A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, pt 1

I came across a sermon called A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, preached by Jeff Purswell at Covenant Life Church a while back (CJ was still senior pastor). I listened to it near the end of our family vacation this week and took over two pages of typed notes. It was a very good reminder to me, so I'm going to put notes up from his three main points in three separate blog posts. This sermon was the fourth in a series they did called Sanctifying the Ordinary: Sleep, work, food, leisure; Behind all that appears ordinary is an extraordinary God. I am interested in finding the other sermons as well.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Point One: The divine intention of leisure

• Components of leisure
• Rest and relaxation from the toils of life
• We are creatures; God is creator. We need rest. God doesn't need to rest. We need more than just sleep. We need rest from our toils and obligations of life that vie for our attention.
• Exodus 20:8
• God prescribes times where people halt productive activities. Life is not meant to consist of duties solely to produce. God provides us leisure as a gift, as a break from our work. He's created life to be a rhythm between work and leisure.
• Psalm 23:1-3 - "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...He restores my soul." Does that describe your life on Tuesday at 2:45 - green pastures, still waters, soul restored? Is your soul regularly restored or frenzied? Work is a gift and calling, but work in a fallen world is hard.
• It takes faith to rest, sometimes more than to work. It requires us to trust that when I'm not working, God is working. God remains at work. It's really an expression of humility and faith in God. We make a statement when we rest - "God, I refuse to trust in my labors. I know that my work is important, but ultimately all my labor comes from you anyway. I am dependent upon you, and I'm grateful for this rest." When you stop, you draw a circle around your creatureness. That kind of faith will bring rest to your souls.
• Enjoyment and celebration
• God commands us to be happy (Psalm 37:4, Psalm 16:11). God centered pleasure is not just available, but commanded. This is not just limited to "spiritual" activities. God's entire creation is given to us to enjoy.
• Deepening our awareness of and gratitude towards God
• The pause of leisure clears our minds. It allows for a realignment of our perspective. Severed from God, leisure is a mirage. It becomes empty and trivial. It only leaves someone with a craving for more leisure. But our awareness of God and enjoyment of our leisure is enhanced when centered on God.
• Especially in a culture like our's, leisure (like every other area) is not immune to our sinful tendencies.
• The Church has had really very little to say about leisure. And whenever the Church refuses to think about an area, it will inevitably end up imitating the culture in that area.

photo: Conestoga House and Gardens, 2010