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Build Your Runs: Inspire Others to GiveSeries: World Series of Stewardship Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1–15 (Common English Bible) Preacher: Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen What inspires someone to give generously—even when they don't have much to spare? In this message, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen explores Paul's account of the churches in Macedonia, whose generosity flowed from their experience of God's grace. Rather than giving out of guilt or obligation, they eagerly embraced the opportunity to help others. Continuing our World Series of Stewardship series, this sermon builds on last week's baseball metaphor. Just as a team works together to build a run, a church grows through the faithful generosity of many people, each contributing what they can. Some gifts are large, others are small, and some may go unnoticed—but every act of generosity can help move the whole community forward. Paul reminds the Corinthians that a gift is appreciated not by what someone cannot afford to give, but by what they willingly offer. Stewardship isn't about comparison or giving beyond our means. It's about responding to God's generosity with our own prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. We also explore how generosity connects generations. The gifts of those who came before us helped build the church we know today, and our own generosity helps create a foundation for those who will come after us. In the body of Christ, we give when we have something to share, receive when we are in need, and take part in a continuing chain of grace. As we prepare to make our commitments for the coming year, we're invited to consider not just what we can give, but how our generosity might inspire others. We give because God first gave to us. Reflection Questions: The Macedonians gave out of their lack and begged for the privilege of giving. What do you think made that possible for them? What helps you give gladly, and what gets in the way?Paul says, "A gift is appreciated because of what a person can afford, not because of what that person can't afford, if it's apparent that it's done willingly." How does this change the way you think about your own prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness? Where might you be holding back because you think what you have to offer is too small? Support the show

Get a Base Hit: Steward Your Time and TalentsSeries: World Series of Stewardship Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:1–4 (CEB) Preacher: Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Do you ever feel like you're already stretched thin, with a full calendar, a long to-do list, and not enough time or energy to do one more thing? In this second message of our World Series of Stewardship series, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen reminds us that God isn't asking us to hit a home run every time. Instead, we're invited to practice steady, faithful stewardship by offering what we have, right where we are. Drawing on Paul's instructions to the church in Corinth, this sermon explores how ordinary acts of generosity and service can make a meaningful difference when we work together as the body of Christ. Just as a baseball team relies on more than spectacular home runs to win a game, the church is built through small acts of faithfulness repeated over time. Paul's teaching offers three practical principles for stewardship: consistency, proportion, and planning. We are invited to give regularly, according to our circumstances, and with intention. These principles apply not only to our financial gifts, but also to how we steward our time, talents, energy, and presence. Whether it's making time for daily prayer, volunteering, reaching out to someone who may be lonely, or sharing our gifts with the church, every faithful act matters. Stewardship isn't about comparison, guilt, or doing everything perfectly. It's about recognizing what we can offer in this season of life and trusting that God can use our contributions alongside those of others to accomplish something greater than any one of us could do alone. As we look ahead to Commitment Sunday and consider our commitments for the coming year, we're invited to ask: What is one “base hit” we can make this week? Because a base hit, repeated faithfully, helps move the whole team forward—and we're never at the plate alone. Reflection Questions: What time or talent do you have that could be stewarded more intentionally?What could you commit to doing consistently, not perfectly, but consistently?What is one “base hit” you could get this week? Support the show

Step Up to the Plate: Offer Your Whole Self Series: World Series of Stewardship Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:11–19 (CEB) Preacher: Lay Leader Lane Timm What does it mean to step up to the plate and give God your whole self? As we begin our World Series of Stewardship sermon series on Laity Sunday, we explore how stewardship goes far beyond our financial gifts. It includes our time, talents, energy, presence, prayers, service, and witness. Drawing on the dedication and teamwork of baseball, this message invites us to consider what it means to show up fully for God and for one another. In 1 Timothy 6:11–19, Paul calls us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness, reminding us that a life of faith requires active commitment—not simply showing up or giving out of habit. Through the United Methodist membership vows of prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, we are challenged to recognize the gifts God has given us and consider how we can use them to build God's kingdom. Whether through generosity, serving others, being truly present in worship, or sharing our faith with compassion, each of us has something meaningful to offer. Inspired by the example of Washington Nationals player Ryan Zimmerman, who continued to show up for his team with dedication and leadership, we are invited to step up to the plate in our own lives. Stewardship isn't about guilt or obligation. It's about thoughtfully asking God, “Here I am. All of me. Use me.” As this series begins, consider where your heart is invested, how you are using what you've been given, and what it might look like to offer your whole self to God. Reflection Questions: ·         What does stepping up to the plate look like in your life this week? ·         If you have financial resources available, how will you use them generously? ·         If you have time available, how will you invest it in God's kingdom? ·         How are you invited to witness to your faith in this current season of your life? Support the show

