Beloved Anchor & Hope family,
It’s the 5th Sunday of June, and therefore time for a “Reset Sunday”!
If you want to learn more about why we have “Reset Sundays,” please click here for the link to a more in-depth blog post about it. Essentially, the hope is that we will all take a Sunday off from our communal worship to connect with God and find ways to “re-create” ourselves through rest & connection.
We pray that, today, God will meet you in an unexpected and wonderful way! If it comes to mind, send us a text message to pass the peace. We’d love to hear from you, and we’ll see you in a week at Sandburg Elementary on Sunday, July 7th at 10:30 am!
grace & peace,
pj & pd
Opening Prayer
Written by Joanna Harader, and posted on Spacious Faith.
As Abraham welcomed the strangers
so God welcomes us.
God greets us with joy and says,
“Rest here for awhile.”
God brings out water
to wash our dusty feet.
God prepares a meal
to nourish our weary spirits.
So let us receive
the gracious hospitality of our God.
Let us rest in this holy place
where there is shade and water,
food and laughter.
Amen.
Worship Song
Expectation, by Vineyard Soul
Expectation
You redeem our past
You take what’s old and broken
You’re breathing in new life
Rhythms of Your grace
Moving us to freedom
From darkness into light
You will make all things new,
You’ll bring Your kingdom here
We wait in expectation
We lift our eyes to You
Salvation’s drawing near
We wait in expectation
You have overcome
The troubles we are facing
You’re standing here with us
Oppression cannot win
And anxious thoughts are broken
By the pow’r of Jesus’ name
Oh, Oh (x3)
Oh, Salvation’s drawing near
Passing of the Peace
Take a moment to wish peace to the people around you and/or send a text message to someone either from our Anchor & Hope Community or someone else who needs God’s peace this day!
Kids Song & Reflection
Rain or Pour, by Jana Alyra
God’s Story: Wilderness
Ask your children these questions and have a curiosity conversation:
- I wonder what the people thought when they saw the manna for the first time?
- I wonder how they felt when they realized they didn’t have to gather manna on the Sabbath?
- I wonder how you feel God’s love?
- I wonder what helps you feel rested?
Prayer of Illumination
Note: Please read this prayer out loud! If you’re in a group, you might want to alternate between readers. If you’re by yourself, feel free to say this prayer aloud!
Open unto me, light for my darkness
Open unto me, courage for my fear
Open unto me, hope for my despair
Open unto me, peace for my turmoil
Open unto me, joy for my sorrow
Open unto me, strength for my weakness
Open unto me, wisdom for my confusion
Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins
Open unto me, tenderness for my toughness
Open unto me, love for my hates
Open unto me, Thy Self for myself
Lord, Lord, open unto me!
Scripture Engagement & Reflection
Read Hebrews 4:9,11 out loud, even if you’re alone!
So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God…
Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.
Ruth Haley Barton invites us to think deeply about the significance of Sabbath for the people of God. She writes:
Sabbath-keeping is more than just a day of rest; it is a way of ordering one’s entire life around a pattern of working six days and then resting on the seventh. It is an approach to living in time that helps us honor the rhythm of things—work and rest, fruitfulness and dormancy, giving and receiving, being and doing, activism and surrender.
Sabbath-keeping begins and ends with God…
God is the only one who is infinite. I am finite which means that I live within the physical limits of time and space and the bodily limits of strength and energy. There are limits to my capacities relationally, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I am not God. God is the one who can be all things to all people. God is the one who can be two places at once. God is the one who never sleeps. I am not.
As you consider God being the only Infinite One, it makes sense to take a posture of humility. You might picture extending both of your arms — if you want, take about 10 seconds to breath in and out slowly and extend both of your arms to the sky.
Now, take a few moments to reflect on the following question (if you’re in a group brainstorm together; if you’re by yourself, come up with a list on your own):
What are different reasons a person would hold extend both of their arms outward?
After a couple of moments, reflect on the following list:
- Joy: If you’re in the crowd and your favorite baseball player hits a homerun, it’s a spontaneous and natural reaction to lift both arms up and cheer!
- Embrace: Think about a little child running toward one of their parents
- Surrender: In our worship, we lift up our hands as a sign of willing surrender to God
- Release: Picture a person releasing doves into the air or tossing confetti at a wedding
- Waving: If you’re trying to get someone’s attention, you might hop and down and wave both arms
- Balance: If you’re walking along a narrow or unsteady path, extending both arms outward will help you regain balance
- Health: Stretching both arms outward can help you with flexibility and range of motion, and it can even help manage your stress
- Other ideas you might have come up with?
As you continue to reflect Sabbath and the images of extending your arms, how can your Sabbath practice guide you today in the following ways?
- Release: Can you genuinely take a rest from your work and your worries today? If not, why is it hard to do?
- Renewal: Do you need rest? What could replenish your spirit with love, joy, or peace today? How can you delight in God and others around you today?
- Restoration: How is God calling you to share the gift of Sabbath rest with others? Your family and loved ones, your neighbors near & far?
Ruth Haley Barton reminds us, “There is something deeply spiritual about honoring the limitations of our existence as human beings—physical beings in a world of time and space… There is something about being gracious and accepting and gentle with ourselves at least once a week that enables us to be gracious and accepting and gentle with others. There is a freedom that comes from being who we are in God and resting in God that eventually enables us to bring something truer to the world than all of our doing.”
Worship Song
Oh Our Lord, by Paul Baloche
Oh Our Lord
We behold the breaking dawn
The light that shines over everyone
We look to You, we long for You, oh Lord
We behold the rising sun
The earth awaits, Your hope has come
We look to You, we long for You, oh Lord
Oh, oh, oh, our Lord
Oh, oh, oh, our Lord
How majestic is Your name in all the earth
We behold the falling rain
Like waters rise, flood this place
We reach for You, we cling to You, oh Lord
Oh, Your name is a light in the darkness
Oh, Your name is the word of truth
Oh Your name, oh Your name
Closing Prayer
Sabbath Blessing
By Pete Grieg
May this day bring Sabbath rest
to my heart and my home.
May God’s image in me be restored,
and my imagination in God be re-storied.
May the gravity of material things be lightened,
and the relativity of time slow down.
May I know grace to embrace my own finite smallness
in the arms of God’s infinite greatness.
May God’s Word feed me and God’s Spirit lead me
into the week and life to come.
Amen.
Anchor & Hope Church 