Why Small Groups? Fellowship and Community

    Perhaps my first true experience of being part of a "small" group was in high school. During this time a youth leader at a local congregation opened up her home for high school students to come and hear the word of God, to eat together, to ask questions and find safety in each other's company. This became a model for me of what true community could look like.
    Then in college I was both part of and lead a small group. It was here that I learned that small group leaders needed to be discipled and fed, apart from the group they were also leading. Here I learned to play with other leaders, trust mentors, and grow in my faith so I could pour into the life of others.
    I miss small groups. I miss these beautiful pictures of the beloved community, where different people could come together and learn to live with and learn from one another. While I firmly believe that Sunday School is important, I also believe that small groups trace back to the early Methodist idea of classes, where holy, Christ centered relationships are built.
    Where are your relationships with other Christians nurtured and how do such relationships spur you on in your faith journey?

Living Our Beliefs: Small Groups Devo

April 24th, 2016

Devotional

“Living Our Beliefs: Small Groups - Fellowship and Community”  - Acts 2: 42-47, 

Hebrews 10: 24-25, Proverbs 27:17

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Devoted” - Acts 2: 42-43

When someone tells you that they are devoted to someone or something, what comes to your mind? For me, it speaks to the passion or zeal they have for this particular person, but also the amount of time or energy they would spend following them. Devoted music fans may go to as many concerts as they can of a particular band. Devoted followers of Christ, spend time not only with Christ though prayer, but with other followers in order to grow in their faith.

In recent years there has been a resurgence of small groups - groups that are modeled in a way off of what is presented in Acts 2. These groups seek to have Jesus be the model for their community and time together, as people seek to make authentic friends and discover connection with Go while growing in their faith. 

However, lest we try to make the Bible an idilliac world, we need to seek not to replicate Acts 2 community, but instead dig down into the heart of it, asking questions such as: What do we want group members to understand? What do we seek to have people feel or experience in community together? And what are we going to do together with what we know?

What value do you see in a community that is modeled after Acts 2?

Prayer: Lord, help us seek out authentic Christian community in our lives, whatever that may be for us as individuals. Help us be strong in our devotion to Christ and the body of believers. Encourage us to come together for both fellowship and teaching. Urge us to break bread together and be a people of prayer, not only for our own faith formation, but most importantly, for your glory. Amen. 

Tuesday: “In Common” - Acts 2: 44-45

Most Christians enjoy the idea of community presented in Acts 2: 42-43, but when we get to verse 44 we start to get a bit uncomfortable - what does it exactly mean to hold everything in common? Why in world would folks sell everything?

Remember that when the first community of believers formed in the book of Acts, they believed that the world was ending soon - they looked for Jesus to come back, as he had prior to the ascension, and bring about a new world order with the Kingdom of God.

Today, 2,000 years have passed and we are still eagerly anticipating Jesus’s return. While I believe that Christians should tithe and offer their very best, first fruits to God, I also acknowledge that it is hard to sell everything and hold everything in common, materially. But what if, in this day and age, we seek to hold our faith in common? In a time when we are divided by many arguments, what if community like that present in Acts 2 helps support us as we share our faith and draw others into relationship with Christ through small groups, friendships, etc? What if we hold in common our mission and ministry for the sake of the Kingdom of God?

What is your experience with small groups? How can they nurture your faith?

How can we best encourage one another as we share our faith?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that often when we come across a piece of scripture that we disagree with, we tend to throw it out instead of examining it and integrating it into our lives. As we struggle with the topic of holding things in common, help us see it can fit into our lives today. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Added to Them” - Acts 2: 46-47

What do you do when you find something you particuarlly love? Do you tell other people about it, wanting them to experience it as well? Or do you try to keep it to yourself, fearful that others will take what you like? What about with people? Do you introduce others to those you love, wanting them to form friendships as well, or do you worry that those you love will have less time for you if you introduce them to others?

In Acts 2, we find the disciples growing in their numbers daily. As they grew, I would imagine that their relationships with one another probably changed a bit, if for no other reason than different people introduce different dynamics. Yet, they didn’t stop what they were doing. They didn’t try to alter who they are or shy away from the message they had to share. Instead, they kept growing, because they knew that they were part of something bigger than themselves, their personal preferences, and perhaps even bigger than their relationships, as the Kingdom grew through offering others the life-giving power and message of Jesus Christ. 

