Who told you?

February 9, 2023

In Matthew 11 and 12 Jesus says he offers rest. But how? 
The first way is by his authority. 
So, many of the things that cause unrest come because of who we are listening to. 
The Pharisees were trying to bring rest by imposing a complex set of rules and regulations, but they actually only put more burdens on people. 
In the same way, many of the things we hope will bring us rest actually bring more burdens. 
How do we avoid this? By being careful who we listen to.
This actually goes farther back than Jesus and the Pharisees, though. 
In the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 3, God was talking to Adam and Eve after they sinned when he asked a weighty question: "Who told you that you were naked?" 
Who told you?
 
Who told you your life had to look like that? 
Who told you that you needed that career? 
Who told you that your spiritual disciplines had to be done in that way? 
Who told you that your home had to look like that? 
 
Brothers and sisters, be careful who you are listening to. Jesus has the authority to actually tell us what will bring us rest, and there's good news: his yoke for how to live is light and easy. 
 
In Sunday's message we looked at two more ways that Jesus brings rest, so be sure to go listen if you missed it: 

Revive

Our Women's Ministry hosts an event called Revive throughout the year to make space for women to encounter God and build relationships together. 
Revive is happening next Thursday at 7 pm and I hope you'll be able to come. 

Belonging 

The word "church" brings all sorts of things to mind. A place, a building, an event where we sing and listen.
In Scripture, the church actually refers to a group of people. So when we go to church, we are going to gather with those people. But if the church is a community of people, then there's a question for you:
do you simply go to church, or do you belong?
You are welcome to simply go to church at Shallowford. You're always welcome here.
But I want you to know that we'd like more for you: we want you to belong. 
  • Belonging means you are loved and loving others, served and serving others, known and knowing others. 
  • Belonging means you have people that are for you and care about you and help you. 
  • Belonging means you have a place here and make a different with the unique way God made you. 
If you'd like to take a step to belong, I'd like to invite you to consider Church Membership. In two weeks, the elders will be giving a membership report and proposing some new members. If you'd like to take a step toward membership, you can click the link below. 

Music Team

Every Sunday we gather to sing, pray, and hear God's word and it's one of my favorite times of the week. We get to pause form the busyness of life for just a little bit and come together to remember who God is and what He has done for us. 
Music is an important part of our time together.
We are in a season of transition as we search for a new Worship Director to hire in a part-time role.
While we search and pray for the right person, we don't want to waste any time building with what God has already given us.
Maddi Hughes has agreed to lead for us in the interim, and we have a great team who play regularly.

We want to know, though, if any of you want to be a part of this team!
So, on February 19 we are going to have an interest meeting for our Worship Team right after service. 
If you want to play an instrument, sing, or be a part of our tech team then please join us! 

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