In this week’s message from the Lenten series Everything in Between, Pastor Zach reflects on one of the most challenging spiritual rhythms many of us face: the space between rest and growth.

In Luke 13:6–9, Jesus tells the story of a fig tree that hasn’t produced fruit. While the owner is ready to cut it down, the gardener asks for more time—time to loosen the soil, nourish the roots, and tend the tree with care. It’s a quiet but powerful reminder that growth doesn’t always happen through pressure or productivity. Sometimes growth begins when the soil of our lives is given space to breathe.

Many of us have been taught that rest is lazy, unproductive, or something we earn only after the work is finished. But the gospel tells a different story. Rest is not wasted time. Rest is often where God begins the deeper work within us.

Drawing on Jesus’ parable and the Wesleyan understanding of sanctifying grace, this sermon explores how spiritual growth happens through rhythms of grace—through practices that nourish our souls and create the conditions where God’s love can take root.

If you’ve ever felt tired, stuck, or like you should always be doing more, this conversation invites you to consider a different possibility:
that God is a patient gardener, tending the soil of your life, and that even in seasons of rest, something holy may already be growing.

Listen in as we explore the sacred in-between where rest and growth meet.