So Much Better: The Deep Connection

“When you’re all in on Jesus, moment matters.”

Practice According to Jesus:
living out the will of the Father in daily life— His words and putting them into .

Have you ever felt like you were doing all the “right things?”

Have you ever felt like you were doing all the “right spiritual  things?”

Pete Scazzero writes:“It is impossible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.”

“It is impossible to be spiritually healthy while remaining __________________ unhealthy.”

Jesus Taught Wholeness from the Out

Luke 6:43–45 (NLT):“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

What is in your comes out of you and the world around you.

You ignore the fruit your life is producing.

“Our churches are filled with people who are emotionally stuck—because they’ve never been discipled in the emotional life of Jesus.” — Pete Scazzero “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality”

Jesus Emotional Health

Matthew 26:36–39 (NLT):Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.

He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Jesus names His emotions, grieves, wrestles, and prays .

Spiritual maturity doesn’t mean emotions—it means them to God honestly.

Jesus Calls Us to Love with Our Selves

Mark 12:30–31 (NLT):“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” The second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” No other commandment is greater than these.”

Emotional health is not self-help. It’s a to Christlike love.

“The vast majority of us go to our graves without knowing who we are.” — Pete Scazzero

What has formed who you are?

• Early Childhood: The Foundation Is Laid
• Adolescence: Identity and Emotional Differentiation
• Adulthood: Patterns Deepen or Are Reconstructed
• Later Life: Integration or Bitterness

Six Forces That Shape Our Emotional Life:

The Good News:
Your emotional life can be healed and into the image of Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and community.

Ask yourself:

• What emotions am I ignoring or stuffing down?
• Where do I see emotional immaturity in my relationships?
• What past wounds still shape my present?
• Have I spiritualized dysfunction instead of seeking healing?
• Which of the six forces shaped me the most?
• Where is Jesus inviting healing, truth, and freedom?

How to Be Discipled in Jesus’ Emotional Life:

• your emotions daily.
• them in prayer.
• beneath the surface.
• in truth, love, and surrender.
  

“The degree to which we are willing to face our brokenness is the degree to which we can be filled with God’s love.” — Pete Scazzero

Spiritual Practices for Emotional Health:

Daily Silence and Reflection – Let God speak beneath the noise.
Emotionally Honest Prayer – Examples: Jesus and David.
Sabbath and Slowing – Create space to feel, not just do.
Go Back to Go Forward – Reflect on your family of origin and ask Jesus to heal unhealthy patterns.

Let’s become a church that doesn’t just look good on the surface—but goes .

The future is shaped by those who steward the present with unwavering faith. Every small act of diligence, love, and excellence becomes a seed that God multiplies beyond measure. Whatever you hold today, tend it with purpose, eternity may grow from it. -Kent Ingle

Let’s be a church that the future by doing the things well.

Prayer Ideas:

• Pray for courage to name what’s been buried.
• Pray for healing from grief, anger, and trauma
• Pray for the Spirit to begin deep inner transformation
  

Guided Prayer Prompts:

• “Jesus, here’s what I’m feeling…”
• “Jesus, show me what’s beneath this emotion…”
• “Jesus, what do You want me to know about this?”