Ask your young people what they’re most looking forward to over the summer.
- Are you most excited about the people? The activities? The place?
- What will be most restful? How many lie-ins are you planning?
Discuss what ‘rest’ means for each young person. For some it will involve resting their brain, others will prefer physical relaxation, while others will find strenuous physical activity restful because it is fun and different from normal life. Read Exodus 20:8-11 and ask:
- Does anyone ever have one day off a week where they do nothing?
- What’s the reason behind ‘observing a Sabbath’?
- Is it as important as all the other Ten Commandments?
Read Mark 2:23-28
- Is the idea of a Sabbath out-dated?
- Is Jesus implying we don’t need to rest?
- Why is it so hard to do nothing one day a week?
Say that Jews observe the Sabbath is on a Saturday. In Biblical times there were extra laws in place to stop people accidently working on the Sabbath and therefore breaking the commandment. Christians tend to celebrate the Sabbath on Sundays. There were a number of reasons for this change but it would also have reminded early Christians of Jesus rising from the dead (Sunday is the day most commonly attributed to the resurrection). Ask:
- Is it important which day we celebrate the Sabbath?
- Should we be better at protecting our rest time?
Explain that doctors have found connections with stress and many medical conditions. Relaxing even lowers your risk of catching a cold and can boost your memory! (For more advantages of relaxation click here.)
Discuss:
- What is a perfect day off?
- What makes you feel most relaxed?
- Will you be able to do any of these things over the summer?
- Can you build any of this in to your normal term-time routine?
Read Psalm 127:2 and discuss how important sleep is to each of your young people. According to the Great British Sleep Survey 2012, most people are kept awake by a ‘racing mind’ at some point in their lives. Ask your group:
- Do you resonate with this?
- Do you think you get enough sleep? If not, how can you ensure you get more?
Pray for good rest over the summer holidays so that they can come back refreshed excited about the new term.
