Jeff Maness – November 1, 2020
So often we view the Sabbath as a Jewish thing, an Old Testament thing, “Sunday”, or a day off from work. The the Sabbath is so much deeper and better than that. The Sabbath is not a specific day you must of observe, it’s a way of life you get to practice.
Sabbath Week 1: What is Sabbath?
If the devil can’t make us bad he’ll make us busy. — Corrie Ten Boom
60% of U.S. adults, and 74% of parents said they sometimes felt too busy to enjoy life.
1/3 of all children said they always felt rushed.
The truth remains that Sabbath will be challenging for anyone to live out in our busy, frenetic world. Sabbath goes against the very structure and system of the world we have constructed. Sabbath, then, becomes a kind of resistance to that world. Sabbath is an alternative lifestyle that goes against everything our world knows. – A. J. Swoboda
Big Idea: The Sabbath is not a specific day you must observe, it is a way of life you get to practice.
Big Question: What is the sabbath?
Main Scripture: Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:15, Exodus 16:29
Resources:
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Take A Day Off by Robert Morris
Sabbath Resistance by Walter Bruggeman
Subversive Sabbath by AJ Swoboda
The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn
1. It is a rhythm not a rule
Exodus 20:8-10a 8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10a but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.
Sabbath day of rest = Shabbat
Exodus 20:10b-11 10b On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
The Sabbath is like a governor on the speed of life. — John Mark Comer
When we fight this rhythm, we go against the grain of the universe. — John Mark Comer
2. It is a reminder
Deuteronomy 5:15 12 15 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest (to stop) on the Sabbath day. Pharoah might be gone, but Egypt is alive and well.
3. It is a gift
Exodus 16:29 29 They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply (of manna) on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. (Rest) Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.
The Sabbath is a gift we do not know how to receive. In a world of doing, going, and producing, we have no use for a gift that invites us to stop. But that is the original gift: a gift of rest. — A. J. Swoboda
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