Do Not Fear, Only Believe: Welcoming LGBTQIA+ People

Jun 28, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Reaching Through Desperation to Touch Hope

A woman hemorrhaging for twelve years fought through crowds to grasp Jesus’ cloak. Her relentless reach teaches us that healing begins when marginalized people dare to claim their dignity. Like her, LGBTQIA+ individuals often endure years of being defined by shame, rejection, or others’ disgust. Jesus didn’t scold her audacity but honored her faith. In a world that tells some they’re “too much,” Christ’s response is radical affirmation. Healing flows when we trust God’s love is ours to grasp. [26:00]

“And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” (Mark 5:24–29, ESV)

Reflection: When have you felt like an outsider reaching for belonging? How might Jesus’ response to this woman reshape your view of “unworthy” seekers?

Day 2: When Labels Obscure the Beloved

For twelve years, the bleeding woman was known only by her condition. Similarly, LGBTQIA+ people are often reduced to stereotypes or letters in an acronym. Jesus refused to let labels define her, calling her “daughter” instead. God’s love sees past societal shorthand to the full humanity beneath. The rainbow flag, like a cloak’s hem, signals hope to those told they’re unclean. Every person’s story holds more depth than any label can contain. [29:24]

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” (Isaiah 43:1, ESV)

Reflection: What assumptions do you need to lay down to see others as God does—called by name, not by category?

Day 3: Tolerated vs. Treasured

Tolerance says, “I’ll endure you.” Jesus says, “You’re my child.” The bleeding woman didn’t need begrudging acceptance but liberation. Many churches “tolerate” LGBTQIA+ people while withholding full belonging. Christ’s love goes further—he stops the procession, seeks the seeker, and restores them publicly. Like Jairus risking his reputation to beg for his daughter, true inclusion requires vulnerability. [42:45]

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for tolerance instead of radical welcome? How can your community reflect God’s household, not just a polite gathering?

Day 4: Resurrection in the Midst of Death

The twelve-year-old girl’s revival mirrors the bleeding woman’s healing—both needed Jesus to defy death’s shadow. For LGBTQIA+ youth facing suicidal despair, Christ’s “arise” still speaks. Churches often focus on “fixing” queerness rather than fighting the spiritual violence that kills. Jesus interrupts funeral preparations with life. Our call isn’t to debate identities but to join God’s resurrecting work. [46:39]

“He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately the girl got up and began walking.” (Mark 5:41–42, ESV)

Reflection: How can you be part of Jesus’ life-giving “arise” for those pushed to the margins?

Day 5: Following the Leader Who Follows

Jairus—a religious leader—had to become a follower to save his child. Pride in the church begins when power structures humble themselves to learn from the marginalized. Jesus didn’t demand the bleeding woman conform to purity laws; he followed her lead by stopping to listen. Inclusion isn’t charity from the powerful but mutual transformation. [50:49]

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:31, ESV)

Reflection: Where might God be asking you to follow someone you’ve been taught to lead—or ignore?

Sermon Summary

Mark sets the scene by putting Jesus back among pressing crowds, where a desperate father begs for his little girl and a woman, named by her bleeding for twelve years, reaches for the hem of a garment and finds life. Jesus speaks into both stories with one word at the center, faith, and one command that cuts fear down to size, do not fear, only believe. The woman’s body and name have been swallowed up by shame, yet Jesus calls her daughter and says her faith has made her well. Jairus carries rank and resources, yet fear strips him down to father, and Jesus meets him there with a hand and a call to keep trusting.

Pride Sunday stands in that same space of desperation and hope. The Open and Affirming movement names the long need for safe paths to worship and service, because gatekeeping pride and fearful power have kept beloved people outside the sanctuary. The MCC churches rise as a witness that God makes room where people refuse to, though the very need for a separate room is grief. The church belongs to God, not to anxious guardians, and God is still speaking into closed doors with welcome, with life out of death, with the good news that every single person is loved.

Inclusion, not tolerance, carries the weight of Jesus’ touch. Tolerance says, fine, sit over there, inclusion says, daughter, son, child, arise. Faith moves from fear to trust, and that move has flesh on it, pronouns respected, families mended, pulpits opened, flags hung where somebody walking in can finally breathe. Jesus’ first word remains follow me, not how can I help your preferences, and that call pulls a church out of safety games and into vocation, blessing, and healing.

