priorities

Part 2 of the series, "Entering God's Rest" (July 2019). As developed in Part 1 of this series, Christians aren't required to observe the Sabbath in the ways Israel was in the Old Testament, but Hebrews 4 does encourage us to strive to enter into God's rest. This message suggests practical ways we can do so. Like the relief we felt when our parents pulled off the interstate on summer vacations to stop and regroup at a rest area, there are many rest areas we can enjoy with God as well. These rest areas are accessed by first detaching from our own works (or the things that pull us away from focusing on God as our Creator and Provider), and then attaching to the things of the Spirit. Disciplining ourselves to regularly pull off to the side of the road in our daily lives to rest in God will give us strength and purpose for life's journey.
Where do we find our stability and growth as Christians in the church? Most often, we'd say our stability and growth come from God. But in practice, we too often look for our main stability through human leaders and ministers. But as we see in Scripture, our chief foundation for stability and growth must come from Jesus Christ. And not just Christ, but from our faith and confession in the crucified and risen Christ. Only when our lives are founded upon the rock of this heavenly confession, can Christians ever hope to grow strong and prosper.