Return to the One Thing Necessary! (Luke 10:38-42)

Introduction - Have We Really Rested?

So share with the person next to you: In the first month of 2026, I’ve had too much rest / not enough rest.

How many of you have had too much rest? Anyone still in Christmas-holiday mode? How many of you - not enough rest? Maybe you’ve been busy with school or activities - or maybe you’ve had time off but still feel tired inside. Well, I’m with the rest-less people. |

One reason for my restlessness is this little guy | - my two-and-a-half year old son, Micah (show photo).

Putting him to bed is a nightly wrestling match. He has a whole list of “delay tactics” he uses to avoid sleep. Last week was especially bad — first, he announced he had a “meeting,” | pulled out his class photo, and started a pretend Zoom call with his friends. That was round one. After that: “Read me five books!” So I gave in, thinking, let’s just avoid the meltdown. But just as I finished and was about to turn off the lights, he dropped the mother of all moves: “I need to poo!” He spends another five minutes pacing around, getting into the “zone” — and here’s the crazy part, he really can generate the poo on command. Then it’s cleaning up, resettling him, starting the whole calm-down process again. By the time everything is done, all our bedtimes have been delayed by almost an hour.

But this made me think: what Micah does at bedtime is a bit like what our hearts go through all day. It’s not always that we are trying to keep ourselves busy on purpose — it’s that so many things are shouting for our attention that we can’t settle down inside. | There’s school, CCA, homework, group chats, games, videos, notifications… all crying out for our attention at the same time. After a while, our hearts end up like Micah at bedtime: busy, jumpy, and unable to rest, even when God is right there, inviting us to slow down and be with Him. |

This year, we want to become a restful BeTween - people who learn to really and truly rest. But God’s rest is very different from the world’s kind of rest, | it isn’t brainrot-rest where we scroll endless cat videos, binge-watch shows on netflix, or game till late. His rest is Sabbath rest: choosing to pause from daily tasks, training our hearts to be still, so that we can receive His words and His love.

True rest comes when we return to what matters most — when our hearts are fixed on God Himself. | And so, our theme for this year is: Returning to the one thing necessary. There is a story where Jesus shows us exactly what that “one thing necessary” is. |

Let’s read scripture together:

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42 (This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God)

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem and stops at the home of His close friends, Martha and Mary. | Martha does what a good host would do - she welcomes Jesus and immediately gets busy preparing a meal. Now, that’s normal in their culture. But then, Mary does something more unusual. She sits at Jesus’ feet, the posture of a disciple. Yet Jesus praises Mary and says she has chosen what is better.

Many people get this story wrong. They think it means Martha is bad because she serves, and Mary is good because she just sits. But Martha’s problem isn’t that she wants to do things for Jesus - those are good and needed. The problem is not the serving; it’s a distracted heart. |

The word that is used for “distracted” (perispao) means “to be pulled away,” “to be dragged in many directions,” “to be divided inside”. | Martha’s work isn’t wrong, but her heart is restless and pulled in many directions. Do you feel like that sometimes? So many godly responsibilities - I got to do things to be the perfect student, the perfect CCA member, the perfect friend, the perfect person.. that’s exhausting, isn’t it?

Today, I think Jesus is inviting us to return to “the one thing necessary”: a heart of focused devotion, fully attentive to Him. |

MP1: Jesus wants our hearts more than our doing.

Jesus says, “Martha, Martha.. You are worried and upset about many things”.

He sees that her hands are full of good work, but her heart is far. Her heart is being pulled in many directions by concerns - even good ones - but all that has pulled her away from the Lord that is sitting in her living room. So when Jesus talks to Martha, He’s not telling her to stop serving - after all, the meal depends totally on her. He is inviting her to see what’s going on inside: her doing has become restless because she’s lost focus on the One she is serving. |

Friends, Jesus cares more about what’s going on in your heart than how much you can do for Him. He is after a certain kind of heart, not a certain amount of work. Today, we’ve got “many things” - school stress (test, grades, homework), social pressure (fitting in, what friends think), activities (sports, CCAs, music lessons) and family expectations pulling us in different directions. All good things! But if those “many things” pull our hearts away from Jesus, maybe Jesus’ invitation goes out to us too - “You are distracted by many things. Return to the one thing necessary.” |

MP2: Our worth is secured by Jesus’ love not earned by performance

Look at Martha’s words:

“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

You can almost feel the frustration in her voice - tired, angry, maybe even a little hurt. But hidden inside her complaint are three powerful ‘heart-struggles’’ we sometimes face: |

“Don’t You Care?” - | we fear being unseen or unloved; | Martha feels invisible. She’s doing so much for Jesus, but it seems like He doesn’t even notice. Have you ever felt like that? Maybe when you work hard on something and no one says “thank you,” or tried so hard but things didn’t go the way you wanted. That’s what Martha felt - like her efforts and feelings didn’t matter. |

“My sister has left me alone to do the work.” - | she is comparing with others.

Martha looks at Mary and starts measuring. Why does she get to chill while I do all the work? When our eyes shift from Jesus to others, we start to compare - our grades, our looks, our abilities, our popularity - and we either feel proud about ourselves or miserable. Neither brings our hearts true sabbath-rest. |

“Tell her to help me.” - | she tries to control what feels unfair

When life feels unfair or things don’t go our way, our first instinct is to try to fix it ourselves. Martha even tells Jesus what to do - “Make her help me! God, make it fair for me!”

