By Dr. Bascom Ratliff ,Pastor
Parker/Beagle/Fontana United Methodist Churches
The inspiration for today’s message is from:
Matthew 11: 28-30. Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
I have recently gained a great deal of comfort from the Matthew passage. With the wars in Israel and Ukraine coupled with the ongoing conflicts within our country and state, I have become increasingly worried about the state of affairs in our world and the hostility in our Christian churches. There is so much hate and rejection. There is far too much unforgiveness, shaming, and blaming in our churches. Rather than give our burdens and hostilities to God, we seem to hang onto them like cherished artifacts and polished medals of a long and senseless war. At times, we seem to have lost our ability to love others and love God.
I fear that we are becoming the “popcorn and soda” generation of believers. We seek entertainment and immediate gratification for even minor aches and pains. At times, we seem lost and and at odds with ourselves.
When Jesus spoke the words in Matthew 11, he was speaking to those who were feeling isolated and overly burdened with life’s problems. His promise to give us rest and to care for us has been a timeless message of grace and peace.
Jesus is asking us to give him our burdens and worries. And to simply believe in his promises and follow him. Following Jesus requires some commitment and change on our part. However, when we make the commitment to follow Jesus, we do indeed find that his requests are light. We are able to cast our burdens on him and receive abundant grace and mercy and rest for our weary souls.
The challenge for us is to simply trust Jesus and commit to following him. True, he does ask of us to love him and to love others. But his requests come with the promise that he will always be with us and always care for us. Our service to him comes with a promise that he will never abandon or forsake us.
This kind of commitment from a loving and powerful God is beyond anything we can ever imagine. However, God has made this promise. And he calls us to accept his word and cast all our burdens on the loving grace of Jesus Christ. So, the challenge this week is to look within ourselves and identify those worries that we have been carrying too long. As we identify these burdens, problems, and resentments, our next challenge is to simply give them to God. God will forgive us. God loves us. God will take our burdens.
Seeking an Obedient and Authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.
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If you want to hear more about God’s wonderful promise of unfailing love and enjoy a great morning of music and worship, please come and worship with us.
We will worship at the Parker United Methodist Church during October 2023.
We will worship at the Beagle UMC during November 2023.
We will worship at the Fontana UMC during December 2023.
All services are at 10 a.m.
All are welcome to worship in God’s House.
You are also invited to join us for “Trunk or Treat” on October 31st from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Beagle United Methodist Church or at the Parker Heritage Park from 5 to 7 p.m.
Dr. Bascom Ratliff (913-710-5748)
Pastor, Parker/Beagle/Fontana
United Methodist Churches
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