We live in a culture that is:
- hurried
- materialistic
- busy
- distracted
- fomo
- see time as something to be mastered

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The Bible tells a story with a different rhythm.
In the opening chapters of Genesis we find many themes and ideas that will be carried and developed throughout the rest of scripture.

Genesis 2:1-3
1The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them. 2 By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation.

- God rests as an example to us. He doesn't need to rest.
- In the first creation account God blesses 3 things. Animals, People and the Sabbath. It's as if the Sabbath is also to have a life giving, regenerative property to it.

Exodus 16
The account of God giving Manna and instituting the Sabbath.
God is beginning to shape his people by giving them a new rhythm to their lives.

Exodus 20:8-11
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

- The first 4 commands relate to our relationship with God. The Sabbath is the 4th. Maybe the Sabbath command is key to keeping the first three.

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The Israelites fail to keep the Sabbath and instead turn it into another kind of work.

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Jesus Comes to remind us that the Sabbath was meant to be a gift.

Mark 2:23-28
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

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Jesus becomes our Sabbath rest. Notice that after the lines below that Matthew 12 then begins with two stories about the Sabbath.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

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Do you need to practice the principle of Sabbath rest?
Do you need to spend more time with Jesus?

Consider:
- Regularly disconnecting from technology, including turning off your phone
- If you find you're too busy and in a hurry all the time, simplify your schedule. Cut some stuff out.
- Slow Down. Drive slower. Walk slower. Allow your mind to wander.
- Spend time daily with God in silence.
- Regularly taking a day, or even half a day, to stop and enjoy the life God has given you. Eat your favorite food, spend time with your spouse, friends, kids and spend time with God.

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This is the song that ended the service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhoEktYO5w8