What struggles do you have with sharing the Kingdom of God?

What are you willing to change in order for the Church Universal to grow? 

If you could ask Jesus what the focus of our church should be, what do you think his answer would be?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we don’t like change, even if change is good. We don’t like the idea of new people coming and sitting in our seats or changing things that we hold dear. Help us to let go of things that are unimportant in the scheme of the Kingdom, Lord, while holding tightly to what matters most - your life-giving message. Amen. 

Thursday: “Spurring One Another On” - Hebrews 10: 24-25

The author of Hebrews encourages us to spur one another on - but not to simply lead each other for or to anything. Instead, believers, are to spur one another on towards love and good deeds.

When we are in true community with believers we can begin to ask big, deep questions because we feel safe to explore the answers. Questions like why does our soul exist. Churches are to be places where we encourage one another to discover our soul’s relationship to God. God created us to be in relationship to the Divine and to other people, and small groups in the church allow us to do just that as they create a space for us to share life with other people with a purpose - the purpose to spur one another on. Small groups help teach us how to relate to one another as believers as well as love our neighbors inside and outside of the Church. 

How do we care for one another’s spiritual lives? 

Prayer: O God, help us to spur one another on in the faith. Create safe places for us to pray for one another, volunteer to serve somewhere together,  and meet together. Help us cherish the gift of Christian community that we have been blessed with. Amen. 

Friday: “Sharpen One Another” - Proverbs 27:17

When I was in seminary I had a bit of an odd ministry placement - while most of my colleagues spent our middle year serving in churches, I was working at a retreat center in Biblical feasting, which meant a lot of cooking. I learned a lot that year about faith, liturgy, and community, but I also learned a lot about food, including how to prepare it. A sharp knife is a must in the kitchen.

Often the word sharp has a bad connotation - sharp words, sharp jabs, sharp things that cause harm. But sharp in the context of Proverbs means at our best, at our prime for God’s use. Small groups sharpen our faith by creating a space where we can be authentic and not offer quick or trite answers about the faith. They are also a place for tough love: in Wesley’s small groups called classes participants were asked very tough questions, including “how is it with your soul?” so that they could grow in their journey with Christ. 

What do you associate with the word sharp? How does this influence your understanding of Proverbs 27:17?

Prayer: God, we desire to be a church where we sharpen one another, not with our own preferences and opinions, but with your grace, mercy, and Word. Help us be a community that walks along side one another through discipleship in order that we may grow closer to you. Amen. 

Saturday: Family Activity 

Families are also places where we grow closer to God and one another. Try integrating places for authentic faith conversations into your day. Perhaps ask every member of your family their high and low points of the day and then integrate them into your family’s prayer time. 

“Praying Big Prayers" - Numbers 11:4-23, 31-32

   This sermon came about after talking to a congregation member about what it looks like to pray - to pray both individually and collectively - and what we pray for. We had a wonderful discussion about how pray and working boldly for the Kingdom of God are interconnected. It was a conversation I simply could not get out of my head and heart.
   I think what captivated me the most about the conversation was the desire of this woman to pray for big things in her life, the lives of others, and the life of the church. But she also had the wisdom to realize that when we take the risk to pray big prayers they don't happen instantaneously. Instead, when we are praying big prayers we move not at the speed of light, but at planting pace.
   It's hard at times to accept the planting pace of prayers. We wonder why we pray day in and day out for so long with seemingly no answer to our prayers. But what if our prayers are so big that they effect not only our lives but generations to come? What if our prayers are so bold they can change a community? That takes time. And we need to pray through it, if our prayers are aimed at changing hearts, minds, and circumstances.

Bold Prayers Devo

  April 17th, 2016  

Devotional

“Praying Bold Prayers” - Numbers 11:4-23, 31-32

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Wailing” - Numbers 11: 4-9, Numbers 13: 26-30

There are times we get so caught up in our own situation and circumstances that we can become distracted from the bigger vision and purpose of the Kingdom of God. That was true of the Israelites in today’s scripture. Their feet were moving towards the promised land of God, but their minds were back in Egypt, remembering at a skew how things once were. They forgotten they were slaves; they only remembered that they had fish to eat.

