Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg
Building Blocks – Part 2
Sabbath
Today we begin a new teaching series called “Building Blocks”.
Building Blocks is a series focusing on the essential features, the basics, of the Christian life. It’s not intended only for new believers, but also for those who have been walking with Jesus for many years.
Our series began focusing on prayer- our communication with the Lord.
Today we focus on Sabbath – a command from God that is an incredible gift, and one that is too often ignored.
Genesis 2:2-3
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
-God rested. The one with unlimited energy and eternal potential took a break.
-It mattered to God that after all the work there was this sacred time, this holy time, a time of rest.
-At the beginning of creation, God was demonstrating the powerful gift given to us through Sabbath.
Exodus 20:8-11
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Why Sabbath?
-Yes, it’s true God commanded it so we should trust Him and obey. But there is a very clear purpose for this command.
-The Lord knew something about us, about humanity, about our nature. The Lord knew we need rest. True rest.
-Why Sabbath? Because the Lord valued rest enough that He demonstrated on the seventh day of creation and instructed us to do the same.
“The biggest disease in North America is busyness”
-Thomas Merten
-We are living in a world that has never needed rest more and yet we don’t even know how.
-From the moment we get up until the moment we shut our eyes, we are busy, and we even create busy for ourselves.
-From our earliest days, whether due to “the American Dream” or the passionate focus on “getting things done” we are, frankly, taught not to rest.
“Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.”
-Mark Buchanan
Mark 2:27-28
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
-One of the problems with Sabbath is we’ve made it something that it’s not.
We see it as this master list of restrictions. For me a kid, a list of ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’. But Jesus was shedding the light on the true heart of Sabbath.
-This is not a command given to weigh you down and cause you to jump through hoops. It’s a command given to give you rest and freedom and to restore life.
Verses for further study/reflection:
Genesis 2:3
Exodus 20:1-17
Exodus 31:12-17
Isaiah 58: 13-14
Luke 4:16
Luke 23:56
Hebrews 4:9
Giving at COTN
If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org
Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!