Preparing to Nourish Our Souls
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Sabbath
Exodus 16:13-30 (ESV)
13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
Sermon Outline
Why should we prepare for a day to feed our souls?
1. Bodies with Appetites
v15 “what is it?” “it is the bread the Lord has given you”
vv16-21 “…whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack” (v18)
v23 “… bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil… all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning“
2. Souls that Hunger
v26 “on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none”
v12 “then you shall know…”
3. Food that Gives Life
John 6:58 “whoever feeds on this bread will live forever”
v23 “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord”
v30 “so the people rested on the seventh day”
Prayer of Confession
Heavenly Father, you give life and all we need for life. We confess how little of our daily dependence we understand, and how little of your provision we recognize. We struggle with disordered appetites. We grumble against you while we reap the consequences of own foolishness. We have been calloused to the troubles we have caused others. We have muted our spiritual hunger. Rest in you has been a low priority. Forgive every sin. We remember Jesus, the true bread who came down from heaven; who gave his body for our bodies; who will raise up all who have received his grace. Nourish our souls as we remember Jesus with faith. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
Do you ever prepare for a day off? For vacation? If so, how? If not, why not?
What role does food preparation play in your life? How much time is spent in attaining the means to acquire it, prepare it, consume it?
What appetite do you have that is stronger or takes precedence over your appetite to eat? What do you desire most?
How do you struggle with contentment? What in your life do you feel you never have enough of?
Do you have a hunger for God? Is there a desire for more of God? How do you know?
If you had a full 24 hour period to focus only on loving God and loving people – on cultivating your soul – what would you do? What would you find difficult to do?
How does Jesus, the person, nourish our souls? What does it mean to “eat his body”? How are we to understand what he means in his call to trust him for eternal life, and to come alive and grow spiritually?
What can you do to free up time on Sundays for more intentional life with God?
What is an enjoyable thing you do to connect with God? How can you find a time every Sunday to do it?