Plugged In
A Sabbath Rest Lesson
Object: You will need an old cell phone that's completely dead, but will still
recharge.
(Show old phone)
What are the benefits of having a cell phone? (Receive answers.) It keeps us in touch with friends and family, helps us find directions when we’re lost, stores information and pictures, plays music, is a calculator, it does so many things to help us!
Today, we're talking about remembering the Sabbath Day and what it means to rest.
I haven’t used this old phone in years. It's been "resting" a long time! Let’s see if it turns on. (Attempt to turn it on) I wonder why it doesn’t work? Anyone know why?
(Receive answers)
Yes, it needs to be plugged in, it needs recharging! But this old phone has rested so long, I’m not sure it will ever turn on again! Let’s give it a try. (Plug in to
an outlet)
Yay! It is charging. However, the battery will eventually run down again. I could allow it to rest to conserve energy. But that will only work for so long. So what must I do to keep it going? Yes, plug it back into a power source
on a regular basis to recharge the battery. And you know what? God gave us the fourth commandment for a similar reason!
The fourth commandment says: “Remember the Sabbath day. Keep it holy” Exodus 20:8.
This commandment tells us to keep the Sabbath day holy. The Sabbath day refers to the seventh day of creation when God
rested, that is he stopped creating. Sabbath, "Shabbat," in Hebrew
means, "to rest." Holy means pure and set apart, which means the Sabbath day is to be “set apart” as a special day of
rest.
Can you name some of the ways we rest? (Receive answers.)
The kind of rest this commandment refers to isn’t any kind of rest, such as sleeping in late, watching television, going to the beach, or lying around doing nothing. No, we need the kind of rest that “plugs” us into our power source, Jesus! When we set apart a special day to
worship God, and to rest from our everyday work activities, only then are we fully recharged for the week ahead. Sadly, there are people who
are like our old phone. They have gone a very long time resting without a power source. But there’s only one way to truly renew our lives, and that’s by being plugged into God!
When Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, a religious ruler looked to accuse him
of breaking God's law. However, Jesus asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the
Sabbath? If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath" (Matthew 12:10-12). Jesus understood that keeping the Sabbath also had to do with rescuing, not just resting.
Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday and rescued us from eternal death. This is why most Christians today celebrate the Sabbath on a Sunday, rather than on a Saturday. The Bible also tells us that there is coming an eternal Sabbath day (Hebrews 4:9), when God’s children, those who have asked Jesus to be their Savior and Forever Friend, will live with him in eternity.
The rest of this Sabbath Day lesson*, with special activities, are available when you purchase
God’s Top Ten Bible
lessons.
Copyright 2023 S.A. Keith
*This lesson has been adapted for use.
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