Pastor’s eNote: Weekly Update

Keeping Sabbath matters.

Sunday’s sermon focused on why Sabbath is so very important to us. It is an invitation to rest and reset ourselves in God. Not much time was spent on how to keep Sabbath.

I’ve heard of many Sabbath practices over the years. Some say reading, hiking, or gardening are the kinds of activities where people find rest and reset. I played an early morning round of golf last week and walked the course alone.

I wonder if there are ways we can experience some Sabbath rest more regularly. The biblical model of Sabbath is one day a week when we do not work. For those who are retired that is a bit of a challenge. Is every day a Sabbath or is no day a Sabbath. Given that most of us who are working do so five days a week, does that mean the two days we are not working are Sabbath?

Keeping Sabbath matters.

Sabbath requires some intention. It is not a matter of doing nothing else or nothing better. It is an active choice to rest and reset. The irony here is that Sabbath requires a little bit of work. You might consider some of the following:

* Consider having a five-minute Sabbath each day. Pause a reflect on who you are in Christ’s image. Wonder what it means to be a child of G
* Try doing no work for an hour one day each week. Just rest. Read a scripture at the beginning and the end of each hour.
* Find ways to reconnect with things that give you comfort. It may be a chat with a friend or family member each week or sharing a note of gratitude.

Sabbath is really about reconnecting with God and with yourself. Sometime a little work is required to make room for a Sabbath reset. Sabbath may not mean being inert. It is a choice to be renewed which is a work God is always doing in us.

Grace to You All,

Pastor Craig Brown
(2/25/25)