Recap:

Last week, we talked about Sabbath rest, and the response was overwhelming. So many of you shared how frantic life feels, how nonstop the pace has become, and how freeing it was to hear that God doesn’t just allow rest, He commands it. My prayer is that rest wouldn’t be a one-week conversation, but something that sinks deep into our souls this year. Because here’s the truth: you can’t accomplish God-sized goals in a healthy way without rest. Rest isn’t the enemy of productivity, it’s the foundation of it.

We talked about goals for 2026. Not empty resolutions, but intentional direction. We named a goal, chose a rest day, identified what truly recharges us (no screens), and committed to one spiritual step toward Jesus. Writing it down matters, but telling someone matters even more. When we bring others into our goals, accountability turns intention into action. Faith grows best in community.

But all of that leads to a bigger question: how are we living?

Too many of us are living metronome lives, tick, tick, tick. Wake up. Scroll. Work. Eat. Netflix. Sleep. Repeat. Busy but disconnected. Productive but exhausted. And before we know it, life is passing us by and our souls are worn thin.

God gives us a beat, but He never intended us to live like machines.

Scripture is full of rhythm: morning and evening, six days of work and a Sabbath rest, daily manna, yearly festivals. God establishes structure, but within that structure, He invites us into something alive. Not rigid repetition, but rhythm. Rhythm has movement. Space. Breath. Grace.

Jesus says it plainly:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me.”
Not escape life, but walk with Him in it.
“Walk with me. Work with me. Watch how I do it.”
And then this invitation: Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

That’s the heart of it.

God isn’t calling us to stop working, He’s calling us to work differently. To work with Him. To bring Him into the everyday moments: the dishes, the meetings, the parenting, the deadlines. Colossians reminds us that whatever we do, we do it as unto the Lord. When God becomes part of our work, joy replaces drudgery. Purpose replaces pressure.

Without rhythm, work turns into apathy. We get distracted, procrastinate, burn out, or spiritually drift. The early church had a name for it, acedia, the weariness that makes us want to quit what God has called us to do. And the solution was never more effort. It was deeper alignment with God.

God doesn’t want our box-checking. He doesn’t want empty rituals or frantic productivity. He wants relationship. He wants us to experience His presence inside the responsibilities of life, not apart from them.

So for 2026, we’re not just setting goals, we’re choosing rhythm.

Not just doing more, but doing life with God.
Not just checking boxes, but cultivating presence.
Not just surviving the beat, but moving to the rhythm of grace.

And that’s our word for the year: Rhythm.

A year where we walk with Jesus, work with Jesus, and learn how to live freely and lightly, at the pace of His peace.

Group Questions:

Icebreakers (Choose 1–2)

Start light and relational before going deep.

  1. Pace Check:
     On a scale of 1–10, how rushed has your life felt this past week? What made it feel that way?
  2. Recharge Reality:
     What’s something you thought recharged you but actually doesn’t anymore?
  3. Rhythm or Rote:
     When you hear the word “routine,” do you feel comforted or confined? Why?
  4. Metronome Life:
     Which part of the “wake up, scroll, work, eat, Netflix, sleep” cycle do you feel most stuck in right now?

Sermon Reflection Questions

  1. Rest & Resistance
  • Why do you think rest feels so hard, or even irresponsible, for many of us?
  • How does seeing rest as a command (not just a suggestion) change how you think about it?
  • What fears surface when you imagine truly resting?

Leader tip: Normalize the struggle here. Many people carry guilt around rest.

  1. Goals, Community & Accountability
  • The sermon emphasized writing goals down and sharing them. Why do you think community matters so much in spiritual growth?
  • Which is harder for you: naming a goal or inviting someone else into it?
  • How has accountability helped, or hindered, you in the past?
  1. Metronome Living vs. God’s Rhythm
  • Where do you most feel like life is “tick, tick, tick” right now?
  • What signs tell you your soul is getting worn thin?
  • How would you describe the difference between busy and alive?
  1. Rhythm, Not Rigid Routine
  • Scripture shows structure with space, work and rest, effort and grace.
    Where do you tend to overcorrect: too much structure or too much chaos?
  • What would it look like to add breath and grace into your weekly rhythms?
  1. Working With God, Not Away From Him
  • Jesus invites us to walk and work with Him. What does that practically look like in your daily life?
  • How might inviting God into ordinary tasks (work, parenting, chores) change how they feel?
  • Where has work started to feel like drudgery instead of calling?
  1. Burnout, Acedia & Alignment
  • The early church called spiritual weariness acedia. Where do you feel tempted to disengage or quit?
  • Why do you think “trying harder” often makes burnout worse?
  • What might deeper alignment with God look like for you right now?

Personal Application (Do This Together)

Invite everyone to reflect quietly, then share if comfortable:

  1. My rest day will be:

  2. One thing that truly recharges me (no screens):

  3. One spiritual step I’m committing to this season:

  4. One person I will invite into accountability:

Closing Question

If you fully embraced the rhythm of grace, what would change first, your schedule, your expectations, or your pace?