Let’s start with something I’ve noticed: for some reason, I must have a sign on my back that says, “Talk religion with me.”
The other day I sat next to a fella in a little restaurant in town. We ordered our food, and before long he started telling me about his “spiritual journey.” He said he was piecing it together from different places. “I’ve got some New Age stuff,” he said, “a little from the Watchtower, some I read in the Deseret News, and I sprinkle in a few Confucius says quotes I found on Google.”
I couldn’t help but smile, but inside I was thinking: That’s your whole foundation for life? He had built his faith like a plate at Golden Corral — a little here, a little there, whatever looked tasty at the moment. A mishmash of confused religio-babble.
And let me tell you, nobody’s building a cathedral to that kind of feckless faith. You’ll never get a martyr or a saint out of a pile of Confucius quotes from Google. Nobody goes to the stake for a plate of religious leftovers. That kind of buffet faith doesn’t hold you in a storm. It doesn’t bring rest now or hope then.
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Smorgasbord Christianity
The truth is, we’ve turned Christianity into a buffet line. We’re smorgasbord Christians, worshipping at the Great Golden Corral Church in the sky. A little grace here, a little prosperity there, skip the broccoli of obedience, and pile on the dessert of blessings.
And some of us are what I call Cheasters — Christians on Easter and Christmas. Twice a year, out come the lilies and poinsettias, and we show up at church like it’s a holiday buffet. But faith isn’t meant to be seasonal. God didn’t say, “I’ll meet you twice a year.” He said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” A weekly anchor, not a twice-a-year cameo.
And when it comes to the Sabbath, others say, “Well, the Jews had their day, and we’ve got ours. Isn’t it nice that everybody gets to pick?”
But friends, that’s not Christianity — that’s Festivus. Remember Seinfeld? George Costanza’s dad made up his own holiday — “A Festivus for the rest of us.” It was funny on TV, but it’s tragic when we treat God’s holy time like that. “A Sabbath for the rest of us — pick whichever day you like.”
God isn’t running a buffet or inviting us to invent Festivus. He gave us His day, blessed at Creation, confirmed at Sinai, honored by Jesus, and preserved into eternity.
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“Remember,” Not “Discover”
And listen carefully to the language in Exodus 20. God didn’t say, “Discover the Sabbath.” He didn’t say, “Pick a day.” He said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
But how do you “remember” something brand new? You don’t. The word itself points backward — back to Creation, where God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Sinai didn’t invent the Sabbath; Sinai reminded God’s people not to forget what was already given.
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Pharaoh’s Complaint
Even Pharaoh, a pagan king, knew about Sabbath. When Moses asked him to let Israel go worship in the wilderness, Pharaoh snapped, “You make them rest from their labor” (Exodus 5:5). The Hebrew word for “rest” is shabat. Pharaoh wasn’t confused. He knew what Israel was asking for.
How? Because God’s people had already been keeping Sabbath, even under slavery. Think about Joseph, the faithful son of Jacob, rising to power in Egypt.
Don’t you think he carried the Sabbath rhythm with him, taught by his father? Pharaoh might not have liked it, but he recognized it when Moses asked.
The Sabbath wasn’t new. It was ancient — stamped at Creation, remembered by the patriarchs, and confirmed at Sinai.
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Try That on Your Anniversary
Now, people say, “But the day doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s the thought that counts.”
Well, try that on your wife the next time your anniversary rolls around. “Sweetheart, I know it’s the 12th, but I decided the 14th works better for me. It’s the thought that counts!” See how far that gets you.
Dates matter when love is real. If God set aside a day as holy, then saying “any day will do” is like saying love is optional. It misses the point entirely.
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Muslims, Fridays, and Buffets
And if we go down that road, where do we stop? Muslims gather for Friday prayers. So is Friday now Sabbath too?
Do we end up with three Sabbaths — Friday for one group, Sunday for another, Saturday for a few? If everybody just picks their own, then Sabbath means nothing at all.
God didn’t say, “Remember a day.” He said, “Remember the seventh day.” It’s not pick-and-choose. It’s covenant love.
And don’t forget — Friday already has its place. Scripture calls it Preparation Day. Jesus honored it when He finished redemption on Friday and rested in the tomb on Sabbath. Friday mattered, but it wasn’t Sabbath. God’s rhythm was clear.
