Jamey's Newsletter: Sunday, April 23, 2023
NOTE: As you read this, I will be in Jerusalem, Israel. I appreciate your prayers.
The Bible says, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.” I am pretty sure that God didn’t run the risk of breakdown or burnout. God doesn’t require a good night’s sleep to clear His head and is not waiting for the weekend.
God is complete without rest. And yet, we are told God rested. God took the lead for us. Like a parent who coaxes a cranky toddler to lie down for an afternoon nap by lying down beside her, God leads us to rest by setting an example for us.
God commands us to honor the Sabbath to imitate Him and remind us we are not God and that we need God.
Are you making time for rest in your week?
Jamey
Making Time To Rest (First aired on August 7, 2022)
(Pre-recorded online worship from Gainesville First UMC, Gainesville, Georgia)
Sermon Notes:
We need the Sabbath to ground us in the fact that life is not found in our accumulation of stuff.
Sabbath is a hard stop in a world constantly on the go.
Author Mark Buchanan says we need to ask ourselves, “How much do I care about the things I'm supposed to care about?” What he means is that when we lose concern for people, for friendship, for truth and beauty and goodness; when we cease to laugh, when our children laugh or weep, when our spouse weeps; when we hear news of trouble among our neighbors and our first thought is that we hope it doesn’t involve us - when we stop caring about the things we are supposed to care about - that is a signal that our souls are longing for Sabbath.
Resources:
The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath by Mark Buchanan
Sabbath as Resistance, New Edition with Study Guide by Walter Brueggemann
Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Family's Experiment with Holy Time by MaryAnn McKibben-Dana
Four-Part Series: Why Stay Christian? I will answer these four questions: 1. What do you feel is compelling about the Christian faith? 2. What do you find challenging about the Christian faith? 3. What encouragement would you share if someone struggles to stay in the faith? 4. What currently gives you hope about how the church lives out the faith?
What encouragement would you share if someone is struggling to stay in the faith?
If someone struggles to stay in the faith, I encourage them to stay in the community. It is easy to walk away when the hurt is deep or the doubt is strong. But the courageous thing is to stay connected to a community of believers. You might need to walk away from your current faith community but stay committed to finding one that allows you to heal and be whole. The doubters, outcasts, and despised find a home at the heart of the Christian faith, making it Good News.
Meme of the Week
Dad Jokes
Why was the baby strawberry sad? His mom was in a jam!
What happens when you tell an egg a joke? It cracks up!
Book I am reading this week
A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming by Walter Brueggemann
Articles worth reading, videos worth watching, and/or podcasts worth listening to
My Transplanted Heart and I Will Die Soon
‘Why Do You Still Have Lightning Bugs? Ours Are All Gone.’
THE PHOTOGRAPHER UNDOING THE MYTH OF APPALACHIA
The Personality Trait That Makes People Feel Comfortable Around You
Slow Ride: Life at the Speed of a Mule
The Most Hilariously Southern Things You Can Find At Buc-ee's
Youtube: Seth Godin - How to Get Your Ideas to Spread - Nordic Business Forum
Photo Taken by Me
Top Ten (This is a little brain exercise I do - since I don’t do Wordle). I have a notebook where I make a list of ten things that serve as sort of a brain dump for me. It is random but fun. I plan on sharing it with you in 2023.
I know a controversial list, but ten things should not be allowed.
Beauty pageants for kids
Wearing too much perfume
Using your speakerphone in public
Putting on makeup while driving
Putting pineapple on pizza
A waiter serving food in sandals
Using shame-based language
Cutting toenails in public
Stealing another person’s joy by being publicly critical
Eating off of someone’s plate without being invited to do so
What do you think should not be allowed?
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
August 5-12 / Guiamaca, Honduras
Gainesville First United Methodist will be taking a team to Guiamaca, Honduras on Saturday August 5 - Saturday August 12. The cost of this trip is around $700 a person plus airfare. The trip will offer two options once we are in Honduras. One group will spend the week at Orphanage Emmanuel, ministering to the children and tackling various projects around the campus. Another group will spend the week in the surrounding community of Guiamaca, working on building a feeding center and single-family homes within that community. We will begin purchasing tickets at the end of March.
If you would like to join us for this incredible opportunity for building bridges to Jesus, please contact Rev. Joshua Hudson at jhudson@gfumc.com.
Happening at Gainesville First United Methodist Church (Gainesville, Georgia)
VBS / June 5-9
Ages: Rising Pre-K - Completed 5th grade
(Child must be 4 years old by September 1, 2023)
Launch into a cosmic quest where we will have a blast shining Jesus’ light to the world. Stellar rockets us on an out-of-this-world adventure that’s light years of faith-building fun.
We can’t wait to see you in outer space!
Weekly Blessing and/or Quotes
“Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.” ― Mark Buchanan, The Holy Wild: Trusting in the Character of God
If you are blessed by this newsletter, it will help me tremendously if you share it with others. Thank you for taking the time to read.