Faith Over Fear: Embracing Courage and Inclusive Love

May 17, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Scrolls and Unfinished Prophecies

Jesus stood in Nazareth’s synagogue, unrolling Isaiah’s scroll. He read about bringing good news to the poor and freedom for captives—then stopped before mentioning God’s vengeance. The crowd murmured approval until He reminded them of Elijah helping a foreign widow and Elisha healing an enemy general. Their admiration turned to rage. Jesus walked through the mob unharmed, refusing to shrink God’s love to fit their fears. [48:43]

Jesus redefined Messiah as one who liberates outsiders. By omitting Isaiah’s vengeance line, He revealed God’s heart: mercy stretches beyond borders, tribes, and deserving. The Nazarenes wanted a tribal hero, but Jesus embodied cosmic love.

Where have you assumed God’s blessings belong only to “your people”? When have you felt tension between comforting insiders and challenging them to love outsiders?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
(Luke 4:18-19, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one person or group you’ve unconsciously excluded from His mercy.
Challenge: Read about Naaman’s healing in 2 Kings 5:1-14. Write down one way his story mirrors God’s love for “enemies.”

Day 2: Water in the Midst of Fire

Twelve-year-old Janie ran toward burning Freedom Riders with a water bucket. Klansmen beat activists as smoke choked them. She washed their faces, gave them drink, and embodied Isaiah’s call in the middle of Anniston’s hatred. Her Sunday school faith became flesh when it cost her safety and home. [01:02:06]

Janie’s act mirrored Jesus’ Nazareth sermon: love interrupts violence. Her bucket opposed fire hoses turned on marchers. Her child-sized courage shamed adult complicity. God’s radical love often looks foolish until it changes history.

Who needs your “bucket” today—not grand solutions, but simple acts of presence? What systems of harm will you confront by choosing proximity to the oppressed?

“I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink… Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
(Matthew 25:35,40, NIV)

Prayer: Confess areas where fear of backlash has kept you silent.
Challenge: Donate bottled water to a local outreach serving marginalized communities.

Day 3: Oil Jars and Enemy Compassion

Elijah told a Sidonian widow—a foreigner in enemy territory—to feed him first during famine. Her obedience kept her jar of oil full. Centuries later, Jesus highlighted this story to provoke His hometown. God’s provision flowed not to the “righteous” but to a desperate outsider. [52:01]

Miracles follow risky love. The widow trusted a foreign prophet; Elijah trusted a starving woman. Jesus’ mention of her exposed Nazareth’s nationalism. God’s economy rewards faith, not pedigree.

When have you received grace from unexpected people? How might God call you to depend on “outsiders” to experience His abundance?

“The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.”
(1 Kings 17:16, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three people outside your usual circle who’ve blessed you.
Challenge: Buy groceries for someone of a different ethnicity or faith background.

Day 4: Hope’s Bucket Against Fear’s Fire

Joan Chittister wrote that prophets need more hope in the future than fear of present pain. Janie carried this hope into the mob. Jesus carried it past Nazareth’s cliffs. Annual Conference delegates carried it through debates about justice. Courage isn’t fearlessness—it’s acting despite fear. [57:22]

Every generation faces cliffs: voter suppression, Christian nationalism, systemic poverty. Hope says, “This isn’t the end.” Resurrection outlives crucifixion.

What current “cliff” makes you want to retreat? Where can you plant one defiant flag of hope today?

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9, NIV)

Prayer: Name one injustice that overwhelms you. Ask God for specific courage to address it.
Challenge: Write a postcard to your elected official about an issue impacting marginalized neighbors.

Day 5: Grace on Route 1

Epworth’s members stand on Route 1 with protest signs, pack meals for immigrants, and visit prisons. Like Jesus leaving Nazareth, they move toward pain. Like Janie leaving her porch, they interrupt apathy. Their quiet faithfulness proves God’s love multiplies when shared. [01:05:19]

Courage compounds. One meal, one card, one presence-beyond-fear inspires others. The disciples thought Pentecost’s fire was a one-time miracle—it became daily bread.

What ordinary act of courage can you practice today? Who needs your persistent, unspectacular “showing up”?

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
(Galatians 6:9, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to renew your stamina for long obedience in the same direction.
Challenge: Commit to one recurring justice or mercy activity this month (e.g., monthly food drives).

