Getting creative about a Sabbath rest

This past Sunday I spoke about God's design for creation to have rest and restoration through a regular pattern of Sabbath rest. A member of our church who heard that message sent me an email and asked, "In order to make a living and support my family, I'm required to work every other Sunday and there's really nothing I could do to change it. How does today's sermon apply to someone in a situation like mine." That is a great question and has implications for many in our congregation so I thought it appropriate to answer it here.

One of the big points of the passage we studied on Sunday (Mark 2:23-3:6) was that the principle of the Sabbath is more important than a legalistic approach to Sabbath keeping. I suggest you find another chunk of uninterrupted time that you can spend with God on the weeks when Sunday mornings are not available to you. Download the Sunday sermon from the website and allow God to speak to you just as he would if you had been able to gather with us.

I also spoke about using the Sabbath rest to sure up our covenant relationships, namely our relationship with God, our spouse, our children, and our church family. On the weeks when Sunday is not available to spend refreshing those relationships find another time. If you have another day off in the week, make that your Sabbath day. It is really more about finding the time and then reorienting what you do with that time. Be intentional by thinking about which of your relationships is getting your attention during your time away from work.

And finally, find time to be with other church friends where you can have deep, meaningful interaction. This could be with members of your LifeGroup or ministry team. Just make sure you are being open about how you are growing spiritually and listen to others to prompt that same openness in them.

To listen to the above referenced message of 05/08/11