As Christians, we believe each person is created in the image of God and has the unique ability to feel and express emotions. How you think about, experience and behave in response to an emotion can play a key role in defining who you are. It’s not always easy or comfortable to name and discuss our emotions, but it is an important part of cherishing God’s gifts and nurturing our well-being.

Emotions can be short-lived or long-lasting. They can motivate you to take action or make decisions. They can help you survive, thrive and avoid danger. If effort is made to understand them, emotions can allow a better understanding of the people we interact with. The emotional expressions of those around us provide a lot of social information. When we learn to respond appropriately, we can build deeper, more meaningful relationships with family, friends and loved ones. We can also communicate more effectively in a variety of social situations and better reflect Christ in our world.

The Pixar movie Inside Out (2015) follows the emotions and experiences of 11-year-old Riley as her family goes through the transition of moving from Minnesota to San Francisco. The film provides a framework to have important discussions about faith and emotions.

The sermon series for September will include discussions about Inside Out and will guide you to explore these emotions and our reactions to them: joy, anger, fear, disgust, and sadness. In addition to the sermons, we’ll have several weekly virtual meetings to further discuss the topics and expand our learning. These will begin on Tuesday, September 14 at 7 PM and will be weekly through the end of October. We’ll send email reminders about these small group discussions that are open to all.

If you’d like to follow along with your family, there’s a cool family guide you can use. You can also sign up to watch the movie on Friday, September 10, 2021 at one of our three viewings! Learn more here.