Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional. Following on from yesterday’s devotional on rest, today, we reflect on how Jesus is our sabbath rest.
To watch this devotional, follow the link below:
‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 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, 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.’ (Exodus 20:8-11)
Yesterday, we briefly reflected in the God-given pattern of work and rest that was revealed in creation and God’s Law. Today, I want us to see that the Sabbath institution was, yes a pattern to be followed, but, more importantly, a type and pointer to Christ. As God’s people were to rest on pain of death, so we are to rest in Christ on pain of death! The author to the Hebrews puts it in this way:
‘Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it…Now we who have believed enter that rest…There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.’ (Hebrews 4:1,3, 9-10)
The Christian Sabbath is our rest in Christ. Have you entered the rest that Jesus gives to us? Are you living in the joy and peace of the free gift of righteousness that are ours in Christ? In the Old Testament the consequence of breaking the Sabbath was death, and do we see that refusing to rest in Christ is also death! As the author to the Hebrews urges us, 'let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it!' How are you at the moment? Are you full of rest and peace? If not, the six-and-one pattern that we looked at will help you; however, most important, are you resting in Christ - in the gospel of grace?
Community group notes and study
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Our message on Sunday followed the theme of rest. We can seek rest in the wrong places and we can become burnt out and so hide and run away from the pressures of life. However, if we listen to God regarding a wise approach to work and rest, and if we truly seek to draw our rest and strength from Him, we will thrive and be a blessing to many.
Please read Exodus 35:1-3 and Genesis 2:1-3
Did God speak to you about anything specifically from Sunday’s message?
What would you say these passages teach us regarding a wise balance of work and rest?
It’s interesting to see that, in Exodus 35, He reminds people of the six-and-one principle before going on to task them with the hard work of making The Tabernacle. What are the principles that we can learn from this?
Please read Hebrews 4:1-10; How is the Sabbath command (of Exodus 20:8-11) fulfilled in Christ? How do you ensure that you keep this kind of sabbath?
Please read Matthew 11:28-30; How do we, or how can we, seek to live in the good of this promise?
SIV - How will a godly and wise balance of rest and work ensure that we remain faithful in Serving, investing and InViting?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
SIV - Spend some time together talking and praying about who and how you are seeking to bring your community to Jesus.
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