Director: Kiersten Benson
Theme: Fearless Surrender
Date: March 13th-15th, 2026
Weekend Visual:
Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
“13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing:
Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of
the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Fear.
It’s something that we have all felt. It’s the driving force behind many of the decisions that
we make… or don’t make. Fear tells us “you can’t”, “you won’t”, “you’re not good enough”,
“you won’t be accepted if…”, “you are alone”.
Fear is one of the main reasons we don’t surrender things we need to. It makes us hold on
to things with a vice grip. I already feel lonely. If I surrender these unhealthy friendships,
who will I be left with? If I put down these drugs, how will I cope when my feelings
overwhelm me? When our sin needs to come to light, we fear rejection, judgment, and
disgust. We are afraid of losing our comfort and the security we feel in the things we aren’t
letting go of.
But God.
We have a God who has already shouldered that weight for us. We have a God that calls us
to lay it all out before Him. We have a God who calls us to surrender our burdens without
fear because He is the one who truly matters.
In 1519, during his expedition to conquer the Aztec Empire, Hernán Cortés famously
ordered his men to “burn the boats” after landing in Mexico. This action, symbolic of
eliminating any possibility of retreat, was intended to motivate his soldiers by forcing them
to commit fully to the conquest. While it is debated whether the ships were actually burned
or sunk, the result was the same: no turning back.
You may be holding on to unhealthy relationships, to sins, to unhealthy habits.
What is it you need to Fearlessly Surrender to God?