We all get into these prayer slumps from time to time - when we can’t see beyond our own wants and needs, and that is okay for a period of time. But, eventually we need someone or something to help reorient us towards the bigger Kingdom sized picture.

When is the last time you prayed a big or risky prayer? What happened?

How do you refocus when you find that your prayers are becoming focused on wants instead of the Kingdom? 

How are the wants of the people different from the vision God gives them in Numbers 13:

Prayer: Jesus, we confess that sometimes we are selfish. Sometimes our prayers are more about what we want in the moment then what you need to transform your world. Help point us in the right direction we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Deeply Troubled” - Numbers 11: 10-15, James 4:1-3

I’m not sure in Moses knew that his conversation full of questions for God was a prayer of sorts or if he simply had a lot to get off of his chest. We all have times in our lives when we are deeply troubled; times when we need to go to God simply to make our concerns known and to ask for God’s guidance and help.

The difference between what the people were asking for, meat, and what Moses was asking for, help carrying the burden of the people, is the heart of what they are asking. James tells his audience that you do not receive because you have the wrong motives. What are your motives in your prayer life?  

How do you respond to the idea that we can have different motives with our prayers?

What is the impact of the prayers your pray? 

Prayer: Lord, life can be overwhelming. Help us dwell close to you and run to you with our questions and concerns when life just seems to be too much for us. We believe, O Lord, that you will respond with our best interest in mind. Amen. 

Wednesday: “ The Power of the Spirit” - Numbers 11: 16-17, Revelation 3:7

What do you think Moses expected when he brought his questions and frustrations before the Lord? I doubt that he expected the Lord to respond so immediately. Nor did he probably think that some of the power that had been bestowed upon him would be given to other people to share. 

What makes us travel though life thinking that we need to do everything on our own? Sometimes God’s response to our prayers is to help us see those right in front of us who can help us along our journey. It is a huge risk sometime to ask for God’s help because we don’t know how God is going to respond. Prayers, especially praying that God’s will be done, are an act of trust. But, the words of Pastor Mark Batterson, “if you don’t take the risk, you can forfeit the miracle.” 

Tell about a time you risked taking something to God in prayer when Go showed up and did something you never could have imagined. 

Tell of a time you did not risk taking something to God in prayer. What happened? 

Prayer: Lord, you are the only one who has the power and authority to open and close doors in our lives. Often when a door is being closed we forget that you will open another door for us, even if it is unexpected. Help us seek out your unexpected answers to our prayers. Amen. 

Thursday: “Not Just for One Day” - Numbers 11: 18-23

I love God’s display of power in this particular piece of scripture. It is as if God is saying,  if you don’t believe I can provide, I will show you, to the point of excess that would make the people detest what they asked for. God tells the people they won’t get meat for just one day that they are to eat, they will have meat for a whole month. 

How often do we question God’s power without realizing it? The scripture says that the people rejected God when they said that they were better off in Egypt. Do we not do the same thing when we say that we know our way will be better or do things without consulting the Lord?  When we do so we show that we have a small view of God - we need to extend our prayers to God-sized prayers that claim God’s power in our lives. 

How have you doubted or limited God in your life? 

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for the times that we made you too small in our lives. The times that we have doubted your goodness and mercy towards us, doubted that you would provide in a mighty way. Help us to expand our view of life and our prayers to honor your Kingdom. Amen. 

Friday: “No Less than 10” - Numbers 11: 31-32, 1 Kings 18:41-46

Let’s pause and think about this for a moment. God dumped a whole lot of quail - approximately three feet deep worth of quail - on where the Israelites were located. Most of you know that I don’t eat meat, so its hard for me to gauge what is a portion size or how much meat people need to feel full - but its hard to imagine a person eating 10 quail in a day!

Sometimes when we pray big prayers, we get even bigger answers. Even when we didn’t mean to pray big, bold prayers. The people were simply complaining and look what they received. How much more would we receive if we intentional pray that God’s Kingdom come and mean it? 

Jim Collins once wrote a book entitled Good to Great where he spoke of having BHAG - Big Hairy Audacious Goals - things that are bigger than you. What would happen if we prayed BHAP - Big Hairy Audacious Prayers that God alone can answer and be glorified through?

How do you pray through situations where your prayer doesn’t seem to be answered?

