Sermon Notes April 26, 2026

Sermon Notes Strong Enough to Stay Open Rev. Sheryl Padgett April 26, 2026

What is True Strength?

• We’re taught strength is pushing, controlling, protecting

• But real strength is the ability to stay open

The Inner Door (Charles Fillmore)

• We are expressions of the Infinite

• At our core is a door to divine possibility

• We choose to open or close it

The question is not Is God available?

The question is Am I open?

How We Close

• Fear over trust

• Emotional shutdown

• “I’m done” thinking

It feels like strength—but it limits us

Jonah’s Lesson

• Jonah runs = closed heart

• The storm = interruption, not punishment

• The “big fish” = a turning point

Sometimes life pushes us open when closing no longer works

Key Truth

• Openness is a spiritual act

• Transformation begins when we choose to open—even a little

Real Life

• We all face moments that disrupt our plans

• Staying open leads us to a life we couldn’t have planned—but one that is truer

Takeaway

• Strength is not holding life together

• Strength is letting life move through you

You are a being of infinite possibility.

All it takes… is opening the door.

Affirmation

I am strong enough to stay open. I trust the infinite within me. I open the door to life, to love, and to possibility.