April 10, 2022 • Eric Laverentz • Mark 2:23–28, Mark 3:1–6
Our obedience to divine commands like the Sabbath can easily devolve into legalism and ritual if it does not come from a place of love and submission to God's grace. Sabbath is God's good plan for us. It is a gift for us to commune with Him and rest in His love and grace.
What Makes Work Good
April 3, 2022 • Eric Laverentz • Proverbs 10:2–6
Work is an important part of who we were created to be. Humanity was made to work, and our work will actually continue throughout eternity. Work is good, but like all good things it easily becomes an idol and we can define ourselves through it. The purpose of work is to glorify God, further Jesus' Kingdom and build our own Christian character. Through work, we practice God's pattern of cease, commune and create.
Ceasing from Seizing
March 27, 2022 • Eric Laverentz • Genesis 3:16–19
When we go ahead and reach out and seize for ourselves things that are outside of the Lord's provision, we run into trouble. Adam and Eve are Exhibit A. Observing the Sabbath allows the Holy Spirit the space to show us where we are reaching outside of God's provision.
Why The Sabbath Matters
March 20, 2022 • Eric Laverentz • Numbers 15:32–36
The Sabbath represents our basic trust in a covenant partnership with God. If we do not trust God to meet our basic needs, then we will run Him out of our lives and the world around us. Either we seek to make space for God's work in our life or we rely on ourselves. That is why Sabbath matters.
God Ceased
March 6, 2022 • Eric Laverentz • Genesis 2:1–3
At the beginning of all things, our Lord established a pattern of creation and then ceasing from creating. Ceasing our striving from our own work, withdrawing to commune with Him, is critical to our ability to create the kind of life and the kind of world that God intents for us to have- in line with His original intent for creation.
What is the Sabbath
February 27, 2022 • Eric Laverentz • Exodus 20:8–11
The Sabbath is one of most misunderstood Christian ideas. It is a marker of God's provision to His people and their faithfulness to Him. It is more encompassing than we see at first glance. It is God's plan for our lives to allow the Holy Spirit space to operate by not filling every moment with activity. He gives His people the pattern of ceasing from creating, communing with God and making room for eternal things.
