2026-07-02
Brooke Strong
The Work We Were Made For
Thursday, July 2, 2026
The Federated Church of Chagrin Falls
“Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Few words of Jesus are more familiar than these. Yet I wonder if we sometimes hear them too quickly.
Jesus doesn’t promise a life without work. He promises a different kind of work.
There is work that drains the soul—trying to prove ourselves, measure up, keep up, or carry burdens we were never meant to bear. But there is also holy work: praying with a friend, grieving with a family, sharing a meal, welcoming a stranger, singing together, offering forgiveness, or simply sitting beside someone who is hurting. These acts may not make us wealthy or productive, but they help us become more fully human.
This Sunday, we’ll explore Jesus’ invitation to take up a “gentle yoke”—not because following Christ asks little of us, but because it teaches us to carry the burdens that give life instead of the burdens that diminish it.
I hope you’ll join us Sunday as we gather around Word and Table to discover again that Christ’s welcome is not only a place of rest, but a place where weary people become a welcoming people.
Grace and peace,
—Pastor Michael
Read Before Sunday
Matthew 11:16-30
Questions for Reflection:
- Are there burdens I am carrying that God never asked me to carry?
- What kind of work leaves us weary? What kind of work leaves us more fully alive?
- What kind of reputation do we hope our church becomes known for?
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