Faith Discussion GUIDE
Be s u r e to h ave your bible handy as yo u settle i n fo r t he d i s c uss ion portion of your date n i g h t. I f yo u don’ t have access to one, check out th e B i b le Gateway app ava i l a b le on your Apple or And ro i d devi c e. Read tog et her s i lently, or aloud and take so me ti me to d i s c uss what ’s on your heart.
H ow o f t e n d o you r est ? I mean really rest—shut down the thoughts buzzing around about the week to come and spend an entire day allowing God to restore your spirit. It’s not easy to halt everything and give of our time. Our world is extremely fast paced, and we are all chasing something. Let’s face it, our day to day life is so filled to the brim that our time with the Lord often gets squeezed out or hurried through. When we take time to spend with someone, it’s a way of saying, “You are important to me. Growing our relationship is important to me.” Taking an entire day each week to be with the Lord lets Him know that He is first in our life. On this set apart day, we should rest from our normal work and take time to be with the Lord and to worship Him.
Stop for a minute and think...Do you desire rest? Why do you think it is so hard to honor God by giving Him a whole day each week?
Our time is a gift that God graciously gives us each day. To honor Him, He asks that we give the first day of each week back to Him. Similar to the giving of our money, it is never simple. It will always cost us. But if we only give that which does not cost us , do we ever really give?
W e r eco g n i z e t he Lord ’s Day as t he fi rst day o f th e w e e k , S u n day. On this day Jesus was resurrected from the dead, offering deliverance from captivity to sin. What a thing to be celebrated! As we rest from our work we are reminded of our true status as fully dependant on the God who sustains and cares for His children. We are reminded of His perfect sacrifice. We remember that Jesus perfectly obeyed the Ten Commandments and kept the law on our behalf; that He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf. By living the perfect life, He met God’s perfect standard. We are gifted with rest and out of an abundance of gratitude, we want to work. Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, we start each week with rest, a reflection of the eternal sabbath rest that we have inherited. (Hebrews 4:9-10) “ 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
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for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from
their works,[a] just as God did from his.”
Colossians 2:16-18 tells us,
“ 1 6 T h er e fo r e d o not let anyone jud ge yo u by wh at yo u eat o r d r i n k , o r wit h regard to a r eli g i o us festival, a N ew M o o n ce le b ration or a Sabbath day.
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Th ese are a
sh adow o f t h e things that wer e to co me; th e reality, h ow ev er , i s fo u nd in Christ.
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D o not let anyo n e wh o
de l ig hts i n fa lse humility and t he wo rsh i p o f an g els disqua l i fy yo u. S uch a pers on als o g o es i nto g reat detai l a bo ut w h at t hey have s een; t h ey are p u ffed u p w it h i d le n ot i o n s by their uns pir itual mi n d.” The Lord’s Day is a day of
celebrati o n , and we must
remember that legalism does not produce Godliness. We are not called to keep a list of activities that we can and cannot do. We are not required to make a show of our worship. Our Heavenly Father knows our hearts, and He simply wants us to surrender and experience the joy of being in His favor.
However, just as joy is more than the absence of sorrow, the Lord’s Day is meant to be more than the absence of labor.
As yo u a p p r oach this coming S unday, I en c o u rag e yo u to t h ink d e e ply a bout thes e thoughts : 1 . Spend time reflecting on who God is as our creator and Lord.
2 . R emember H is perfect sacrifice and rest in the finished work of Jesus. Allow this to humble your heart and cease from your own attempt to merit God’s favor through good deeds. (Hebrews 4:1-11)
3 . R eflect on your relationship with God. Do you invest in it as much as you do in your relationship with each other?
4 . Think back over the past week. Did it properly display the direction that it should as a child of God?
5. Think about the week to come. D oes your schedule reflect the proper priorities?
6 . Sin can rob us from God’s rest. Do you have any known sin that you need to confess?
Take some time together to go to the Lord in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, All that we have belongs to you; our relationship, our finances, and our time. You blessed us beyond measure by sending your son to the cross in our stead. With gratitude and reverence we offer our time. We find joy and rest in your presence Lord. Allow us to recognize your power in our lives. Remind us that we are completely reliant upon you. The love that you give so freely does not depend on how hard we work but on your
Amen
perfect grace.
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