Sermon Summary

We gather as a community that leans into faith more than fear. We celebrate a church life that calls each person by name, that keeps covenantal practices of worship, mercy, and justice, and that learns together how wide God’s love reaches. We read Isaiah 61 and see Jesus claim the work of announcing good news to the poor, release to the captive, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. We note that Jesus stops short of naming divine vengeance, and that choice reshapes our understanding of God as one whose favor breaks past tribal limits.

We confront the hard truth that divine love includes those we name as enemies and strangers. The examples of Elijah and Elisha underline how God’s mercy reached outsiders in moments when the community expected exclusivity. We learn the paradox that including others enlarges our own experience of belonging rather than diminishing it. Courage enters here: refusing to stop at palatable comforts, choosing to name and live a larger love even when it provokes hostility.

We commit to both mercy and prophetic action. Acts of compassion feed and tend immediate needs, and acts of justice question and change the systems that produce suffering. Prophetic courage demands more hope for the future than fear of present pain, so we go into prisons, neighborhoods, and political spaces where suffering hides. The story of a twelve year old who walked into danger to bring water shows how small acts become prophetic signs that reshape public life while exacting a cost.

We invite one another to practice presence as a primary gift where healing begins, to remain faithful in the face of threats to democratic rights, and to stand against ideologies that confine God’s care to one nation or one people. We pledge to choose hope over retreat, to risk being misunderstood for the sake of inclusion, and to trust that resurrection power multiplies when many bodies act as instruments of Christ’s compassion.

Key Takeaways

1. God's love crosses every boundary God’s grace does not stop at ethnic, national, or political borders. The narratives of prophets and Christ’s teaching show mercy reaching those labeled outsiders, forcing communities to wrestle with an expanded imagination of who belongs. Embracing that expansion calls us to name and dismantle boundary-making systems. [52:13]
2. Choose faith over our fear Faith asks for a forward-looking hope that outweighs present pain and risk. Choosing faith means stepping into encounters with suffering rather than protecting comfort, even when that choice invites rejection. Courage grows when hope informs action more than anxiety. [54:29]
3. Courage requires prophetic and compassionate action A whole discipleship combines private devotion, public worship, acts of mercy, and acts of justice. Prophetic ministry questions why suffering persists and moves us to change structures while remaining present to individual pain. Together mercy and justice form a coherent witness to God’s kingdom. [56:01]
4. Our presence offers simple healing Being with those who suffer often becomes the first form of cure; presence interrupts isolation and reveals common humanity. Small, sacrificial acts of care can alter public trajectories and awaken others to justice. Presence can cost safety, but it awakens communities to God’s broader compassion. [58:50]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[06:39] - Community and connection
[14:19] - Annual Conference reflections
[48:43] - Reading Isaiah 61
[49:35] - Forgoing vengeance
[52:13] - Mercy for outsiders
[54:29] - Choosing faith over fear
[56:01] - Prophetic courage called
[62:06] - Janie Forsythe's witness
[65:50] - Invitation to choose hope
[67:10] - Blessing and sending forth

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Isaiah 61:1-2 (ESV)
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor..."

Luke 4:24-30 (ESV)
[Jesus references Elijah and Elisha’s ministry to outsiders, provoking anger in his hometown.]

Observation Questions

In Luke 4, Jesus reads Isaiah 61:1-2 but stops before mentioning "the day of vengeance" (Isaiah 61:2). What does this omission reveal about Jesus’ understanding of God’s mission? [49:35]
The sermon highlights Elijah helping a foreign widow (1 Kings 17:8-16) and Elisha healing Naaman, a Syrian commander (2 Kings 5:1-14). Why might these stories have angered Jesus’ audience? [52:13]
What small act of courage did 12-year-old Janie Forsythe McKinney perform during a violent protest, and what immediate impact did it have? [01:02:06]

Interpretation Questions

The sermon claims that including others "enlarges our own experience of belonging." How does this paradox challenge common fears about sharing resources or status with outsiders? [53:45]
Acts of mercy (feeding the hungry) and acts of justice (addressing systemic causes of hunger) are both called "critical" in discipleship. Why might neglecting one undermine the other? [56:18]
Janie Forsythe’s story cost her family their home and safety. How does this illustrate the relationship between prophetic courage and sacrifice? [01:03:24]

Application Questions

When has fear of "losing your place" made it hard to include someone different from you (politically, culturally, or spiritually)? What practical step could disrupt that fear this week?
The sermon emphasizes "presence" as healing. Who in your life needs the simple gift of companionship right now? How could you intentionally create space for them without fixing their problems?
Prophetic action requires "more hope for the future than fear of present pain." What injustice or systemic issue feels overwhelming to you? What small, hope-fueled action could you take to learn about or address it?
Janie Forsythe acted immediately when she saw suffering. What barriers (time, risk, discomfort) keep you from responding quickly to others’ pain? How might you prepare to act next time? [01:02:39]
The sermon warns against confining God’s care to "one nation or one people." Where do you see tribal ideologies influencing your community? How could you gently challenge those limits in conversation or action?

