A SA B B AT H R E S T

FIELD
GUIDE
Y O U R G U I D E T O C E L E B R AT I N G
4 0 D AY S O F S A B B AT H AT
FREEDOM FELLOWSHIP

2 0 16

Introduction

and then God rested.

He rested from all His work so that He could be with
His creation, Adam. Together they walked through the
Garden in the fresh light of a newborn world. It was literally
paradise, until the story, as you know, went downhill.
Rest is something we were created to do. It is not a ceasing
from any and all work, but a position of the heart that trusts
the hands of the Provider, the Healer, the Savior. There is a
longing within all of us to return to that place of peace deep
within our hearts, and because of Jesus, we can find that
once again.
However, even as believers we can struggle to feel that
peace that is so often promised in Gods Word. We have
responsibilities, jobs to perform, families to care for. All of
these are good things. There is no suggestion that they are
not. Even good things, however, can become a consuming
force which takes our focus off of the things which are most
important until we find ourselves walking under heavier
yokes all over again.
For many years now, our church has taken forty days
out of the year to intentionally stop and rest, focusing on
the gift of restored relationship with God and with others.
This year, we put together A Sabbath Rest Field Guide to
provide you with information about all the events of Sabbath,
as well as ideas for you and your friends and family to do
that promote being together.
There is no gift like the Sabbath in all the world, and it is
our desire that during these forty days you would come to
know the Giver of Sabbath better. It is also our hope that you
would experience the joy of closer relationships with those
around you.
h e r e w e r e s i x d ay s o f c r e at i o n

No-Tech Tuesdays

If you have been at Freedom Fellowship Church for

previous Sabbaths, you are familiar with traditions such as
Blessing Mobs and Cafe Concerts. This year, we hope to
encourage the establishment of a new tradition.
It is no secret that technology has permeated our society.
We are connected to the entire world. Limitless amounts
of information and entertainment are at our fingertips
every moment of every day. Likewise, it is no secret that
this connected culture has a tendency to consume our daily
lives and even our relationships.
This year, we want to encourage you to observe five weeks
of tech-less Tuesday evenings. The television goes off and
the phones are put away. Connect with the people around
you and the world beyond your front door. There are good
things about technology, but it can never replace the power
of face-time with God and with others.
Here is the fun part. For five weeks, challenge yourself
and your friends or familiy to find something to do without
technology every Tuesday night. Throughout this Field
Guide you will find lists of examples and suggestions
of activities. You will also find challenges to take your
activities a step further by involving the community around
you. These are in no way mandatory lists. They are there to
serve as inspiration. Get creative! Do what your friends or
family love to do together.
Now, because Sabbath is about being with others, we can
share our No-Tech Tuesdays with the rest of our church
family. If you would like to contribute to the collection of
these moments. Simply snap a photo, upload it to social
media on Wednesday and use the hashtag #notechtuesdays.
After you have taken a photo, put the phone back in your
pocket and enjoy the gift of Sabbath unplugged.

July 04

READ DAY 04 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

INDEPENDENCE DAY
while this may not be an official Sabbath Month Celebration
of Freedom Fellowship Church, it seems only fitting that
we begin by celebrating freedom together. After all, God
established Sabbath to remind the Israelites that they were
once slaves in Egypt. It was only after God used Moses to
miraculously deliver them from bondage that He decreed
the Sabbath be honored.
Sabbath is not just a day of the week, or even forty days out
of the year. It is a lifestyle of trusting in God to be the provider
He promised He would be and remembering the freedom He
purchased for us through Jesus. As we celebrate freedom
from tyrannical, earthly politicians, let us remember the
freedom we have from a tyrannical, spiritual overlord, and
the victory Jesus won for us.

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
Watching fireworks is a great way to spend an evening
together, especially when you invite friends to watch it
with you. Grab some neighbors and friends, your favorite
summer snack, and enjoy celebrating the land of the free
and the home of the brave.

July 05

READ DAY 05 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

NO-TECH TUESDAY
today is the first No-Tech Tuesday of our forty days of
Sabbath. Use today to establish a fun, new tradition. Below
are some ideas to help get you started, and there will be other
options listed each Tuesday throughout the Field Guide.
Remember, the idea is to unplug and to be with God and
with other people. Here are some ideas:

TAKE A WALK
COOK SMORES
BOARD GAMES
START A BOOK

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
Sharing this tech-less time with your friends and family
is critically important, but we can also take it a step further
and engage the community around us. For instance, if you
want to cook Smores, invite your neighbors. Whether over a
grill or a campfire, Smores are a delicious way to enjoy being
together. Hint: Smores are even more delicious with peanut
butter cups instead of chocolate bars. Just a suggestion.