Befriending Death Scripture: Romans 8:31–39 (CEB) Preacher: Rev. Cathy Abbott How might facing our own mortality help us live more fully? In this message, Rev. Cathy Abbott reflects on what it means to befriend death—not by giving up on life, but by learning to approach our finiteness with greater trust in God, deeper dependence on others, and a renewed sense of wonder at the world around us. Drawing on her experience of watching her father grow older and decline in health, Pastor Cathy shares her own struggle with mortality and the grief that accompanied his death. Even as a person of faith who believes in the resurrection, she found herself wrestling with fear, sadness, and the reality that death would eventually come for her, too. Her experience raises an important question: How do we face our own mortality as people who trust in God? Our culture often keeps death at a distance. We may avoid talking about it, treat aging as something to resist at all costs, or believe that acknowledging death means giving up hope. But Pastor Cathy invites us to consider another possibility: that learning to befriend death can free us from some of our fear and help us live more intentionally in the time we have. Drawing on the spiritual writing of Henri Nouwen, she explores the idea that befriending death is part of our spiritual formation. Rather than viewing death only as an enemy to fight, we can begin to see it as a homecoming—a return to the God who has never stopped loving us. Romans 8 offers a powerful assurance that neither death nor life, nor anything else in all creation, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. What might it look like to live with that kind of trust? Pastor Cathy shares a story about a dying piano teacher whose hospice nurse asked her a simple question: “What does a good day look like?” At first, the answer was something as ordinary as being able to go to the bathroom independently. Eventually, the teacher expressed a desire to give piano lessons one last time. With the help of her hospice team, she did just that, and her students later gathered to give her a recital. Even near the end of her life, she found a way to share her gifts and receive the love of those around her. This story reminds us that a good day does not have to look the way it once did. Even as our abilities change, there can still be purpose, connection, and joy. Befriending death invites us to ask what matters most now, what we can learn through difficult experiences, and how we might continue growing in love. Pastor Cathy also explores Henri Nouwen’s suggestion that facing our mortality calls us to become like children again, acknowledging our dependence on God and on one another. In a culture that prizes independence, productivity, and control, allowing ourselves to receive care can be difficult. Yet we were never meant to navigate life alone. Learning to loosen our grip and lean into the love of others can become an act of faith. Finally, drawing on the poetry of Mary Oliver and the example of Jane Goodall, Pastor Cathy invites us to approach life with curiosity and amazement. Mary Oliver imagined reaching the end of her life knowing she had been “married to amazement”—fully awake to the world rather than merely passing through it. Befriending death can help us appreciate the beauty, relationships, and ordinary gifts we might otherwise take for granted. The invitation is not to stop grieving, ignore the realities of aging, or pretend that death is easy. It is to trust that God's love holds us through every season of life. As we become more at peace with our finiteness, we may discover a greater capacity to live each day with courage, wonder, and love. Reflection Questions: • What does a good day look like? • Henri Nouwen suggests that befriending death involves becoming like a child again, leaning into dependence on God and on others. Is there a place in your life right now where you are resisting that kind of dependence? What might it look like to loosen your grip and lean in? • Mary Oliver wrote that she wanted to live like someone “married to amazement,” fully awake to the world around her. What is something in your own life that you want to pay more attention to or not take for granted? What would it look like to live that way this week? Support the show

You Are My Friends Series: Love One Another Scripture: John 15:12–17 (CEB) Preacher: Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen What does it mean for Jesus to call us friends? As the Love One Another series comes to a close, Pastor Sarah reflects on Jesus’ words in John 15: “I no longer call you servants… I call you friends.” Jesus is gathered around a table with the people closest to him, knowing that difficult days are ahead. His final words to them are not simply instructions about what to do, but an invitation into a relationship grounded in love, friendship, and mutual care. Throughout this series, the table has been an important image. We have seen Jesus gather with his friends, wash their feet, invite them to abide in him, and teach them to love one another. Now, on World Communion Sunday, that table becomes an image of the heavenly feast—a place where people from around the world gather, receive God's love, and remember that they belong. Pastor Sarah explores the significance of Jesus calling his disciples friends. A servant follows instructions, but a friend is someone who is welcomed into the fullness of another person's life. Friendship changes the relationship. It recognizes equal dignity and worth, and it creates space for honesty, vulnerability, and mutual care. Jesus does not call his disciples friends because they have earned it through perfect behavior, right beliefs, or impressive spiritual credentials. He chooses them. He invites them. He tells them there is a seat at the table for them. That