With an upcoming sermon series about Sabbath and rest, I was thinking ahead to summer and a phrase “Dog days of summer” came to mind. At
least, I think that’s what the phrase is, so I decided to Google it.

“The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer… Connected with heat, drought, sudden  thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs and bad luck.” – Wikipedia

Okay, I clearly had no idea what the entirety of that phrase meant… I really thought it was about dogs laying around all day and relaxing. 🙂 Relaxing — that’s where I really wanted to go with this. Typically when we think about summer, there is some hint of resting. The school year takes a break, certain seasons of ministry break for the summer, activities and groups that run with the school year break. There is a natural flow and rhythm to the year—a clear start, a clear finish, and a time of rest. A season for activity and a season for rest.

God has prescribed a season for activity (6 days a week) and a season for rest (1 day). In my church background, I think we viewed the Sabbath more legalistic, like an acceptable list of do’s and don’ts (don’t mow your lawn, don’t work in the fields, do attend church in the morning and evening, do take a nap). Most church cultures have relaxed from this quite a bit, but we still don’t have a great grasp of what/how/when to Sabbath and what God is asking of us. I have questions about the do’s and don’t that are still unresolved in my heart. Questions like..Should my kids still be playing baseball tournaments? Or is that being legalistic? Can I skip church and take the family camping? Or is that legalistic?

Do you have questions as well? I’m kind of excited to dive into this next series and see what kind of answers I can find!

Leah
Director of Worship & Media