- 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!
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 Sundays 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, Lords Prayer, offering(!), Benediction, etc. Let each person in your group take a part and together close your group time with this worship.
Sabbath is an invitation to imagine our life differently. Walter Brueggeman , Finally Comes the Poet, 97 |
Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee. Saint Augustine |