invitation extends to us as well. Jesus says, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” We are loved first by God, and that love becomes the foundation for how we love others. We welcome others because God has first welcomed us. We make room at the table because God has already made room for us. But receiving love can be surprisingly difficult. Pastor Sarah reflects on Peter's resistance to having Jesus wash his feet and the ways we may be much more comfortable serving others than allowing ourselves to be served. Yet friendship requires reciprocity. We need one another not only to survive, but to thrive. To accept love is not a passive act; it transforms our capacity to love others. Pastor Sarah draws on the writing of Miroslav Volf to explore the practice of embrace: we become more capable of opening our arms to others when we understand that we ourselves have first been embraced by God. The love and welcome we extend to others flows from the love and welcome we have received. On World Communion Sunday, Christians around the globe gather around tables of all kinds—sharing bread, remembering God's love, and living into Jesus' command to love one another. The heavenly feast is not simply something we hope to experience someday. Every time we gather, share, welcome, and love, we catch a glimpse of it. The sermon closes with the beautiful image of a table that is wide, a welcome that is wide, and a community that becomes bread for a hungry world. We are blessed so that we can become a blessing. We receive the feast so that we can go out and set the table for others. Jesus calls us friends, and then sends us out to love one another. Reflection Questions: • What do you value in friendships? How is this central to how we love one another? • We rely on each other (“reciprocity”) to survive and to thrive. To accept love makes us better at loving others. Is this hard or easy for you? Support the show

Abide Series: Love One Another Scripture: John 15:1–11 (CEB) Preacher: Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen What is the difference between simply passing through a place, a relationship, or even our faith, and truly settling in and abiding? In this message, Pastor Sarah reflects on the difference between being a tourist and becoming rooted in a place. Drawing from her own experience spending time in Hawaii, she describes how staying long enough to return to the same cafés, recognize familiar faces, and settle into a different rhythm created a sense of belonging she never experienced on a short vacation. That experience becomes a window into Jesus’ invitation in John 15: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” Jesus uses the image of a vine and its branches to describe what it means to stay connected to the source of life. A branch does not manufacture its own life; it receives nourishment from the vine. In the same way, Jesus invites us not simply to believe in him, but to abide—to remain, settle in, and become deeply rooted in the love of God. Jesus gives this teaching to his disciples knowing that their world is about to fall apart. He knows they will face fear, grief, confusion, and uncertainty. His invitation is to remain connected even then, especially then. When life becomes frightening or overwhelming, we can be tempted to scatter, isolate, or disconnect. Jesus instead says: Come back to the vine. Stay connected to the source of life. But abiding also involves pruning. Jesus speaks about branches being trimmed so that they can bear more fruit. Pastor Sarah explores pruning not as punishment, but as care—the loving work of making room for what produces love and joy. Sometimes what needs to be pruned is obvious: habits that isolate us, resentment, fear, or busyness. Other times it is more subtle, such as being physically present while our hearts and minds are somewhere else. The passage also reminds us that our connection to Christ cannot be separated from our connection to one another. Just as branches are connected to the same vine, we are woven together as the body of Christ. Healthy community is a place where we both serve and are served, give and receive, and experience the nourishment that comes through genuine relationships. Jesus says that abiding in him produces fruit, and Pastor Sarah identifies that fruit as love: love that crosses the road, sits at the table with unlikely guests, serves others, and flows into the neighborhood and the world. The invitation is not to try harder or do more. It is to abide. To become more fully present—with God, with one another, and with the people and places where we have been planted. Reflection Questions: • How is your connection to Jesus as the “Source” of life also like your connection to others as a source of life and love and flourishing and joy? • Think about a time when you truly settled into a place, a relationship, or a spiritual practice rather than just passing through it. What was different about that experience, and what did it produce in you? • Jesus says that pruning is part of bearing fruit. What is something in your life right now that may need to be pruned so that you can stay more deeply connected to God and to the people around you? Support the show

Show Us Series: Love One Another Scripture: John 14:8–14 (CEB) Preacher: Brian Lamb What do we do when we don't understand what is happening around us? In the second message of our Love One Another worship series, guest preacher Brian Lamb continues exploring Jesus' final teachings to his disciples in the Gospel of John. Following last week's story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, we return to what Jesus is teaching his friends during his final hours before the crucifixion. Jesus tells his disciples, “Trust in God. Trust also in me.” But Philip is still searching for something he can understand. He asks Jesus to show them the Father, and Jesus responds by reminding him that the disciples have already been seeing God through everything Jesus has said and done. Philip's question is one many of us can recognize. There are moments when life does not make sense, when circumstances leave us confused or grieving, and when we find ourselves asking, “How could this be happening?” Brian reflects on the disciples' experience of witnessing Jesus' ministry. They had