Not Just Any Time

Exodus 20:1–17 & Luke 6:1–11 What if rest isn't time wasted—but time made holy? We measure our lives in hours, days, years, deadlines, appointments, and accomplishments. But Scripture invites us into another experience of time: Sabbath. In this sermon, Rev. Dr. Lewis Galloway explores Sabbath as far more than a day governed by religious rules. Rooted in both creation and liberation, Sabbath reminds us that there is more to life than what we produce and that our worth does not depend upon what we accomplish. We stop our labor to create "breathing room so that God may labor in us." Sabbath also remembers freedom. Just as Israel was commanded to remember its liberation from slavery, Sabbath invites us to recognize the forms of bondage that still hold human lives—poverty, addiction, despair, anxiety, regret, obsession, and the relentless pressure to do more. Jesus reminds us that Sabbath isn't meant to diminish life, but to enhance it. It is time for worship, relationship, compassion, healing, joy, and renewal. And perhaps Sabbath isn't simply something we practice individually. Perhaps we can become a community that offers that same rest and freedom to others. Sacred time. Holy time. Sabbath time. A different way of living every moment within the grace of God's time. Preached by Rev. Dr. Lewis Galloway at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on September 6, 2026.