Series: The Gospel: It's Not...
Message: About the Sabbath
Preacher: Mark Johnson
Daily Walk: Mark Johnson

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 94:16-23.

Read: Mark 2:27; Romans 13:10 (ESV). As you re-read the text for the final time this week in the English Standard Version, what new insights did you discover about God’s character?

Reflect: The Sabbath was made for me. I have not always appreciated that fact. The older I get, however, the more I love it. Perhaps it's because I need to rest more than ever.

The Law of God was made for me. I have not always appreciated that fact. The older I get, however, the more I love it. Perhaps it's because I feel my need for it more than ever.

The Sabbath is good news. When kept as intended it reminds us of God as our Creator, God as our Redeemer, and God as our Savior. It makes employer and laborer colleagues and friends for at least one day a week. It tears down the walls of separation between races, ethnicities, genders and classes.  It allows time for spirit and body to heal. It reaffirms that God has adequately and appropriately answered His enemies' charges against His character. It is to be seen as a delight.

The Law of God is good news. It reminds us that the foundation of the government of God is love - love for one another and love for our Creator. It shows us that God is a God of order and demonstration.  It makes clear the kind of persons God wants in His kingdom. It is "perfect" and "converts the soul."
Both are good news, but neither the Sabbath nor the Law of God is the Good News—the Gospel.
Both the Sabbath and the Law reflect on something larger than they are. The Sabbath speaks to the God of relationship and His "planned intimacy of time and space" with His creatures. The Law is a written description of God's character. The Sabbath and the Law both inform us about the Gospel, but the Good News is superior to both. The Gospel is everlasting, and only God is everlasting.

The Gospel is not about the Sabbath or the Law.  The Gospel is about God.

Recalibrate: ​ 

1. ​​How can one learn to see the Sabbath as a "delight?"
2. Our human nature rebels against anyone telling us what we should do.  How can we learn to love the Law of God?

Respond:Pray for wisdom and humility as we search for the meaning of the Sabbath and the beauty of the Law.

Research:  How is God’s character revealed through the Sabbath?