The woman’s twelve years and the girl’s twelve years sit like bookends around a community that has bled and been told to keep quiet. Jesus answers both with presence, with power, and with the word that leans toward resurrection. God knows names, not slurs, not labels that erase, and God calls each one to shine, to be made well, to live more than barely survive. Faith, not fear, names the way, and love, not judgment, names the work. God’s welcome is the banner, and the call is simple, follow Jesus and make room for life.

Key Takeaways

1. Faith moves fear into trust Faith does not deny pain, it refuses to hand the steering wheel to it. Jesus invites a terrified father to keep trusting in the very face of death, which is where faith actually learns its shape. Trust is not a feeling, it is a decision to keep reaching for Jesus’ hand when every other resource has failed. That move changes people and communities. [49:13]
2. Inclusion is greater than tolerance Tolerance leaves someone on the porch, inclusion sets a place at the table and learns a name. Jesus does not tolerate the bleeding woman, he names her daughter and restores her standing, which is social healing as much as physical. The church’s work is not to grit its teeth but to open its arms so that people can live, serve, and lead without apology. Anything less misses the heart of the gospel. [42:45]
3. Every person bears God’s belovedness God’s gaze rests on each set of eyes as beloved, not as a threat to be managed. When a church treats people as problems, it forgets whose church it is. The call is simple and demanding, see what Jesus sees and act like it is true. That sight becomes courage for those who have been told to hide. [48:06]
4. Safe space witnesses to the gospel A visible welcome is not decoration, it is medicine for someone who has only known doors slammed shut. Signs, words, and practices that make room can steady a soul long enough to hear Jesus say, your faith has made you well. Safe congregations become places where healing outpaces harm and hope outruns despair. That witness is part of the church’s vocation. [37:06]
5. Healing reframes identity and vocation Jesus refuses to let illness, shame, or labels be the last word, and he pairs healing with a summons, follow me. The woman is more than her bleeding, and Jairus is more than his title, because grace hands both a future. That re-naming turns spectators into disciples who carry the same welcome they received. Vocation grows out of being made well. [45:00]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[17:39] - Scripture: Faith and twelve years
[24:06] - Pride Sunday and ONA milestone
[26:39] - Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman
[27:29] - Why Pride and ONA exist
[28:55] - MCC origins and purpose
[34:20] - Calling, exclusion, and harm
[37:06] - Safe congregations and healing
[40:10] - Signs of welcome: God is still speaking
[41:47] - Jesus’ first word: follow me
[42:45] - Inclusion is not tolerance
[45:56] - Little girl, get up
[49:13] - Do not fear, only believe
[52:40] - Blessed to give grace
[68:49] - And affirming Amen

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Mark 5:21-43 (ESV)
[The story of Jairus’s daughter and the bleeding woman, emphasizing faith, healing, and Jesus’ response to desperation.]

Observation Questions

In Mark 5, both Jairus and the bleeding woman approach Jesus out of desperation. What specific actions or words reveal their urgency and vulnerability?
Jesus tells Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36). How does this command contrast with the reactions of the crowd or the disciples in the story?
The sermon highlights that the bleeding woman was defined by her illness for 12 years. What details in the passage show how her identity and social standing were shaped by her condition? [26:39]
How does Jesus’ response to the woman (“Daughter, your faith has made you well”) differ from societal norms of the time?

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus prioritizes naming the woman’s faith (“your faith has made you well”) rather than simply healing her silently? What does this reveal about faith’s role in healing?
The sermon contrasts inclusion with tolerance: “Tolerance leaves someone on the porch, inclusion sets a place at the table.” How does Jesus’ interaction with the bleeding woman embody inclusion rather than mere tolerance? [42:45]
Both the woman and Jairus experience healing, but Jairus’s story includes a resurrection. How might these two miracles together illustrate the fullness of God’s restoration (physical, social, spiritual)?

