While we cannot stop feeling stressed, effective relief comes from breaking the hold stress has on us. This starts with identifying the sources of stress in our lives and reevaluating the ways we have been managing them. As an introduction to this series, today we will explore the unique differences the Christian faith can make to our lives and how they can set us free from the grip of stress.

1. What are you stressed out about? To what extent are you influenced by the preoccupation of the people around you? 

2. How do you usually cope with the stresses of life? Share a time when the Word of God spoke peace and comfort to your situation. 

3. We tend to live for too small an ambition! What does it mean for you to have a God-sized ambition for your life? What is God speaking to you through this message? 

Becoming a Christian is more than just receiving a ticket to heaven; it is receiving a privileged position. When we recognise that this honour is not conditioned on our effort and achievements, it would liberate us from our stress and worries in this life. 

1. In which area of your life do you feel that you need to produce results to be acknowledged?

Why are our achievements insufficient to earn God's approval?

2. What do you believe could be the worst thing that could happen to you? Despite this, why do you think we, as children of God, can still experience peace and joy?

3. Knowing that you have been given access to God through Christ, how do you want to respond differently in your times of stress and anxiety?

One of the biggest questions of life is: ‘Why are we here?’ Modern culture tells us that it is up to the individuals to define their own meaning, yet this often leaves us with a sense of stress and insufficiency. Christianity provides a more coherent answer: it does not just tell us the predicament that God has saved us from, but also the purpose he has saved us for!

1. Evaluate the goals, pursuits and obsessions in your life. In what ways have you been living for your own desires rather than for God? Why is this manner of living problematic for us?

2. What did we justly deserve for our disobedience and what has God given to us instead? How does this truth set you free from the stress of securing good things in this life?

3. How can you practically live to run the race that God has marked for you and to fulfil His plans for your life?

Christianity was never just about having a personal faith, but also being part of a communal fellowship. There is no better way to overcome the stresses and rigours of life than to be plugged into a tight network of mutually supportive and reciprocally giving relationships. Find out how you can experience that for yourself! 

1. What causes you to isolate yourself from your faith community? Why do we need one another to point us to God?

2. How was the early church able to build a community that was inclusive and attractive in their divided and hierarchical society? What can your cell group do to grow in this area?

3. How have you benefited from the self-giving acts of other members in Brighton Community Church? In what ways can you contribute and be a blessing to other members of this community?