Resources on the Practice of Sabbath

What does it mean to Sabbath?

Sabbath is God’s gift of repetitive and regular rest. It is given for our delight and communion with God. Time for being in the midst of a life of doing particularly characterizes the sabbath.

-to set apart one day a week for rest and worship of God.

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it….There remains, then a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.” (Hebrews 4:1,9-11)

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six Days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:8-10)

  • setting aside time for intimacy with God and others you love.
  • resting in God one day per week.
  • practicing restful activities: walks, picnics, afternoon nap, a phone visit with someone you love, tea or coffee with a friend, family time, games with your kids, love-making, etc.
  • letting go of things that stress you out for twenty-four hours.
  • letting the difficult conversations happen another day.
  • not developing a to-do list on your Sabbath.
  • refraining from competition that moves you into a bad place.
  • keeping company with Jesus.
  • freedom from the addiction to busyness, rush and hurry.
  • acknowledging your human limits and living within them.
  • honoring the way God created you by living a healthy and intentionally rested life.
  • living a weekly rhythm of rest followed by six days of work.
  • delighting in God, family, the seasons, meals and all good gifts of creation.
  • trusting God for all that you’re not doing or taking care of on your Sabbath.

Overview

By Matt Garcia
 
There’s only one commandment out of the ten commandments that many church cultures celebrate when we break it. You guessed it! The fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath. Why is that?
 
The Jewish understanding of sabbath embraced a special twenty-four hour period of rest once every seven days, which was set apart from the other days as holy. God’s “cease day” reminded them that they were no longer slaves that could never stop working. We can finally be known for human beings, not human doings. Sabbath reminded people that they were finite, and to honor these limitations was to honor the infinite God, who himself worked and rested.
 
Jewish sabbath began in the evening when the family set aside all the to-dos of the work week. As the lamps were lit, everyone settled into the evening calm of Shabbat.  Candles, blessings, food – it all represented delight and refreshment in the presence of God and each other.
 
Over the centuries as Christians have celebrated the seventh day together, the sin of legalism enters stage right. Legalism contorted the great gift of the day of shalom to force many believers in Jesus to cast it aside. Although this day has been abused in some circles to ironically force believers into the slavery of legalism, there is hope for restoration.
 
Yes, we don’t have to celebrate Sabbath. But we also don’t have to celebrate Christmas. If we view the seventh day as a gift from the Creator of the universe to delight and rest, then, of course we don’t have to practice it – we get to!
 
One way to make sure that we don’t abuse the Sabbath, is to make sure we understand it’s purpose. There are three actions we must adhere to in order to live into the fullness of Sabbath.
 

1. STOP so you can ruthlessly eliminate hurry.

2. REST so you can subversively resist the empire.

3. DELIGHT so you can fully recognize joy.

 
If we don’t stop, rest, or delight, then this is how we know we are not practicing it the right way. Does it mean we quit? Nope. It means we wait another 6 days to practice it again. Remember, it’s not about trying really hard, but training really hard.

“Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop. We do not stop when we are finished. We do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get though this stack of messages, or get out this report that is due tomorrow. We stop because it is time to stop.”

Wayne Muller

exercises

Plan

Consider things that would nourish you: worship, music, a nap, making love, walking, reading, playing with children, afternoon tea. Plan them spaciously into the day.

Gather and Discuss

Gather your family together to discuss how to arrange your sabbath for refreshment, renewal and relationships.

Ask “Which day of the week is best for us to practice?” (Usually it’s Friday night to Saturday night or Saturday night to Sunday night).

Ask “How can we inentionally leave the school and work week behind?”

It’s important to have the people who live with you (family or roomates) to participate in sabbath with you.

Start Right

Begin your sabbath with consistent traditions like:

  • lighting a candle
  • reciting a sabbath liturgy
  • greeting your family by saying “Shabbat Shalom!”
  • praying for Christ to give you deep, refreshing rest
  • eating a special meal
  • droping cell phones, devices, credit cards, or other things that bring stress into a basket
  • going to bed early

Make It Unique

Do things on your Sabbath that you would not normally do or participate in. Here are some examples:

  • Don’t set an alarm. Let your body wake up naturally.
  • Go on a bike ride.
  • Make a special panake or waffle breakfast.
  • Use this day as a “cheat day” for your diet.
  • Bring out special “Sabbath toys” for your kids to play with only on Sabbath (make the toys special).
  • Take a long, warm bubble bath.
  • Take an afternoon nap.
  • Read a favorite book.
  • Take your family to brunch at your favorite restaurant.
  • Participate in a church gathering with friends.
“Unless one learns how to relish the taste of Sabbath while still in this world, unless one is initiated in the appreciation of eternal life, one will be unable to enjoy the taste of eternity in the world to come. Sad is the lot of him who arrives inexperienced and when led to heaven has no power to percieve the beauty of the Sabbath.”
Rabbi Solomon of Karlin

books

“The Hebrew word Shabbat means ‘to stop.’ But it can also be translated ‘to delight.’ It has this dual idea of stopping and also of joying in God and our lives in his world. The Sabbath is an entire day set aside to follow God’s example, to stop and delight.”
John Mark Comer

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

podcasts

Seventh Day Rest Series

by The Bible Project Podcast

Stop: The Rhythm of Creation

by Rule of Life Podcast

Sabbath Delight

by Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast

Fight Hustle, End Hurry

by John Mark Comer & Jefferson Bethke

“In the tempestuous ocean of time and toil there are islands of stillness where man may enter a harbor and reclaim his dignity. The island is the seventh day, the Sabbath, a day of detachment from things, instruments and practical affairs as well as of attachment to the spirit.”

“Labor is a craft, but perfect rest is an art.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel

The Sabbath

videos

Online Course on Sabbath

Practicing the Way has done a great job on this topic of Sabbath rest. Check out their video course at practicingtheway.org

Sabbath Course
“Sabbath baptizes our week into the grace and mercy of God.”
 
“The great irony of Sabbath-keeping is how hard it is for us to say no to people but how with such ease we say no to being at rest with God.”
A.J. Swoboda

Subversive Sabbath

blogs

Sabbath: Is It Still Relevant to Christians Today?

The Bible Project / Missy Takano

Sabbath with Kids

Grace-Filled Homemaking / Cate H

4 Steps To Meaningful Sabbath

Emotionally Healthy Discipleship / Pete Scazzero

Sabbath in the Book of Hebrews

R.L. Solberg

“The Sabbath is included in the Ten Commandments, which are about living within God’s good design. It’s not some arbitrary command; it’s simply a fact of the universe. You don’t have to, but then your life may not go as well for you as it was designed. You don’t have to dance. But if you sit it out you’re saying goodbye to an awful lot of joy and blessing.”
Jefferson Bethke

To Hell With The Hustle

reflection questions

1

What difficulties or compulsions make it hard for you to stop?

2

How does taking a sabbath enhance your enjoyment and worship of God?

3

What makes a sabbath day nourishing and replenishing to you?

4

What happens to you when you go without regular rhythms that allow you to rest in God?

“Rest shows us who God is. He has restraint. Restraint is refraining from doing everything that one has the power to do. We must never mistake God’s restraint for weakness. The opposite is true. God shows restraint; therefore, restraint is holy.”
Matthew Sleeth

24/6

Matt Garcia

Matt is the creator of this website and curates resources on spiritual formation. He is a husband of Jesika and a father of 4 children. He also helps lead a house church. Follow him on Instagram to see what he's up to.

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