Keep the Sabbath Holy 2008 Challenge

Sui Topi

New Member
Okay, I'll admit, after sabbath lunch, I sleep away big chunk of the sabbath. This year, my resolve is to REALLY honor the sabbath as we are directed. No more pleasure seeking, and indulging in self. So the question is....Who's with me!

HOW TO KEEP THE SABBATH

What are we to remember to do on the Sabbath day? "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Exodus 20:8.

What makes the Sabbath day holy? "Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:11.

What is it that makes something holy? God’s presence in it. (See Exodus 3:5; 29:43-46; Joshua 5:13-15.) "In order to keep the Sabbath day holy, men must themselves be holy" Desire of Ages, 283. We must have God’s presence within.

When, according to the Bible, does a day begin? "And the evening and the morning were the first day." "And the evening and the morning were the second day." Genesis 1:5, 8, "For even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath." Leviticus 23:32. (Evening signified sunset.)

When are we to do our own work? "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." Exodus 20:9. NOTE: All through the week the keeping holy of the Sabbath day is to be remembered. No business plans or contracts are to be made which will interfere with keeping the Sabbath holy. The Sabbath commandment includes more than merely keeping one day holy, but encompasses holy living throughout the week. The commandment should be obeyed throughout the week and the Sabbath kept when it comes.

How does the Lord indicate whose work we are to do on the Sabbath? "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it." Isaiah 58:13, 14. NOTE: Whether the Sabbath becomes a delight or a burden depends upon the spirit with which a man meets it. Indeed, the spirit of the man settles the question as to the benefits to come from any duty he may perform. It should be noted that the Sabbath is not to be a day of inactivity, but we are to do God’s work on the Sabbath and our work during the rest of the week.

What is the Sabbath a sign of? "Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God." Ezekiel 20:20.

What does the "psalm for the Sabbath day" suggest as proper acts and themes for thought and meditation on the Sabbath? "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High: to shew forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For Thou, Lord, has made me glad through Thy work." Psalm 92:1-4.

What do the works of God declare? "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19:1-3. NOTE: God designed that the Sabbath should direct the minds of men to His created works, and through these to Him as the Creator. Nature itself speaks to our senses, telling us that there is a God, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the universe. The Sabbath, ever pointing to God through nature, was designed to keep the Creator constantly in mind.

Was the Sabbath designed to be a day for public worship? "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation." Leviticus 23:3. NOTE: It was Christ’s practice to worship at the synagogue (or church) every Sabbath. (See Luke 4:16.)

Besides attending church, what else did Jesus do on the Sabbath? "And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes." John 9:14. NOTE: Acts of mercy are proper on the Sabbath, for this is God’s work. Many of Jesus’ miracles were performed on the Sabbath.

What day is especially indicated as the day to prepare for the Sabbath? "And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man." Exodus 16:22. NOTE: The Sabbath should not be a day of either ordinary labor, idleness or amusement, but one of rest, reflection, holy joy, worship and helpfulness. It should be the happiest, the brightest and the best of all the week. Such it should be made for young and old. Very early the children can be taught the stories of creation and redemption, and taken with Him through nature. Preparation for the Sabbath, therefore, is an essential to its proper observance. God’s blessing is upon the first moments of the Sabbath as well as upon the last; and, as far as possible, everything should be made ready so that the entire day may be devoted to God and humanity.

In the new Covenant, where does God want the Sabbath commandment to be written? "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them." Hebrews 10:16.

This year, I want to fill my Sabbath day with meditating on, and filling my body with the bread of life...Gods' word.
 

caribgirl

Well-Known Member
Awesome post Sui Topi!!! I keep the Sabbath day but I fall short on getting prepared for Sabbath evening (Fri. night). I need to be more organized and consistent for '08!
 

divya

Well-Known Member
Count me in! My goal is to keep all of God's commandments this year and beyond. I started off living on my own for the first time this past summer, and began law school this year. I was doing my very best keeping the Sabbath, and then I began falling repeatedly. It happened so gradually and it's scary how sin works. After listening to the sermon by Pastor Wright this past Saturday after Sabbath, it brought tears to my eyes. Loving God means keeping His commandments, and I want to keep the Sabbath holy.

Thank you for this thread! Let's encourage each other. :)
 

mimi

New Member
Definitely count me in! Lately I find myself getting easily destracted from God's rest and its causing a tension in our relationship, so I really need to stay focused.
 

kgard7777

New Member
Same here I am in! Can you provide some activities we can do on Sabbath to keep us focused other than church of course. That is my biggest challenge finding things for the family to stay focused on other than sleep after church :)
 

Sui Topi

New Member
hmm im trying to figure that myself...I'm going to start with reading up on the bible...some Ellen G White too...listen to semons...etc
 

divya

Well-Known Member
Same here I am in! Can you provide some activities we can do on Sabbath to keep us focused other than church of course. That is my biggest challenge finding things for the familyto stay focused on other than sleep after church :)

I'm assuming you probably have children. If so, are they all old enough to walk a bit? One thing that my parents and a few other families did when we were growing up was take us to the park and let us enjoy nature. I believe you can get a pass that lasts for a few days so that you will not have to pay entrance on Sabbath. We would go in the nature center to see different animals (hold the snakes etc.) and then we would eat and take a hike to a nice area where we would have Bible study. So depending on where you live, it may be an option.
 

