Sabbath

Why is a day of rest important?

The Sabbath is a day blessed by God and set aside for rest and worship. One of the most important practices of Jesus was finding rest and making time for Sabbath. The human condition is prone to restlessness and our digital age and consumeristic culture only exacerbates the problem. We must model the restfulness of Jesus, which is more than just a day, but is a spirit we live by all week long.

---

Teachings

Before you begin the practices with your community, listen through these teachings to understand why this practice is important and discover what it can do in your life.

1

Rest For Your Soul

We begin one of the most important practices of Jesus with a big picture look at the restlessness of the human condition.

2

Sabbath as Rhythm

God worked for six days, and then he rested on the sabbath. He built a rhythm into the fabric of creation.

3

Sabbath as Resistance

In a society addicted to the twin drugs of accomplishment and accumulation, the Sabbath is an act of resistance.

4

Sabbath & Your Humanity

As we acknowledge our humanity and aches, we create space to encounter the God who longs to meet with us.

5

Subversive Sabbath

The whole world grows exhausted because humanity has forgotten to enter into God's restorative rest.

6

A Sabbath Meditation

With Psalm 23 as a framework, we explore what it means to rest with God as our Shepherd.

7

Stop, Rest, Delight, & Worship

People often misread Jesus’ teachings on the Sabbath as negative, but nothing could be further from the truth.

8

Worship: An Adventure in Reality

In an age of entertainment & skepticism, how do we cultivate biblical habits of worship?

---

Practice

Follow along with each part of this practice. We recommend you work through it with your community, a small group triad, a weekly meal with friends or neighbors, your roommates, whatever works. Get a group of people, set a time each week to share a meal, then talk and pray for about an hour. Transformation happens in community. 

1

The Basics

The sabbath is an entire day set aside to stop working, stop wanting, stop worrying, and to simply rest in God’s presence.

2

The Preparation Day

Sabbath takes preparation in order to be enjoyed fully. In the ancient near east, it was called the “Preparation Day.”

3

Gratitude & Contentment

Gratitude is unnatural. The disposition out of which most modern humans operate is entitlement and discontent.

4

Sabbath & Your Humanity

In Sabbath we are welcomed into the space where human nature meets our God-given desire for more.

5

Sabbath & Digital Addiction

Consider the role technology plays in your life and to utilize Sabbath as a day to resist its hold.

6

Cultivating Intimacy

Intimacy is the close familiarity or comfort that you experience in the presence of someone you love.

7

Seasons of Life

Sabbath will demand varying rhythms, times, and implementation for every person and stage of life.

---

Recommended Reading

Follow along with the recommended reading as you practice Sabbath. We want to continually expand our minds and understanding of the way of Jesus. In our working theory of spiritual formation—how we change to become like Jesus—teaching plays a key role. It’s not the end, but it is the beginning. These books are a great place to start your journey. Here are some of our favorites.