Enter In to His Rest, Part 1

Rest. Just let that word linger over you for a moment. Rest. One more time. Just the thought of rest does something to our soul, something vital, something life giving, something sacred. Rest was part of Eden, in the world as part of God’s creation before sin, before the fall, before Adam and Eve fell. When you enter into rest, you return to Eden. There is so much confusion surrounding this idea of rest and the keeping of a weekly Sabbath. In this message, I’ll explain why the first century church struggled with the complexity of honoring a Sabbath while at the same time wanting to celebrate the Lord’s Day (Jesus’ resurrection). And we’ll discuss how the church throughout history always makes the same mistake in the face complexity…compromise. If something is confusing because it is complicated, compromise never brings clarity, only more confusion! We’ll talk about Judaizers and who they were in the first century and how still today we mistakenly elevate cultural norms to a level sacredness that is undeserved. Next you’ll hear about the four types of rest we discover in Hebrews…yes FOUR! There is a kind of rest that is unending when we are experiencing the the FULLNESS of rest God intends. And finally, we’ll set up Part Two by reading some of Jesus’ own words about Sabbath. Will you Enter In…to His Rest?