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Welcome, Sabbath!!
2 Narrators
Father
Mother
2 Children
Congregation
Props
2 loaves of Bread
Cloth to cover Bread and knife
Knife
Chalice
Cups for each family member
Salt shakers
Table with nice setting
Candlestick / Candles
Flowers
Grape Juice
Money box
$$
Beginning
Lights on platform off.
Narrator 1:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And on the 6th day he made man. He looked around and saw that everything was very good. Yet there was something that was missing. The world was fresh and new. No sin or evil was there. The birds, fish, and animals were contented. Adam finally had been united with Eve.
Congregation (on screen)
Genesis 1:28 (NKJV)
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Genesis 1:31 (NKJV)
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Narrator 1:
Yes, God saw that it was very good, but something was missing. In a perfect world, physically perfect, with perfect animals, and trees, and grass, and fish..... and mankind, something was missing.
Narrator 2:
God could have build a relationship into Adam and Eve when he created them. And to a certain extent he did. But getting something out of the box is never as much fun as making it. So God dipped into eternity and created time. Rest time. Relationship time. A monument in time. A monument that could not be painted, destroyed, twisted, moved around, or abolished.
Narrator 1:
God put his mark on invisible time, and performed the physical act of...... resting. We do not have the details of that first Sabbath. I wish we knew more about it. But that day was the first that Adam and Eve were together all day, and they spend the day resting with God.
The first full day of their lives was spent resting!! God was not tired. They were not tired. And I don't for a moment think that they sat around and did nothing. What does resting mean? What is the rest of the story?
Congregation:
Genesis 2:2-3 (NKJV)
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Narrator 2:
So what is so special about the Sabbath. We could examine many different facets of the Sabbath, but probably the most important is relationships. I cannot feature God making Adam and Eve, making a time of rest, and resting without being with them. I imagine that it was a time of intellectual, spiritual, and relational growth. I can see God telling them how the world was created, and how he made them in a special way, so that there would always be a special relationship between them. Perhaps he walked them through the garden, and perhaps on that first Sabbath, he described the simple rules of the garden. There is only one thing that is not yours. Stay away from that tree.
Narrator 1:
We know the story. That simple, easy, enjoyable time came to a sudden halt when they sinned and were banned from the garden. No longer was the relationship face to face. Sin had changed that. But God gave several ways to maintain that relationship, and one of those was a garden in time.
Narrator 2:
Today, we are going to look at some snapshots of how followers of God have tried to make that garden in time very special.
Congregation: (On screen)
Isaiah 58:13-14 (NKJV)
13 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day,And call the Sabbath a delight,The holy day of the LORD honorable,And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,Nor finding your own pleasure,Nor speaking your own words,
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Narrator 1:
This morning I want to visit a home of the faithful Israelite on a Friday evening. Quoting a Jewish author. "While Sabbath occurs on Friday evening and Saturday, it is more than simply another day of the week. It is a special day and we invest it with specialness. Friday and Saturday come automatically, but Shabbat takes place only when we make it happen. We prepare for Sabbath by the clothes we wear, by the meals we eat, by the lighting of Sabbath candles, and by chanting the Kiddush over wine to set apart this special time."
Narrator 2:
Every effort is made to make the Sabbath special. God gave some very specific instructions on Sabbath observance to the Israelites.
Congregation: (On Screen)
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (NKJV)
12 'Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Narrator 1:
Psalm 92:1-4 (NKJV)
1 A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD,And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night,
3 On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound.
4 For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
Narrator 2:
There is an ancient Jewish proverb. It goes like this. "The Jews do not keep the Sabbath. The Sabbath keeps the Jews."
If we as believers that the Sabbath day is a special day, might that proverb apply to us also? Can you imagine the Sabbath as a Garden of Eden in time? Can you see yourself coming into the sacred walls of the Sabbath which can protect us from the constant efforts to hijack our relationship with Jesus? Can you compare it to being able to partake of just a little of the tree of life? Can you imagine the peace in not working to promote your own agenda, and simply rest in His? Can you feel the sacredness of the Sabbath healing you from the hurts and sin-sickness that you experience as you walk through the rest of the week?
