In a culture dominated by busyness, the Christian practice of Sabbath cultivates an important and counter-cultural rhythm orienting our whole lives around the presence and kingdom of God. A Sabbath rhythm is woven into the fabric of creation and creates space for connecting with God, ourselves, and one another. When we intentionally rest from work, productivity, and striving, we open ourselves to God’s profound and personal love. What if a regular rhythm of resting from all the ways we try to earn love is the best way to learn and know deep in our souls that God loves us?
This week, we specifically considered the resting component of a Sabbath practice. (We’ll talk about the connecting component next week.) How might our ceasing of work, productivity, and striving make space for us to know how deeply we are loved?
Kingdom Practices
Our kingdom practice for this week and this month is to practice an intentional, weekly Sabbath. In our gathering, we worked on crafting a Sabbath practice. We used a handout to guide our time, but if you couldn’t be with us, you will want to make time to listen and practice with us in preparation for this experiment.
You can find the Order of Practice here.
Additional Resources
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn
The Sabbath by Rabbi Abraham Heschel
Breathe by Keri Wyatt Kent
Three Mile and Hour God by Kosuke Koyama
Sabbath by Dan Allender
Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest by Ruth Haley Barton
A Sabbath Guide from Practicing the Way
If you have a story to share about how you have been encountering God in this season, we would love to hear it!
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