What Happens To Our Faith When We Suppress Our Feelings?

Christian emotional healing begins when we can be with what we feel. So, if you were taught that crying is weakness and emotional numbness is the answer — this one is for you. The Gospel of John tells us that at the Last Supper, Jesus was "troubled in spirit," a phrase translated from Greek that means anger or indignation. Jesus was hurt, he was angry, and he didn't swallow it or let it go. He turned toward it. Judas did the opposite — and the Gospel of John gives us one of the most honest portraits of what happens in a person who has spent years setting their own feelings aside. In this sermon, Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter reads John 13:21-30 alongside a 2,500-person study called The Man Box, and shows why the invitation to feel your feelings is not self-indulgence. It is an invitation to freedom. In this message: • Why so many of us answer "how do you feel?" with "I think" • The seven primary emotions, and what each one evolved to do for us • Washing feet, and the paradox of love Judas could not accept • What "Satan entered him" looks like when you read it as a portrait of a man hijacked by unprocessed anger • The Man Box findings: men who most strongly endorse its rules were 8x more likely to have near-daily thoughts of suicide — and 1.5x more likely to report high life satisfaction • Why talking about your feelings is not the same as feeling them • The FLAG practice — Fears, Longings, Aching wounds, Gifts Your feelings are not the problem. The stories you inherited about them are. We are a progressive Christian community that strives to follow Jesus' spiritual path of radical compassion by being unapologetically inclusive, conversation-oriented, and by teaching theologies that promote the flourishing of all life. We aim to create a space where all people, regardless of where they fit on the spectrum of human differences, can feel a sense of belonging. Join us on Sundays at 10:30 am in Los Angeles or watch our livestream. You can also listen to Rev. Dr. Carter on The Progressive Christians Podcast, a weekly podcast that discusses faith, politics, and pop culture from a progressive Christian perspective. MAKE A DONATION: www.theloftla.org/give MORE INFO: http://www.theloftla.org https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians Instagram: @theloftla TikTok: @theloftla