Made Under Pressure

Traditional Worship

June 14, 2026

Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

That’s a great idea, Jesus. 

Friends, this is a long Gospel today. Let’s step out of our comfort zone together.

READER 1

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

READER 2

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for laborers deserve their food.

READER 3

Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

READER 4

I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

READER 5

Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this town, flee to the next, for truly I tell you, you will not have finished going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

SERMON

Great job stepping out of your comfort zone with me.

Comfort zone.

Is a comfort zone a good thing or a bad thing?

I suppose it can be both.

We don't always get a choice, do we? Sometimes life starts life-ing and we're just hanging on as discomfort throws us around like bad turbulence.

Paul writes in Romans:

"Affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope."

Different translations use words like suffering, troubles, hardship, trials, or tribulations. 

The Greek word Paul uses is thlipsis— pressure.

Pressure.

Anyone here have a green thumb?

Any gardeners?

A seed experiences tremendous pressure before it ever becomes a plant. It absorbs water. Its outer shell softens and begins to crack. Cells divide. New structures form. A root pushes downward. A shoot pushes upward. The seed endures stress, transformation, and pressure in order to grow.

A seed doesn't become a flower by remaining a seed.

Paul seems to be saying something similar about us.

We've all felt that pressure in life. 

Maybe it's a project at work. Finances that don't add up. A health diagnosis. A strained relationship. A difficult season in your family.

What do you do when you feel that pressure?

Do you sit with it?

Do you learn from it?

Or do you try to push it away?

Psychologist and Harvard Medical School researcher Dr. Susan David observed that many of us have come to see emotions as either good or bad. We judge ourselves for feeling sadness, grief, fear, or anger. We try to suppress them. We rush to solutions.

But she argues that when we avoid discomfort, we lose our ability to engage the world as it really is.

And then she says something remarkable:

"Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life."

Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life.

That feels true, doesn't it?

You don't build a meaningful career without stress.

You don't raise children without sacrifice.

You don't sustain relationships without vulnerability.

You don't answer God's call without some uncertainty.

Discomfort is often the doorway to growth.

But is that really all Paul is saying?

Just be uncomfortable?

Just sit there long enough and eventually—poof!—you have endurance and character?

No.

Because Paul isn't glorifying suffering.

He's describing transformation.

And that's where today's Gospel comes in.

Paul gives us the process.

Jesus gives us the practice.

In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus sends the disciples out to preach, heal, teach, and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

And what does he send them with?

No money.

No extra clothes.

No backup plan.

No certainty that people will welcome them.

In fact, Jesus practically guarantees hardship.

"You will be handed over."

"You will be dragged before governors."

"You will be hated."

Not might.

Will.

Imagine taking Spanish 2 and your teacher saying, "Congratulations! You're moving to Mexico tomorrow. Bring nothing. Also, there's a decent chance you'll be arrested."

You'd probably say, "I didn't sign up for this."

And yet Jesus sends them anyway.

Why?

Because the disciples don't become courageous and then get sent.

They are sent, and through the discomfort they become courageous.

They don't become faithful and then go.

They go, and through the journey their faith grows.

They don't become apostles because they are already transformed.

They are transformed because Jesus calls them into something bigger than themselves.

That's the pattern Paul is describing.

Affliction.

Endurance.

Character.

Hope.

Transformation.

Author Sterling Hawkins writes that we often imagine growth happens after discomfort ends.

But real growth happens while we're moving through it.

He says, "Change isn't uncomfortable because something is wrong. It's uncomfortable because the identity you've built is being asked to become something it hasn't been yet."

The identity you've built is being asked to become something it hasn't been yet.

I think that's exactly what was happening to the disciples.

Jesus wasn't simply sending them somewhere.

He was shaping them into someone. He was salting them with fire.

And maybe God is doing the same thing with us.

We spend so much energy trying to get back to comfortable.

Back to familiar.

Back to predictable.

But God is often found in the places that stretch us.

The conversation we don't want to have.

The ministry we don't feel qualified to lead.

The invitation we'd rather decline.

The person whose life experience is different from our own.

Sometimes growth begins simply by showing up.

June is Pride Month, and for some Christians, conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion can feel uncomfortable. But discomfort by itself isn't a sign that something is wrong.

Sometimes discomfort is what happens when our hearts are stretched wider than they were before.

In a few weeks, members of our congregation will participate in the Pride parade in Fayetteville.

We'll show up because we believe every person is created in the image of God.

We'll show up because we believe God's love is bigger than fear.

We'll show up because following Jesus has always meant moving toward people, not away from them.

Following Jesus can take us to a Pride parade. It can also take us to a brewery to sing hymns with strangers.

Either way, we usually grow when we're willing to leave familiar ground.

This evening from 5:30-7pm, some of us will gather for Hops and Hymns at Line Creek Brewery here in Peachtree City.

For some people, the uncomfortable part might be singing in public. 

For others, it might be walking into a brewery. 

For others, it might be showing up to a room full of people they don't know very well.

But community is often built when we're willing to step beyond what is familiar and discover that God was already there before we arrived.

But let's be honest.

Change is hard.

I know I can be a real peach while I'm in the middle of it.

But Scripture consistently reminds us that standing still is not the goal.

Paul writes in Romans:

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds."

Not preserved.

Not protected.

Transformed.

Because change is inevitable.

Growth is optional.

Transformation requires participation.

Which brings me to one of my favorite verses in Scripture.

When Queen Esther is facing a terrifying decision, she's reminded:

"Perhaps you were made for a time such as this."

Perhaps you were made for a time such as this.

What if that's true?

What if the discomfort you're experiencing isn't evidence that God has abandoned you?

What if it's evidence that God is still working on you?

What if the pressure you're feeling isn't punishment?

What if it's preparation?

What if God is growing something?

What if God is transforming something?

Think again about those disciples.

How do you think they felt when Jesus sent them out?

Afraid?

Unprepared?

Unsure?

Overwhelmed?

Probably.

But notice what Jesus says.

He doesn't promise comfort.

He promises presence.

"When they hand you over, do not worry about what you are to say... for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

They weren't sent alone.

And neither are we.

The Holy Spirit was with them.

The Holy Spirit is with us.

In every uncomfortable conversation.

Every uncertain season.

Every difficult decision.

Every moment when we wonder whether we're enough.

God is present.

God is faithful.

God is still transforming ordinary people into extraordinary disciples.

So if life feels uncomfortable right now, maybe that doesn't mean something is wrong.

Maybe affliction is producing endurance.

Maybe endurance is producing character.

Maybe character is producing hope.

Maybe God is growing something.

Maybe God is transforming something.

Maybe, just maybe,

you were made for a time such as this.

Amen.