A BOOK IS
A DEVICE TO
IGNITE THE
IMAGINATION.
- ALAN BENNETT

July 09

THREE PRAYER TARGETS FOR FASTING AND

PRAYER ON SATURDAY, JULY 9

READ DAY 09 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

MORNING PRAYER
Choose a time between 7 and 9am to pray for the following:

DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
-Isaiah 68:6
are
dedicated times of seeking our Father. Fasting is the act of
sacrificing our physical wants and needs while spending
time in prayer. It is one of the corporate activities that the
Bible encourages the church to walk in.
For many, fasting seems extreme and foreign, but it
is actually a common part of the history of the church.
Mentioned over seventy times in the Bible, it is the physical
denial of the body while submitting to God in prayer.
During our Sabbath, Freedom Fellowship will have a day
of fasting and prayer on Saturday, July 9th. Begin now to
read and study about this important, but often neglected,
discipline. The following day, Sunday, July 10th, will be a
day of rejoicing and worship in our service following the
day of fasting.
Mark your calendar now and prioritize this weekend of
fasting and worship during our Sabbath season.
one of the most important activities of our sabbath season

Listening and obeying Gods Word: Read Joshua 24:15;

Psalm 91

Pray for personal repentance and surrender,

commitment and dedication to Christs lordship and
control, obedience to His Word, transformation, serving
and following.

Pray for family needs: healing of family relationships,

seeing the needs in others first, salvation of family
members, seeking first His Kingdom.

Pray Colossians 1:9-11: We do not cease to pray for you,

and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding...
NOON PRAYER
Choose a time between 11am and 1pm to pray for the following:
Pray for neighbors within four houses of your own.

Pray for schools in the neighborhood as well as those

family members attend.
Pray for the businesses where employed.
Pray for the city government of New Braunfels.
EVENING PRAYER5PM IN THE SANCTUARY
All church prayer meeting.
Pray for the Church:

Fig. A

Repentance and humility before God.

Unity, wisdom in these darkening days, removing idols

and the false sense of security that the world offers.
Pray for the nation.
Warfare against the forces of evil.

A. Hands folded in prayer

Pray against the dark deception that is blinding the

eyes of both the lost and believers.
Petitions for God to have mercy and send revival.

July 12

READ DAY 12 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

NO-TECH TUESDAY
today is the second No-Tech Tuesday of our forty days of
Sabbath. Use today to establish a fun, new tradition. Below
are some ideas to help get you started, and there will be other
options listed each Tuesday throughout the Field Guide.
Remember, the idea is to unplug and to be with God and
with other people. Here are some ideas:

GO ON A PICNIC
BUILD A FORT IN THE LIVING ROOM
IDENTIFY CONSTELLATIONS
HAVE A CRAFT NIGHT

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
Sharing this tech-less time with your friends and family
is critically important, but we can also take it a step further
and engage the community around us. For instance, if you
go on a picnic, invite your friends from church, neighbors,
or co-workers to go with you. Get to know them. Play games.
Enter their world with no agenda other than to just spend
time with them.

GOD
WRITES
THE
GOSPEL
NOT IN
THE BIBLE
ALONE,
BUT ALSO
ON TREES,
AND
IN THE
FLOWERS
AND
CLOUDS
AND
STARS.
-MARTIN
LUTHER

July 19

READ DAY 19 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

BLESSING MOB: CHICK-FIL-A

w e a l l l i k e c h i c k - f i l - a , p r o b a b ly e v e n l o v e i t . Like,
maybe you even considered starting a petition to open it
on Sundays, or to open one in our Cafe. Should we start
gathering twice as many chicken sandwiches on Saturday
in order to prepare for the Sabbath? Back to the point. Most
of us would be hard-pressed to find a single person who
would turn down an Original Chicken Sandwich. For a few
years now, it has been a Sabbath tradition for everyone who
calls Freedom Fellowship Church home to bless Chick-fil-A
with our business.
Delicious food and fellowship are great, but they are
simply a by-product of the real reason for these blessing
mobs. The Sabbath has been given to us to glorify God.
The Lord said, It is a sign between me and them that they
might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them (Ezekiel
20:12). When we all show up to Chick-fil-A on July 19th,
we have an opportunity to show the employees and other
patrons the love of God by coming to eat with a smile, kind
words, and a readiness to be the Body of Christ in the world.
The best part of this is that it is so simple, and so delicious!

