Remember the Sabbath

Frontline Community Church

July 10, 2011

I am a fan of......1.University of Michigan2.Michigan State University3.Hope College4.Calvin College

I am a fan of......

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Matthew Deprez should......

1. Audition for “American Idol”2. Audition for “Dancing with the

Stars”3. Audition for “Survivor”4. Audition for “Jeopardy”

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Do you believe we should obey the Ten Commandments?

1. Yes2. No

Should we obey the Ten Commandments?

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Do you believe we should obey ALL of the Ten Commandments?

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Obey ALL of the Ten Commandments?

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Would you be willing to obey all of the Ten Commandments even if it meant making a significant changein your current lifestyle?

1. Yes2. No

Even if change in your current lifestyle?

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What would most effectively motivate you to obey the Ten Commandments?

1. It’s just the right thing to do2. I don’t want to go to hell3. My friends, family and people around

me influencing me4. I passionately love God and want to

please and honor Him

What motivates....

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Remember the Sabbath

Frontline Community Church

July 10, 2011

Exodus 20:8-11

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

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.

I. Old TestamentA. Remember

1. Remember to take time to focus on God

2. Remember the works of God from the past – be specific

I. Old TestamentB. Keep it holy

1. Set aside the mundane and routine

2. Make it God-centered rest

I. Old TestamentC. One out of every seven

1. Make it regular...be consistent

2. There is no mention in the commandment about which day

I. Old TestamentD. No “fudging”

1. Don’t give yourself a rest by making others do your work

2. Don’t fool yourself. Take the “downtime”

I. Old TestamentE. God’s purpose for us on

the sabbath1. Create an intentional

time to focus on Him2. Rest our body, mind

and soul

II. Old TestamentA. Jesus’ view of the

sabbath1. Background on the

pharisees and the sabbath

II. Old TestamentA. Jesus’ view of the

sabbath2. He did not abolish

the sabbatha. A day of blessing

and not burden

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

Mt. 12:9-13

II. Old TestamentA. Jesus’ view of the

sabbath2. He did not abolish

the sabbatha. A day of blessing

and not burdenb. A day for mercy

and good

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Luke 13:10-17

II. Old TestamentA. Jesus’ view of the

sabbath3. Jesus established

that religion does not consist in rules and regulations.

“Christianity has at all times consisted far more in doing things than in refraining from doing things.”

William Barclay

II. Old TestamentA. Jesus’ view of the

sabbath4. The first claim on all

of us is the claim of human need. People matter far more than systems or rituals.

II. Old TestamentA. Jesus’ view of the

sabbath5. The best way to use

sacred things is to use them to help people.

II. Old TestamentB. The practice of the early

churcha. Moved from

Saturday to Sunday

b. Moved the day to Celebrate Christ’s resurrection

III. ApplicationA. Accept the gift of one

day’s rest a week. Humble yourself to believe you need it.

“The failure to set aside the seventh day may account for the toll of stress in our modern society.

(It has been reported that an 8% increase/decrease in traffic accidents surround the changes to/from "daylight savings time.“)

God even established Himself as the ultimate example. How can we ignore this day?

If you love God, you need to spend time with Him. (In contrast to our hectic pace as double-income families, etc.)”

Chuck Missler

III. ApplicationA. Accept the gift of one

day’s rest a week. Humble yourself to believe you need it.

III. ApplicationB. Devote one day a week

to focus your attention on God in a special way. Keep a holy day and devote yourself to those things that deepen your love for God.

“God’s purpose for us on the Sabbath is that we experience the highest and most intense joy that can be experienced, namely, that we ‘take delight in the Lord’.”

John Piper

“The reason so many people feel it is a burden is partly that we have so much leisure, we don’t feel the need for the Sabbath rest;

but more important, I think, is the fact that not many people really enjoy what God intended us to enjoy on the Sabbath, namely Himself.

Many professing Christians enjoy sports and television and secular books and magazines and recreation and hobbies and games

far more than they enjoy direct interaction with God in His Word or in worship or in reading Christian books or in meditative strolls.”

John Piper

Back to one of the questions on our survey.....

“Would you be willing to obey all of the 10 Commandments even if it meant making a significant change in your current lifestyle?”

What is God saying to you and me today?

What is our response?