Do you see what’s happening in Martha’s heart? She’s serving Jesus - but she’s also trying to prove her worth through her work. All that comparing, worrying, and trying to control things is making her heart restless. Mary, on the other hand, isn’t working for love; she’s resting in it. She isn’t earning Jesus’ favor; she’s enjoying His presence. That’s the key difference between Mary and Martha. |

But Jesus answers Martha gently - “Martha, Martha” - as if reminding her “I see you, I care about you. You don’t have to earn my attention.” Today, if you struggle like Martha, would you hear Jesus’ gentle words - “you don’t need to earn my love; you already have my heart.” |

MP3: One necessary choice that orders everything else.

So Jesus says to Martha,

“But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Martha’s world is full of many “necessary” things - preparing the meal, pouring the drinks, making sure everything was perfect. From her point of view, everything matters right now. But Jesus gently redirects her attention from the “many” back to the “one”. These things are good, but only one thing truly matters right now - being with Me first.

See, the difference between Martha’s many things and Mary’s one thing is focus. Mary chooses to focus on the one thing that matters most - giving her full devotion to Jesus. |

Sometimes, our lives can feel like Martha’s kitchen - crowded with “many necessary things” to do. All those things are important. But when these many things all take first place, our hearts become scattered and distracted. Jesus reminds us: there is only one thing that puts all the others in their right place - choosing to give our full devotion to Him first. “When Jesus is my one thing, the many things stop owning my heart.”

This is a choice of the heart. We have to choose it. Jesus says Mary has chosen what is better, and it is a choice that cannot be taken away from her.

But this choice is usually small and daily - It’s a quiet decision to return our attention to Jesus again and again, to give him our focused devotion first. And even when we forget, Jesus keeps inviting us back: return to the one necessary thing.

So here’s what Jesus is really after: a heart that rests in Him, no matter what we are doing. |

Imagine with me if this story happened very differently. Martha is in the kitchen, still cooking and preparing - but this time, | her heart is at rest. She knows Jesus is in control. She’s not trying to impress Him. She knows, “I’m already His loved disciple.” She can pause to listen when Jesus speaks, and she doesn’t compare herself with Mary. She’s serving from a heart that’s already resting in His love.

Now imagine Mary is sitting near Jesus, | but her heart is restless. Maybe she’s thinking, “I hope people see how good a Christian I look. I’m definitely holier than Martha who’s not even here.” She sits in a disciple’s posture, but on the inside she’s full of proving and comparing. She’s near Jesus, but her heart is far from Him.

If this were the story, Jesus might turn to Mary and say, | “Mary, Mary, you look like you are choosing the one thing, but your heart is still distracted by many things. Return to the one thing necessary - me.”

See, you can serve like Martha or sit like Mary - with a rested heart that chooses Jesus first. That’s focused devotion. |

So as we begin this year, here’s the invitation: return to the one thing necessary - a heart of focused devotion for Him. (Big Idea)

Conclusion - Return to the One Thing Necessary

Tweens, | Jesus gently calls us back to this “one thing” — a heart that chooses Him above everything else. That’s the gospel: because Jesus has done enough, we can rest in His love and simply be with Him.

This same Jesus is the One who says, “Come to Me, all you who are tired and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He is not a God who demands we do more, but a Saviour who calls our tired hearts back to the One Thing Necessary - to return to Him with a focused devotion, to rest in Him (and only Him) and to let Him be our centre again.

Let us pray.

Jesus, we thank You that You are enough.

Thank You that You invite us to choose the one thing that truly matters.

Today, as we return our hearts to You, teach us again to rest in Your love and to be present with You. Help us to lay down the many things, so we can focus first on the one thing necessary.

In Jesus Name we pray, Amen

[Worship team - Inhabit]

Response Call:

Friends, let those words sink in for a moment: “Lord, Your presence is all, it’s all that I want. Jesus, there’s nothing worth more than You. You’re the reward, You are the prize. Come inhabit my whole life” This is really the heart of what it means to choose the one thing that matters most.

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If today, your heart feels pulled in many directions - by the many struggles, worries, anxieties in life - the first step isn’t to do more - it’s to return. Bring your worries, your exhaustion, your distractions to Jesus. Let His presence settle your heart again. Let His love become your centre. Make room in your life to be at his feet again.

If that’s your desire - to say, “Lord, I want You to be my one thing,” - I want you - just without looking to your friends, taking this as a moment between you and God - to open your hands in a posture of receiving from the Lord - bring to him your tired hands, your tired hearts, and let’s pray together, asking him to bring us back to Him as our one thing.

Jesus,

Thank You for each heart lifting their hands to You.

You see our worries, our tiredness, and all the “many things” on our minds.

Today, we ask: help our hearts return to the one thing necessary.

Teach us to rest in Your love, not in how well we perform.

When we feel stressed, comparing, or afraid, remind us that we are already loved, already seen, already Yours.

Help us listen to Your voice, trust Your words, and walk with You each day.

We give You our hearts again, Lord.

Be our one thing.

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

I’m going to invite Ps Jen Huat now to lead us to the Lord’s Table.