Midtown Presbyterian Church
Midtown Presbyterian Church
Midtown Presbyterian Church
Keeping The Pace of God | A Day unto the Lord - Exod 20:8-11; Lev 23:3 - Gayle Parker
32 minutes Posted Sep 20, 2026 at 11:06 pm.
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What if the Sabbath is less about what we stop doing and more about who we turn toward as we pause? That question sits at the heart of this week's message, which draws from the fourth commandment in Exodus 20 and the call to holy convocation in Leviticus 23. Both passages make the same declaration: the seventh day is not merely a break in the weekly rhythm but a day unto the Lord. There is a world of difference between a day off and a day set apart for God, and that difference changes everything about how we approach rest. We live in a culture that measures worth by productivity, and the anxiety that comes with that pressure is real. The commandment to cease work was given to a people freshly freed from the relentless grind of slavery, and it was given so they would never drift back into that bondage. The same invitation stands for us today. When we stop, we are not just recovering energy for the next workweek. We are declaring that we are not slaves to our output, our fears, or what others think of us. We are beloved children of a God whose love for us exceeds anything we could earn. That declaration, made one day every seven, has the power to reshape how we see ourselves and how we move through the other six days.