Application Questions

Fear often paralyzes people from reaching out to God or others. When have you hesitated to “touch Jesus’ garment” in a difficult situation? What practical step could help you move from fear to trust this week? [49:13]
The sermon says, “Inclusion says, daughter, son, child, arise.” Where in your relationships, workplace, or community might you need to replace tolerance with active inclusion? What would “setting a place at the table” look like in that context?
The bleeding woman’s identity was tied to her shame for 12 years. Are there labels or struggles that others (or you) have internalized as defining? How could you affirm someone’s God-given identity this week? [48:06]
Jesus tells Jairus to “only believe” even when hope seems lost. What situation in your life feels like a “12-year crisis” where you need to hear, “Do not fear”? How might trusting God’s presence change your response?
The sermon mentions visible signs of welcome (flags, pronouns, open pulpits) as “medicine” for those hurt by exclusion. What tangible action could your small group take to make your church or community feel safer for marginalized people? [37:06]
Healing in Mark 5 leads to a new vocation (e.g., the woman becomes a witness). How has God’s restoration in your life equipped you to “carry the same welcome you received” to others?

Sermon Clips

33s

#FaithOverFear

“``Will we deny faith's power or respond to Christ in faith? How do you have faith when the supposed faithful push you away and revile you, even if they tolerate you? No. The call here is to trust the love of God. The call here is do not fear, only believe. Put that together with the commandments to love God and to love neighbor, the instruction to not judge, lest we be judged, and the command to show hospitality.”

52s

#InclusionNotTolerance

“That doesn't mean tolerate, by the way. Inclusion is not tolerating someone. To me, there is nothing so insulting as being tolerated. Tolerating means, well, you really can't stand who I am and what I am, but I'll deal with you being here for now. tolerance may sound like a good word, and I guess it's better than outright and overt hateful actions. The tolerance by no means says that someone cares about you and loves you and includes you at all.”

30s

#FaithDispelsFear

“Jesus invites him toward faith that dispels fear to move from fear to trust. Clearly, faith is at stake. The woman is declared faithful. Your faith has made you well. Jairus is encouraged to keep faith even in the face of death. Do not fear. Only believe. We are surely meant to ask ourselves, will we receive God's kingdom by faith, or will we doubt, laugh mockingly?”

29s

#FaithRescues

“In our times of desperation, when our own resources and actions are inadequate to get us out of the fix we're in, it's then that we can have faith that Jesus Christ is not only the son of God, but also the one who rescues, saves, and heals the desperate. And that community is often desperate, at least members of that community are desperate.”

31s

#FollowJesusServe

“Add to that commission given to us to share the good news, to share God's love, and it's all pretty simple. We are all called we are all called to follow Jesus, the story of Jesus begins with Jesus saying, follow me. There may not be spectacular moments of healing, but even just following and doing as Jesus would do in caring and loving is what we are called to do, and that can be a bit of a miracle.”

48s

#StopFearingLGBTQ

“And hear me. If you are one of those that is afraid of the LGBTQIA plus community, it is time to stop being afraid. They're people. That's it. People. And every single person is loved by God. When you walk down the street and you see someone's eyes, you are looking into the eyes of a being that is loved That's all you have to know. And if you are a member of the community, the LGBTQIA plus community, I'm really training myself, if you haven't figured that out, to have those letters down. Don't be afraid.”

32s

#UCCSafeHavens

“There are places to turn to, and many, many UCC congregations are among those places that people can turn to. In our desperate reach for the hem of Jesus' garment, we are healed, and we know we are told. We are loved by God, and no human can take that away from us. So, yes, it is getting better.”

38s

#HealFromShame

“This woman had been bleeding for twelve years. That's why I say shame. It was more to that healing than something physical. We join the crowd in that amazement. It's time to stop being afraid. It's time to live by trust in the coming of God's will, Rome. And hear me. If you are one of those that is afraid of the LGBTQIA plus community, it is time to stop being afraid.”

31s

#WeNeedJesusHelp

“And think about Jairus of this situation. Instead of being the leader, he's a follower, and he hadn't been a follower before, but he is now. Because he interrupted Jesus, and he pleaded for help. We can't do this alone. We need help. We need Jesus' help. We need God's help. Lay your hands on us. Bless us. Bless all we encounter. Use us. Make us well and alive.”

