Seismic Shifts
Session 6 “From Rushing to Slowing”
RBW (inspired from “seismic shifts” book)
+ Congregational Reading:
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
+Pass out Dominoes
+ Video “Be Still” 1 (3.5mins)
+ Candle lighting Cue #1 (Rick and Sue Crass)
Turn to: + Isaiah 30:15 (NIV)
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
How important is this seismic shift? Crucial if we’re going to become imitators of God who demonstrated the act of resting.
+ Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV)
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Likewise in Isaiah it says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation…”
In Exodus, God command that we slow down!
+ Video “Be Still” 2 with Dr. Henry Cloud – author of boundaries (2mins)
+ Candle lighting Cue #2 (Ron and Mary / Mikey and Renee)
So was the Sabbath meant for Just Israel? I don’t think so. We need to slow down probably more than any other generation. We start to rest and the cell phone rings. We start to enjoy a moment of contemplation and prayer and our minds rush to the todo list and the tasks at hand.
Be Still and Know that He is God. Psa 46:10. BE STILL…
This is not just for others… it’s for you, for me… for us.
Listen to Beth Moore’s words on this topic: + Video #3 (2.5mins)
This shift builds on the last shift of Monologue to Dialogue… But, we must become still to hear the other side of the conversation.
+ Candle lighting Cue #3 (Karen / Will / Bobby)
So we slow down. We schedule a day just for God. This used to be called “Shabot” “the Sabbath) The day where we rest from all other activity and devote our time to slowing down before God.
Before we join together to take communion this morning, let’s take a moment to watch and listen to a special song taken from Psalm 46:10… “Be Still and Know that I am God.”
+Video – Be Still 4
Communion and last candles lit.
After Communion:
+God wants us to learn to slow down.
Stand and repeat:
+ “Lord, please teach me to be still and know that You are God.”
