I had the privilege of being with First Lutheran Church in Fremont, Nebraska on Sunday June 14, 2026. Thank you to Amy, Pastor Greg, Deacon Karen, and the entire ministry staff team for the invitation and to the whole congregation for the warm welcome. In being with the congregation I was invited to preach as part of their summer worship series, “Rest in Jesus: Restoring Your Mind, Body, & Soul.” This week’s emphasis was on “Renewing Your Mind.” The appointed lessons for the series for the day were Romans 12:1-2, and Mark 6:30-32. The overall theme verses come from Matthew 11:28-30. What follows is the majority of the manuscript that I preached from. In leading into the sermon, I did share some brief greetings and words of gratitude to the congregation too. To watch the first service and/or listen to the sermon, you can do so here via the recording of the church’s livestream on YouTube.

Grace and peace from God in Christ, who is with you, for you, and who loves you. Amen.

Setting the Scene from the Scriptures for this Day
“And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.”[1] That’s how our gospel lesson for today ends. The disciples with Jesus have taken a boat to get away to a deserted place together to hopefully find some time for rest, relaxation, and renewal. It’s a beautiful image and an understandable goal. Perhaps you can relate to this idea- by going to the lake, driving out to the Sandhills, floating down the Niobrara, going out on a sandbar in the middle of the Platte or the Elkhorn. Maybe by going out in the middle of a field or grabbing a mitt and playing catch. Taking a retreat at Carol Joy Holling in Ashland. Or perhaps going a little farther away and finding some solitude in the mountains or at a far-off beach along the shore of the ocean. Wherever it may be, imagine yourself finding a space for calm to renew your mind.

We all need this space to renew our minds, and God invites us into this. God calls us to moments of renewal. There’s a reason that we have a Sabbath day after all. To rest. To renew. To remember. To be present. To focus on the Good News and promises of God’s love.  But I wonder if we might recall the rest of the gospel story. We only hear three verses from Mark’s gospel today, but do any of you know what happens immediately next in the story? (Give people a moment…) Yes, that’s right. In Mark’s gospel story, Jesus and the disciples get away to a deserted place only to be found by thousands of people. Could you imagine trying to get away and then to be found like this? These people have left their homes and daily lives and gone to see their shepherd and to hear a word of grace. They have come to a deserted place, far away from anywhere else, and they might well be hungry. Yes, even though Jesus and the disciples had “gone away,” thousands had come near, and as we know the rest of the story, they were fed abundantly, through five loaves and two fish.[2]

The disciples are concerned. Perhaps they are frustrated that their chance for R&R has been interrupted. Perhaps they just can’t imagine or understand how all these people will be fed. But Jesus feeds them. Because that is exactly what God in Christ does. He meets us where we are. He meets us and whatever needs we might have, through our neighbors. Through our siblings in Christ. Through one another. You do this work in your daily life and vocations. First Lutheran, you do this through all of the ministries that you are a part of here in Fremont. You do this as part of the Nebraska Synod, and the larger ELCA. It matters and makes a difference. Thank you! But just like Jesus, we all need time to rest and renew so that we can continue in our daily lives and ministries together. It’s a perfect illustration of what you might hear if going on an airplane and hearing from the flight attendants that in case of emergency you must first put your own oxygen mask on before you help someone else.

If we keep going at the breakneck speed and pace of life that many of us seem to live at, we will surely burn ourselves out. I hear Jethro’s advice to his son-in-law Moses in this. When Moses was trying to do everything himself, Jethro counseled him that what he was doing was not good, and that he would surely burn himself out.[3] We can’t always be going 100 miles per hour. We can’t always be watching the news. We can’t always be doom scrolling on social media. None of this is healthy. It doesn’t lead to rest. Speaking from my own experience, it often leads to hours and even nights of lost sleep. It’s precisely in recognizing this, that we need to remember that there is another way. To turn toward our God who can and does renew our minds.

God Renews Our Minds
Now obviously there wasn’t social media and there weren’t cell phones 2,000 years ago. But there were certainly fears, worries, and anxiety. Jesus knew this. God’s people were worried. John the Baptist had recently been arrested. There were fears of power and the empire. The poor and the oppressed, and the widow, were being marginalized and ostracized. And it’s into this reality, that Jesus said these words, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[4] Jesus says those exact words to you and I this day too.