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No Cathedral to Confusion
That’s why all these smorgasbord approaches — Golden Corral spirituality, Cheasters, Festivus holidays, buffet Sabbaths — can’t hold a candle to God’s clear word.
Nobody lays down their life for a confused mishmash. No martyr, no saint, no cathedral rises to celebrate self-made faith.
But when God speaks, people anchor their lives on it. They build their weeks on it. They go to the stake for it. Because it’s not just a day — it’s a covenant, a sign, a living sermon of the gospel itself.
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Sabbath Rest Now
So what do we do with this day God has blessed? What does it mean in practice to remember the Sabbath?
Some think it’s about what you can’t do. Don’t run. Don’t shop. Don’t cook. Don’t, don’t, don’t. But when Jesus stepped onto the scene, He blew that picture wide open.
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Jesus: Lord of the Sabbath
In Mark 2:27–28, Jesus said: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath wasn’t designed to be a cage; it was designed to be a gift. It wasn’t made to be a burden; it was made to be a blessing.
When the Pharisees scolded Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, He asked them a simple question: “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4). And then He restored a man’s withered hand right in front of them.
Jesus showed that Sabbath is a day for liberation, not limitation. It’s not about policing behavior; it’s about proclaiming freedom.
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Rest in Creation, Redemption, and Re-creation
The Sabbath sermon has three chapters, and each one points us to Jesus.
1. Creation Rest. Genesis 2:1–3 says, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work.” The first Sabbath wasn’t Israel’s invention; it was God’s celebration. The Creator Himself paused, not because He was tired, but because He was satisfied. He looked at His world and said, “It is very good.”
2. Redemption Rest. In Deuteronomy 5, the Sabbath commandment is linked not to Creation but to deliverance: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out… therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15). Sabbath is God’s way of saying, “You’re not slaves anymore. You don’t belong to Pharaoh. You belong to Me.”
3. Re-creation Rest. Hebrews 4 picks it up and points forward: “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:9–10). Sabbath is a preview of eternity — a day that whispers of the new creation when all striving will cease and all things will be made new.
So every Sabbath is really three sermons in one:
Creation: God is our Maker.
Redemption: God is our Deliverer.
Re-creation: God is our Coming King.
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The Cross and the Tomb
And don’t miss how Jesus Himself tied the Sabbath to the gospel.
On Friday He cried, “It is finished.” Redemption was complete. On Sabbath He rested in the tomb, His work done. On Sunday He rose again, the firstfruits of a new creation.
Think about that rhythm: Finished on Friday. Rested on Sabbath. Raised on Sunday.
The Sabbath isn’t an interruption of the gospel; it’s the gospel embodied in time.
That’s why Hebrews 4:3 says, “We who have believed enter that rest.”
The Sabbath is not about earning. It’s about receiving. It’s about resting in what Jesus has already accomplished.
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Rest from Striving
And here’s where it gets practical. The Sabbath isn’t just a change of schedule; it’s a change of posture.
Our culture glorifies hustle. Work longer. Push harder. Sleep less. We wear busyness like a badge of honor. But God built into the week a rhythm that says, “Stop. Rest. You are not a machine. You are Mine.”
And even deeper: “Stop trying to save yourself. Rest in the finished work of Christ. You are not your own redeemer. You are Mine.”
The Sabbath is a weekly reminder that salvation is not do, but done. It’s not achieve, but receive.
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A Living Testimony
That’s why Sabbath-keeping has always been countercultural. In the ancient world, slaves didn’t get days off. Israel stood out. They stopped work every seventh day, not because they were lazy, but because they trusted their God to provide.
In our modern world, Sabbath still stands out. We live in a 24/7 society. Stores never close. Phones never sleep. And yet, once a week, God’s people pause. We stop producing. We step off the treadmill.
We say, “My worth isn’t in what I earn. My identity isn’t in what I produce. My hope isn’t in what I can manage. It’s in Christ alone.”
That is a testimony the world desperately needs.
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Sabbath and Jesus’ Invitation
Now listen again to Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28–30: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
That’s Sabbath in a nutshell. Not just physical rest, but soul rest. Not just a day off, but a life anchored in Christ.
Sabbath is God’s way of writing that invitation into our calendars. Every week, He calls us to step away from striving and step into His rest.
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Sabbath as Covenant, Not Custom
So don’t let anyone tell you Sabbath is negotiable, just a nice tradition for one group of people. It’s covenant, not custom.
