At Singing Oaks we are studying the Book of Luke, a Gospel about Jesus Christ. Luke sets out to make an orderly and thorough account of the life of Jesus the Christ and He did a marvelous job of capturing the stories and events of the greatest Man to ever exist.
As Christ followers we read the text of Luke in an attempt to discover the son of God whom we follow and the mission He calls His followers to pursue. We discover that He was and is a healer, teacher, comforter, leader, delegator, and a man of prayer and rest. Luke records Jesus’s life and upon careful examination a pattern emerges. Jesus worked and rested (Luke 5: 15-16, Luke 6: 12-19.) A man with so little time spent in ministry on earth and yet Luke takes the time to show that Jesus spent time resting from his work and business.
Without a doubt we live in a “restless culture”. Even when we have down time we tend to fill it up with activity and noise. We have difficulty with the idea of just “being”, of finding “rest in God”. We Christians often believe we are supposed to constantly be doing, going, producing, teaching, changing, growing, connecting, and going on mission, right? But that’s not what Luke’s Gospel teaches about Christ and His life. Nor is it what the rest of the Bible seems to show us about what God wants from His People.
Coming out of Egyptian slavery, on the way to the Promised Land, God told His people to take a day to rest with Him. He demonstrated this rest during the creation. This command to rest, or to honor the Sabbath, is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews reflects on how many of God’s children never made it into the Land of Rest, but died in the wilderness. However, the Hebrew writer assures us that we, God’s chosen people, can find that Sabbath rest.
This coming spring we, the Singing Oaks Church of Christ, are going to take a retreat that will be all about R.E.S.T. Renewing the Experience of Sabbath Together. This experience is designed as a time of relaxation, rest and rejuvenation; a time where we get re-centered on God and refocused on being in Christ Community. We look forward to a time of communion, where we can experience simplicity, solitude, silence, prayer, and celebration. Save the date, March 12th-16th, and plan to join us in REST.