God invites you to be renewed. To remember God’s promises and Good News for you. That God is for you, with you, and loves you. Always. No exceptions, and no questions. This is true. When we remember this truth, the rest falls into place. But what about this truth? What might this actually mean? Fast forward in the gospel narrative and remember Jesus before Pontius Pilate during his trial. Jesus says, “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”[5] To this, Pilate responds famously, “What is truth?”[6] Jesus doesn’t really give an answer, no surprise, since he rarely ever gives a straight answer that isn’t a story or a parable in response. But the question stands. And when remembering the whole of the gospel story, we remember and know what the truth is that Jesus is talking about. The truth of God’s promises for you. Promises of life, love, presence, relationship, and salvation. And so much more.

We are renewed in worship when we remember this truth. We are renewed in daily life when we remember this too. When instead of giving into the lies that the culture and world might tell us, we turn and point to another way. The way of the cross. The way of love without questions or exclusion. When the powers that be might say there isn’t enough for everyone, Jesus shows that those lies and sins of scarcity and limited thinking are just that. When the disciples think there isn’t nearly enough for everyone to be fed out at that deserted place, Jesus shows what can happen with some collaboration, trust, and a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. As long as my family has lived in Nebraska, we have seen you all living this story out through feeding the hungry here in Fremont. I just saw on Facebook this week, pictures of a team of at least 15 of you who had made, packed, and delivered meals to your neighbors as part of your Mobile Food Banquet.

You have shown God’s love made real. A love that has no bounds. A love like we see in Jesus, when elsewhere in the gospels, people get mad at Jesus for talking with sinners, eating with tax collectors, and engaging with the “wrong people.” Jesus shows us through word and deed that God’s love is not limited to a few. God’s love is not just for some people who might think or look or act a certain way. No. God’s love is for you. God’s love is for all. Every beloved Child of God- no matter where they come from, no matter their story, their experiences and perspectives, they have an equal place at this table to be welcomed and fed. Because, all Children of God, are just that, a beloved Child of God. 

We are Transformed through God’s Love
We are renewed when we remember this, and we are changed forever when that truth takes hold in us and especially in our minds. The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect.”[7]

Some people have interpreted Paul here as saying don’t give into the whims of the day. That can be a fine translation. But too often I find that that is used, honestly, as a cop out to divide and exclude. Which is not what I believe Paul is writing about at all. He’s writing about the wideness of God’s love and grace. In spite of an empire and culture which lifted up a few but not all, Paul is pointing to the expansiveness of the truth, and the promise of God’s love which transforms us. It’s what makes possible the promise, that all are welcome here. No questions and no exceptions.

This may seem easier said than done. But it’s precisely in these moments when God invites us to be renewed. To renew our minds, hearts, bodies, and souls. To hand over the worries that might be nagging at us, in prayer to God, and then be so moved to take a next faithful step, or at least to be able to truly rest for a while. As we hand over the worries that hold us bound, we turn to the freedom and truth of grace, reconciliation, and forgiveness which Christ provides. Christ’s love makes it possible that we can move from worry to trust, in our Lord and Savior. To be more fully present, renewed, and in relationship with God and God’s beloved here and now.

What Might this Mean (and look like) today?
What might this look like? It might mean going away to a deserted place. It might mean a week by a lake or an afternoon in the middle of a river. It might mean putting your phone away for a day or a night. Or turning off those pesky notifications and making it a bit harder to fall into the temptation of endless scrolling of newsfeeds and social media which just perpetuates fears, worries, and anxieties. It might mean digging into the Good News and meditating on God’s love that we hear through the scriptures, instead of letting the anxiety of the world continue to eat at us, and for us to continue feeding that same anxiety.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t be engaged in the world. We absolutely should, and we are called to do so. But we are called to do so with all that God entrusts into our care, and that includes our health, bodies, souls and minds. To show up alongside and with our neighbor as signs of God’s gracious love, we need to have the space to renew and be renewed in our minds so as to best meet our neighbors with our full selves. I mean, Jesus did this too. And after finding a deserted place, and resting awhile, he fed thousands.

Beloved, you are not alone. God is with you and meets you where you are at as a sign of God’s gracious love. God is for you and calls you to rest and to be renewed in mind and spirit. Take the time to be renewed. Turn the TV off. Put your phone away. Open up God’s word and find a spot in God’s good creation. Take some deep breaths. And know that God loves you, and through that love, you can be and are renewed. Thanks be to God. Amen.

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Citations and References:
[1] Mark 6:32, NRSVue.
[2] Mark 6:38, NRSVue.
[3] From Exodus 18:17-18.
[4] Matthew 11:28-30, NRSVue.
[5] John 18:37, NRSVue.
[6] John 18:38, NRSVue.
[7] Romans 12:2, NRSVue.