SCRIPTURE

Exodus 20:1-17
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Isaiah 58
Jeremiah 17:5-27
Matthew 12:1-14; Luke 6:1-11
Mark 2:23-28
Matthew 11:28-30
Hebrews 4

PASTOR DAN'S BLOG

(Featuring Sabbath Thoughts and Stories)

"DANCING CRIPPLES"

 

BOOKS

The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul By Restoring Sabbath by Mark Buchanan

In The Rest of God, author Mark Buchanan says that the Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith. God set forth a rhythm of work and rest that if restored to our lives will bring prolonged life, enriched relationships, increased fruitfulness, and abundant joy. For the majority of us who have endless demands and stifling daily routines, discovering the "rest of God" is the solution to "not enough time."  

24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life by Matthew Sleeth, M.D.

“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Sounds nice, but how do we find rest in a 24/7 world? Just as the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, we have become slaves to technology. Our technological tools allow 24-hour productivity and connectivity, give us more control, and subtlety enslave us to busyness itself. Sabbath is about restraint, about intentionally not doing everything all the time just because we can. Setting aside a day of rest helps us reconnect with our Creator and find the peace of God that passes all understanding. The Sabbath is about letting go of the controls one day a week and letting God be God. So how do we do it?

Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives Around Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton

Spiritual disciplines are activities that open us to God's transforming love and the changes that only God can bring about in our lives. Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a "rule of life" that allows for regular space for the practice of the spiritual disciplines, this book takes you more deeply into understanding seven key disciplines along with practical ideas for weaving them into everyday life, including that of Sabbath . Each chapter includes exercises to help you begin the practices--individually and in a group context. The final chapter puts it all together in a way that will help you arrange your life for spiritual transformation.

Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest by Lynne Baab

When we fail to rest we do more than burn ourselves out. We misunderstand the God who calls us to rest--who created us to be people of rest. Let's face it: our rest needs work. Sabbath recalls our creation, and with it God's satisfaction with us as he made us, without our hurried wrangling and harried worrying. It also recalls God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and with it God's ability to do completely what we cannot complete in ourselves. Sabbath keeping reminds us that we are free to rest each week. Eighteen months in Tel Aviv, Israel, where a weekly sabbath is built into the culture, began Lynne M. Baab's twenty-five-year embrace of a rhythm of rest―as a stay-at-home mom, as a professional writer working out of her home and as a minister of the gospel. With collected insights from sabbath keepers of all ages and backgrounds, Sabbath Keeping offers a practical and hopeful guidebook that encourages all of us to slow down and enjoy our relationship with the God of the universe.

Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath by Priscilla Shirer

A five-session Bible Study. One of the greatest challenges among women in our culture is taking time to stop and cease from all the activities and busyness and just breathe. We are in bondage to busyness. We constantly strive to complete the limitless to-do lists that hinder us from experiencing all that God has for us. We miss the moments because we rush ahead to the next thing. By neglecting time for tranquility, serenity, and repose, we limit our Christlikeness and miss out on some of God's greatest gifts. It is time for us to breathe and build margin into our lives for God. In the Old Testament, God instituted principles and laws that would transform the Israelites' mindset. He didn't just want them legally free; He wanted them to be able to walk in the freedom and enjoy it. So God gave them many gifts, including boundaries in which to enjoy those gifts. Sabbath was intended as a gift, and it is still a gift to us today. If you are weary, worn out, and exhausted the concept of Sabbath will change your life.

 

ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS

"Rest Awhile" by Joyce Meyer

"Wisdom and Sabbath Rest" by Tim Keller

"Honoring the Sabbath Like a Command" by Ann Swindell

"The Sabbath Experiment" by Nicole Unice

"A Call to Rest" from the blog One Thing Alone

"The Theology of Work Project" - Articles, blogs, commentaries & studies on Sabbath