Has God ever answered your prayers in a big way? 

Prayer: Lord, free us of our assumptions so we can claim the greatest truth - that you only, O Lord, are able! Amen!

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Living our Beliefs: Small Groups” - Hebrews 10: 24-25, Acts 2:42, Proverbs 27:17

Family Activity: Start keeping a prayer scrapbook. Have something to symbolize your family’s big prayers and mark when and how God answers them. 

Finding Rest in God: Part 2

    Part of our Sabbath is spending time with God - in whatever way that feeds your soul. For each of us, worship looks a little different. For me it needs to involve silence - a time to read or journal. Walk outside or draw.
    In my dining room there is a small Sabbath basket next to one of the chairs filled with items to encourage silence - a journal, a notebook, crayons, and a candle. As an introvert, I know that I need that silent time, but the truth is we all need silence to block out some of the noise in our hearts and our lives.
   But our Sabbath also involves time with community. In fact, this is a big part of the Jewish celebration of Sabbath - connecting with God through community activities and communication with others.
   How do you balance silence and community in your celebration of Sabbath?

Finding Rest in God - Pt 2 Devo

 April 10th, 2016  

Devotional

“Finding Rest in God: The Sabbath Part 2” - Deut 5: 12-15

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Observe” - Deut 5: 12-15

Practicing Sabbath is a spiritual discipline. Just like other disciplines - prayer, worship, fasting, etc. - that feed our soul it takes a commitment to engage in Sabbath. In today’s scripture God is emphasizing to the people the need for physical rest. To cease. To just be. 

Marva Dawn, an author who has written extensively on the subject of Sabbath, composed  a hymn in 1999 that you may know “Come Away from Rush and Hurry.” The first line of the hymn states “Come away from rush and hurry to the stillness of God’s peace.” We are in need of physical rest to find peace. Study after study find that most Americans do not get enough rest at night in the form of sleep or weekly rest in the form of ceasing. The results have been poor health and increased stress. God is trying to offer us a discipline that both provides for our needs and helps us grow closer to the Divine. 

How does our society’s Sabbath keeping (or lack there of) express our relationship to the created world?

Were you to keep Sabbath in your life what physical activities would you need to rest from?

Prayer: God when we actually pause and examine ourselves we admit that we need to rest. To simply be. We have lived at such a hurried pace for so long that we seem to have forgotten that we need sleep, exercise, water, and good food for our well-being. We also recognize that we need Sabbath rest. Allow us to find that rest in you, O Lord. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Chasing after the Wind” - Ecc. 4: 6

While we are slow to admit it, when it comes down to it, too much of our lives are about chasing after the wind. We work for a paycheck to buy things to work for a paycheck. Is that living? Some people say that they can truly live when they are retired, but is that what God has intended? 

God invites us to a better way through the gift of Sabbath, offering us: a day of rest, a cooperation of lineation, a sign of covenant, and a sign of hope. How many of us are in need of such things today instead of toiling? 

How do Sabbath and tranquility go hand in hand?

Prayer: Lord, we need a little hope and a lot of rest. We need the silence of the Sabbath, the ceasing of all that we toil after, in order to be fully present to you. Allow our hearts to open up this day under the shadow of your presence and bloom to the fullness of life. Amen. 

Wednesday: “ Restore My Soul” - Psalm 23

Our souls are in need of a little restoration. In today’s scripture the Psalmist writes that God invites or makes him lie down in green pastures - to cease in order to find restoration.

We have seen through our time of study that God literally “ceased” on the seventh day. We all have things in our life we need to cease from in order to find restoration - be it expectations, guilt, being constantly available, working, productivity, accomplishments, etc. For too many of us we don’t cease because we feel like we need to define our own meaning, and in doing so we are wounding our soul by not finding our identity in our Creator. We find restoration on the Sabbath when we are remember that we are profoundly loved by God so we can go into our week and share that love with others. 

What does restoration mean in your life?

How might ceasing from work one day a week reshape your work and your attitudes on the other six days?

Prayer: Lord, we are weary. Our souls are heavy ladened. We admit that we love this particular Psalm when it speaks about restoring our souls, but we find it very hard to claim as a truth in our own lives. Help us live into this scripture today, God, letting you lead us and allowing you to restore us, fully. Amen. 

