Christian Churches of God
No. CB133_2
Lesson:
The Sabbath Days of the One
True God
(Edition 2.0 20090301-20210321)
In this lesson we will focus on the
seventh-day Sabbath and its how it extends to cover the seventh-year land
Sabbaths and the Jubilee system.
Christian Churches of God
E-mail: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright © 2009, 2021 Christian
Churches of God, ed. Wade Cox)
This paper may be freely copied and
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This
paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org
Lesson:
The Sabbaths of
the One True God
Goal:
For the children to learn the meaning of the Sabbath and its extension and implication in the Plan of God.
Objectives:
1. Children will be able to identify which day of the week is the Sabbath day.
2. Children will be able to identify which day
of the month is the New Moon and list how many New Moons there are in a year.
3. Children will identify the 7 High Days of the One True God.
4. Children will identify what we mean by pure undefiled religion
Resources:
The Ten
Commandments (No. CB17)
God’s Sacred Calendar (CB20)
Introduction to the Sacrifices and Offerings of Eloah (No.
CB119)
Memory
Verse:
Exodus 20:8-10: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it
holy. Six days you shall labor, and do
all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you
shall not do any work ...(RSV)
Format:
Open with prayer.
Lesson on the Sabbaths of the One True God.
Activity associated with the lesson.
Close with prayer.
Lesson:
1. Read through the paper The Sabbaths of the One True God (No. CB133) unless it is read as a sermonette with the children present.
2. Children’s questions are in bold. This is a general review of the material covered in the lesson.
Q1. Which of the Ten Commandments refers to the Sabbath day?
A. The fourth (Ex. 20:8). The first four commandments relate to God and how we worship God. This group is referred to as the First Great Commandment (Matt 22:38).
Q2. What day of the week is the Sabbath?
A. The Sabbath is on the 7th day of the week, Saturday (Ex. 20:9-10).
Q3. What are we supposed to do every Friday?
A. Prepare for the Sabbath (Ex. 16:23; Mk. 15:42).
Q4. When does the Sabbath start?
A. The Sabbath begins at dark on Friday evening (days start with the evening as shown in Gen. 1:5, 1:8, 1:13, 1:19, 1:23, 1:31; Sabbaths are evening to evening, Lev. 23:32; Neh. 13:19). Dark is about an hour after sunset and called End Evening Nautical Twilight (EENT).
Q5. When does the Sabbath end?
A. The Sabbath ends at dark (EENT) on Saturday evening.
Q6. What are some things we should not do on the Sabbath day?
A. Our regular job that we receive pay for, hire someone to work for us, pay money for services (Ex 16:23, Ex 20:10, Ex 31:15, Ex 35:3, Neh 10:31, Isa. 58:13). Just as God rested on the 7th day during creation, we rest from our work as well.(Gen. 2:2)
Q7. What are some things we can do on the Sabbath day?
A. Be with other likeminded people, enjoy time with our families, read/study the Bible, pray, sing to God, help others in need, enjoy God's creation (Ps. 92:1; Isa 56:2; Mat. 12:1, 12:11; Mk. 3:4, 6:2).
Q8. Can we cook meals and heat our homes on the Sabbath?
A. Yes, we can cook our meals and heat our homes. Exodus 35:3 says not to kindle a fire on the Sabbath. However, that is referring to a fire that you work with (commercial fire like a blacksmith).
Q9. True or False: As long as someone feels led by God, they can change things about the law of God, including changing the Sabbath to Sunday?
A. False. God’s law and His calendar do not change. (Mal. 3:6; Jas. 1:17).
Q10. From Matthew 5:17-18, what did Christ come to do?
A. He came to fulfil the Law, not to do away with it (Mat. 5:17-18).
Q11. In
each of the 7th years of the cycle, what are we commanded to do with
the land?
A. We should let the land rest (Lev. 25:4). We should not plant commercial crops during any of the 7th years.
Q12. What are we supposed to read in the 7th year?
A. Every 7th year we read the Law of God (Deut. 31:10-11). We read the Law during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Q13. What is forgiven in the 7th year?
A. Debts are forgiven (Neh. 10:31).
Q14. What is every 50th year in the cycle called?
A. The fiftieth year is called the Jubilee Year (Lev. 25:9). Just like we count 50 days to Pentecost we count 50 years to each of the Jubilees. 1998 was the beginning of the 120th Jubilee cycle since the closure of the Garden of Eden.
Q15. What are some
things that happen in the Jubilee Year?
A. The land is given a rest and land that has been purchased or rented out goes back to the original owners (Lev. 25:10-54).
Q16. How long is 1000 years like to God?
A. To God, 1000 years is like one day (2Pet. 3:8). That is why the 6,000 years in God’s plan relates to the first six days of the week and then the 1,000 year millennium relates to the Sabbath day.
Q17. True or False: When Christ is ruling the earth there will be no need for us to keep the Sabbath?
A. False (Isa. 66:23). We will continue to keep all of the Sabbaths, New Moons and Holy Days after the return of Jesus Christ.
Q18. True or False: During the Millennium if you do not keep the Sabbaths you will not get rain when you need it?
A. True (Zech. 14:16-19). This will be one way that God will demonstrate to mankind that we need to keep his Holy Days.
Q19. Who is responsible for keeping the Sabbath properly?
A. Each one of us. We keep God’s commandments because we love him. We can look forward to a day of rest each week and the blessings that come from keeping God’s Sabbath day holy.
Activity Options:
Electric current:
Directions: Give each child a balloon. Without God’s Holy Spirit/ air we are flat and nothing, an empty shell. Review how at times Eloah’s Holy Spirit is represented by air. Have the children blow up their balloon. When we have air/ Eloah’s Holy Spirit we are an example and observable to all. Like the balloon we can freely move around.
Have the child rub
the balloon on their arm to create the static electricity.
Get a thin stream
of water running and hold the staticy balloon close to the water.
Review the analogy
that the Holy Spirit is frequently represented by water in scripture. Explain
how the water/Holy Spirit can come to us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit since the Spirit wants to reside in a pleasant place
versus a place that is empty and/or filled with sin.
The water moves toward
the balloon because the balloon and the water have different electrical
charges. The water is more able to come into us.
As we obey God He
directs our thoughts. We should use the Sabbaths to always draw closer to God.
Supplies:
Balloons (one per
child); running water
Congregational
(or community) based service project:
Talk with the children about the importance of pure, undefiled religion and what that means. Put together a small project for the children so they can do something for others. This might include cards for church members that are sick or unable to attend services, cards for elderly or widowed members, or others that need encouragement. Help the children to learn that how they treat others helps show God’s love for us.
Jubilee
Counter
Activity: String together 50 beads in a repeating pattern which identifies the sabbath years and Jubilee year in a 50 year cycle. (You can also tie this to the count to Pentecost).
Give each child a two foot piece of string or yarn. You will need 1 purple bead to represent the jubilee, 7 blue beads to represent the Sabbath years and 42 white beads to represent the other years. Tie a knot or key ring on the end of the string and have the children start to assemble the counter starting with 6 white beads followed by a blue bead, repeat the pattern 7 times and then finish with the 50th bead which is purple and secure the string with a large knot.
Close with prayer.
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