of Skycrest Community Church, Chris Stephens, to discuss the topic of fear and the impact on flourishing. 

“Failure is essential because there are some lessons we are not going to learn if we don’t fail… So don’t be paralyzed in fear of making the wrong decision.” - Pastor Chris Stephens 

Time Stamps  

00:00 – Choosing courage over fear 

01:22 – Welcome to the ‘Strong by Design’ podcast 

01:45 – Get to know today’s special guest, Pastor Chris Stephens 

06:44 – Pastor Chris on what does the Bible mean when it tells us to FEAR NOT 

11:58 – The power of decisiveness 

15:20 – Pastor Chris dives deep into the types of fear 

26:29 – What to do when fear interferes? 

30:55 – Training for courage: How to live a more courageous life 

43:27 – Pastor Chris’ message to the non-believers 

49:45 – Where does FEAR come from? 

55:48 – Pastor Chris on overcoming the fear of the unknown with God’s word 

1:06:39 – Where you can go to connect with Pastor Chris Stephens 

Connect w/ Pastor Chris: