REV. Zachery Sarrault, Associate PASTOR
Pastor’s Corner for July 21-27, 2024
The Eternal Community
(Ephesians 2:11-22)
Have you ever noticed the bumper stickers on cars? Maybe you have some on your own vehicle. The intent of bumper stickers may be up in the air, but I always see them as a way to show unity. They are symbols of things, people, places, etc. that you belong to. If you look at my car you will know immediately that I enjoy fishing, I have a connection to Michigan, and I graduated from Concordia University Ann Arbor. Every once in a while, I’ll have someone stop me in the parking lot to talk about the Michigan bumper sticker, but one time I actually had a fellow Concordia graduate recognize my bumper sticker! That was a fun moment of community that only a bumper sticker could bring.
What bumper stickers do you have? In a way, they do form a sense of community, even if it is a little far-fetched. After all, that is what we are looking for isn’t it? To one degree or another, every person on earth is searching for community. It is how God created humanity. We are created for community.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
God knew that Adam needed another (namely a wife) to complete His community-driven creation. Community was the finishing touch on God’s perfect creation! Which is probably why it is the number one thing the devil continually attacks. It is scary dichotomy that the one thing all creation yearns for, community, is the number one thing on the devil’s hit list. We see this at work all the time. We see a breakdown in the community of family and friends. We see the division of community in our nation at large and in the politics discussed on social media or in the dining room. We see community come to blows on differing opinions of everything from tv shows to sports teams to candy to the cars that hold the bumper stickers. The places that we find community are the battle ground for the devil. He will use everything in his power to tear apart the places that we love so dearly.
BUT NOW in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Eph. 2:13)
BUT we are a part of a different community, an eternal community. God still desires His creation to be a part of the never-ending community. That was His desire in the beginning with Adam and Eve and that is still His desire now. God has accomplished that desire by sending His Son to die on the cross and rise from the grave, defeating all the devil’s vain attempts at severing us from our community God.
In His death and resurrection, Christ did more than bring us peace with the Father (though that is incredible enough!). Paul continues, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (v.14). The community that flows from Christ, flows into the church. Though we may be scattered through towns, states, and countries throughout the world, we are united by the eternal blood of Christ. In the end, there will be no “bumper-sticker community” but only the eternal community that you and I are joyously a part of!
Your eternal 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!