Next Steps on Practicing Sabbath

We celebrate Christ in community among God’s people. Commit to being part of the morning’s activities, worshipping at one hour and serving or learning at the other.

• Plan ahead! After a busy weekend we don’t want to miss out on the majesty and presence of God in worship. 

• Arrive on time, give yourself the gift of margin on a Sunday morning. Come early, visit with friends, sit and prepare your heart as you enter the presence of the Lord. 

• Spend time alone with the Lord before coming to church. Pray for your heart’s receptivity, and for God to use the service to strengthen you and others.

• We all have an active role in worship: adding our voices to the songs, being attentive to words spoken and prayers prayed, taking notes during the sermon, and committing to engage our mind and heart. 

• After church, make the sermon a topic of further conversation. Reflect in community. Determine what God wants us to do in response to what we have heard and experienced.

• The Sabbath is rest unto God, to seek Him.  How can we actively enjoy Him during our day?  Be intentional about Sunday rest. How will we accomplish it? 

• Sabbath may include mercy and hospitality. Seek out an opportunity for ministry on a Sunday. 

• Seek Christian community. Invite someone to your house for lunch, or seek other ways to build community with family, friends, and strangers.

• In all things, seek to live Sunday differently, with the guiding principle that your Savior Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).

Perhaps most importantly, take an inventory of activities and scenarios that cause you to de-value Sabbath. Often we assume we are at the mercy of the Sunday demands of others (sports schedules, events, etc.). Honestly assess; how can our family pass on the value of the Fourth Commandment to future generations, and what do our current practices communicate?