This study guide is meant to be used as a simple tool to help your small group dive deeper into God’s word, nurture conversation, and draw your group nearer to Christ. As a leader, begin your group in prayer by asking the Holy Spirit to lead your discussion.

From your expereince, what are the keys to developing a friendship?

Our calendar follows a number of cycles which are based on astronomical patterns:

• Day The time it takes for the Earth to revolve on its axis.
• Month Approximately the time it takes for the Moon to orbit around the Earth.
• Year The time it take for the Earth to orbit around the Sun.

However, our calendar also follows the seven-day week, which does not match any astronomical cycle.

THE ORIGIN OF THE SEVEN-DAY WEEK AND THE SABBATH

The Bible tells us our seven-day week came from the beginning of time when God created this world. It says:

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” Exodus 20:11

God finished the Creation week by resting on the Sabbath:

“So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” Genesis 2:1-3

He then invites us to join Him in keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest:

‘Remember to observe the Sabbath, keeping it Holy.’ Exodus 20.8

God desires to spend time with us every week because He loves us. He has special blessings He wants to give to us during the Sabbath. God is inviting us to enter His divine rest on the Sabbath—the day that He has chosen.

1 THE MESSAGE OF THE SABBATH
The message of the Sabbath is:

• Our value as people is based on our relationship with God as our Creator and His love for us.
• The Sabbath celebrates that we are saved by our faith and trust in Jesus. Ephesians 2:8-10
• We cannot make ourselves holy and spiritually pure—this is God’s supernatural work in our lives. Exodus 31:12,13
• Jesus is inviting us to come to Him to find rest and peace. Matthew 11:28-30
• Jesus rested in the tomb on Sabbath

2 IDENTIFYING THE SABBATH
The Sabbath starts at sunset on Friday evening and continues until sunset on Saturday evening. We know this because:

• Days in the Bible are defined as starting in the evening and then being followed by day, in other words from sunset to sunset. Genesis 1:5, Leviticus 23:32, Mark 1:32
• The Jews have been consistently keeping the Sabbath for thousands of years.
• Saturday is called the “Sabbath” in many languages, including Spanish (Sabado), Italian (Sabato), Russian (Subbota) and Arabic (Sabt).
• There is historical evidence that Jesus died on Friday, was buried in the tomb on Sabbath and rose back to life on Sunday morning.

3 JESUS’ EXAMPLE
The best way to discover what the Sabbath concept is like, is to learn from Jesus’ example:

• Jesus spent time exploring the Bible on the Sabbath. Luke 4:16-21
• He joined His local worship community on Sabbath. Luke 4:16
• He healed people on Sabbath and set them free from illness and demonic possession. Luke 4:31-37, Luke 6:6-11, John Chapters 5 & 9
• Jesus rested in the tomb on Sabbath after finishing His work of salvation on the Cross. John 19:28-42,
The Desire of Ages Chapter 80: “In Joseph’s Tomb”.

4 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR ENJOYING THE SABBATH
You can enjoy the Sabbath in the following ways:

• 1 Develop developing your relationship with God by reading the Bible and prayer.
• 2 Worship God with other Sabbath-keeping Christians at church.
• 3 Enjoy spending time in nature- God’s beautiful creation.
• 4 Share the story of Jesus with people who are far away from God.
• 5 Serve the needy in your community.