In our last annual church meeting, the board presented the policy they developed around providing Sabbatical leave for our full time staff. In lieu of a sermon this week, we will be hearing from a panel of folks about what a Sabbatical is.
READ Leviticus 25:1-7 What strikes you about this passage? What makes you wonder?
What is a Sabbath? [hint: see Exodus 20:8-11]
Why might the instructions in this passage be agriculturally important, a healthy way to develop the land? Why might they be spiritually important, a healthy way to develop the people?
READ EZEKIEL 20:12 How might Sabbath be related to sanctification (that means to free from sin; purify)?
In the context of a year of attention on the Fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-25), how might you think about the symbolism that this passage could provide? [hint: how dependent is the harvest of fruit on the work of human hands?]
How might Sabbath be related to trust? How does your own practice of Sabbath give a sign of your dependence on God?