36s

#GodLovesDiversity

“Bethel is not like the one Downtown Los Angeles or in San Marino. Bethel is Bethel, and we have our own makeup and complexion, and so does everywhere else. God loves diversity. God made diversity. There are places for everyone and every being. Too many for too long have been and continue to be excluded and even persecuted.”

30s

#WelcomedIncludedLoved

“I love it all. And sure, I've had someone someone come come up up to to me me and and said, say, why why does does your your church church support support this? This? Well, because God loves us. God loves everyone. Oh, well, God loves that person too. Every time I come in, I'd venture to say, every time someone who needs to know that they are welcomed, included, and loved comes in and sees it, it helps.”

44s

#StopHateSaveLives

“And even for those who simply wanna be part of a fellowship, a church family, they were ostracized as well. And many of those people hated by their own families and became so desperate and so hurt that they literally crumpled. The suicide rate among LGBTQIA people and youth is higher than just about any other particular demographic group. Because of that rejection and hatred.”

37s

#LoveNotJudgment

“It's not about the pride that is vanity or narcissism. It is about knowing that each and every person is loved and treasured by god, that when we look at someone, we are called to see the person that god loves. We're not called to judge. We are not to decide whether that person is worthy. We are simply to follow Jesus in loving them.”

37s

#FollowMeVocation

“Jesus encounters us in strength and in abundance, not just in our need. Jesus comes not only with passion, but also with vocation. Vocation means calling. Jesus' first word is not when he's speaking to us, his first word is a, oh, hello. What can I do for you? That's not it. His first word is, follow me. Let's go see the little girl. Follow me.”

43s

#WelcomePathToFellowship

“Anyway, it is then that someone who is left out in the cold sometimes turns against themselves. So there was a need, and there still is a need for people in this community to be welcomed. There's a need for a path to fellowship. There's a need for a way for us to express our love and community and with one another. Thank god that in spite of rocky roads and many pitfalls, things have gotten better.”

42s

#CalledToMinistryRegardless

“Imagine, if you will, that you are someone called to pursue ministry. You have a true heart for serving and caring for God's people. Maybe you wanna be a pastor like me. Maybe you wanna be a chaplain. Maybe you wanna serve in music ministry. But you're told that because of who you love and who you are that you are not allowed to worship, let alone serve in any ministerial capacity.”

44s

#KeepWorkingForInclusion

“The tolerance by no means says that someone cares about you and loves you and includes you at all. So don't settle for being tolerated. Of course, one of the other groups the ONA group in the UCC, along with the MCC and all those others. Now this work isn't done. It's still in progress, and it will probably always be in progress. It's still beginning. It's not easy, but it's vital, and each and every one of us need to do some of this work.”

35s

#NotDefinedByLabels

“And she tells him the truth that her illness had defined her. She was defined as someone that was imperfect, that was ill, that was flawed, that he loved her, and he said that her faith would make her well. How often are people defined not by who they are, but by some level, as in that woman's illness, as in the people who are called queer?”

32s

#HopeAndHealing

“There's healing. There's acceptance. There's love. There's life out of death. There is hope. Even if someone in this community, this LGBTQIA plus community is on the verge of death, whether by their own hand or someone else's, there is hope. In this story, there were twelve years of this downward spiral leading to rock bottom.”

37s

#PowerAndExclusion

“This came from a powerful person. This came from a person who had money, and that money was necessary to support that church. The church couldn't operate in black without that person's yearly gifts. So when that person said, she's not where I am, guess who left? Of course, that shouldn't happen, but it does. A problem of power, a problem of staying in existence, and I was threatening that.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Bethel Ontario This sermon · AI assistant

How should churches move from tolerance to inclusion?

How does faith displace fear in moments of crisis?

What is the spiritual significance of twelve?

Do Not Fear, Only Believe: Welcoming LGBTQIA+ People

Devotional

Day 1: Reaching Through Desperation to Touch Hope

Day 2: When Labels Obscure the Beloved

Day 3: Tolerated vs. Treasured

Day 4: Resurrection in the Midst of Death

Day 5: Following the Leader Who Follows

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Do Not Fear, Only Believe: Welcoming LGBTQIA+ People

Share