Good Morning,This week, we are talking about Holding Space for Both - Celebration and GriefCan two things be true at the same time? Can we hold space for two things? Can we feel celebration and rejoicing while also acknowledging and feeling sorrow and sadness - grief? Does God want us to ignore one over the other? I don’t believe so. But…how many times do we skirt past the grief and focus on the...  Read More

  The other reality that we need to rest in is in the power of the cross and what Christ did on that cross. I wonder, how much of your restlessness is about the “sin that so easilyentangles us.” That we feel beaten down, we feel we are our sin, versus sinners saved by grace.Notice Colossians 2:13-15- 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive wit...  Read More

  The last word I want us to take time with is rest. Last week we talked about rest as experiencing God’s presence, goodness, and trusting in our Creator-King. We do this by setting time apart with a new rhythm of stopping and delighting. It’s more than just a day, it’s a mindset.The first rest piece I want us to look at is a tease into our next section of Genesis 2. Genesis 2:7- 7 Then the Lord G...  Read More

  The next focus piece that I want us to reflect on this week is image. If you could pause for a moment, how would you define your image? Maybe it’s what you reflect, what you stand for? Maybe it’s what takes up your time or attention? We can be moms and dads, we can be spouses that’s what we are related to. Our image can be what we do? We can be technicians, craftsmen, teachers, accountants, admi...  Read More

  We are looking at God as our Creator King. Take a moment with Isaiah 40:9-14,21-22, 25-26, 28-31 (take your time with each section, highlighting along the way.)“Here is your God!” 10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and ...  Read More

  This week I want to give you space. Besides, it’s Memorial Day, which should give us the opportunity to pause, to reflect, to slow down just enough to remember, and give our attention to what should be important within our life and at times, what we don’t give space for.I want to give space for three different things that we have discussed within the first chapter plus of Genesis. I want to paus...  Read More

  Rest is experiencing God’s presence, goodness, and trusting in our Creator-King. We do this by setting time apart with a new rhythm of stopping and delighting.This can happen throughout the day, this can begin to form in you a rhythm of taking a day, a Sabbath. Where do you need to start shifting from restlessness to God rest?Hebrews 4:9-11- 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people o...  Read More

  Finally, we see within this seventh day of rest a mimicking within creation, we see a rhythm. Rhythm is our third element of rest according to the biblical worldview. Every seventh day to stop, delight, set-apart from the other days. God built rhythm into creation, including the last day of rest.I appreciate this longer quote from Wayne Muller in his book Sabbath. "In the relentless busyness of ...  Read More

  Next biblical worldview of rest is the statement, 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy… Where else do we see God bless creation? Day five and six, with animals and humanity. He created the animals and said to humanity, “God blessed and said, ‘be fruitful and multiple.”The intention here is to be life giving. Which means, in God blessing the seventh day, his intention is for it to ...  Read More

  Based upon Genesis 2, I want to give you a Biblical worldview of rest. Hear me, there is so much on this topic. In my preparing I came across one podcast series by Bible Project that was fourteen episodes, which is over 15 hours of insight about rest within scripture. I listened to a podcast from John Mark Comer and Practicing the Way where he did a four-week series just on rest. I don’t have th...  Read More

  I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person that likes to push the limit with my gas gauge. My Father-in-law on the other hand, if it is below a ½ of tank, he’s filling up. Whereas I love the fact that it gives you the number of miles, it thinks you have until you run out of gas.I wonder though, how that also parallels to life? How many of us are running on fumes? Or we push the limit in ...  Read More

  Our daily “faith challenge” is an opportunity to go deeper into Sunday’s message. A time to meet with God. Begin with prayer. Ask God to speak to you from His Word, by His Spirit.“Speak Lord your servant is listening” 1 Samuel 3:9“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” Romans 3:25Jesus, innocent of all sin died in our place, ...  Read More