Horizon Bible Study

Celebrating Sabbath: Accepting God’s Gift of Rest and Delight

By Carol M. Bechtel

Suggestions for Leaders by Laura Mariko Cheifetz

Welcome to the 2022–2023 Presbyterian Women/Horizons Bible study, Celebrating Sabbath: Accepting God’s Gift of Rest and Delight.

In the nine lessons of this Bible study—with passages from Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Matthew, Luke, and Acts—we’ll consider Sabbath

as a celebration, not a day of dreary formality
as God’s intent for all of creation that includes busy women too
as one day of the week, perhaps a Sunday
as a time to surrender unhealthy striving and frantic busyness, and instead trust that God will provide
as a reminder that life is precious and working too much is against God’s plans for our precious lives
as a day devoted to community and justice and not exclusively to self-care.

Ultimately, Sabbath reminds us to honor God who honors us by giving us a day each week to reset our pace, our priorities, and our lives.

Other Celebrating Sabbath Resources

Horizon Bible Study: 2021-2022

What My Grandmothers Taught Me: Learning from the Women in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus

By Merryl Blair

Suggestions for Leaders by Magdalena I. García

Welcome to the 2021–2022 Presbyterian Women/Horizons Bible study, What My Grandmothers Taught Me: Learning from the Women in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus.

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary—Matthew names these women for a reason. How might Jesus have heard the stories of his grandmothers? What might the young Jesus have felt as he heard about his family? What might the stories of these women have added to his sense of identity, as part of a particular family in a particular time and place?

Have you thought about Jesus’ grandmothers? What can these Grandmothers-of-the-Faith teach us? Their stories will lead us into the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ. By exploring these stories together, we will have a richer idea of what the good news is.

Merryl Blair teaches at Stirling Theological School in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is active in the worldwide ministry of women of faith.