The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone fact of the Christian faith. If Christ rose from the dead, it’s all true. If He didn’t, it’s not. Because Christ’s resurrection is so central, sometimes we take it for granted and this causes us to forget some of its implications. Christ’s resurrection has several ramifications that all bring even greater meaning and hope to our life. Today we’ll see two of them.

Praying before a meal can easily become a meaningless habit. In fact, it can become so habitual it just doesn’t feel right to start eating before someone has prayed. And ironically, that happens even though the prayer said is just routine and maybe even ritualistic. Today we’ll look at one of the feasts that Israel was to observe that reminds us of just what it is we are doing when we pray before we eat.

Today we look at the Sabbath. What really was behind this command to take a day off every week? Although the requirement to "keep the sabbath" is not a requirement for God's people on this side of the cross of Christ, there are some principles and promises that are more than worth remembering.

Old Testament priests represented the people to God AND God’s holiness to the

people. God’s guidelines of holiness applied to every area of life. Some of these

standards are understandable, but frankly, some are not. As believers living on this side of the cross of Christ, we are not under these specific standards. They were part of the Old Covenant. They are vastly different from the specifics of the New Covenant, the Covenant we are under. Our mandate, however, is still the same: Practical, personal holiness as determined by God.