INTRODUCTION

The invitation to Sabbath invites us to stop and reclaim our place in God’s Kingdom. Sabbath reminds us that we are no longer enslaved. We belong to God, live under His rule, receive His provision, and are invited into His rest.

DISCUSSION

1. What does the first Sabbath say about God?

    

   Read Genesis 2:1-3. After God did the work He wanted to do, He rested. He did not move on immediately to the next project. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This is the only day that He blessed and made holy (sanctified, or to set apart).

   Consider that God is all-powerful; He is not limited by physical tiredness like we are. Why, then, did God stop His work to rest? How did God rest?

2. What does our Sabbath say about us?

    

   Read Deuteronomy 5:12-15. God took the Israelites out of Egypt, but it was still a struggle to take Egypt out of the Israelites. They still acted like slaves. Even after receiving a double portion of manna on Saturday, some went out on the Sabbath to gather more (Exodus 16:22-27).

   a. In the 4th commandment, how does God instruct the Israelites to observe the Sabbath? 

   b. Why did God ask the Israelites to observe the Sabbath?

   c. Do you struggle to stop working because you fear falling behind? What are you still a slave to?
   
   

3. How can we share the Sabbath?

    

   Read Deuteronomy 5:12-15. The Israelites are commanded not only to observe the Sabbath for themselves but to grant rest to all people and creatures in the sphere of influence.

    

   a. Discuss why God took pains to list so many categories of people and creatures. 

    

   b. What is the equivalent of a servant, donkey or foreigner in your life today?

    

   c. How can your Sabbath become a small picture of God’s coming Kingdom — a place of worship, delight, healing, generosity and restoration?

WHAT WILL YOU DO

Practising Sabbath

1. Schedule a rhythm of stopping
   Put it in your calendar, protect your Sabbath. Stop and acknowledge ‘God is God, and I am not’.
2. Prepare beforehand
   Preparation helps us become fully present to God and the people around us.
3. Include worship and something life-giving.
   Worship declares God is God and we are not. What is life-giving to you?
4. Practise Sabbath together
   What is restful and life-giving to your community?
5. Consider a digital Sabbath.
   Create space to be fully present with God and others

MEMORY VERSE

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labour 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, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. – Deuteronomy 5:12-15 ESV