CHICK-FIL-A AT WESTPOINTE VILLAGE

1663 TX-46, NEW BRAUNFELS, TX 78132
TUESDAY, JULY 19TH
THE MAIN FOCUS WILL BE DINNER (6-8PM),
BUT THERE IS NO RULE THAT SAYS YOU
CANT GO MORE THAN ONCE, SO GRAB
SOME FRIENDS AND VISIT FOR BREAKFAST,
LUNCH AND/OR DINNER.

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
Make a family in your neighborhood an offer they cant
refuse. They will get to experience the love of Christ in the
most practical way possible.

LAUGHTER IS
BRIGHTEST IN THE
PLACE WHERE
FOOD IS.
-IRISH PROVERB

July 26

READ DAY 26 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

NO-TECH TUESDAY
today is the third No-Tech Tuesday of our forty days of
Sabbath. Use today to establish a fun, new tradition. Below
are some ideas to help get you started, and there will be other
options listed each Tuesday throughout the Field Guide.
Remember, the idea is to unplug and to be with God and
with other people. Here are some ideas:

WATER BALLOON FIGHT

PLAY IN THE SPRINKLERS
CAMP OUT IN THE BACKYARD
GET ICE CREAM/FROZEN YOGURT

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
Sharing this tech-less time with your friends and family
is critically important, but we can also take it a step further
and engage the community around us. For instance, if you
want to have a water balloon fight, invite your neighbors
to participate with you. Make it a game to see how many
neighbors you can include. You could end up getting a
neighborhood-wide water balloon fight going!

AD V EN TU R E,
WITH ALL ITS
R EQU IS ITE
D AN G ER AN D
WILD N ES S ,
I S A D EEPLY
S PIR ITU AL
LON G IN G
WR ITTEN IN TO
T H E S OU L OF
M AN .
-JOHN ELDREDGE

Aug. 02

READ DAY 33 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

NO-TECH TUESDAY
today is the fourth No-Tech Tuesday of our forty days of
Sabbath. Use today to establish a fun, new tradition. Below
are some ideas to help get you started, and there will be other
options listed each Tuesday throughout the Field Guide.
Remember, the idea is to unplug and to be with God and
with other people. Here are some ideas:

COOK BREAKFAST FOR DINNER

GO SWIMMING
WRITE A LETTER (WITH PEN AND PAPER)
START A PILLOW FIGHT

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
Sharing this tech-less time with your friends and family
is critically important, but we can also take it a step further
and engage the community around us. For instance, if you
write a letter, send it to your Africa New Life sponsor child,
or to a family member or friend who lives far away.

Aug. 09

READ DAY 40 IN
A SABBATH REST DEVOTIONAL

NO-TECH TUESDAY
today is the fifth and last No-Tech Tuesday of our forty
days of Sabbath. Use today to establish a fun, new tradition.
Below are some ideas to help get you started. Remember, the
idea is to unplug and to be with God and with other people.
Here are some ideas:

DO CRAFTS
PLAY A SPORT OUTDOORS
M A K E A S I D E WA L K C H A L K M A S T E R P I E C E
BUST OUT THE BUBBLE WANDS

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
Sharing this tech-less time with your friends and family
is critically important, but we can also take it a step further
and engage the community around us. For instance, if you
play a sport outdoors, get some friends or families from the
church to form a team together and play. You could also do
the same by inviting neighbors and their kids to play too.
Want some help breaking the ice if you dont know your
neighbors? Form teams that are a mix of people you know
from the church or work, and people you dont know. Its a
great, zero-pressure way to get to know them.

A LITTLE
NONSENSE
NOW AND
THEN, IS
CHERISHED
BY THE
WISEST MEN.
-ROALD DAHL

Aug. 12
CAFE CONCERT

If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have

fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
Being with other believers is an integral part of, walking
in the light. Introduce yourself to someone you dont yet
know in our congregation, even if you are new to Freedom
Fellowship yourself, and make plans to join them for this time
of fellowship. Many talented members of the congregation
will provide the musical backdrop for an evening of spending
time together under a Texas sky.
The Cafe Concert will start at 7:00pm and go til the cows
come home. They come home around 9:30pm, in case you
were wondering.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12TH
7:00PM IN THE COURTYARD
BRING A DESSERT TO SHARE

ENGAGE COMMUNITY
This is your chance to invite someone to experience the
community of the Body of Christ. The Cafe Concert is a
casual setting where people can relax, snack on sweet treats,
listen to great music, and enjoy each others company. So
knock on a neighbors door and invite them to come with you.

MUSIC
IS AN
AGREEABLE
HARMONY
FOR THE
HONOR
OF GOD
AND THE
PERMISSIBLE
DELIGHTS OF
THE SOUL.
-- JJ O
OH
HA
AN
NN
N SS EE B
BA
A SS TT II A
AN
N B
BA
AC
CH
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