Thursday: “Prayer” - Isaiah 56: 6-7

Sabbath and prayer go hand in hand. The prophet Isaiah speaks of those who celebrate Sabbath fully being taken into the holy place of prayer. Where is your place of prayer? Quite literally to pray is to come and rest and to lay our burdens at the feet of God. We cannot wait until everything is done to rest and come to God in an attitude of prayer. We need, instead, to stop what we are doing and simply come before God, whether we are ready or done with our to-do lists or not.

Think of a body of muddy water. It still looks muddy if we are trudging through it (like at camp when we go creek stomping). In fact the more people that walk through it the harder it gets to see at times. It is only when we stop and stand still that the water becomes clear again.

Our celebration of Sabbath, our stillness, our prayers - they are all pleasing sacrifices that we bring to God. But they all require us to choose - especially to make choices about how we spend our time. What will you choose this day? 

When in your week or year do you experience real Sabbath? How is prayer a part of your renewal?

What small or large choices can you make in your life to allow for a celebration of Sabbath?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that not all the choices we make about how we spend our time honor you. We confess that we make choices that rob us of opportunities for prayer. We make choices that rob us of opportunities to experience your joy. Forgive us, O Lord, and help us to realign our future choices around you. Amen. 

Friday: “For Us” - Mark 2:27

The Sabbath was a gift from God for us, yet all too often we forsake this gift, seeing it as a burden instead of a blessing. The Sabbath should a time of thanksgiving. A time to tell us who we are and whose we are.

In some Jewish traditions, one way to remember that the Sabbath is a gift is to have beautiful special things - candles, tablecloths, plates, etc. - that are only used on the Sabbath. Sabbath is also a time to feed our very souls, not simply to step away from work and stressors but to do things differently in a way that gives us renewed meaning and hope. 

What resonates with you about the statement that the Sabbath was made for people? How is this a lived truth (or not) in your life?

Prayer: Lord, we are slow to change our ways. We say we want rest and restoration, but we don’t change any of our circumstances to make it so. We say that we want to celebrate the Sabbath, but all too often act as if it is a burden. Let us live into what you have for us, on the Sabbath and always, and embrace it as a blessing. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Praying Bold Prayers” - Numbers 11:4-23, 31-32 

Family Activity: Sabbath should be the climax of our week. We should anticipate it as it gets closer, celebrate it when it arrives, and reflect upon it when it is past. What can you do to live into this pattern as a family? 

Finding Rest in God Pt 1

    A few years ago I was blessed to attend a workshop on Sabbath and it has quickly become one of my favorite topics. During that time we were invited to consider the hymn by Marva Dawn "Come Away from Rush and Hurry":
      Come then, children, with your burdens - life's confusions, fears, and pain. Leave them at the cross or Jesus; take instead is kingdom's reign."
   I don't know about you but all too often I live my life in such a way that forgets or displaces that Sabbath rest is part of God's kingdom reign. I think its all up to me or how hard I work or how much I do, instead of making space for God to truly reign in my life. A place to do as commanded and rest.
   Do you struggle with this as well? If so, what makes it difficult for you?

Finding Rest in God Pt 1 Devo

April 3rd, 2016  

Devotional

“Finding Rest in God: The Sabbath Part 1” - Genesis 2:2-3 and Exodus 16: 23

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Rested” - Genesis 2:2-3

Sometimes it is hard imaging that God needed to rest. That God created the entire world and then needed a break. The notion of God resting seems to go against our notion of God being all powerful, but we need to remember that God was modeling for us, humanity, the need to stop. 

All too often we try to live our lives like we are all powerful, like we can be on the go all the time and that it won’t effect us, but in truth this is not how we were made. We were made to rest. We need not only a day off, but a day to cease trying to live up to mounting expectations placed on us by ourselves and others. 

The Jewish tradition states that until Sabbath, creation was not complete - that God needed to rest as part of the creating process. Is this true in your life? Is rest part of your creation process? Why or why not? 

