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Life can be burdensome. We’re easily weighed down by circumstances and challenges, by thoughts and emotions, and by guilt and doubts. Some of it is out of our control and some of it is self-inflicted. Either way, it can be heavy, stressful and tiring. That’s why Jesus offers to relieve us of our burdens and grant us rest. He does this by giving us faith to cast our anxieties on him and trust to let him carry the ‘weight of the world’ in his capable hands.

We were created by God to live with a healthy cadence in life. However, far too many of us are living without margin in every area of our lives. We fill our calendars. We can’t say no. We live with a harmful drive to achieve. We have lost hope that it will slow down anytime soon. Jesus offers us such a gift in saying that he has come to give us rest. This rest is found in a grace that does not demand that we jump through all the hoops or get everything right. The rest that Jesus offers is an unmerited favor for anyone who comes to Him. This grace is best experienced in community. We can learn from Jesus as we learn from one another. When we do Church with one another, we lift one another up, we protect one another’s boundaries, and we carry one another’s burdens.

Sermon preached at the Morning Prayer service at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Sunday, 28 Aug 2022 by the Revd Jonathan Wong

What are we to do with the Scriptures that talk about seeing and hearing Jesus? Are you seeing and hearing Jesus at all? Do you want to? Do you want your relationship with Jesus to be more intimate? How can you experience Jesus in such a tangible way? What would that look like? By taking a deeper look at Jesus' words about entering the Kingdom of God as a child, we will see the very heart of God. We will also find that not only did Jesus exemplify the same when He walked on the earth, but that is the way to draw close to His presence everyday.

Why is the world such an ugly place? Oh, we know that there are bright spots, beautiful places, incredible experiences. But death and destruction have been with us for a long time. Genesis 1-2 tell us that things were not always ugly and violent. But this message lets us know how things came to be where they are now. Is there any hope? Is there a way we can rise above the ugliness and violence? The short answer is YES! Join the Grace United Crew as we hear the horrific but hope filled news found in Genesis 3.

Where do you go when you are empty, alone and your soul is sick ... to the Lord!

The sermon will describe how to finding divine rest both now and our final resting place in heaven in Jesus’ arms, a place that is more peaceful and joyful than we could ever ask or imagine!

Are you disturbed? It's easy to be disturbed in today's world. If you don't identify your purpose, everything in the world is going to disturb you. How to overcome being disturbed: do something about it, let it go, turn it over to somebody else, or laugh at it. When you're disturbed, pull a Jesus---do something about it!