If you weren't there last Sunday, you missed our talented Pastor recite in rhyme his sermon. It was really well done and with his permission I have included the words. We are so blessed to have such a great guy with us and can even rhyme if given the chance!!
A Sabbath Poem by Jeff May
The summer, she's passing
Church attendance has been lapsing
Now we turn to shorter days
When the boats come off the bays
Time grows weak for sun and leisure,
Is this the end of fun and pleasure?
Refrain:
Perhaps Sabbath is more than just rest
It's time to note that we are blest
God stopped the work that 7th day
To give creation freedom's way
For though we live within sin's bent
We are called and claimed and sent.
Shall we grieve our life hereafter,
Our souls bracing for less laughter?
Turn the page on roasting weiners
Boardwalk vendors, wallet cleaners?
When iPhones no longer capture leisure,
Is this the death of all we treasure?
So note the end of summer's haze
The longer nights, the shorter days
And when our tans begin to fade
Will our hopes too be mislaid?
Shall we all make melancholy
Get back to work, forsake the holy?
Refrain
So let us pause amid our memory,
Turn and think 'bout what we carry
What we've learned about our rest
Look and savor all the best
In rest and joy and friendships true
In all these things we are made new.
So learn this truth on Sabbath-taking
Savor sunset, morning coffee making
Take the time in this vacation
Note the rhythm of creation
Listen close; creator's beat
Love's melody: Oh, so sweet.
Refrain
We say that Sabbath is on Sunday
Like it is only meant for one day
Show up at the holy place
Prayer and Kyrie and grace
Then go in peace and serve the Lord
And all week long faith be ignored
So what if Sabbath is more, and more
Like things that make the heart strings soar
Times that build our hearts as one
To take creation's sacred work begun
You may be bent, but you are holy
Sins forgiven, straightened wholly.
Refrain
It's not so much a day of week
It's time to hear the holy speak
God's gracious gift for weary soul
Restored, renewed, is now made whole
Abundant life is Sabbath's aim
Life in the Spirit, each day's claim.