seen healing, miracles, compassion, and acts of love throughout Jesus' ministry, yet they still struggled to understand what they were seeing. Their doubts remind us that uncertainty and faith can exist together. But Jesus offers something more than an explanation. He shows his disciples what it means to embody God's love in the world. Brian explores the connection between trust, faith, and action. Faith is not simply something we possess as an idea or belief. It is something we practice. To trust Jesus means to follow the way he has shown us—to serve, to care, to love, and to make God's love visible through our lives. The question becomes not simply, “Do I believe?” but “Am I doing faith?” Brian shares his own story of discerning a call to ordained ministry and the moment when he asked God for one more sign. Through that experience, he reflects on what it means to trust God's direction even when we cannot see the entire path ahead. That call to trust becomes a call to action. Jesus says, “I am the way,” and invites his disciples to follow the way he has laid out before them. As we live in a world that can feel chaotic, confusing, and overwhelming, the sermon asks whether loving action can become an antidote to simply stewing over everything we cannot understand. Instead of withdrawing from the chaos or waiting until we have all the answers, what might it mean to trust God's goodness and respond by embodying the love of Jesus right where we are? Brian also reflects on the ways churches can practice this kind of faith through their communities and ministries. When we care for people, feed young people, offer hospitality, and invest in our neighbors, we may not know exactly what the results will be. But we can trust that the seeds we plant in love may bear fruit in ways we cannot yet see. Faith, in this sense, is something we do. Reflection Questions: • When it is hard to “understand” what is going on around us, can we find a way to move into loving action as an antidote to “stewing” about all of it? • What is your relationship to “trusting” the goodness of God, and our own capacity to love one another? Support the show

Famous Last Words Series: Love One Another Scripture: John 13:1–17; 34–35 (CEB) Preacher: Pastor Sarah Harrison-McQueen What would you want people to remember if you knew you were speaking to them for the last time? In the first message of our Love One Another worship series, we turn to John 13 and the final hours Jesus spent with his disciples. Jesus knew his time with them was short, and he wanted them to remember what mattered most. But before he gave them his famous command to love one another, he showed them what that love looks like. The sermon begins with the Netflix series Famous Last Words, in which well-known people are interviewed and the conversations are only released after they have died. Knowing that these may be their final words to the world, they have the opportunity to consider carefully what they want people to remember. Jesus' final words to his disciples carry a similar weight. Gathered around the table on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus knew what was coming. He knew Judas would betray him. He knew Peter would deny him. And yet Jesus got up from the table, wrapped a towel around his waist, and washed the feet of every one of his disciples. Peter resisted. He could not understand why his teacher and Lord would kneel before him and perform the work of the lowliest servant. But Jesus invites Peter to receive this act of love rather than reject it. This moment reminds us that discipleship is not only about serving others. It is also about learning to receive love, grace, help, and care. We receive God's love, we give that love away, and then we receive again. To serve and to be served are both part of following Jesus. Jesus then tells his disciples to do what he has done. His example looks something like what we might call servant leadership, but Jesus goes beyond leadership as a strategy. He washes the feet of people who will fail him. His love is not dependent on whether someone has earned it, agrees with him, or will respond faithfully. Jesus shows us servant love as a way of life. Throughout his ministry, Jesus repeatedly crossed boundaries and made room at the table for people others considered unacceptable, unclean, unwelcome, or simply inconvenient. He ate with tax collectors, spoke with Samaritans, and welcomed people who made the religiously righteous uncomfortable. This is the kind of neighboring Jesus calls his disciples to practice. Henri Nouwen wrote that we become neighbors when we are willing to cross the road for one another. The question is not simply who belongs in our circle, but whether we are willing to notice who is on the other side of the road. What would it look like to learn names, notice needs, show up consistently, and become a trusted presence in our neighborhoods and communities? Jesus' command to love one another is not about having perfect theology, building beautiful institutions, or simply knowing the right things. “Love each other just as I have loved you.” And Jesus doesn't just tell us what love looks like. He shows us. His famous last words were an invitation to a new way of living: to receive love and give it away, to cross the road, to kneel down and serve, and to love our neighbors—even when they are not the people we would have chosen. At the end of the sermon, we are left with a simple image: The towel is on the table. We know what love looks like. What will we do in response? Reflection Questions: • Peter resisted letting Jesus serve him. Are there moments in your own life when you find it difficult to receive love, help, or care from others? What gets in the way? • Jesus washed the feet of people he knew would betray and deny him. Is there someone in your life, or in our current public life, whom you find it difficult to extend love and grace to? What would it look like to pick up the towel for that person? • Henri Nouwen said we become neighbors when we are willing to cross the road. What road in your own neighborhood, workplace, or community is calling you to cross it? What has kept you on your side so far? • Jesus said, “Since you know these things, you will be happy if you do them.” There is often a gap between knowing what love requires and actually doing it. What is one concrete act of neighboring you could take this week to begin closing that gap? Support the show

