Sabbath School Study Hour

This week we look briefly into the life of the man after God’s own heart to find out how he discovered the true cost of God’s rest.

The Roots of Restlessness

Though it’s always easy to be critical of church leadership, at any level, how much better would our church and our own spiritual life be if, instead of complaining, we would intercede in behalf of our leaders even when we disagree with them?

Acknowledging Jesus as the Lord of our lives also involves taking seriously our responsibility to make time to rest. After all, the Sabbath commandment isn’t merely a suggestion. It is a commandment!

Why should we feel joy? What is it about the covenant that should free us from the burden of guilt? What does it mean to have a new heart?

Why must salvation be a gift? Why could only Someone equal with God ransom our souls? How can we make the promises and hope found in the Cross our own?

The old covenant-sacrificial system was replaced by the new; instead of animals being sacrificed by sinful priests in an earthly sanctuary, we now have Jesus, our perfect Sacrifice. He represents us before the Father in the sanctuary in heaven, which forms the basis of the new covenant and its promises.

The “new covenant” is, in a sense, a “renewed covenant.” It is the completion, or the fulfillment, of the first one.

Where does the Sabbath have it origins? What evidence proves that the Sabbath existed before Sinai? What makes the Sabbath such an appropriate covenant sign?

God’s law was an integral part of the covenant. Yet, it was a true covenant of grace. Grace, however, never nullifies the need for law. On the contrary, law is a means by which grace is manifested and expressed in the life of those who receive grace.