Embracing Sabbath: A Gift of Rest and Renewal

Devotional

Day 1: The Gift and Command of Sabbath Rest

God’s command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy is a radical invitation to step off the hamster wheel of endless busyness, to rest, renew, and reconnect with God and others, recognizing that this day is a sacred gift meant for our flourishing. When we honor the Sabbath, we acknowledge our limits, trust in God’s provision, and create space for the things that matter most—worship, relationships, and true rest. Sabbath is not just a rule to follow, but a rhythm of grace that shapes our lives and helps us become the people God intends us to be. [15:09]

Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV)
“Remember the Sabbath day, to 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. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Reflection: What is one practical way you can set apart a full day this week to rest, renew, and reconnect with God and those you love, treating it as truly holy?

Day 2: Sabbath as a Delight, Not a Burden

God intends the Sabbath to be a delight—a day to cease striving, to enjoy His presence, and to be renewed in body, mind, and spirit—rather than a burdensome list of rules or restrictions. When we let go of our compulsion to fill every moment with productivity and instead embrace the Sabbath as a sacred pause, we open ourselves to God’s blessings, joy, and peace. The Sabbath is a time to delight in God, in creation, and in the relationships He has given us, trusting that our worth is not measured by what we accomplish but by who we are in Him. [26:01]

Isaiah 58:13-14 (ESV)
“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Reflection: What would it look like for you to truly “delight” in the Sabbath this week—what activities or practices would help you experience God’s joy and renewal?

Day 3: Jesus and the True Purpose of Sabbath

Jesus teaches that the Sabbath was made for our good, not as a rigid rule but as a gift for renewal, compassion, and doing good; He models that honoring the Sabbath means caring for others and ourselves, not just following regulations. When we follow Jesus’ example, we see that Sabbath is about restoring what is broken, blessing others, and remembering that God’s heart is for mercy and wholeness. The Sabbath is a time to receive God’s healing, to extend kindness, and to remember that we are loved apart from our achievements. [30:56]

Mark 2:27-28 (ESV)
“And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.’”

Reflection: Who is someone you could bless or care for on your Sabbath this week, following Jesus’ example of compassion and renewal?

Day 4: The Cost of Neglecting Rest

Neglecting Sabbath rest leads to exhaustion, strained relationships, and spiritual dryness; when we ignore God’s invitation to pause, we risk missing out on the life, love, and purpose He desires for us. Overcommitting and constant busyness can choke out what matters most, leaving us burned out and disconnected from God and others. Choosing Sabbath is an act of trust, a way of saying no to lesser things so we can say yes to what truly matters—our health, our families, and our walk with God. [19:39]

Psalm 127:2 (ESV)
“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

Reflection: What is one commitment or activity you need to say “no” to this week in order to protect your time for rest, renewal, and relationships?

Day 5: Practicing Sabbath: Renewal and Re-Creation

Sabbath is a time to intentionally do the things that renew your soul—worship, play, creativity, and connection—trusting that God delights in your joy and refreshment. By making space for what brings you life, you honor God’s design and open yourself to His presence and blessing. Sabbath is not just about stopping work, but about actively engaging in what restores you, so that you can live the rest of your week with greater purpose, energy, and love. [40:00]

Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Reflection: Write down three things that truly renew you—how can you intentionally make space for one of them on your next Sabbath?

Sermon Summary

Life often feels like a wildflower garden overtaken by weeds—so many good intentions, so many things we want to nurture, but the busyness and demands of life crowd out what matters most. We find ourselves overcommitted, exhausted, and sometimes even burned out, wondering why there never seems to be enough time for what truly matters. This is not a new problem; it’s as old as humanity itself. The Israelites, enslaved in Egypt, worked without rest, their lives consumed by endless labor. Into this world, God spoke a revolutionary word: “Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy.” For the first time in history, God commanded a people to rest, to cease from their labors, and to remember that their worth was not in what they produced, but in who they were as God’s beloved.

The Sabbath is not just a rule to follow, but a gift to receive. It is God’s answer to our frantic, over-scheduled lives—a day set apart for rest, renewal, and reverence. It’s not just for us, but for our families, our communities, even the land and animals. God’s command is not about legalism or keeping a list of dos and don’ts, but about learning to say no to the things that drain us so we can say yes to the things that give life. Jesus himself modeled this, reminding us that “the Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath.” He broke through the legalism of his day to show that the heart of Sabbath is doing good, being renewed, and connecting with God and others.

Yet, like the Israelites, we struggle to keep the Sabbath. We let work, technology, and endless obligations invade our rest. We forget that God delights in our play, our joy, our relationships, and our renewal. Sabbath is a weekly invitation to step off the hamster wheel, to remember who we are, and to receive the blessings God longs to give us—longer life, healthier relationships, deeper creativity, and a more vibrant faith. The challenge is to be intentional: to write down what renews us, to make space for it, and to trust that in resting, we honor God and become more fully alive.

