So much of learning to rest is responding to God’s invitation. There are so, so many other things that put a demand on us. To slow down, to calm down, to power down - these are required to get to that point when we can move into trust, and from there we can move into renewal.

When you get right down to it, God actually commands us to rest.

Sometimes it can feel like the ‘careful’ in this verse is scolding us.

We don’t often speak of Huldah, but she was a powerful prophet in one of the most dreadful times of Israel’s history. As the country was being torn apart from outside as well as from within, she spoke about how our selfish actions have consequences - because God loves justice.

If we’re honest, it won’t take that long to get to the point where you realize you can’t keep your heart tender by yourself. Perhaps you’ve found this too: it’s just so very hard to change our attitudes, our character, our will.

Initially, if you try reading all of Hebrews 3, it can sound like a rant.

In order to have a heart that is not hard, it means we have to stay open, vulnerable, and hurt-able.

Today, we’re going to take a different approach to this idea of breaking free from shame.

Many of us grew up being taught that holiness meant getting everything right and steering clear of anything wrong. Of course we wanted to be holy because God is holy, but it was such hard work.

How many times have we each witnessed the scene (or been a part of it!) where a parent does something that embarrasses their kid? Maybe it’s the uncool shirt we wear or how we greet them after school or something we say over dinner… and our kids just can’t stand it.

Our passage for the message yesterday was about how Jesus was “made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God” (Hebrews 2:17).

Some of us may be familiar, others not, with the story from the Hebrew Scriptures of the boy Samuel who would grow up to be the nation of Israel’s final “judge” and usher in the time of the kings.

In 1 Corinthians 1:24 we read these words: “...Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The word for “Wisdom” in Greek is σοφία (Sophia) - a common woman’s name then and now.

Today we’re rewinding the clock and thinking about the Christ before Jesus was born, back all the way to the very beginning of time.

“Jesus Christ” isn’t a full name, as in someone having a first and last name. “Christ” is a title. It means messiah. So as we do some thinking about Jesus, it’s actually important to understand that Jesus was the Christ - but not always.

For many of us, our religious communities or families - knowingly or unknowingly - taught us that God is angry, emotionally distant, and judgmental.

The story of Hannah, which opens the book of 1 Samuel, often resonates deeply with people struggling with the pain of infertility. Hannah wants a child with all her heart, but month after month, year after year - no baby.

Christianity was never meant to be attempted alone. It’s always been a call to community. Even though that community often causes pain and always needs help to grow and mature, it’s still essential.