Daniel Akin (from left), president of Southeastern Seminary, moderated a panel discussion on Sabbath rest at the North Carolina campus featuring Matthew Sleeth of the Blessed Earth creation care organization; Mark Liederbach, seminary dean of students and professor of theology, ethics and culture; and Larry Trotter, pastor of the local North Wake Church in Wake Forest, N.C.
Photo by Maria Estes
In a “Sabbath Rest and Flourishing” conference, the importance of finding rest in a 24/7 world was set forth at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The two-day conference at the North Carolina campus was held in partnership with Blessed Earth, an organization dedicated to serving God and caring for His creation.
Matthew Sleeth, Blessed Earth’s executive director, was the keynote speaker amid five learning sessions, musical worship, discussion time and videos from the “Sabbath Living” curriculum developed by Sleeth.
Sleeth, a former emergency room physician, recounted that he came to faith in his late 40s after years of “practicing the American religion, which is to have a good life; be successful; live in a good neighborhood; pay your bills; get more.”
Not long after becoming a Christian, Sleeth said his children “began to come to church with me to humor me” and “eventually all my family became followers of the Lord.”
As he read through the Bible, Sleeth began to see the importance of the Sabbath day, and the family soon began keeping a Sabbath.
Remembering the Sabbath is not only one of the Ten Commandments, but it is deeply connected to many of the others, Sleeth noted.
When Christians go to church, they are acknowledging God’s lordship and praising His name, he said. When families share a meal and spend time together, they are honoring their father and mother and protecting the marriage against adultery.
“A great thing about Sabbath that can’t be explained but can only be experienced is that by keeping it the Lord grows stronger in me,” he said. “That is a great thing.”
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SOURCE: Baptist Press
Maria Estes
