REV. Zachery Sarrault, Associate PASTOR
Pastor’s Corner for July 5-11, 2026
Celebrate Freedom!
(Matthew 11:25-30)
Happy Independence Day! This weekend, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation, a day to celebrate the freedoms that we have, the greatest of which is the opportunity to openly worship the Savior of the world, may we never neglect this great freedom. As a nation founded on, and proud of, its freedoms, we’re all familiar with the phrase, “it’s a free country”, probably having heard it from or said it as a child. A kid is told to do something, and they answer with a smart-alec grin, “it’s a free country, I can do what I want.” We certainly have many reasons to celebrate our country this weekend, and I pray you take the opportunity; it doesn’t take long before we realize that “free country” doesn’t mean “I can do what I want.” There are rules to follow and consequences if we don’t follow those rules.
Is the same true in our relationship with Jesus? For many of us, our relationship with Jesus starts with the joy of freedom. We celebrate that we are free from our sins, free from the tyranny of satan, free from the burden of guilt. Then we are taught the 10 Commandments, we start reading more of the Bible for ourselves, and we can feel like a disenfranchised young adult the first time we pay our own taxes. I thought belonging to Jesus was free?! What’s up with all these rules?! Is Jesus loving and forgiving, or is He a taskmaster and burden-giver??
Depending on your season in life, it can be hard to see Jesus as a place of rest and freedom, but that’s exactly how He describes Himself. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). One of our favorite verses from the Bible can also be a challenge because we struggle with finding rest. We look for a rule to follow that will give us rest, something to contribute to enter that rest, but that’s not the point. This rest is not something we work for or towards, it is living in a relationship with the Savior of the world. Reed Lessing says it like this, “One of the biggest problems in our Christian life is that we begin with a relationship, then revert to rules. We reduce the joy of relationship to routine and a dull regime.”
“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” (Matthew 11:29). These are words of relationship, not a rule or routine to follow. Jesus is offering us a way of living with Him. Does He give us things to do? Sure He does, but notice that Jesus is “gentle and lowly”, better understood as “gentle and simple at heart.” Our simple and gentle Savior gifts us with true freedom that lasts forever, will never fade or weaken, but will only grow in its beauty and greatness. Now that’s something to celebrate!
Installation of Resurrection Lutheran Church’s Newest Stephen Ministers
We were privileged at RLC last weekend to install our newest Stephen Ministers: Stu Shaw, Betsy Moll, Pat Smith, and Deb Gebbia. May God continue to be at work through each of them…and all of our Stephen Ministers…to enrich our care for one another! If you are interested in learning more about what Stephen Ministry is doing, Stephen Ministry | Resurrection Lutheran Church.
Your celebrating 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!