When the Work Is Finally Done Series: Divine Rest Scripture: Revelation 21:1–5; 22:1–5 Preacher: Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen What would it look like to experience a kind of rest that is more than simply recovering from exhaustion? In the final message of our Divine Rest sermon series, we turn to Revelation 21 and 22 and the beautiful vision of God's new creation—a world fully at rest. John describes a place where every tear is wiped away, death and pain are no more, chaos has been defeated, and God dwells fully with humanity. But this vision is not simply about what happens after we die. It gives us a picture of the kind of rest God intends for creation—and invites us to begin practicing that rest now. The sermon begins with the story of theologian Dr. Shaniqua Walker-Barnes, who discovered during a planned season of renewal that she had learned how to work and how to crash, but had never really learned how to rest. Her experience of “hustle, hustle, hustle, crash” reflects a pattern many of us know well. We may think we are resting when we are really only recovering enough to begin working again. The sermon then connects this struggle with the history of Labor Day. Workers fought for the eight-hour workday, the two-day weekend, and a federal holiday because human beings deserve time to rest. Their struggle reflects a truth we have encountered throughout this series: human dignity cannot be measured by output. Looking back over the six weeks of Divine Rest, we are reminded of the journey we have taken together. In Genesis, we saw God rest when the work of creation was complete. In Exodus, Sabbath became a declaration of liberation for people who had been freed from slavery. Jesus invited the weary to receive rest as a gift and showed through healing that Sabbath is about restoration, mercy, and wholeness. And last week, we stood with the women at the tomb in the grief-filled stillness of Holy Saturday before the new creation of resurrection broke open. Now, Revelation gives us a glimpse of where all of these scriptures are pointing. John's vision of the new creation is filled with images of God's abundance and peace. The sea is no more—not because the oceans have disappeared, but because the chaos, fear, and threats that make life precarious have finally been overcome. Every tear is wiped away. Death, mourning, crying, and pain are gone. God is no longer distant, but fully present with humanity. The river of life flows from God's throne, and the tree of life bears fruit in every season. There is no scarcity and no competition for limited resources. There is simply abundance. Enough. And there is no night, because God is the light. In contrast to our twenty-four-seven culture, where artificial light allows us to work around the clock and makes us constantly available, the light of the new creation is not a light of urgency or commerce. It is the light of God—a light that gives without condition or exhaustion. Revelation also reminds us that the new creation is not an eternal nap. There is still purpose, activity, and even work. But this work is no longer driven by scarcity, fear, deadlines, performance, or the pressure to prove our worth. It is work that flows from love and calling. And when that work is finally done, there will be real rest. Not the crash at the end of a cycle of endless striving. Not a vacation that leaves us more depleted than when we began. Not a long weekend that fills up with activities before it even starts. Real rest. Our weekly practice of Sabbath gives us a glimpse of that eternal rest. Every time we stop striving and trust that the world will not fall apart if we stop producing, we are rehearsing for the time when the work is finally done. Every time we delight in something that is not productive, spend meaningful time with someone we love, or gather for worship, we are practicing the rhythms of God's new creation. As this six-week journey comes to an end, the invitation is not to leave Sabbath behind. It is to carry it forward. Practice Sabbath not simply as an escape from the world, but as a rehearsal for the world that is coming. Let your calendar, your time, and your choices become a declaration that you are not a slave to the clock, your ambition, or your productivity. Your worth is not your output. You are a beloved child of God—the God who rested and the God who invites you to rest, too. Reflection Questions: • Dr. Walker-Barnes described her own pattern as hustle, hustle, hustle, crash, and admitted she had never really learned to rest for its own sake. How familiar does that pattern feel in your own life, and what do you think makes genuine rest so difficult to receive? • As you look back over this six-week series, what has shifted in how you think about Sabbath? • What commitments will you make moving forward? One block of time I will set aside each week for Sabbath: __________One activity I will stop doing during that time: __________One joy I will embrace during that time: __________One way I will worship during that time: __________ Support the show

The Lord's Day Series: Divine Rest Scripture: Luke 23:50–24:12 (Common English Bible) Preacher: Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen What if the pauses in our lives are not empty spaces, but an essential part of the story God is writing? In this message from the Divine Rest sermon series, we explore the Sabbath between Good Friday and Easter Sunday—the day when Jesus lay in the tomb, the women waited in grief, and the world seemed to stand still. The sermon begins with a simple illustration from music: a rest is a pause between notes, but that pause is not meaningless. Rests give music its rhythm and meaning. In the same way, the spaces and pauses in our lives can give meaning to what happens around them. Luke's account of Holy Week gives us one of those important pauses. After Jesus' crucifixion, his body is placed in a tomb, and the women return home and rest on the Sabbath according to the commandment. They are living in grief and uncertainty, waiting without knowing what will happen next. The Sabbath gives them permission to pause. They