Leadership isn’t for the faint of heart—not because it’s so demanding (though it is) but because it’s so isolating. This was true of Paul. All his life, he was engaged in the nitty-gritty of ministry. But sitting in a dark dungeon awaiting death, loneliness crept into his lap and refused to leave. So Paul took his pen and wrote his friend. Fear is what we feel when we're aware of a real or imaginary danger or a threat. While there are legitimate daily concerns about things like health, safety, and relationships, we cannot dwell on our fears. Behind fear is the basic assumption that God isn't involved in our situation for our good. Looking at things from that perspective, our nature is to think and respond to things apart from God in the picture. The Bible tells us over and over to not fear. God's answer to our fears is to have confidence in His control and care. “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you’” (Isaiah 41:13). Centre your thoughts on Him. He's not only involved He's in control. He can be trusted to be working for our good. You can commit your fears to Him because He cares about you (1 Peter 5:7). Some of God’s choicest saints were reluctant (like Moses), rebellious (like Jonah), and fearful (like Timothy). Despite his timidity, Timothy was called to follow God onto the battleground. To do so, the young man needed courage to stand for Christ, even if it meant suffering. Do you live life sensibly and carefully? Or are you someone who lives with great enjoyment, unafraid to take risks? It’s never too late to live life to its fullest.Death. The topic is strewn with the litter of fear, ignorance, denial, and superstition. For many, death is viewed as an unsolvable mystery, a vague departure from this life that leaves those who remain disillusioned and confused. In this lesson, we’ll briefly meet individuals in Scripture who were victims of stalking, and we’ll look closely at Elijah’s experience with Jezebel to learn how (and how not!) to handle this threat to our well-being. In this message, we’ll meet an obscure, 80-year-old shepherd whose failure broke his spirit and left him feeling “over the hill” and washed up. Little did he know—he was on the verge of something great. Modelling God’s grace , Joseph welcomed his brothers into his home, responded to their mistreatment with kindness and blessing, and gathered into a family those who had long felt alienated. As we watch Joseph’s shamefaced brothers receive his outpouring of grace, we will be challenged to set aside our guilt and fear and accept God’s free gift of grace. We’ve probably all been in situations—maybe on a plane or at a convention—when the topic of religion came up and we had to face the inevitable dialogue with a nonbeliever. We’ve usually ended up feeling awkward and uncomfortable, and we've walked away wondering, What could I have said or done not only to win a hearing but to keep a hearing? Acts 8 has some answers for the apprehensive evangelist.