Narrator 1:
While it is true that there was legalism among some Jews in Sabbath observance, on the other hand we find many that relished the experience of Shabbat, or rest.
Narrator 2:
This morning we are going to visit a Jewish family as the Sabbath draws near.
Lights on platform on.
Family begins gathering around the table.
Father:
OK children, the Sabbath is about here. Are you ready to greet it?
Children (both)
Yes papa.
Mother:
The table is set, and the candles are ready to be lit. The matches are on the table.
Child 1: (boy)(to mother)
MMmmmm! I can smell the challot. I always love to smell the Sabbath bread. Can't wait to have a piece of it. It is so much fun to help you make it, but it is better to eat it.
Child 2:
I love to welcome the Sabbath Queen. I don't have to do any homework for 25 hours.
Father:
Yeah, but after that you need to dig in and finish that project. But let's not worry about it now. OK everyone, time to collect the screens. You can't really be peaceful waiting for the next text message.
Children:
Oh papa!!
Father:
Before we start we need to remember the poor. Who has the money box?
Child 1, boy:
I'll get it!
Father:
Who wants to put the money in tonight?
Both Children:
I do!
Father laughing:
OK, You both can put some in.
They finally sit down
Mother:
Come to the table children. It is time to light the candles.
Child 2 (Girl)
Momma, can I light the candles to welcome the Sabbath?
Mother:
OK. Each of you may light one.
Children:
Yeaa! Thanks mom.
Children light the candles with the help of mother, if needed.
It falls quiet around the table. Mother places a scarf over her head.
Mother closes her eyes and recites a blessing while waving her hands over the candles and touching her eyes several times.
Mother recites:
"Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us through Your mitzvot and commanded us to kindle the Shabbat candles."
All:
Amen
Father rises from chair and moves behind one of the children. Mother follows.
Father says:
Now is the time for the blessing of my precious children.
Father and mother (for son)
"May God make you as Ephraim and Menasseh."
Father and mother For daughter:
"May God make you as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah."
Father and mother
May Adonai bless you and care for you.
May the light of Adonai's countenance shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
May Adonai's countenance be lifted upon you and give you peace.
All of family: AMEN!
Child 1 boy:
Papa, why do we have two candles?
Father:
Our fathers were given the Sabbath commandment two times. One in Exodus and one in Deuteronomy. In Exodus our Lord tells us to remember the Sabbath day. In Deuteronomy He tells us to observe the Sabbath. In Exodus we are told the Sabbath reminds us of the creation. In Deuteronomy we are told to remember our deliverance from sin.
(Papa says to child 2)
Do you remember the Creation story?
Child 2 girl:
Yes, Papa. God made the world in 6 days. He made us on the 6th day, and then he celebrated all of his work by stopping to enjoy it. He rested, he blessed Shabbat, and he made it holy.
Father
Very good, my dear child.
Child 1 boy:
Papa, why do we cover the knife?
Father:
We cover the knife because on the Sabbath we do not want to dwell on anything that can harm or destroy. The servants of Yahwh desire peace, not destruction. For these sacred hours we put those things out of our minds to focus on our creator.
Congregation (on screen)
Psalm 101:3 (NKJV)
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away;It shall not cling to me.
Father:
OK, now it is time to bless the wine.
Father raises the cup holding it with the tips of his fingers pointing upwards. Everyone stands up.
(Looking at the candles)
Now the heavens and the earth were completed and all their host. And God completed on the seventh day His work that He did, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work that He did. And God blessed the seventh day and He hallowed it, for thereon He abstained from all His work that God created to do.