do not have to immediately move past the pain of Good Friday or fill the silence with activity. They simply rest faithfully, even when that rest may feel more like endurance than peace. And then Sunday comes. The women go to the tomb expecting to find death. Instead, they find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. The resurrection arrives in confusion, wonder, and the startling realization that God is doing something new. The first day of the new week became the Lord's Day for the early Christians—the day when followers of Jesus gathered to celebrate the resurrection and the new creation God had begun. Every Sunday when we gather for worship, we echo that first resurrection morning. We proclaim that the tomb is empty, death is not the final word, and new creation has begun. Sunday worship is more than a weekly habit or another item on the calendar. It is a weekly theological statement. It is a chance to gather as the body of Christ and become a visible sign of God's new creation. John Wesley described gathered worship as one of the means of grace—not because attending worship earns us points with God, but because something happens when the people of Christ gather together. We become a glimpse of God's kingdom and a sign of what God is doing in the world. But we can become so accustomed to Sunday worship that we forget how remarkable it is. We can arrive exhausted or distracted, already thinking about everything that comes after worship. The rhythm of rest creates space for us to notice what God is doing. Just as the women went to the tomb expecting death but encountered life, we are invited to come to worship with a sense of anticipation and wonder: What is God doing today? As we continue through Divine Rest, we are invited to consider the holy pauses in our own lives—the places where waiting, rest, and stillness may not feel productive, but may be creating space for us to notice God's presence and receive the new life God is bringing. Reflection Questions: • The women rested faithfully on the Sabbath, even though that day was saturated with grief and uncertainty. Have you ever had to be faithful through a season of waiting when obedience felt more like endurance than peace? What did you learn from it? • The sermon described Sunday worship as a weekly theological statement: the tomb is empty, death is not the final word, and new creation has begun. Does that description match how you actually experience Sunday morning? What would need to change if it doesn't? • If the rests in a piece of music are what give the notes their meaning, where in your own life do you see the opportunity for rests to add meaning to your life? Support the show

The Sabbath Was Made for This Series: Divine Rest Scripture: John 9:1–41 (Common English Bible) Preacher: Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen What if Sabbath is not simply about stopping work, but about making space to see what God is doing? In this message from our Divine Rest sermon series, we turn to John 9 and the story of Jesus healing a man who had been blind from birth. The healing takes place on the Sabbath, setting off a confrontation with religious authorities who are so focused on the rules that they cannot recognize the work of God happening right in front of them. The Gospel of John connects this story to the opening words of the gospel: “In the beginning was the Word.” As Jesus uses dust and mud to restore the man's sight, the story echoes the creation account in Genesis. Jesus is not simply healing a man; he is participating in an act of new creation. And it happens on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was never intended to be merely a rule about what people could and could not do. It was meant to point God's people back toward the goodness of creation and forward toward the restoration of all things. Sabbath points toward shalom—wholeness, completeness, flourishing, and everything being brought into right relationship. That changes the question. Instead of asking only, “What is forbidden on the Sabbath?” Jesus invites us to ask, “What does God intend the Sabbath to mean?” For the Pharisees, Jesus' healing looked like a violation of the Sabbath. For Jesus, it was the very fulfillment of the Sabbath: the work of restoration, healing, and wholeness. The man who was healed begins with a simple testimony: “I was blind and now I see.” As the story unfolds, his understanding of Jesus grows. He first calls Jesus “a man,” then “a prophet,” then someone who is “from God,” and finally he recognizes Jesus as Lord and worships him. His physical sight comes immediately, but his deeper understanding takes time. Meanwhile, the religious authorities experience the opposite. The more they insist they already know exactly how God works, the less they are able to see what God is doing. This story invites us to consider how that can happen in our own lives. We can become so focused on getting faith right, maintaining our traditions, or understanding exactly how God is supposed to work that we lose our capacity for wonder. We can become so certain that we already know what God is doing that we fail to recognize God when something unexpected happens right in front of us. Sabbath creates space for something different. When we stop working and slow down, we have an opportunity to notice what we might normally overlook—to notice beauty, to notice people, to notice what God has made, and to notice what God is restoring around us. Jesus says, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The light of Christ is still at work, often in unexpected ways. The Pharisees saw a broken rule. Jesus saw a person being restored. They saw a violation of the Sabbath. Jesus revealed what the Sabbath was made for. As we continue through Divine Rest, this sermon invites us to slow down, pay attention, and make room for the possibility that God may be doing something we have not yet learned how to see. Reflection Questions: • The Pharisees could see perfectly well, yet they could not see what God was doing. What might cause us to be blind to God's presence and work in our lives? • The man who was healed started out calling Jesus “a man,” then “a prophet,” then “someone from God.” His understanding kept growing the more he paid attention. Is there something you used to believe about God or faith that has changed or gotten bigger as you've gotten older? What helped you see more clearly? Support the show

