Faith Habits: Sabbath

In this first message of the year, Pastor Jo launches a series on “faith habits” by exploring the practice of Sabbath and why it still matters today. Beginning with the experience of New Year busyness and chronic exhaustion, he names the deep longing we all have for moments when “everything is as it should be” and shows how Sabbath is God’s invitation into that kind of rest.Tracing Sabbath through Scripture, Jo looks at:Exodus 20 & Deuteronomy 5 where God gives Israel a weekly day of rest as former slaves, teaching them to stop thinking like slaves and remember they are people made in God’s image. Sabbath becomes an act of holy defiance against any power that tries to own their time or worth.Genesis 2 where God himself works for six days and then rests, blessing the seventh day and making it holy. Sabbath is built into the rhythm of creation, not as dead inactivity, but as a space for refreshment, delight and remembering who God is.The Gospels (Mark 2) where Jesus confronts religious legalism that has turned Sabbath into another slave driver. He reminds the people that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” and declares himself Lord of the Sabbath, restoring it as a life‑giving gift rather than a crushing rule.Hebrews 4 and the wider biblical story, where God’s ongoing Sabbath rest points to the coming kingdom where everything will finally be made right. Jo describes Sabbath as a kind of “time travel”, a weekly foretaste of the new creation where God’s rule of peace, joy and restoration is fully revealed.Along the way, Jo names the “modern slave drivers” that still own our attention and energy: relentless work, financial pressure, addiction, the need to prove ourselves, constant digital connection and the inner voice that says we are never enough. Into that reality, Sabbath becomes an act of resistance and subversion, a way of saying that the world’s agendas are not in charge and our value does not come from what we produce.Practically, the message encourages:Intentionally creating a regular Sabbath rhythm, not as a rigid set of 613 rules, but as a gift‑shaped dayof rest, worship and relationshipMaking space to remember who God is, who we are in him, and how he has brought us to where we areSimple, grounded practices such as unhurried meals, time with loved ones, walking, being in creation, and activities that allow our head, heart and body to be present to God togetherLetting Sabbath be a “great leveller”, where everyone is welcome, status fades and all receive the same invitation to restThe message culminates in an invitation from Matthew 11 to trade the heavy yokes of our culture for the easy yoke of Jesus. Jo prays for listeners to lay their burdens at Jesus’ feet, to receive his rest, and to rediscover the joy of the Lord as their strength in a tired and weary world.Bible passages referenced in this message:Genesis 2:1–3Exodus 20:8–11Deuteronomy 5:12–151 Samuel (David and the bread of the Presence, as referenced by Jesus)Mark 2:23–28Hebrews 4:1–11Matthew 11:28–30Nehemiah 8:10  CONNECT WITH RIVERLIFE CHURCH HERE ATInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/riverlifebaptistchurchFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiverlifeBaptistChurchWebsite: https://riverlifechurch.org.au