Sermon Clips

70s

#FaithOverFear

“``What are we going to do? How are we going to respond? Are we going to choose our faith over fear and speak out? I look around, and I see some of you who've been out on Route 1 holding signs and protesting. I see some of you who have helped with food for our siblings who of Hispanic descent. I see so much courage here, but I want to invite you to be courageous, to choose hope, the hope for the future over the fear of the pain in the present, and to stand up to those injustices. If 12 year old Janie can do it, I think we can. Won't you join me? Amen.”

42s

#InclusionWins

“And here's the beauty that I think we sometimes miss because it's kind of a paradox. When we allow God's love to include others, we ourselves experience a deeper sense of inclusion. And and so it's kind of a paradox because often we think that it's a zero sum game, right, that if I include others, that means there's not gonna be room for me. If I include others, that means that, you know, some of us are gonna have to be kicked out. But, actually, what happens is that when we include others, we ourselves experience a deep sense of inclusion.”

39s

#CourageAgainstHate

“But Janie's life was never the same again. She was bullied by Klan's members, by people in school who were children of Klan's members, and eventually, her family had to move out of Anniston. So, yes, there is a cost, and that's why we're called to be brave because it's not something that's going to be received with joy. People are gonna try to run us off a cliff like they did with Jesus when we invite them to see god's love as including everyone.”

53s

#FaithNotNationalism

“We are in a time when the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act that people back in the sixties fought and died for. And so now there's gerrymandering where any kind of power that African Americans had is gone. They're not being able to be elected. They're not having a voice anymore in our government. We live in a time when today, there is a rally in Washington DC called Rededicate two fifty that is led by white Christian nationalists. We are not Christian nationalists. We believe God's love is for everyone, not just white people in The United States. So we are called to that kind of courage.”

46s

#HopeOverFear

“And so, really, to be completely whole as followers of Jesus, we need to do all four of those, and yet it takes courage. So one of the things that Joan Chitister said that has really stuck with me is that in order to embrace this ministry of prophecy, you have to have more hope in the future than you do fear of pain in the present. How many people, when they see, the suffering in this world, just feel overwhelmed, and they run away from it? And as followers of Jesus, we're called to run to it.”

31s

#PushToGrow

“I had a friend in one of my previous churches who would say to me, you know typically, would say it after I'd been criticized for a sermon. He would say, you know, what we really want you to tell us is that God loves you and don't rob banks. And he said, you know, we all need to hear God loves us, and none of us rob banks, so then we don't have to feel guilty. He said, but instead, you gotta mess with us and tell us that, no, we all need to grow.”

45s

#GoToTheHurting

“We're called to go into those places where people are hurting. We're called to go into prisons like Jamie did, wherever Jamie is, a couple of weeks ago. She ministered to people who have family members in prison, through Kairos, which is a ministry, I believe, that was started by Sterling Green, who's one of our retired, clergy, started here at Epworth. And so, you know, we're called to go to those places, and it can be very frightening. And yet, that's exactly where Jesus is. And so as followers of Jesus, we wanna go where Jesus is, and Jesus goes where the pain and suffering is happening.”

38s

#CourageousLove

“We experience a deeper sense of God's love that says, no. It is so much bigger than we could ever possibly imagine. And so in this this case where Jesus was in his hometown, Jesus chose courage and faith over fear. He decided to challenge his hometown to push them to understand God's love is bigger. And I think that came out of his love for them. Because if he didn't love them, he could have just stopped there and said, okay. Whatever. They're not ready to hear this.”

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Epworth UMC - Rehoboth Beach, DE This sermon · AI assistant

How does God's love extend beyond expected boundaries

What does prophetic courage require versus present fear

Which practices comprise a whole discipleship life

Faith Over Fear: Embracing Courage and Inclusive Love

Devotional

Day 1: Scrolls and Unfinished Prophecies

Day 2: Water in the Midst of Fire

Day 3: Oil Jars and Enemy Compassion

Day 4: Hope’s Bucket Against Fear’s Fire

Day 5: Grace on Route 1

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Faith Over Fear: Embracing Courage and Inclusive Love

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