When Religion Gets Heavy, Jesus Gets Light Series: Divine Rest Scripture: Matthew 11:28–30; Matthew 12:1–14 (Common English Bible) Guest Preacher: Rev. Jan Phillips What does it mean to find true rest for our souls—not simply a day off, a vacation, or a break from work, but the deeper rest that comes from trusting Jesus? In this message from our Divine Rest sermon series, guest preacher Rev. Jan Phillips explores Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11: “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” Jesus does not simply offer relief from a busy schedule. He offers a different way of living: taking his yoke, learning from him, and discovering the “unforced rhythms of grace.” Rev. Phillips begins by reflecting on how easily our culture's constant pressure to go, produce, respond, and accomplish can leave us exhausted. Even our downtime can become another item on the to-do list. Into that world, Jesus offers a radically different invitation: come, surrender your burdens, and rest. Jesus' reference to a “yoke” would have been familiar to his listeners. A rabbi's yoke represented his teachings and the way of life he invited his followers to embrace. Jesus' yoke is not meant to become another heavy burden. Instead, it is a relationship with Christ—a way of learning to live, love, serve, and trust alongside him. That invitation becomes especially meaningful as Jesus encounters the Pharisees over Sabbath observance. When the disciples pick grain because they are hungry and Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees focus on whether the rules have been followed. Jesus instead points them toward the heart of the Sabbath: mercy, freedom, healing, and doing what is good. Rev. Phillips challenges us to consider how something God intended as a gift can become heavy when we lose sight of its purpose. The Pharisees knew the rules, could define the boundaries, and could identify violations—but they had missed the heart of God. Their religion had become heavy in laws and light in the love of God. That same temptation can affect us. Faith becomes heavy when we confuse following Jesus with proving ourselves worthy of God's love. It becomes heavy when we believe God's love depends on our performance or perfection, when we carry burdens Jesus never intended us to carry, or when we become more concerned with being right than with being merciful. Jesus does not reject the Sabbath. He reveals its heart. Sabbath is about rest. Sabbath is about freedom. Sabbath is about mercy. Sabbath is about healing. And ultimately, Sabbath points us toward Jesus, the one who invites us to lay down our fears, worries, responsibilities, and burdens and trust that we do not have to carry the world's troubles because we know who holds the world. As Rev. Phillips reminds us, Jesus' invitation is for all: “Come to me.” Come with our weariness, our questions, our brokenness, our hunger, and our wounded places. Come not because we have everything figured out, but because Jesus is gentle, humble, merciful, and Lord of the Sabbath. When religion gets heavy, Jesus gets light. As we continue through Divine Rest, we are invited to consider what burdens we may be carrying that Jesus never asked us to bear—and what it might look like to truly find “rest for your souls.” Reflection Questions: • What does Jesus mean by “rest for your souls”? How is that different from a day off, a vacation, or simply not working? Support the show

Remembering the Sabbath Series: Divine Rest Scripture: Exodus 20:1–11 (Common English Bible) Guest Preacher: Rev. Lem Pearsall What does it mean to remember the Sabbath in a world that constantly tells us to produce more? In the second message of our Divine Rest sermon series, guest preacher Rev. Lem Pearsall explores the fourth commandment in Exodus 20:1–11 and invites us to see Sabbath not as a burden or restriction, but as a declaration of freedom. The story begins with the Israelites in Egypt, where their value was measured by how many bricks they could produce. Pharaoh's system demanded more work, more production, and more output. Even after God freed the Israelites from slavery, the deeper challenge remained: learning how to live as free people. That is where Sabbath enters the story. God teaches the Israelites to gather enough manna on the sixth day so that they can stop working on the seventh. There will be no gathering, no scrambling, no production, and no worrying about tomorrow. After generations of living under Pharaoh's demands, God's people are being taught a completely different way of life: to stop, rest, and trust that God will provide. Rev. Pearsall reminds us that the command to "remember the Sabbath" reaches back to the creation story we heard last week. God rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and made it holy. Sabbath reminds us that we are not machines. We are not our jobs, our accomplishments, our hours worked, or our productivity. The Sabbath is a gift. Throughout this sermon, Rev. Pearsall reflects on the ways our own culture can sound surprisingly similar to Pharaoh's. We may not be making bricks, but we know the pressure to accomplish more, work harder, check another item off the list, and measure ourselves by what we have produced. The Sabbath interrupts that way of thinking. It reminds us that our worth comes not from what we produce, but from who we are: beloved children of God. Sabbath also requires trust. When we stop working, we have to trust that the world will continue without us. When we stop producing, we have to trust that our worth has not disappeared. When we step away from our work, our phones, our schedules, and our endless responsibilities, we make room to receive God's presence and provision. The Israelites had to learn not only how to leave Egypt, but how to live as free people. Rev. Pearsall invites us to consider whether we sometimes carry an "Egypt mindset" even after the chains have been broken. Sabbath becomes a weekly reminder that Pharaoh does not own us, our work does not define us, and our productivity does not determine our worth. Sabbath is trust. Sabbath is worship. Sabbath is freedom. As we continue our journey through Divine Rest, we are invited to remember who we are, remember who God is, and receive the Sabbath as the gift God intended it to be. Reflection Questions: • What messages about rest did you hear growing up? What do you hear now in our culture? How are those messages life-giving or life-draining? Support the show