Key Takeaways

1. Sabbath is a radical act of trust and resistance. In a world that measures us by our productivity, choosing to rest is a declaration that our value comes from God, not from what we accomplish. Sabbath rest is a way of saying, “I am not a slave to my work or my schedule; I belong to God.” [13:28]
2. Neglecting Sabbath leads to the slow death of what matters most. When we ignore God’s invitation to rest, we not only harm our bodies, but our relationships, our creativity, and our spiritual lives suffer. The weeds of busyness choke out the wildflowers of joy, love, and connection, leaving us depleted and distant from God and others. [19:39]
3. Sabbath is not about legalism, but about life-giving freedom. Jesus challenged the rule-keeping of his day, insisting that the Sabbath is for our good. It is a day to do good, to heal, to be renewed, and to remember that God’s heart is for our flourishing, not our exhaustion. [30:56]
4. Practicing Sabbath requires intentionality and boundaries. It means learning to say no to good things so we can say yes to the best things—rest, worship, play, and relationships. Writing down what renews us and making space for those things is a spiritual discipline that honors God and restores our souls. [40:00]
5. Sabbath is a foretaste of God’s delight and blessing. When we keep the Sabbath holy, we experience God’s joy in our rest, our play, and our relationships. The blessings are tangible: longer life, less burnout, healthier marriages, lower stress, and a deeper sense of purpose and connection with God. [41:11]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:00] - The Wildflower Garden Metaphor
[04:30] - Overcommitment and Burnout in Modern Life
[08:39] - The Cost of Exhaustion
[11:01] - Family Sacrifices and Missed Moments
[13:28] - The Origin of Sabbath in Exodus
[15:09] - The Sabbath Commandment’s Radical Scope
[19:39] - The Consequences of Ignoring Sabbath
[23:43] - Sabbath in Jewish Practice
[26:01] - Isaiah’s Call to Delight in Sabbath
[28:56] - Legalism vs. the Heart of Sabbath
[30:56] - Jesus and the True Purpose of Sabbath
[32:04] - Personal Confession: Struggling with Sabbath
[34:11] - The Difficulty of Saying No
[36:10] - Regret and the Cost of Busyness
[40:00] - Practicing Renewal: What Renews You?
[41:11] - Prayer for Sabbath Renewal

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV) — > “Remember the Sabbath day, to 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. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Isaiah 58:13-14 (ESV) — > “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Mark 2:27 (ESV) — > “And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’”

Observation Questions

According to Exodus 20:8-11, who is included in the command to rest on the Sabbath, and what does this say about God’s intention for Sabbath?
In Isaiah 58:13-14, what does God promise to those who honor the Sabbath and call it a delight?
How did Jesus challenge the way people practiced Sabbath in his day, according to Mark 2:27 and the sermon? [30:56]
The sermon compared life to a wildflower garden overtaken by weeds. What did the pastor mean by this metaphor? [04:30]

Interpretation Questions

The Sabbath commandment is the longest and comes before many of the other “big” commandments. Why might God have placed such emphasis on Sabbath, and how could it be foundational for the rest of the commandments? [15:09]
The sermon described Sabbath as a “radical act of trust and resistance.” What does it mean to trust God enough to rest, especially in a culture that values constant productivity? [13:28]
Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath.” How does this reshape the way we think about rules and rest? [30:56]
The pastor shared personal stories of overcommitment and missing out on important moments with family. What are some of the “weeds” that tend to choke out Sabbath rest in our own lives? [36:10]

Application Questions

The sermon challenged us to write down three things that renew us. What are some activities, relationships, or practices that truly renew you? How can you make space for them this week? [40:00]
Are there specific ways that work, technology, or other obligations invade your Sabbath or your time of rest? What boundaries could you set to protect that time? [23:43]
The pastor confessed to struggling with saying “no” to good things in order to say “yes” to the best things. What is one “good” thing you might need to say “no” to in order to honor Sabbath and nurture what matters most? [34:11]
Sabbath is described as a gift, not a burden. How can you shift your mindset from seeing rest as “wasted time” to seeing it as a way to honor God and receive his blessing? [41:11]
The sermon mentioned that neglecting Sabbath leads to the “slow death of what matters most.” Have you noticed areas in your life—relationships, health, creativity, faith—that have suffered because of busyness? What small step could you take to begin restoring those areas? [19:39]
Jesus modeled doing good and connecting with others on the Sabbath. What is one way you could use your Sabbath to bless someone else or deepen a relationship? [30:56]
The pastor said, “Sabbath is a weekly invitation to step off the hamster wheel, to remember who we are, and to receive the blessings God longs to give us.” What would it look like for you to accept that invitation this week? [33:07]

