Our Focus Text for this week is Psalm 150. The Book of Psalms is like a Playlist of 150 songs or poems or prayers. The final song invites us to Praise the Lord with music of all sorts. But what if we arein a place of grief or sadness or anger where we don't feel we can Praise the Lord? Pastor Stephanie invites us to view this final song on the playlist as a reminder that after praying with persistence the promise of God with us remains as reason to lift up our songs of praise!

What could possibly incentivize 18 High School Youth to give up a week of summer jobs, sports, and time with friends to serve people they don’t know in ways that the students won’t see the impact of? Pastor Chad hopes that they see it as a reflection of the New Creation that God calls us into. Being an active part of God’s New Creation is the kind of Incentive that leads to the outcome of bringing God’s Kingdom to our neighbors here in town,  across the country in Seattle, and across the globe!

Have you ever found yourself saying “I need a vacation from my vacation!”? Sometimes we don’t find the rest we need as we get wrapped up in the busyness of being on vacation. Rest is important, even Jesus need to get away from the busyness of his ministry to rest and pray. This week Pastor Stephanie encourages us to make time to truly rest so that we can Flourish as God intends.

Names can be used to lift us up or to drag us down. In our Focus Text for this week Jesus says that, as the Good Shepherd, he calls his sheep by name and they know his voice. In Baptism we are given the name Child of God, it is a name that cannot be taken away, replaced, or forgotten. Knowing the care we put into naming our children how much more care must God take in naming you a Child of God and calling your name as we learn to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd!

Righteousness is often viewed as a religious buzzword that has lost its meaning in overuse. This week’s Focus Text mentions the Crown of Righteousness, so what does that mean?! Pastor Chad invites us to consider it a relational word. When we take time to listen to our neighbor’s story, to walk with them, to love them as God loves us, we have found the kind of righteousness God seeks in us. When we build a relationship that is not transactional, expecting something from our neighbor, we will find we can Flourish!

Last week Pastor Stephanie introduced the Crown of Boasting, this week she asks us to consider another Biblical crown we are given: the Crown of Life. It is a crown we wear here & now and a crown that holds the promise of eternal life. Pastor Stephanie invites us to consider the Life of this crown as a verb, an action word. We should do life every day like the gift that it is, even when it is difficult with the assurance that eternal life has also been gifted to us.

In our Focus Text for this week, Paul asks about a “Crown of Boasting” when writing to the Thessalonians. Some people have a fascination with crowns, tiaras, and other symbols of royalty or achievement. But, why would you want to be crowned for your boasting?! Aren’t we supposed to be humble? Paul is writing not about boasting of his achievements, but boasting about the faithfulness of the Thessalonians. This kind of boasting is also modeled by Jesus, when he lifts up what the disciples will accomplish instead of himself. We can bear the Crown of Boasting when we celebrate the team efforts that make a difference in the lives of our neighbors.

What happens when we overpromise? We will most likely be unable to deliver on that promise. So what about the promises of our faith story? Does it seem like those promises to flourish are overpromised and underdelivered? Pastor Chad thinks we are misunderstanding what it means to flourish and what God has promised. When we walk with each other in community, lifting each other up, comforting one another, we can flourish together as God promised!

When you don’t make the team, when your marriage ends, when you fail the test, when you don’t make the sale, when you can’t live on your own any longer: it can be hard to see your worth. We’ve been trained to find our value in our achievements. The stories and voices we listen to from society have shaped us. If we listen to the stories of our faith instead we are shaped for “unconditional positive regard” as it was modeled from the beginning in Creation. When God created the world it was declared “Good!” and so we are called to see all of Creation as “Good!” especially our neighbors and even ourselves.

What would you do after a life-changing experience? For the disciples they went back to what was muscle memory: fishing. But Jesus had called them ashore and reminded them they had a new calling out in the world sharing the Good News. We have that same calling out into the world, we probably won’t travel as far and wide as the disciples but we can still share the love of God in our own communities.