Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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*God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen*
*December 26, 2004*
/(Happy Boxing Day – box up present don’t like but can’t return)/
Since the last time I was up here, my family has had a major *addition*.
Sarah Joy was born on Friday, Dec. 3rd.
I didn’t think it was possible, but she is just as beautiful as Grace.
· And no, I’m not getting any sleep.
*Q:* Who remembers the midnight feedings?
And 2 am? 4 am? 6 am?
Last week at 1:00 am, I had to change Sarah’s *diaper*.
Previous experience has taught me to place the *new* *diaper* under the baby *first*.
As I reached for the wipes, I *heard* it.
· There’s no polite way to put this: Newborns don’t *poo*, they *explode*.
· After I *heard* it, I *felt* it, all over my leg.
And then I *saw* it – on *me*, the *floor*, the *wall*.
I stood there *admiring* her work.
I thought, “I should take a *picture* for sermon illustration.”
· But some sights better left unseen.
*Restful or stressful?
*
*Q:* How many of you traveled yesterday?
Our Christmas consisted of *getting* *up* early, driving to *Kent*, having *Dinener *with Marilyn’s family, watching kids *open* *gifts*, then *rushing* back to MV to have *dinner* with *my* *family*.
· It’s not that I didn’t have *fun* – it just wasn’t very *restful*.
*Q:* What do you associate with the holidays, *rest* or *stress*?
· “God *rest* ye merry gentleman!?” I’ll rest *after* the *holidays*!
The *pressure* begins the *last* *Wednesday* of November as my family prepares for *Thanksgiving*.
It steadily builds as we do our Christmas *shopping*, negotiate Christmas *parties*.
But it’s not over yet, we still have to make it past the gifts-*return* *lines* and the New Year’s Eve *party*.
· I’m having fun *most* of the time – except when I’m at *Walmart*.
It’s just so *stressful*.
Between the *holidays* and *no* *sleep* thing, I would love nothing more than a chance to *rest*.
· All I wanted for Christmas was a good night’s *sleep* – and I *didn’t* get it!
Sound familiar?
Would you like a *break*, an eye in the middle of the storm?
To be well *rested*, not just during the Christmas season, but *all* *year* long?
!
Sabbath rest
God has a lot to say about *rest*.
He *invented* the *weekend*.
When God *freed* the Israelites from grueling *slavery* in Egypt and gave them the Ten Commandments, *rule* *#4* instituted the weekend.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
*Six* days you *shall* *labor* and do all your work, but the *seventh* day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
On it you *shall* *not* do any work.... Exodus 20:8-10 NIV
Every *Saturday* – Sabbath – everyone *had* to rest.
Working through the weekend was a *capital* *offence*.
The day was to be spent *resting* and *worshiping* God.
· The Sabbath was a day to for Israel to *reflect* on how God set them *free* from slavery and *rest* in Him.
!
Sabbath now
But over the years, *legalism* *corrupted* Sabbath.
Laws *dictated* every aspect of their rest.
What was meant to be *blessing* had become another *bondage* that Jesus had to *free* His people from.
The Sabbath was made for *man*, not man for the *Sabbath*.
Mark 2:27 NIV
· Jesus taught that the Sabbath should be a day of *restoration*, not legalistic *bondage*.
*Q:* If the Sabbath on *Saturday* is a clear OT *command* and Jesus *embraced* it while *reforming* it, why don’t Christians do the same?
· Here is a short history lesson:
In Acts, the early church grew to include many *Gentiles* who didn’t *celebrate* *Sabbath*.
The Apostles debate whether Gentiles were obligated to *observe* *Jewish* laws, including Sabbath.
· They decide “no.”
One man considers one day *more* *sacred* than another; another man considers *every* *day* *alike*.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
/Romans 14:5 NIV/
And so believers were not *bound* to obey the OT Sabbath laws, but that did not mean that they *abandoned* a *day* of *worshiping* God.
The early church began meeting on *Sunday* instead of Saturday, in *honor* of the day that Jesus *rose* from the dead.
· Sunday was spent in *worship*, *teaching*, and *fellowship*.
· This was very important to the early church.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.... /Hebrews 10:25 NIV/
This *pattern* of worship on *Sunday* is what *we* follow today, but over the years Sundays have *lost* the aspect of *rest*.
*Q:* How many parents would classify their Sunday mornings as “*restful*?”
*Q:* How many of you got in a *fight* on the way here?
*My personal Sabbath*
At many points in my life, I have tried to understand how to *apply* OT *principles* of Sabbath to my life in a *24~/7* *culture*.
As an adult, I don’t think I’ve *ever* consistently had *Sundays* *off*.
· I *still* work on Sundays!
When I was in *college* I really struggled with this.
As a *full*-*time* *student* putting myself through college, I was always in *class*, *working*, or *studying*.
Sunday was a *prime* homework day and I didn’t feel *guilty* about it.
I knew my *theology* and *church* *history*, that I’m not *bound* to *OT* *laws*.
But that was the *wrong* *way* of looking at it.
· When God gives a command, it’s for our *benefit* and *well-being*.
· The *principles* of a Sabbath rest are *still* *valid*.
I took a look at my routine: I never *really* took time off for rest.
Instead, I *wasted* time *here* and *there*, felt *guilty* but never was *refreshed*.
So I tried an *experiment*:
I *made* myself take a *set* *amount* of time off each week, *guilt*-*free*.
It wasn’t on *Sunday* and it wasn’t a *full* *day*, but it was *consistent*.
No *work*, no *studying*, just *enjoyable* activities.
· The result: I *felt* better and got *more* done.
*Principles of rest*
Since then, I have made a point of learning what it means to *rest* and how to take my own “*Sabbath*,” even if I can’t take a full day off.
Here’s five *principles* I’ve learned.
They’re *not* *exhaustive*, but I hope you’ll find them helpful.
The goal is to find *rest*, even in the *daily* *grind*, *Christmas* season, or life with a *newborn*.
· Read these *out* *loud* and give a *big* *breath* when you say “rest.”
*1.
**Rest should express dependency on God*
By *requiring* Israel to take a day off, God *demonstrated* that she was *dependant* upon Him for *everything*.
To make this clear, God also required Israel to take every seventh *year* off.
But in the seventh *year* the land is to have a sabbath of rest... *Do* *not* *reap* what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines.
...
You may ask, “*What* will we eat in the *seventh* *year* if we do not plant or harvest our crops?”
*I* will *send* *you* such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for *three* *years*.
/Leviticus 25:4-5; 20-21 NIV /
Rest reminds us that we *cannot* do *everything*.
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