OPENING PRAYER
Gracious and loving God, we come before you today with hearts full of gratitude and minds seeking wisdom. As we gather in your presence, we are reminded of the gift of the Sabbath, a sacred time you have set aside for rest and renewal.
Lord, in a world that often glorifies busyness and productivity, help us to embrace the holy rhythm of work and rest that you have ordained. Teach us to find joy in stillness, to hear your voice in the quiet moments, and to trust that in resting, we are fulfilling your divine purpose for our lives.
We confess, O God, that too often, we have neglected this gift of rest. Forgive us for the times we have allowed the demands of the world to overshadow your command to keep the Sabbath holy. Grant us the courage to set boundaries, the wisdom to prioritize our time, and the faith to believe that when we rest in you, all other things will fall into place.
As we reflect on your generosity, shown to us through the gift of the Sabbath and countless other blessings, instill in us a spirit of abundance. May we be inspired to give freely of our time, our resources, and our love, just as you have given so freely to us. Help us to see that in our rest, we are recharged not just for our own benefit, but to better serve others and share your love with the world.
Lord, as we prepare our hearts to receive your Word today, may we be open to your teachings on rest and generosity. Let this time of worship be a Sabbath moment for our souls, a time of restoration and reconnection with you and with one another.
We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ, who invites us to find rest in Him. Amen.
SERMON
POINT: The two most critical currencies of our age are
POINT: How much is enough?
“Even with the desire for a better life, we can be reluctant to do the work of boundaries because it will be a war. The battle falls into two categories: outside resistance we get from others and the resistance we get from ourselves.” —- Henry Cloud, Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
POINT: Building boundaries is all about understanding that we have
Exodus 20:8-11 NRSV
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days, you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. In six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
Exodus 23:10-13 NRSV
Six years, you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but in the seventh year, you shall let it rest and lie fallow so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave, the wild animals may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard and with your olive orchard.
Six days, you shall do your work, but on the seventh day, you shall rest so that your ox and your donkey may have relief and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed. Be attentive to all that I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
POINT:
Luke 12:16-21 NRSV
Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night, your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
POINT: Accidental generosity is as rare as unintentional obedience – both require