REV. Zachery Sarrault, Associate PASTOR
Pastor’s Corner for November 9-15, 2025
Waiting or Watching?
(Matthew 25:1-13)
Do you remember what it was like to be a kid, watching for guests to come to your house? For my brother and I, we would stand on the roof of the woodshed in our back yard to see over the neighbor’s hedge, watching for grandma and grandpa’s truck to pull around the corner. I can still feel the excitement of knowing everything we would get to do when they showed up! I can also feel the annoyance and boredom that inevitably crept in when they didn’t come when I thought they should. The longer we stood on that roof, the harder it was to be watching. Before we knew it, we were simply waiting and not watching. We got distracted by other things in the backyard and maybe even went inside to wait there. We knew they were coming, but we just got tired of watching and thought our time was better spent simply waiting.
This can be the temptation of the Christian as we look forward to Jesus’ return. Are you waiting for Jesus to come back or watching for Him? The Parable of the Ten Virgins gets to that exact point. They all know the bridegroom is coming, but only five of the ten brought enough oil for their lamps, so the other five were not ready when the bridegroom returned and they weren’t invited to the wedding feast. They were waiting but not watching.
It’s easier to wait. We can do our own thing, occupy our time however we want while still telling ourselves that we are ready when Jesus comes back. But waiting is not the same as watching. Watching is actively living the faith that God has given us, living in the joy of His eternal presence right now. Waiting is saying “I’m a Christian” while living like that identity doesn’t matter. Martin Luther said it like this, “O it is a living, busy, active mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever.” Waiting is not the same as watching.
We watch for Jesus’ return, not out of fear of damnation if we aren’t living out our faith, but out of joyful anticipation because we know what He brings. When Jesus returns, He is bringing the wedding feast, the eternal celebration that we get to take part in! When Jesus returns, He brings with Him all peace, comfort, healing, joy, wholeness, and victory that will eternally be ours. Don’t just wait for Jesus to return, watch for Him. Watching is much more fun anyway!
Your watching brother in Christ,
Pastor Zach Sarrault
Ordination and Installation of Pastor Zachery Sarrault (July 18, 2021):
Sunday was a great day at RLC! We celebrated the Ordination and Installation of our new Associate Pastor Zachery Sarrault. It was a beautiful service with a heartfelt sermon by his father, Pastor Joel Sarrault. Congratulations and welcome, Pastor Zach! Thank you to all who participated in this special day.
Pastor Sarrault Ordination and Installation
Pastor Zachery Sarrault Ordination and Installation Bulletin
From Pastor Zach (July 16, 2021):
Hey Resurrection Family!
Kelsey and I are finally here! We have finished up at St. Louis, seen family in Michigan, and moved into our new home. After all of that traveling and living out of suitcases, we couldn’t be happier to finally be back to something comfortable. Comfort is always something nice to hold on to. All of us have something that makes us comfortable, whether it be a family member or friend, a good book or fishing pole, a quilting machine or a wood shed, we all have our go-to comfort places. This is part of being human! We love comfort!
The thing with comfort is that sometimes we get too comfortable. We can settle in and tell ourselves that we never wish to see any change. “Life would be perfect if I could just stay in my recliner with Tom Sawyer all day.” Or whatever your comfort may be. Sadly, we know that this isn’t how life works. No matter how much we enjoy our comforts, ‘real life’ happens and it disrupts those little joys. But, is it ‘real life’ or is it God, calling us into His mission to do more than just the comfortable?
Jesus never led a life of comfort. From the manger to the cross and even the empty tomb, Jesus’ life was one of challenge and the uncomfortable. When one of the scribes declared that he would follow Jesus, all Jesus had to say was, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20). Kind of an odd response, one that rightly scared away the scribe. Probably would have scared me too!
So, what does this mean for us? Are we supposed to throw away all of our earthly comforts and live lives of asceticism? Not at all! But we are called to know where these comforts come from and who our ultimate comfort is. In all things, comfort or challenge, our Lord and Savior stands before us, behind us, and beside us. As Jesus prepared His disciples for life after His death and resurrection, Jesus told His followers, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
There is our ultimate comfort! Not in our little hide-a-ways or indulgences, but in the One who has overcome all sin and who has promised us peace. Our comfort is in the faith that we have through Christ’s death and resurrection. Our comfort is in the kingdom of God that has already been given to us! That is a comfort that is never changing and never ending. No matter what God has in store the Sarraults in North Carolina, we know that the comfort of our Lord will always prevail!
In the comfortable and the uncomfortable, but always in Christ,
Pastor Zach Sarrault
From Pastor Jonathan (July 15, 2021):
There's a new face at Resurrection! Seminarian Zach Sarrault and wife Kelsey made it down to Cary last Monday, and soon-to-be "Pastor Zach" is already taking part in leadership team activities here at RLC. He will serve as Associate Pastor at Resurrection... meaning he will be working full-time in all aspects of ministry: preaching and teaching, visiting the homebound, discipling others, showing up at youth events, leading school and preschool chapel services, making friends in his neighborhood, evangelizing... and doing it all as one who is privileged to be an Under-Shepherd of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. We are very blessed to have him and Kelsey in our midst!
Though the Sarraults hail from Michigan they know a little bit about our area already since Zach served as Vicar at Hope Lutheran Church in Wake Forest from 2019 to 2020. At church you can find Pastor Zach in the Associate Pastor's office, next door to the main office on the left side. I look forward to working with Pastor Zach and seeing him welcomed as warmly by all of you as Juli and I were not so long ago! May God bless and further your ministry among us, Pastor!