It was etched in stone at Sinai, not penciled into a planner. It was practiced by Jesus, not discarded by Him. And it is pictured in Revelation, where God’s people are described as those who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).
The Sabbath is God’s seal of belonging. It marks us as His — not because we’re trying to earn anything, but because we are resting in everything Christ has already done.
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Hope of the Second Coming
Jesus promised in John 14:2–3, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.”
That’s the heartbeat of Christian hope. The Bible doesn’t describe history spiraling into chaos without resolution. It describes a personal Savior who will return visibly, audibly, climactically.
Paul painted the picture in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.”
That’s not poetry; that’s promise. The same Jesus who walked Galilee will walk into human history again. The reunion of heaven and earth is certain.
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Rest Now, Reunion Then
Put Sabbath and Second Coming together, and you see God’s rhythm.
Every week we stop working and rest in what Christ has finished.
At the end of history God will stop the world’s striving and bring it into His eternal rest.
The Sabbath is a miniature rehearsal for the Second Coming. Every seventh day we step into a foretaste of eternity, a down payment on the promise that Jesus is coming again.
That’s why Hebrews 4 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.” Every Sabbath now points to the ultimate Sabbath then — the day when Christ’s people will be gathered from every nation, the day when graves will break open, the day when sin and sorrow will be no more.
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Way, Truth, and Life
Let’s bring back the triads we’ve been weaving through this series.
Faith in the past. We look back to the cross and say, “It is finished.”
Hope in the future. We look forward to the Second Coming and say, “It will be glorious.”
Love in the present. We abide in Christ today and let His life flow through us.
Or as Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The Way anchors us in what God has done. The Truth secures what He will do. The Life pulses in us here and now.
And the Sabbath ties all three together. It remembers the Way of Creation. It declares the Truth of Redemption. It promises the Life of re-creation.
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Reunion Stories
Let’s get personal for a moment. Have you ever longed for reunion? For a face you miss, a voice you ache to hear again?
Some of you know the pain of standing at a graveside. You’ve said goodbye to a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend. You’ve walked away with tears on your face and an ache in your heart.
The Bible doesn’t deny that pain. It names it. It calls death an enemy. But it also calls death a sleep. Why? Because sleep has a morning. Sleep has a waking up.
That’s the hope of the Second Coming. It’s not pie in the sky; it’s reunion on God’s calendar.
Every Sabbath you keep is a whisper of that reunion. Every seventh day you taste a bit of the rest God has promised will one day fill the universe.
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Living Between Now and Then
So how do we live between rest now and reunion then?
We live transparently. Because judgment is already settled at the cross, we don’t need to hide. We can be honest about our flaws, knowing Christ is our righteousness.
We live patiently. Because Sabbath slows us down every week, we learn to trust God’s timing. We don’t have to panic about tomorrow.
We live hopefully. Because we know reunion is certain, we face loss differently. Grief still comes, but not as despair. We say with Paul, “We do not grieve as those who have no hope.”
And we live missionally. Because the everlasting gospel must go to every nation, tribe, language, and people, Sabbath-keepers should be the most compassionate, outward-looking people on earth. We’re not here to hoard truth; we’re here to share hope.
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The Greatest Is Love
And here’s the clincher. Paul says, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Why? Because faith will one day become sight. Hope will one day be fulfilled. But love never ends.
And not our shaky love for God, but God’s steadfast love for us. That’s what Sabbath proclaims every week: not “Look how much I love God,” but “Look how much God loves me — enough to create me, redeem me, and promise to re-create me.”
That’s what the Second Coming will reveal to the whole universe: love wins. Justice is vindicated. Mercy is eternal. The story ends in reunion.
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Call to Rest and Reunion
So let me ask you: are you resting now in Christ? Not just taking a day off, but surrendering your striving, your guilt, your fear — and laying it at the cross?
And are you living with reunion in view? Are you anchoring your life in the promise that the trumpet will sound, graves will open, and Jesus will call His children home?
That’s the gospel rhythm: rest now, reunion then.
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Preview of Next Week
Next Sabbath we’ll step into the final message of this series: The Final Call.
We’ll look at the Three Angels’ Messages and the truth about death and resurrection.
Together they form God’s last great invitation: the everlasting gospel, true worship, freedom from deception, and the hope of eternal life.
But it all flows from here: the gospel first, God’s open courtroom, and now reunion — rest now, hope then, love forever.
