Sabbath Video Transcript:

Hey Missional Community families, Corey Tyson here from the MC staff team. In this video we want to equip you to engage in the Abiding Practice of Sabbath, so to get started let’s begin with a quick definition of what Sabbath actually is. Sabbath is a 24-hour period to cease from the restlessness of our work and our busy schedules in order to find true rest in God as the one who ultimately sustains our lives and provides everything we need in himself, including our salvation.

So, let’s talk about two things in this video: 1. Why we Sabbath, and 2. What it looks like to Sabbath in the context of our Missional Communities and in the three rhythms of Family Gatherings, DNA Groups, and Neighborhoods to Nations.

We find the origin of Sabbath built into the very first chapters of the Bible in Genesis. In Genesis 2:2 specifically it tells us “On the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” Why do we Sabbath? Because we follow God’s order for creation. He rested, so we rest. On that week, God spoke everything into creation. He worked for six days, and then he rested on the seventh day.

Think about all of the different ways that we measure time and then why we measure those aspects of time in those ways. Every way that we measure time is based on a natural observation of creation around us. How many days are in a year? 365. Why? Because that’s roughly how long it takes the earth to revolve around the sun. How many hours are in a day? 24 hours in a day. Why? Because that is roughly how long it takes the earth to rotate on its axis one full time. How many months do we have in a year? 12. Why do we have 12 months in a year? Because they’re based on the lunar calendar. It takes roughly 29.5 days for all the phases of the moon to finish a full cycle. Our months are roughly based on these cycles with a few days added here and there.

Think about this though: how many days are in a week? Seven. Why? Why are there seven days in a week? We can’t look at any natural phenomenon to figure out why we divide a week into seven days.

While there is no natural reason we can observe in creation around us for a seven day week, we do have a theological reason. We trace the origin of the seven-day week back to God creating the world in six days, and then he rested on the seventh. Even the atheistic culture around us bases its fundamental understanding of time on this theological reality that God worked for six days, and then he rested on the seventh. If that’s true for even people who don’t worship our God, how much more should that be true of us?

This is the foundation that we see laid for the Sabbath when we move forward in the Old Testament just a little bit when we read the Ten Commandments occurring in Exodus 20. The reason the people are to Sabbath is found in verse 11. It says this “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” They’re called to follow God’s order of working for six days and then resting on the seventh. So, why do we Sabbath? Why did they Sabbath? God rested on the seventh day, so we are to rest as well.

But that’s just one reason. There’s a second reason. There’s a second account actually of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, and it gives us a glimpse into another reason for us to Sabbath. If you’ve ever looked at these two accounts next to each other, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, if you look at them side by side you’ll see virtually the exact same command to keep the Sabbath holy by not working. However, these two passages give a different reason for why God’s people are to honor the Sabbath.

Look at Deuteronomy 5:15 with me. “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.”

So, what is the reason we are to observe the Sabbath according to this passage in Deuteronomy 5? To reflect on the salvation of Yahweh. He brought them out of their restlessness in order for the people of Israel to rest in him for their salvation. For them and us today, Sabbath is an opportunity to rest from our work in order to reflect on the salvation of Yahweh our God.

The greatest salvation event in the entire Old Testament is God bringing his people through the Exodus. The greatest salvation event in the New Testament is obviously the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. Jesus perfectly kept the law at all points, including the Sabbath. Therefore Sabbath is an opportunity for us, as New Testament Christians, to reflect on the salvation that we’ve received in Jesus Christ.

However, sometimes on this side of the cross that we sit in today, we’re quick to say something like: “Well Sabbath, that’s something for the Old Testament saints, something for Israel to observe. We’re not bound by that; we have freedom in Christ.” That is a true statement, completely. And at the same time, when Jesus taught on the Sabbath, he explained it not as a burden to place on ourselves. Instead it’s a delight. It’s something for our benefit, something for our good.

In Mark 2:27-28 he said “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law. He didn’t come to abolish the law in general or the Sabbath in particular. In fact, he came to fulfill them. All of the Old Testament, all of the law, and all of the prophets actually point forward to Jesus and are ultimately fulfilled in him. In Jesus we receive ultimate salvation, and we receive true rest. He gives us rest from a constant weight of trying to earn our salvation by earning it on our behalf, but it doesn’t stop there. He also calls us to come to him with all of our burdens.

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is Matthew 11:28-30, and it says “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus calls us to come to him every day with the weight of the burdens of life, promising he will lift our heavy loads. Sabbath isn’t a burden. It’s not just one more thing to add to our busy schedules. It’s actually a delight. It’s an opportunity for us to come to Jesus to cease from our labor and to find our rest in him.

All of this ultimately points to one thing. It points to the sure hope that we have that one day we will fully and finally receive the rest of Jesus and be glorified with him forever. And we will be free to eternally rest from the restlessness of this life. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Can’t we all dream about what that’s actually going to look like?

So why do we Sabbath? We practice Sabbath because God worked for six days and practiced Sabbath rest on the seventh day. We also Sabbath because it’s an opportunity to reflect on the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Lastly, let’s quickly talk about what Sabbathing is going to look like in the context of your Missional Community. We want to regularly practice Sabbath in the three rhythms of Family Gatherings, DNA Groups, and Neighborhoods to Nations.

In your Family Gatherings, there are many different ways to engage in Sabbath together. Maybe your entire MC can Sabbath together on Sundays by eating lunch after the Sunday Gathering here at Summit Crossing and reflect on the salvation that Jesus has provided and then rest in the relationships with one another that he’s provided for your encouragement and for your good. Maybe you don’t actually practice Sabbath together at all as an MC at the same place and at the same time, but what you could do is commit a portion of one or two Family Gatherings each month to share what God has taught you as you have Sabbathed individually or Sabbathed as individual families. The focus of Sabbathing as an MC isn’t necessarily on practicing it in the same place and at the same time. It’s more about encouraging one another to regularly prioritize ceasing from our restlessness in order for us to rest in the finished work of Christ.

What does it look like then in a DNA Group? In the context of this rhythm, we really are going to lean hard on the “A” of DNA, which stands for “Acting with Accountability.” We’re going to lean on that because it’s going to help us hold one another accountable to proactively planning how each person is going to engage in the practice of Sabbath.

In the context of Neighborhoods to Nations then, we get to rest in the promised future reality of Revelation 7 being true: there will be “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...” We get to rest in that. Yes, God has certainly called us to play an active role in taking the gospel to our neighborhoods and the nations. We’re all about that here at Summit Crossing, but when we get to think of it in the context of the Sabbath, in this rhythm we realize that God’s plan will always be established. There’s nothing we can do to get in the way. That’s where we’re headed, and we can’t stop it. So after our Sabbath, after resting in God’s finished plan, then guess what? We get to share the love of Christ with absolute freedom to every person that we meet.

We firmly believe that God is calling you and us to regularly practice Sabbath, but we also believe he is calling us to practice it in the context of community. Summit Crossing Missional Communities, let’s press into the practice of Sabbathing together as we reflect on the salvation of our God and rest in the finished work of Christ.