Sunday School To Go - God Rested on the Seventh Day
It doesn't matter how old or young you are, there is something for you to learn together in God’s Word.
Enjoy spending time as a family and enjoy learning about God’s love for us!
God Rested on the Seventh Day
Working hard can feel really good. When is a time you felt good about doing something really hard? God felt this satisfaction too!
Read Genesis 1:31-2:3 together. (If your kids are younger, you can read this out of The Story Bible)
But we can sometimes work too much or too little. Some of us refuse to sweat, work hard and struggle so we don’t ever get a chance to feel great about a job well done. God calls this attitude “sloth”, because people with this attitude move very, very slow like a sloth. When are you tempted to move like a sloth?
Some of us work too much and too often, taking on too many hard jobs without a break. Gaining satisfaction through work alone make the work more important than God. It puts us out of balance. How does it feel when you work too hard and don’t get rest?
So God gave the commandment; “Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.” The Sabbath day was the seventh day, the day God set aside especially for rest and for worship.
We know that Jesus rested on the Sabbath day or the seventh day (Luke 4:16) and that Christians are to keep the regular practice of church worship (Hebrews 4:9-10). Today we usually say Sunday is our Sabbath day.
We can imagine what the Sabbath day would have been like for Jesus. For Jesus, Sabbath started at sundown on what is now Friday evening, since Sabbath then was Saturday. Sabbath lights burned on a white cloth set with two loves of braided white bread. Jesus’ parents prayed for him. After the meal Joseph probably read from a scroll, or they went to the village circle where men shared news of the day, talked about God’s Word, and told stories like David’s fight with Goliath.
Sabbath morning Jesus and his family went to Synagogue. The rabbi began, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One!” (Deuteronomy 6:4) Then a verse they called The Shema was read by everyone.
Read that verse together from Deuteronomy 6:5
People read from the Bible, and the rabbi or a guest spoke a short sermon. A discussion followed, the psalms were sung, and a final benediction blessing was given. No work was done by anyone during the Sabbath. The meal of the day was prepared the day before so they wouldn’t even have to work to eat. In the afternoon families went for walks, played, told stories, and visited with neighbors. Sabbath ended at sundown with various blessings and the passing of a special box of spices to let the “sweet Sabbath linger” until next week.
Some of that sounds familiar to you because we do some of those things still today. Some of it might sound a little bit odd or different. Either way, God still wants us to celebrate the Sabbath, a day of rest and worship, today. God wants us to keep the Sabbath holy by spending time at church worshiping and learning about Him, and by resting together as a family.
Our lives can be very busy, and sometimes it’s hard to take a whole day to rest and worship, but God rested on the seventh day and so should we!
God Sighting Prepare for Sunday this week by · Asking God to bless the musician, readers, and pastor with His words during worship.
· Praying for God to work in your heart during worship.
· Asking God to help us grow together and to spend time with Him.
· Setting aside just a little time together to rest as a family. Then see how you experience worship at church and the Sabbath when you have gotten your heart ready like this.
Candle Activity Take permanent markers and write The Shema (Det. 6:5) on your candle. Decorate it however you want! Then set it on your dining room table. Let it remind you to love God and to celebrate with worship and with rest.
Cooking Activity We eat bread every day, but most of us buy it from the store rather than make it ourselves. Even though it simple to make, it takes a long time from start to finish.
In Jesus time, bread was made right before the Sabbath so no one had to cook during the day. Take the recipe included and try making your own bread. Everyone in the family can help! Then, when you are done, eat it all up on Sunday. Maybe even make sandwiches for a picnic. It’s tasty and you won’t have to do any extra work on Sunday for lunch!
Outside Challenge In every box there is a different outside toy. Your challenge is to go outside and play together as a family for 30 minutes or more. No technology; no screens. Set time aside to get away. You can use the toy in the box, or not. You can pick a game to play or you can just sit and have a picnic.
Enjoy the creation God made for you. But most especially, take the time to rest and relax as a family without distractions. Think about ways you can work family time into your regular schedule as a way to recognize how God wants us to rest from our work.
Prayer Dear God, Thank you for making the great world we live in and for making us. You are wonderful! Help us to remember you by worshiping and resting on the Sabbath. We are sorry for all the times we were too busy or too lazy to do what we should. Give us your Spirit to always honor the Sabbath. In Jesus name, Amen.
Excerpts taken from Laugh, Tickle, Hug, Pray by Julaine Kammrath and published by Concordia Publishing House.
