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Seven Hills Fellowship

Shalom with Jon Huggins

·33 min·3 clips
The gospel creates a relational atmosphere of shalom and psychological rest from which we can be formed into Christ's image.
The episode is a sermon by Jon Huggins titled 'Shalom,' delivered at Seven Hills Fellowship in Rome, Georgia, on the sixth Sunday of Easter. Huggins begins with a prayer and centers the congregation on God's presence. He states his main point upfront: the gospel creates a relational atmosphere of shalom (peace, rest, wholeness) and a psychological situation of rest for the soul. From this foundation, believers can move forward into the work of soul formation, being shaped into the image of Christ. Huggins traces the theme of rest through Scripture, starting with God's Sabbath rest in Genesis and noting its absence of 'evening and morning' on the seventh day, suggesting an ongoing atmosphere of peace. He cites Romans 5:1 and Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus offers rest for the weary. The sermon examines prophetic calls in Jeremiah 6 and Isaiah 30, where God offers rest but people refuse, paralleling human resistance today. Huggins references Hebrews 4, which speaks of a Sabbath rest remaining for God's people, urging listeners to 'make every effort to enter that rest.' He then shifts to formation, arguing that sin weakens humans and is a self-wound requiring healing, not just forgiveness. Huggins introduces two Greek terms: ascesis (active soul formation through spiritual practices) and acedia (spiritual sloth or the 'noonday demon'). He recommends John Mark Comer's book 'Practicing the Way,' which outlines being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing as Jesus did. The sermon uses Wendell Berry's metaphor from 'A Native Hill,' contrasting ancient paths that harmonize with nature against modern roads that destroy, applying it to wise versus hasty spiritual formation. Huggins admits this sermon is aspirational for his own life, sharing his struggle to prioritize relationship with Christ over intellectual study. He closes with a prayer for the Spirit to overcome obstacles to rest in Christ.

As heard by us

A measured sermon links Sabbath rest with the slow work of being formed in fellowship with Christ.

Rest sits at the center of this single-episode sermon for the sixth Sunday of Easter, as breathing and prayer lead into Hebrews 4 and Psalm 95. The message frames God's rest as an invitation that remains open but still calls for response.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when your attempts at control have made rest feel like another thing to manage.

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