Sermon Clips

So when we are burned out or we're emotionally spent or we're exhausted, we don't feel like we have enough hours in the day or we're spending lots of plates and we never can seem to get it all done, everything suffers in our lives. Our physical health suffers. Our relationship suffers. We are no longer the person that we want to be. That's true in our marriages and every other part of our lives. It's true in our parenting. It's true in our work with other people. And it's true in our relationship with God. [00:09:37] (22 seconds) #BurnoutCostsAll

I think God was, I don't think God wanted to put people to death for violating the Sabbath. I think God was saying, listen, this is so serious and I know how you are. I know that I have claimed this one day as my day and I'm giving it to you as a gift because you need it, but I know you're going to go back to work. I know you're going to let other stuff impinge upon that day. I know you're going to be tempted to go work your crops, to sell items in the marketplace, or I know how you are, so I'm going to threaten you with even death, and I'm going to tell you, this is that serious. [00:19:06] (32 seconds) #SelfDestructionByOverwork

I think he might have been saying there's death to relationships. Like, you work like that, you spin the plates like that, you're going to find that your relationships suffer, your family suffers, every part of your life, your spiritual life suffers if you're going to ignore the Sabbath. [00:20:38] (16 seconds) #ModernSabbathChallenges

In listening to Rabbi Art, what strikes me is how anemic many Christians' Sabbath observation is. Because we allow so many other things to creep in, right? It's our phones, it's our computers, it's the work that we didn't get done on Saturday, we have to get done on Sunday. And so we get to the end of the Sabbath, and for me, my Sabbath is Monday because I'm working on Sundays. So Monday, I wake up in the morning, and I think, okay, I'm going to take a long walk and talk to Jesus, so I'm going to have a great, relaxing walk, but I better check my email first. [00:23:37] (29 seconds) #HolySabbathClaim

So I want us to notice that God said that we're to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. To keep it holy means to recognize it belongs to God. God claimed one day in seven. He says, listen, this day is mine. I'm claiming this day, and I'm going to tell you what you're going to do with this day. And on this day, you're going to rest, and you're going to renew, and you're going to connect with me. [00:24:36] (19 seconds) #GodDelightsInRest

So the Christian Sabbath, of course, is Saturday night to Sunday. The reason why we shifted the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday is because Christ was resurrected from the dead on Sunday. And so every Sabbath for us is a re -commemoration, a re -celebration of Easter, and the fact that Christ has triumphed over evil, hate, sin, and death, and that there is always hope. [00:25:25] (18 seconds) #RenewedToServe

Do you get Jesus' picture here? Like this was a day that was meant to be a gift from God for you, to be renewed, to rest, to be recreated. The Sabbath is important. Jesus never said the Sabbath wasn't important. He didn't say violate the Sabbath. He says it really is important, but remember what it's for. It's about renewing and resting and revering God. [00:31:50] (24 seconds) #SabbathSayingNoToYes

Of all the Ten Commandments, as I look at them, at least of the ones that remain, this is the one that messes with me the most. Like, I think I can be honest, I'm not in danger. I'm not thinking about killing anybody. The murder command, then I, I think I have a feeling that is pretty big. I love it to me. So much trouble wonderful. Now, Jesus is going to get a hold of that commandment, and all of a sudden you're going to find it does actually relate to every one of us. You'll see in a couple weeks. Adultery, not planning on it. Don't have any thoughts about it. But Jesus is going to remind us too. That has to do with more than just the physical act of adultery. I'm not planning on stealing anything. I don't want to bear false witness against anybody. Coveting is a little bit of a problem. The iPhone 11 came out this week, and I was thinking a lot about that this week. But generally, these other commandments are not a big issue for me, I don't think, although we're going to find it is a bigger issue. It's this one that I have real problems with. [00:32:16] (51 seconds) #SabbathRootOfLife

I'm confessing this to you not so you feel sorry for me I'm confessing this to you because I think some of you are wrestling with the same thing I'm wrestling with and somewhere in there the answer to this has to do with the Sabbath where we start taking time away saying no to things so that we can say yes to the right things. [00:38:13] (21 seconds) #GodDelightsInJoy

If you take a day of rest these are secular sources take a day of rest you live longer you burn out less your marriages are healthier and happier your stress levels are lower your creativity is heightened your other relationships are stronger your work week is more productive if you remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. [00:41:15] (21 seconds)

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

What is the biblical purpose of the Sabbath?

How did Jesus redefine the meaning of work on Sabbath?

What are the spiritual benefits of observing Sabbath regularly?