(Looking at the wine)
Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Praise to You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe who finding favor with us, sanctified us with righteousness. In love and favor, You made the holy Shabat our heritage as a reminder of the work of Creation. As first among our sacred days, it recalls the Exodus from Egypt. You chose us and set us apart from the peoples. In love and favor You have given us Your holy Shabbat as an inheritance.
(Everyone drinks some, sets cups down, and everyone but father sits down.)
Father uncovers the loaves and takes the loaves and holds them up repeating the blessing:
Our praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe,
Who brings forth bread from the earth.
Music interlude
Father slices the bread and begins passing it around. Then each sprinkles salt on their bread.
Child 1 boy
Papa, why do we salt the bread?
Father:
Well, there are several reasons. The Scriptures tell us that we earn our food by the sweat of our brows. Yet the Creator makes the grain to grow. Second, all of the sacrifices on the altar in Jerusalem were seasoned with salt. So it reminds us that in 6 days we work. It also reminds us that our lives are to be a sacrifice of love to others.
Narrator 2:
We invite the congregation to share in the eating of the bread at this time.
Interlude of music while all partake of the bread. Lights off on platform. Family leaves table.
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Narrator 1:
As the Sabbath progressed, the Jewish family continued to worship the Lord. Different areas and groups of Jews had some differences in exactly how the celebrated the Sabbath. For most, Synagogue was an important part of Sabbath. But the place was never as important as the fact of being enclosed and protected by the Sabbath. It became an important time for families to participate in true re-creation. To renew, establish, and strengthen the families. Age appropriate activities that involved the children, with the purpose of continually reminding them of who they were and who their God was, were encouraged. The most important part of Sabbath observance was in the family.
Mother comes back to table and lights candle.
Narrator 2:
Perhaps the service at the end of Shabbat said more about the Israelite's relationship with the Sabbath. Some of the Rabbi's taught that the Jews had an extra soul during the Sabbath hours. At the end of the Sabbath, that soul would have to be relinquished. Not only that, but the fact was that soon they would be back to the everyday toils of life. So this service was a bitter-sweet one. Not only was the Sabbath Queen departing, but the ordinariness of life was returning. Unless...
Narrator 1:
Unless some of the Sabbath blessing could be carried along with you through the week.
One Rabbi wrote: To revive us, because we've lost this extra soul, we smell spices at Havdalah, bringing some of the sweetness of the Shabbat with us into the week. The climax of the ritual is when the candle is doused in the wine, and we stand in the darkness of the new week. We cling to the Shabbat until the darkness reveals 3 stars. But the darkness is not one of hopelessness; it is a time when we confront the new week with a vision of what we must do to bring about a better world. We sing the song of the prophet Elijah, symbol of the messianic future - a time when the world will be perfected.
As Christians, we look forward to the Messiah setting up his eternal, benevolent kingdom where all righteousness dwells.
Music Songs of Messiah 14
Narrator 2:
Rest, worship and study are essential elements of Shabbat observance. The principle of Shabbat is to sanctify time. The whole of Shabbat is greater than the sum of its parts. It is more than lighting candles, drinking wine, or attending a service. The Creator made the Shabbat holy by setting it apart, making it distinctive, and differentiating it from the rest of our week. We sanctify Shabbat by setting it apart, making it distinctive, and differentiating it from the rest of our week. As Abraham Joshua Heschel has written: "Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time."
Narrator 1:
As Sabbath-observing Christians, we have a lot to learn from our Jewish forbears. Those who had a true love for the Sabbath can teach us a lot about now to celebrate that special time. Today we invite you to more deliberately and fully enter the Garden of Sabbath Time. Savor those special hours that you can spend with your Saviour and friend. Share with your children how many of the things that appear so important here and now, have little meaning in eternity. Show them,and yourself what a blessing it is to be a blessing to others. Begin to truly experience a piece of eternity with God right now every time you meet him in the SabbathGarden.
Congregation: (On screen)
Hebrews 4:10-11 (NKJV)
For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
Psalm 119:165 (NKJV)
Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.
Let us close by singing hymn # 388
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