Everyone faces challenges and burdens. Likewise, everyone has a “yoke.” The question is this: will it be heavy or light? If you don’t understand the rest that Jesus provides, then you don’t understand Christianity.

As we enjoy the middle of summer, how well are you resting? For some of us, slowing down is hard to do. Yet, the Bible confronts us with the concept of Sabbath. It’s a concept that reminds us that rest and renewal should be an intentional part of our lives. But what does that actually look like? What steps do you need to take to make this a reality? We will explore these questions, as we begin our series for July: “Rest and Reset.”

While we have finished going through the book of Jonah, there’s one more lesson that his life has for us. Centuries after Jonah’s ministry, Jesus highlighted one thing we should understand about this ancient prophet. He called it the “sign of Jonah.” We will see what that sign means, when we conclude this series on Sunday.

Jonah—it’s a story we learned as kids, but it’s much more than a children’s story. This brief book is, in many ways, a microcosm of God’s relationship to his whole creation in history. Through Jonah’s experiences, he confronts the breadth and depth of God’s mercy. Along the way, he is also exposed as a prophet with his own prejudices, faults, and failures. In the end, the book closes with a question—a question that draws us into the story. How will we respond to God’s relentless grace?

Jonah—it’s a story we learned as kids, but it’s much more than a children’s story. This brief book is, in many ways, a microcosm of God’s relationship to his whole creation in history. Through Jonah’s experiences, he confronts the breadth and depth of God’s mercy. Along the way, he is also exposed as a prophet with his own prejudices, faults, and failures. In the end, the book closes with a question—a question that draws us into the story. How will we respond to God’s relentless grace?

Jonah—it’s a story we learned as kids, but it’s much more than a children’s story. This brief book is, in many ways, a microcosm of God’s relationship to his whole creation in history. Through Jonah’s experiences, he confronts the breadth and depth of God’s mercy. Along the way, he is also exposed as a prophet with his own prejudices, faults, and failures. In the end, the book closes with a question—a question that draws us into the story. How will we respond to God’s relentless grace?

Celebration Sunday is an important day in the life of our church and a time to rejoice and reflect on what God has done over the last five years at Hershey Free. We look forward to coming together as a congregation to have fun and worship our Savior.

This week, we wrap up our study of 1 Corinthians. As we have seen, in this letter Paul addresses a variety of issues, such as leadership problems, human sexuality, idolatry, and spiritual gifts. While the issues are diverse, in each case, Paul seeks to encourage this church to follow Christ in a complicated environment. Now, as he closes the letter, he gives them two final challenges; they are to stand firm in their faith, and they are to love well.