The Heart of Sabbath

Dear First Family, 
 
I am looking forward to being in worship with you this weekend as we enter into a brand-new season together. June has arrived. School is out. Unfortunately, our higher summer temperatures have also arrived, but we have several great opportunities to invest in our children and youth in the coming months as well as a seasonal focus that I believe will be a rich blessing for our entire church family. 
 
As you may know, we began 2024 with a four-week focus and teaching on the practice of Sabbath as well as specific ways to integrate Sabbath into our lives. We joked that Sabbath is the only one of the ten commandments that we brag about breaking in the busy, non-stop world in which we live. 
 
As a church, we want to reclaim this radically counter-cultural value of embracing rest as a gift of God and necessary to the health and growth of our relationship with Christ.  
 
This summer we will be building on the practice of Sabbath with a focus on understanding the heart of Sabbath – what God does in us as we live into Sabbath and Sabbath works its way into us. 
 
We’ll be doing that by spending the next few months looking at Psalm 23. These are probably the most familiar words of scripture to many of us, but more significantly, we believe that in this Psalm, King David captures the heart of Sabbath. 
 
This first weekend, we will be focusing on the phrase, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” unpacking what that really means and how this simple affirmation establishes the foundation for developing a Sabbath heart. 
 
And on Monday, our 2024 Vacation Bible Camp begins with the theme, “Let’s Get the Party Started.” Let me first express my appreciation for the hundreds of volunteers who will be investing their time as well as everyone whose gifts to our church make this week of ministry to our kids possible. We are also providing a unique experience for our 5th graders called 5th Grade Mission Squad which is a perfect blend of the fun we provide at Vacation Bible Camp as well as simple mission projects that help our 5th graders become excited about serving.  
 
I want to invite our entire church to be in prayer for Vacation Bible Camp. Pray that children are blessed. Pray that they have a great time, feel welcomed and loved each day, and take another step into the dream God has for each of them to become deeply committed followers of Jesus. 
 
We will see you this weekend! 
 
Grace & Peace, 

Pastor David