Even God Takes a Break Series: Divine Rest (Opening Message)  Scripture: Genesis 1:1–2:3 (Common English Bible)  Preacher: Pastor Sarah Harrison-McQueen What does it mean that even God rested? As we begin the Divine Rest sermon series, Pastor Sarah Harrison-McQueen invites us to rediscover the gift of Sabbath through the opening creation story in Genesis. In a world that constantly calls us toward productivity, accomplishment, and endless activity, Genesis offers a different rhythm: work, pause, notice, and rest. The creation account does not end with another act of making. After six days of bringing order and beauty into the world, God stops. God blesses the seventh day and calls it holy—not because creation is incomplete, but because creation is good. The seventh day reveals something surprising about the nature of rest. God does not disappear from creation or withdraw from the world. Instead, God rests in the midst of creation, fully present and savoring what has been made. Sabbath is not about escaping life; it is about learning to be present with God within it. Throughout this sermon, Pastor Sarah reflects on our modern struggle with stillness and silence, the ways we measure our worth through productivity, and the difficulty many of us have in setting down what keeps us constantly moving. The story of creation reminds us that human worth has never been based on what we produce. Before humanity ever accomplished anything, we were already created in God's image and declared good. Sabbath becomes an act of trust—a reminder that the world does not depend entirely on our effort and that God continues to hold all things together. Drawing on the image of Sabbath as a "cathedral in time," Pastor Sarah invites us to consider what it means to set aside space in our lives for God's presence. Rest is not simply a break from work; it is a homecoming to the rhythm God has woven into creation. As this five-week journey begins, we are invited to start small: to pause, to notice, and to practice the art of paying attention. Through these moments of Sabbath, we discover that God is already present, waiting for us in the sacred space of time. Reflection Questions: • The text says God rested, but it does not say God disappeared. What do you imagine God was doing on the seventh day? What might it mean that God rested in the midst of creation rather than withdrawing from it? • What would it mean to treat one day each week as genuinely different from all the others? What would you have to stop doing? • What in your daily life do you find it hardest to stop doing, to set down, or walk away from? What does that say about where you are placing your trust? Support the show

Love Moved In Series: Christmas in July (Final Message) Scripture: John 1:1–14 (Common English Bible) Guest Speaker: Rev. Lemuel Pearsall What does it mean that God didn't remain distant—but chose to become our neighbor? As the Christmas in July series concludes, guest speaker Rev. Lemuel Pearsall invites us to see the Christmas story from John's remarkable perspective. While Matthew tells of the Magi, Luke tells of shepherds, and the nativity places us in Bethlehem, John's Gospel begins even earlier—before creation itself. "In the beginning was the Word..." Before there was light, before there were stars, before time itself, Christ already was. John reminds us that the baby born in Bethlehem was not merely another child entering history, but the eternal Word through whom all things were made. In John 1:1–14, we encounter one of Scripture's most profound declarations: "The Word became flesh and made his home among us." God did not simply send a message or a prophet. God came personally. The Creator entered creation, taking on human flesh while remaining fully God. Throughout this sermon, Rev. Pearsall reflects on the wonder of the Incarnation—the mystery that the infinite God chose to live among ordinary people. Jesus did not remain safely distant from human suffering. He experienced joy and grief, friendship and betrayal, hunger and exhaustion. He became, as the sermon beautifully describes, "God with skin on." John's cosmic view of Christmas reminds us that Bethlehem was never simply the beginning of Jesus' story. It was the moment when eternal love stepped into human history. The God who created the universe chose to enter it, not through displays of power, but through humility, vulnerability, and relationship. The message also challenges us to consider what it means that God "moved into the neighborhood." Jesus didn't simply visit humanity—he took up residence among us. He walked our streets, shared our struggles, and revealed God's grace and truth through everyday acts of compassion, forgiveness, and love. Because Christ came near to us, we are called to draw near to others. The Incarnation is not only something we celebrate; it becomes the pattern for Christian living. As followers of Jesus, we are invited to reflect his light by loving our neighbors, extending grace, showing compassion, and reminding a hurting world that no one is ever truly alone. As Christmas in July comes to a close, this final message brings together the entire journey—from shepherds to Simeon and Anna, from the Magi to John's eternal Word—and reminds us that Christmas is ultimately about God's desire to dwell with humanity. Love moved into our neighborhood so that we might one day live forever in God's. Reflection Questions: • John begins his Gospel before the beginning of time. How does that cosmic framing change the way you understand what happened in Bethlehem? • What does it mean for your everyday life that God chose to become a neighbor rather than remain at a divine distance? • Looking back over the four weeks, which encounter with the infant Jesus—the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, the Magi, or John's prologue—has stayed with you most? Why? • What is one thing you want to carry forward from this series? Support the show