The Sabbath

Oct 20, 2019 | Pastor's Message

Recently, a question was placed before me:
                                                                     Image result for sabbath
What did God do to rest on the first Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3)  Certainly, God did not watch football or golf or anything like that.   As I have turned this over in my mind, I’v thought about how Sabbath is a time set apart to be renewed in our relationships, and in our body and soul.  Maybe I am getting older and nostalgic, but the Sunday dinners at my grandparents’ with aunts, uncles and cousins have taken on extra meaning. It was a time of learning who I am as a part of this family, and what we value and understand about the world around us.  That same relationship building happens now among friends and family.  

Sabbath is a time of deepening our relationship with God in worship, prayer and praise.  Setting aside time to join with others to worship God helps us to know what we believe, and to let go of work to make God a focus helps us to remember that we are not meant for the earth, but we are only passing through.  We are creatures meant for eternity with God, and Sabbath keeping helps us know the ins and outs of being God’s people. 
     
 I am not always able to designate Sunday as Sabbath; so for me and my family, Sabbath can happen at other times.   For example, we spent last Saturday among family and friends pulling off peanuts, washing them, blanching them and freezing them.   Peanuts grow on the root of the plant, so we sat around a huge pile of plants, and we told stories of old times and new days, while the Carolina game played in the background.  In our shared efforts and memories, we were bound together.  

For me, it was a time to just be.   There was no to-do list, just time to be.  It was good and there was holiness there. Sabbath values of being together show up when we have dinner together, when we take walks together, when we play UNO, and when we just sit around.  Sabbath is there when we pray together, laugh and cry together.  

In our Thursday Morning Men’s Grow Group, we were encouraged to explore the wonder of growing in relationships together and how that leads to growing closer to God.  I pray for you time to just be, to enjoy the people God has placed in your life, and to rejoice in the glory of God all around us.

Faithfully, 

Pastor Scarlett

PS.  We need volunteers!

For the Fall Festival

Contact   Anna Henry  FallFestival@surfsideumc.org   or 843-790-4108


For Soundboard in traditional service

Contact Pastor Scarlett     shester@surfsideumc.org    

For Choir and or Handbells

Contact Glynis Hopkins or Sherri Boschen
ghopkins@surfsideumc.org    sboschen@surfsideumc.org

For the Pumpkin Patch

Contact Ashlee Johnson     ajohnson@surfsideumc.org 

 

For Trunk or Treat   

Contact Ashlee Johnson    ajohnson@surfsideumc.org   

 

For liturgists for Traditional worship

Contact Pastor Scarlett      shester@surfsideumc.org    

 

For communion server at Traditional Worship

Contact Pastor Scarlett     shester@surfsideumc.org    

 

For Communion server at Wave

Contact Pastor Laura   lwhitt@surfsideumc.org 

 

For Hospitality

Contact Anna Henry  annamhenry@gmail.com 

 

For Chair Set up in Wave

Contact Pastor Laura   lwhitt@surfsideumc.org 

 

To assist with Christmas Eve worship (readers and servers)

Contact Pastor Scarlett or Pastor Laura
shester@surfsideumc.org     lwhitt@surfsideumc.org