Good job, choir. Thank all of our children for
Children's Church. You've already headed back.
You are going to see in your bulletins that we
are going to be in Joshua today, but we are not.
That changed about ten minutes ago. This may
be the worst sermon you've ever heard. We're
going in cold this morning. It might be the best.
It might be the best. It might be the shortest
sermon you ever heard. But sometimes the Lord
puts stuff on your heart, you know? And so I
don't really know what I'm going to say today.
Maybe not much. Maybe just one scripture. We're
going to pray, and we'll get started. God, we
come to you this morning, and I thank you for...
The freedom and the privilege to be in your house.
I pray that your Holy Spirit would be among us
today, God. That the power of your word would
speak to us, dear Lord. We come to you, our lives
are hard and full of pain and sorrow and hardship
and sickness and death, dear Lord. And so we
need you to help us. So I pray that we would
find your help this morning. I pray in Jesus
Christ that you would strengthen us today, God.
I pray that you would give me words to say. God,
I do not have a clue what I'm going to say right
now. But I'm going to speak your word. And if
nothing else, that is good enough. And I ask
these things in Jesus' name. Amen. One short
scripture. If you do not know it, you should
know it. Matthew chapter 11 verse 28. You need
to know it. You need to remember it. And you
need to visit it often. Matthew chapter 11 verse
28. Some of you know it by heart. You don't even
have to turn to it today. But it is a great call
for us to find strength and peace. In our life.
Matthew chapter 11 verse 28. Says this. Come
to me. All who are weary and burdened. And I
will give you rest. Now I suppose that is enough
said. Jesus Christ calls us today. In the midst
of our pain. In the midst of our suffering. In
the midst of our sorrow, in the midst of our
loss, in the midst of our sickness, in the midst
of our death, we come here today as people who
are broken, as people who struggle. Maybe not
at this moment in your life, or maybe so. I don't
know where you are in life. But if you haven't
gotten to a point in life where you don't know
where your strength is going to come from, where
you don't know where your deliverance is going
to come from, where you don't know where your
peace is going to come from, it is going to come
from Jesus. And what a beautiful invitation that
Jesus gives us today. Now I suspect in a room
this size that there are some this morning who
are weary and burdened. Life is so hard. Life
is hard and it may not even be the result of
anything that we have done. It may be something
that someone has done to us. It may be a sickness
that we face. It may be a struggle with our job.
It may be a struggle with our parents. It may
be a struggle with our children. It may be a
struggle at church. It may be a struggle with
temptation. But these things bring chaos in our
life. And chaos will depress you. It will bring
you down. It will burden you and fill you with
anger and pain. But Jesus says, I want to give
you peace in the midst of the chaos. And so the
message is short today. Jesus calls you today
that in the midst of your chaos, that Jesus says,
come to me. And I will give you rest. Do you
seek rest today? You will find it in Jesus Christ.
Let me pray for you this morning. God, I thank
you for these people. I pray that you be with
them. You know their struggles. You know their
pains. You know their hardships. God, I pray
for the ones who have been hurt by others. That
you would help them to forgive. God, I pray for
the ones with sickness. That you would help them
in their battle. I pray for the ones who have
experienced death. That you'd give them comfort.
I pray for the ones with struggles in their family.
That you'd give them restoration. I pray for
the ones with broken marriages. That you'd restore
them. God, I pray for your peace today. God,
we need it. And I pray for those who seek it,
that they would seek it in Jesus Christ and that
they would find it this morning. And I ask these
things in Jesus' name. Amen.