Prayer: God, we confess that we try to keep ourselves busy so that we do not need to rest - stop and think. We confess that somewhere deep inside of us, we think if we can just keep going we are more powerful or more important. Forgive us, O Lord, and free us to find rest in you. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Holy Sabbath” - Exodus 16:17-30

Sabbath is not just a time of rest, but it is a time of holy rest. A time set apart to be with God. When God first instituted Sabbath the Israelites needed to be told to cease all that they were doing in order to fully appreciate God’s goodness and beauty. In today’s scripture lesson, God provided manna or food from heaven, daily for the people and they had enough to meet their needs. However, they were not allowed to hoard - they had to gather only what they could use in one day or it would spoil, except in preparation for the Sabbath. Then they were allowed to gather what they needed for that day and the Sabbath. 

Sabbath always requires preparation. Did you ever notice when you think you are just going to take a few moments to relax that its really hard to shut your mind off instead of thinking about what you should be doing or what is going to be happening next? We need to prepare to rest, and one of things we prepare to do during the Sabbath is have spiritual rest - time to rest and focus on God. 

How do you prepare for the Sabbath?

What does spiritual rest look like in your life? 

Prayer: Lord, we are a people of extremes. Sometimes we need lots of rules to help us observe the Sabbath and other times we become far too lax, thinking of the Sabbath as an hour of worship instead of a day of rest. Help us to truly embrace the Sabbath, Lord, and be a people who find our spiritual rest and renewal in you. Amen. 

Wednesday: “ Know that I am Lord” - Exodus 31: 12-17

Things or periods of time are holy because God alone says that they are holy. God places definition around how we experience time, including the Sabbath. There were periods of time when folks were much better at keeping the Sabbath (or in the case of this scripture they faced dire consequences if they did not follow God’s commands). Today, we seem to take pleasure or find honor is working through the Sabbath, and then we wonder why we are exhausted.

Sabbath is not only a time of spiritual rest but also:

• Physical rest: a time to play and pamper our souls. 
• Emotional rest: a time to foster relationships with people who appreciate you just for who you are.
• Intellectual rest: a time to dream and think creatively and be reminded that God is in charge.
• Social rest: a time to pull away from the world that pulls at us

What are you in need of physically and spiritually this day? What space can you make in the celebration of the Sabbath to meet that need?

How do you rest emotionally after an emotional siege?

Prayer: Lord, empower us to rest fully in you. Help us engage our sense in your creation, slow our pace, and remember to create and play. Lord, we know that we cannot celebrate Sabbath apart from you; be our focus during this time. Amen. 

Thursday: “Abstain” - Exodus 20: 8-11

The command to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy is number four of the ten commandments. In many ways it speaks both to our worship of God and the way we interact with other people. This particular commandment has deep roots, tracing back to the creation story when God ceased or abstained from activity on the seventh day.

When we abstain from work we are following the loving example of our creator God, who made the very act of rest holy. Remember that the Israelites are receiving this commandment because they are God’s chosen people, they are the beloved of God and therefore they incorporated both God’s commands and example in their way of living. 

Why do we celebrate the Sabbath today?

What does the word “abstain” bring to mind for you? How is abstaining tied into the celebration of Sabbath?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that we have become a workaholic people. We focus more on what we can get done, then the meaning what do has in our lives. Set us free from the chains of addiction that bind us to work and free us to live more fully in your presence. Amen. 

Friday: “On the Seventh” - John 5: 8-9 

It was not just people that God commanded to rest - but the entire land. In today’s scripture we find that the land is only be used for six consecutive years before lying fallow on the seventh. It was same with any place where produce grew. During that time, only those in need could gather from the land. 

Additionally, animals were given a chance to rest instead of laboring on the seventh day. God seemed to notice a need for refreshment in us, in the land, in the animals. All too often we burn through things and people to meet our needs instead of allowing them to rest. This seems to speak to our deep need to use what is around us instead of to allow it to renew. Recently, I was reading a book about farming that spoke to this Biblical principle of renewing the land and how helpful it was to crop production. God knows what we need. God knows what the land needs.We are in need of Sabbath rest. 

What block us from following the instructions of God around rest?

Prayer: Lord, we are slow to follow your instructions and quick to go our own ways. We need your help to even begin to be pointed in the right direction. Point us that way now, gracious Lord. The way that leads to life abundant. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Finding Rest in God: Part 2” - Deut 5: 12-15

Family Activity: A big part of Sabbath is play. Have each family member decide how they want to play today and do so to honor God. After your done talk about what it was like to see playing as part of worshipping God.