God's Shalom.

Greetings on this Thursday!  It’s a blessing to be with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week our message is entitled, “Begin with Basics: Blessed by Rest”.  Our Scripture texts are Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 20:8-11.  Our focus is putting boundaries on our busy-ness and finding a “blessed rest” that is a gift of God’s grace.

If you’re a “regular reader” of the Pastor’s Workshop then you know about Thursdays.  They are the creative highlight of the week!  On Thursdays, we take our notes, reflections, and prayers of Monday through Wednesday and we see how they come together.  We ask, “What is the Sunday message that is emerging?”  In our Thursday writing, we are finding out that answer.

So as you look at your collected thoughts what’s “coming together” for you?

Here are “talking points” that come to me from Genesis and Exodus for Sunday morning.

Getting a good rest is hard to do. Restlessness is pervasive in American society.

It’s so easy to get caught up In Busy-ness, particularly the busy-ness of work.  We identify ourselves by our jobs.  We are driven by a “work ethic”.  We blur the boundaries of “Home and Work”.  We can even make our Worry our Work.

This Six-Day Syndrome of work, work, work can suck us in and take over our lives.  We forget about Day Seven.

What we find in Genesis is that God worked, worked, worked on days one through six.  But then God finished.  The work was complete.  All was done.  All was good.

And then God rested.  God relaxed into this “total completeness and wholeness”.  And God blessed that rest.  It was “Shalom”.

And God gave “Shalom” (this total completeness and fullness) its own day.  It was the Sabbath, the Seventh Day.  The Sabbath was not separate from the other six days.  Sabbath was part of the Creation picture as it comes to completeness.

In Exodus, we see that God thought resting in that completeness was so good that God decided to share that blessing with God’s people.  In fact, God commanded it for God’s people.  The commandments delineate the covenant relationship we share with God.  Rest is part of that relationship.  It is commandment number four – “Remember the Sabbath and Keep it holy.”

The Commandment counsels what so many people are spending “big bucks” to discover, that we as people need to be “Blessed by Rest”.

Rest has and is its own Rhythm of life. Scientists know that our lives are made up of very basic “life rhythms” called circadian rhythms.  During our 24 life cycle, certain life functions happen that are necessary to keep us healthy.  Rest is one of those Rhythms.  We experience that rhythm of rest in a daily way as we sleep. We experience it in a weekly way through Sabbath.  Sabbath is a “circadian rhythm”.  It is one of the essential rhythms of life.  Just we need sleep, we need Sabbath.

Rest renews and restores.  Just a field needs to lie fallow to replenish in essential nutrients, we need to be replenished and renewed by rest.  When we rest we can be more patient with those around us, gain a better perspective on the problems before us, be more positive in the challenges ahead of us.

Rest reconnects.  Sabbath is quality time to reconnect with our Savior.  Jesus said, “I am Lord of the Sabbath”.  He invited us to “Abide with him and he with us”, just as the branches abide in the vine. Sabbath is our opportunity for that life-giving, quality reconnection.  As we engage in Corporate Worship or enter into Personal Prayer those moments of quality time “resting in Lord” is like no other in life.

Today (Sunday) is Day Seven. Tomorrow (Monday) is Day Eight.  The busy-ness, the craziness of the world awaits you.  It’s right out ahead of you tomorrow.  As you get ready to engage it I want you to be fresh, ready, and rested.  I know you have a Work Ethic.  You also need a Rest Ethic. Make sure you have taken time to rest in God’s Shalom in the gift of God’s Sabbath. Be “Blessed by Rest”.

This is how my message is taking shape for Sunday.  Of course, it will be expanded and enriched by illustrations and additional points.

What are your thoughts?  Particularly as you think about God’s creation and the commandment of Sabbath how does that gift of grace bless your life? What would you be praying and preaching this Sunday if you were in my place?  The message God is giving you is important.  In fact, it’s sacred, so be sure to write it down!  It’s God’s word to you.

Since it’s still part of the workweek (and not Sabbath rest time yet), I’ll let you get to work.  God bless you in your writing and creating.  I look forward to joining you again on Saturday in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of Creation.  Thank you that we too can take part in creative work.  More than that, thank you that we can join You in “creative rest”.  We know You have blessed rest and made it a pathway by which we are renewed, replenished, and reconnected with You.  Let our time of Sabbath bring those blessings into our lives through the One who is Lord of the Sabbath, even Jesus Christ our Lord.  In his name, we pray.