Hello SPV Fam, it was so good to see all of you last weekend and I look forward to being with you again in just a couple of weeks. 
If you read the fine print of my contract, you’ll see that I am contractually obligated to preach/do a lesson on Matthew 11:28-30 at least once a year so here it goes: 
"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬
If you know me at all then you know one of my most ardent beliefs and convictions is that following Jesus and living a life of faith shouldn’t be “heavy” or burdensome and if it is, then there’s a really good chance we’re doing it wrong. Now that doesn’t mean life itself won’t be “heavy” or a burden on occasion (at the very least) if not regularly. But I firmly believe the way of Jesus, although challenging at times, should never be the source of your fatigue. In fact, Jesus is saying that if we follow/keep company with him, that we will learn from him how to live lives that are free & light. He didn’t say “completely free of all trouble”, but that “forced rhythms of grace” are available to us as we navigate the worries and troubles life throws at us. 
I pray each of us would both walk and work with Jesus and learn how he does it. 

Much love & unforced rhythms of grace to you all, 
Pastor Chris. 


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Hi SPV Family, Patricia here,
As the last supper ended, Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.  
 On the way, Jesus told them, ``But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”  Matthew 26:32. NLT
We have two accounts of Jesus saying I will meet you in Galilee, to his followers.
Then we see in Mark’s gospel the account of the women going to the tomb and finding it empty.
 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.  Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Mark 16:5-7 NLT
Why did Jesus tell his disciples that he was going ahead of them and will meet them in Galilee?

You might consider that Jesus told them to meet Him in Galilee because that is where the ministry of Jesus started.   The first miracle turning water into wine, the sermon on the mount, the transfiguration and place where the disciples met Jesus for the first time.  Galilee was the place where Jesus fed thousands of people, healed the sick and raised the dead.   
 In Galilee the disciples of Jesus learned who he was, the Son of God as the Father spoke from the heavens.  In Galilee Jesus taught with parables so that the lessons were understandable to all people. Meeting Jesus changed the lives of the disciples.  
 Do you remember when you first met Jesus?  Did you fall in love with Jesus and was your heart humbled by his love for you?   Maybe it took you sometime to get to know Jesus and understand his teachings and his love in your life.  
Meet me in Galilee 
Consider going back to that time when you loved Jesus with all your heart.
Meet me in Galilee.  
Believing that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life.
Meet me in Galilee. 

Knowing that when we see Jesus, we see the Father.

Did the disciples believe that Jesus would be raised from the dead and meet them in Galilee?  Or were they stuck in Jerusalem frozen in the events of the days surrounding the crucifixion?   
   Scripture says they didn’t believe that Jesus would be raised from the dead, and they didn’t go to Galilee right away. In spite of their unbelief Jesus met them where they were.
On the day of the resurrection Jesus met Mary in the garden and two of his followers on the road to Emmaus.  Time after time Jesus showed Himself to his followers exactly where they were, he didn’t go to Galilee and wait for them to show up.
 As I looked at this scripture and was praying about the words “Meet me in Galilee” I started thinking about why did Jesus say this to his disciples?  
I have a couple of thoughts to share on the matter,  Galilee was home to the disciples and Galilee was the place they first met Jesus.
Maybe Jesus is saying remember when we first met and all the things that I revealed to you in Galilee.
 Today Jesus is saying come home, find comfort in who I am and what I have taught you.
Jesus wants us to surrender everything to him and “Meet him in Galilee”.
Safe travels as you journey to Galilee and find yourself back at home in the love of Jesus and his amazing teachings.
Blessings and love,
Patricia