Deuteronomy 5:6-15; Revelation 1:9-11
Today, we will continue to look at the practice of “Sabbath.” Last week, we saw that in Exodus 20:8, God rooted Sabbath remembrance in creation. In Deuteronomy 5:15, however, He roots Sabbath observance in His great act of deliverance. “You were slaves…and the Lord brought you out.”
By the end of the first century, followers of Christ saw Christ’s death and resurrection as the greatest act of deliverance. Thus, we read that John was in the Spirit on the “Lord’s Day,” which would have been understood to be Sunday, the first day of the week, the day Christ rose from the dead. Today, we will look at the implications of reorienting our lives around God as Liberator, Giver of Freedom.
While this certainly calls us to remember and relish in the reality of our spiritual freedom, it also reminds us we are restored to our dignity as created in God’s image. We are not mere units of production that find worth only in what we accomplish or what we possess or in the image we project to people around us. Christian Sabbath-keeping brings us back to the amazing reality that while once we were slaves, the Lord has brought us out. We are free in Christ.
Apply
- What messages around your identity keep you “enslaved” to driven-ness, comparison, and anxiety?
- What are the implications of being freed by Christ to live for Him? How can Sabbath-keeping restore us to this reality?
- Ask God to work in your heart and in the hearts of all who will be attending our services on-line or in person today
- Pray that those who are new to the church will be welcomed and find meaningful relationships
Pray
- Pray that those who are new to the church will be welcomed and find meaningful relationships
- Pray for our Children’s Ministry Pastor, Jerilyn Bayer
- Pray for the Children’s Ministry Associate, Annette Faszer, and for the Children’s Ministry Assistants: Abigail, Amelia, Blythe, Clarissa, Domina, Jenna, Sarah, and Sunita