More Than Rest
About 3 minutes are missing at minute 18:09 due to technical difficulties. The missing minutes are available in the audio recording.
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Tim Chang
Sermon Series: Sabbath
Luke 13:10-17 (ESV)
1 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Sermon Outline
Why do we need the Sabbath?
1. We need the Sabbath to notice things we would otherwise not notice
v. 10: Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
v. 12: When Jesus saw her, he called her over
2. We need the Sabbath to remind ourselves that we are not God
v. 12: When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.
v. 14: But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.
v. 14: But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
3. We need the Sabbath to give us hope
v. 15: “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
John 16:33: I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, you have given us the Sabbath as a gift to rest, to see the world and ourselves more rightly, and to hope for the restoration of all things. But instead of receiving the Sabbath as a gift, we receive it as a threat. We do not want to slow down and acknowledge the broken things of the world. We do not want to admit our limits and inabilities. Jesus, help us to receive and follow the Sabbath as a gift and as your mercy to us. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What connected with you from the sermon or the passage?
Describe the challenges you face to follow and observe the Sabbath.
If the Sabbath allows us to see and notice the broken things around us, what specific things is Jesus inviting you to see?
In what ways do you find Jesus threatening? Are there any particular teachings that you find difficult to embrace and follow?
The Sabbath reminds us that we are not God. How do you see this as a threat? How might you see this as God’s mercy?
Have there been times when you felt nearer to Jesus when you acknowledged your limits and inabilities?
The Sabbath points us to a greater hope that is coming. What are you trusting Jesus for in recent times? How does the Sabbath help you to hope well?
What do you sense God calling you to do from this passage?