REV. Zachery Sarrault, Associate PASTOR
Pastor’s Corner for December 14-20
Go and Tell
(Matthew 11:2-6)
This time of year, Jesus is everywhere. I don’t just mean in a spiritual, God-like, omnipresent sort of way. I’m talking about a very physical presence that people can see with their own eyes. All those manger scenes! In front yards, living rooms, garages, rooftops, on t-shirts, bumper stickers, billboards. He is everywhere!
What’s the purpose of all these images of Jesus? What do we hope they accomplish? I imagine that most folks would simply say that it’s just what you do during Christmas. The manger is a pleasant decoration, a celebration even of Christ’s birth. Maybe a sanctified answer would be that we hope it can point people to the real meaning of Christmas, that Jesus was born as God in the flesh, come to save us from our sins. But is that evident from just a wooden statue in my front yard? Is the manger scene enough to create faith?
Faith in Jesus as the Son of God is what we need to have a relationship with Him. It is what all people need and, whether they know it or not, it is what all people are looking for. We all want to have faith in Jesus, but we can go looking in all the wrong places. Even John the Baptizer was looking for faith. When he was in prison, he started hearing about Jesus and wondered if this Jesus guy was in fact the Son of God. Maybe we could say that he started observing “manger scenes” and wondered what the big deal was, so he went right to the source, sending some friends to ask Jesus if He was in fact the Savior.
You have people in your life, we all do, that are looking for Jesus. All the manger scenes of the season are part of their normal routine, and they probably don’t even think twice when they see them, but you know why they are there. Those manger scenes are put there as an opportunity for you to tell a story, for you to tell them about the Savior of the world for them. As Christians (little Christ’s), we have one job this side of eternity, to tell others of Jesus’ Word and Work.
That’s what John needed to hear. Jesus told John’s friends, “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Matthew 11:4). How does faith grow? Simply from the seed of Jesus’ Word and Work. How do people know about that Word and Work? Simply from people like you and me. Ever since Jesus’ first Advent 2,000 years ago the work of His people has always been the same, go and tell others what you hear and see from Jesus. So, the big question is, who is Jesus sending you to “go and tell” today?
Your sent brother in Christ,
Pastor Zach Sarrault
Please note, there will be no Sunday School for adults and children this week.
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!