We know how Judas's story ends before it even begins. The first time Matthew introduces Judas in his gospel, he does it by naming him this way: "Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." But what if we slowed down long enough to see Judas as something more than his worst moment? In this first sermon of our Lenten series, Pastor Dennis Allan traces the arc of Judas's life alongside Jesus: chosen, trusted, empowered, and yet somehow unable to let the grace he witnessed up close actually reach him. Like so many of us, Judas's tragedy wasn't that grace was unavailable to him. Judas's tragedy was that he couldn't bring himself to believe it was for him. This Lent, we're invited to stop watching from a safe distance and step into the one thing Judas never could: the scandalous, excessive, awaiting grace of Jesus.

In Deuteronomy 5, Moses is reminding the Israelites to follow the Law and, in particular, the Ten Commandments. When Moses speaks the command to observe the Sabbath, the reason he gives for observing it is different than the reason God gave to Moses in Exodus. There, the command was connected to the Creation. In Deuteronomy, it's connected to liberation. Moses says, "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." It's an instruction that extends not just to the people hearing Moses, but to their children, their workers, their animals, and even the immigrants residing among them. The Sabbath is for everyone. And until everyone can experience rest unto the LORD, it's only a privilege for some, rather than a gift for all.

Why is it so hard for many of us to stop and rest? Sabbath is a good gift that God has given to His people, a gift that Jesus and His disciples embraced, and yet many of us either won't rest or feel like we can't. There's a pervasive thought in American culture: "time is money." It's almost like all of our time needs to be allocated to productive activities, things that earn money or check tasks off our to-do list. Why is it that even the idea of stopping for an hour, for an afternoon, or for a day can produce anxiety in us? This week, Pastor Dennis Allan walks through how making the decision to stop and rest is an act of trust in God's goodness and faithfulness, a declaration that we believe He really is the One who provides for us.