WORSHIP: God created a Sabbath day both as a day of rest and as a time dedicated to the honoring of God. In the weekly gathering with the community of believers we also discover and celebrate our participation in the body of Christ

• Read Exodus 20.8.
• Begin with prayer. Use the "palms up, palms down" prayer described in Session 1.

• The time in my life was I was the most tired was when...
• What are some of the things you remember about church or Sundays when you were a child?

Sabbath: A transliteration of the Hebrew word which means "cease, desist, rest." In context, it refers to the seventh day of the week (Friday eve to Saturday eve, according to Jewish reckoning) during which one was to cease from work and rest. The Biblical background for this observance is Genesis 2.2-3 where God "blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation."
Why do we worship on Sundays? According to the Gospels, it was early on the first day of the week (i.e., Sunday) that the women went to the tomb and discovered that Jesus had arisen. Christians, therefore, began to gather for worship on Sundays, and in time, the two days of worship became the weekend!

• Read Exodus 20.8-11.
  • What is the reason given here for remembering the Sabbath day?
  • Read another version of this commandment in Deuteronomy 5.12-15.
  • What is the reason given here for remembering the Sabbath day?
• Read Exodus 16.11-30.
  • Verses 16-21: How much was each person to gather each day? How much were they able to gather and keep?
  • Verses 22-30: What happened on the seventh day?
• Read Amos 8.4-6.
  • For whom is the Sabbath a burden?
• Read Mark 2.23-3.5
  • In what ways does Jesus appear to be breaking Sabbath law? In what ways is he upholding it?
• Read Micah 6.6-8
  • What is the best way of worshipping God?
• Read John 4.19-24 where Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman.
  • What are the characteristics of genuine worship?
• Read Colossians 3.16-17.
  • What are the elements of worship described here?

1. Genesis 2.2-3: Why did God choose or need to rest? What does this fact imply about us humans?
2. In the passages studied in A-E above, what are some common themes regarding the Sabbath that underlie all of them?
3. Why does God command us to take a Sabbath rest? Who is benefited by a Sabbath observance?
4. When have you felt the most rested? What would be the best thing for you to do right now to get some rest? What obstacles are keeping you from getting the rest you need?
5. What is the relationship between a Sabbath rest and worship?
6. Micah 6.6-8: What is the connection between Sunday worship services and worshipping God throughout the rest of the week?
7. John 4.19-24 and Colossians 3.16-17: How do these passages help us think about what is an appropriate worship style? Is "traditional" better than "contemporary/alternative"? What is the value of traditional elements? Of contemporary elements? What makes either of them genuine?
8. What are the different postures (of body, head, hands, etc.) that you use during worship? What do they signify?
9. Describe a time when a worship service was particularly meaningful for you. What was it in the service that made it significant?
10. Is it okay to work on Sunday? To do shopping on Sunday? To put it another way, how can you observe the Sabbath in today’s society?

EXERCISE 1: Use the "Our Liturgical Heritage / The Church Year" exercise sheet. As you read through the information about the liturgy, comment on which parts of the service are most meaningful to them. As you read about the church year, describe emotions associated with each of the seasons. What are some of your favorite hymns or songs for each season?

EXERCISE 2: Retrieve some bulletins from the past Sunday’s service. Go through the service and describe what is happening at each point. What elements of worship do you find? What is the ‘rhythm’ and flow of the service? How do the various parts of the service connect?

EXERCISE 3: Compose a brief worship service, discussing the importance and reason for including some of the following elements: opening/Invocation, hymns/songs, prayer, Scripture reading, sermon/message, Creed, Lord’s Prayer, offering(!), Benediction, etc. Let each person in your group take a part and together close your group time with this worship.

For Later:

• Remember: You are a child of God. Live every day with the assumption that God is constantly strengthening the relationship with you. Let your whole life reflect your love and praise of God.
• Make plans to observe a Sabbath rest with as much intentionality as you plan your work and other activities.
• When you come to worship, do so with the expectation that God’s Word will certainly be spoken to you in this place. Look around in worship and pray for those leading the service. Pray even more for others around you who appear to be needing a good word from God that day.
• Parents, Grandparents, and Godparents: Be sure to encourage the children in your care to participate in worship!

• Marva J. Dawn, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly (Eerdmans, 1989).
• Walter Brueggeman, Finally Comes the Poet (Fortress, 1989), 90-99.