Robert Willhoft, PhD

Rest - Living at peace with God, ourselves, and our world

Lenten Study - February 18 to March 24, 2024

 

Almost everyone is busy – many times too busy. Work, whether in the marketplace or the home, seems to demand so much of our time and our strength. Even on our days off from work, we find them filled with activities – our calendars are overflowing. Sometimes even our worship and Bible study times seem rushed. We focus on being efficient – making the most of our time. The pattern given in Scripture is very different than this. We are called to Sabbath, not as a day of doing nothing, but as a lifestyle of resting in God’s provision for us. 

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Topics (Click the heading for the readings for that week):

• February 18: Rest from work - Work is a gift from God, but even God rested from His work on the 7th day. We will think about how to view work and rest from a Biblical perspective. We will look broadly at work, not just employment, but the duties of our days.

• February 25: Rest from busyness - Even Jesus took many times to get away from the crowd. We will look at the importance of times of silence, prayer, and contemplation. We will explore how fasting and solitude can help in this pursuit. How do we say “no” to the good to pursue the best?

• March 3: Rest from acquiring - We all know that our lives do not consist of the abundance of things.  However, the stuff of this world dominates our lives. We will use God’s guidance in the Scripture to help us find rest from acquiring, especially through living lives of generosity.

• March 10: Rest for our mind - The narrative of the Bible is full of music, especially the Psalms. This week we will take a break from our studies to rest our minds and feed our spirits with one of the Concert Series. The readings will help us contemplate the role of music in having us rest in God. 

• March 17: Rest from distractions - We live in a world that demands our attention all the time. The Bible doesn’t specifically talk about the two great distractions of our time - television and social media - but does give great wisdom in separating ourselves from the distractions of this world.

• March 24: Rest from concerns - Many studies show that anxiety is increasing in our lives. By resting in God the Scripture gives us a way to deal with our anxious times. As we learn to trust God and his provisions in our lives we will indeed find the “rest for our souls” that the writer of Hebrews talks about. 

 

Format:

• This is not going to be a book study. Rather we will be using a devotional guide with five Scripture readings and thoughts for the week before each Sunday study.

• We will meet from about 6 to 7:15 on Sunday evenings (except for 3/10 when there is a concert). We will have a short time of quieting our hearts with some music each week. 

• We will then discuss the thoughts that came out of the readings for the week. Our focus will not be on finding “rules” that we can follow but on exploring, on a personal level, how God through his Word can lead us into His rest.

• The study will be available live on Zoom, contact Rob Willhoft for the link.