Sui Topi

New Member
I'm assuming you probably have children. If so, are they all old enough to walk a bit? One thing that my parents and a few other families did when we were growing up was take us to the park and let us enjoy nature. I believe you can get a pass that lasts for a few days so that you will not have to pay entrance on Sabbath. We would go in the nature center to see different animals (hold the snakes etc.) and then we would eat and take a hike to a nice area where we would have Bible study. So depending on where you live, it may be an option.

once it warms up a bit we're planning to do that with our son too. We would go walking through the park and read some Mrs. White while I was pregnant..it was really nice
 

divya

Well-Known Member
Happy Sabbath Ladies! I would like to share this sermon with you regarding the Sabbath. On the slides there are many verses here that are helpful in witnessing to others about the Sabbath and also acknowledgments of the 7th-day Sabbath by leaders of other Sunday-worshiping groups of the Sabbath. It encourages us not be judgmental of those who worship on Sunday but to lovingly tell them about the Sabbath.

Henry Wright - The Sabbath in the New Testament- 1/12/2008
http://www.cpcsda.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=25405

God bless you all and please pray for me and my walk with Christ.
 

good2uuuu

New Member
I'm in! I tell you, you can really become lax, especially if you are a PK, as I am. I told myself that I would do better, especially for the sake of the kids. One thing we are working on and getting better at is getting to Sabbath school at a decent time. After church is the issue. I really want to work on making it a special time for the family.
 

tffy2004

New Member
This is such a great thread, I know I haven't posted in a while but here I am anyway.

Family has been keeping the Sabbath since about September of last year, and honestly it just feels so good to honor and obey Gods word.

We have a two and three year old and the way we keep them busy is with painting and doing jigsaw puzzles with them. My mom bought them a bedtime Bible that we read to them out of and sometimes we even let them read to us. You ladies should see it, its so cute:grin:

What my husband and I do is during the week every now and then we will stop on TBN and see what they are talking about and then we will do a Bible study on the Sabbath on that subject to see what the Word says on that subject. We have a NIV Bible and a KJV Bible and one that we don't know what version it is, the cover is missing :yep: in the NIV there is a small concordance so if we are studying the Sabbath for example it gives us all the scriptures that contain the word Sabbath.
 

dicapr

Well-Known Member
I don't know how I missed this! I am in. I need help on Sabbath evenings in the summer-I get board and start rushing the sun down. I am going to try to find some activities to fill the long hours.
 

seraphim712

Well-Known Member
My df and I are trying to keep the Sabbath holy as well. I understand that we have no right to judge the Sunday worshipers, but why is it when the Sabbath is brought up in conversation or question, many get defensive about it?
 

divya

Well-Known Member
I don't know how I missed this! I am in. I need help on Sabbath evenings in the summer-I get board and start rushing the sun down. I am going to try to find some activities to fill the long hours.

How active is your church on Sabbath afternoons? I feel like if we go back to the old Sabbath activities that we will find that it is less of a struggle and we will really love Sabbath so much more. We need more potlucks at each other's homes, Bible studies, feeding the homeless, afternoons in the park, and AYS etc. If you are SDA, do you go to AYS?
 

divya

Well-Known Member
My df and I are trying to keep the Sabbath holy as well. I understand that we have no right to judge the Sunday worshipers, but why is it when the Sabbath is brought up in conversation or question, many get defensive about it?

Because so many cases people really are sincere, and it's not easy to hear that something you've been doing for so long is not in accordance with the Word of God.
 

divya

Well-Known Member
Folks get defensive about a lot of things. I am a Sunday worshiper and am not bothered about how others feel about the day I choose to worship. I only answer to God and we have a close enough relationship that if I am not obeying Him, He will correct me. He hasn't in over 10 years so I am good. Have a great weekend ladies. Q

Thanks for sharing. It really does depend on the individual...
 

GV-NA-GI-TLV-GE-I

New Member
Besides attending church, what else did Jesus do on the Sabbath? "And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes." John 9:14. NOTE: Acts of mercy are proper on the Sabbath, for this is God’s work. Many of Jesus’ miracles were performed on the Sabbath.
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Most likely Jesus would have attended synagogue:grin:. What else would Jesus have probably done other than worship? Eat and rest.
 
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