The Significance of the Sabbath

1. HOOK: Stop Rest Game

• Play some fast music. Get the children follow you in a vigorous aerobic exercise routine. (You may want to check whether there are any children who are unwell and excuse them from this exercise). Tell them, “I want you all to follow me in doing this exercise. Don’t stop until the music stops”. Then you must sit down on the floor, where you are, close you eyes, rest and not do anything until I tell you what to do”. After you can see that most of them are getting exhausted, signal to your helper to stop the music.
• After settling down, ask the children “How many of you are tired? (Preferably, most of them!) Were you glad that we could stop and rest?”
• Song suggestion 1
  Song suggestion 2

2. LESSON: The Significance of the Sabbath

• We just played a game about “rest”. Today we are going to learn about the “Sabbath”, a day of rest.
• Under the Old Covenant or Mosaic Law, the Israelites were required to rest and not work on Sabbath day.
• Exodus 20:8-10 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work…”
• The Sabbath was a sign given to the Israelites to acknowledge God as both their
  • Creator – God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7^th day. God rested, not because he was tired, but he rested because he had completed his work and he wanted to enjoy his creation.
  • Redeemer – God had rescued the Israelites from being slaves to Pharoah in Egypt. (Deut 5:5).
• There was severe punishment for the Israelites if they did not rest and refrain from work on Sabbath day, i.e. death (Exodus 31:4). The Israelites’ disregard for God and not keeping the Sabbath had in the end, resulted in their enemies, the Babylonians capturing them and taking them as prisoners to Babylon.
• The religious teachers (Pharisees etc) of Israel made many ‘difficult to understand’ rules and regulations concerning the Sabbath. Some of them were strange and did not make sense. Eg women were not allowed to look into a mirror because they may see a white hair and end up pulling it out. Even pulling out a white hair was considered work! Spitting on the ground would disturb the soil and so was likened to ploughing and therefore, also considered work!
• When Jesus came as a man, there were a number of times when Jesus healed sick people on Sabbath day. The hard-hearted religious people were shocked as they considered healing as “work”. But Jesus showed us how God saw the Sabbath and how he saw people. Jesus healed the sick so that they need not feel pain/discomfort and worry about their condition, but be at rest as well as enjoy peace. He would work so that people could rest.
• The Sabbath, which was introduced to the Israelites through the law more than 1000 years before Jesus was born, was a shadow of Jesus. Just as a shadow showed the real person is nearby, the Sabbath showed Jesus would eventually be man’s rest.
• Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites were required to rest on Sabbath day.
• Under the New Covenant, Jesus is our Sabbath “rest”. “Rest” does not mean “not working” but means :
• Rest from our own efforts or works
  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. Who can give us rest? Jesus. Jesus has completed the work for our salvation. We need not try to gain acceptance from God by our own efforts or works. Because of Jesus, we are already accepted and we have God’s favour. We are his precious sons and daughters, and He is our loving heavenly Father.
• Rest from worries and trust God to take care of us
  Even in the midst of a violent storm, Jesus was sleeping in a boat, while his disciples were panicking and freaking out. They woke him up saying, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, told the wind and the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” and it was completely calm (Mark 4:35-41). Today, we can also rest from our worries and fears, knowing that this same Jesus is always with us, will never leave us nor forsake us. We trust, because we know that He will take care of us no matter what circumstances we are in.
• Since Jesus, our Sabbath rest is with us 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), we can rest from our own efforts and worries all the time!

Today we have learnt that under the New Covenant, Jesus is our Sabbath rest so:

• We can rest from our own efforts or works. Jesus has completed the work for our salvation.
• We can rest from worries and trust in God to take care of us in whatever circumstances.

3. SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

• Ask if any of the children want to accept Jesus as their personal saviour and experience His rest. Pray together with them.
• Song: With Christ in the Vessel