What Is Sabbath?

Did you know that the One True God invented the weekend?! The Bible says that “God created
the Heavens and the earth – all you see, all you don’t see” (Genesis 1:1), He created the land and
the sea, the plants and the trees, all the awesome animals and then on the sixth day, He created
human beings in His image and said that all He had created was good! Very good! But wait!
The week didn’t end there. God put one more day in the week. Day seven. On the seventh day,
God rested from all of His work and He blessed it and made it holy. It’s called the Sabbath. You
know…that was Adam and Eve’s very first day being alive – a special day to rest, to delight in
God, a day to celebrate how good God is and how He made such good things!

“Marva Dawn has said that Sabbath is about four things: ceasing, resting, embracing,
and feasting. It is in the Sabbath that we enjoy, we delight, we relish in the goodness and
generativity of God. We play. We feast. We rest. We echo with God, ‘It is good!’ And in our
Sabbath play, we discover that to play is to pray.” A.J. Swoboda

Family Team Time month two

1. Did you know that Sabbath means “to stop” or “to delight”? What is a time you stopped to
delight in something? What if you never stopped to delight in anything? What would life be like?
2. Why do you think God wants us to set aside one day a week to stop and delight in Him and
in all that He has done – to REST with God – even if we don’t feel like it?
3. Psalm 92 is a Psalm for the Sabbath. You can read it out loud together as you feast on a
special Sabbath morning breakfast.
4. John Mark Comer writes, “if you’re new to the Sabbath, a question to give shape to your
practice is this: What could I do for twenty-four hours that would fill my soul with deep,
throbbing joy? That would make me spontaneously combust with wonder, awe, gratitude,
and praise?” Make a list as a family of things that bring you to a place of deep gratitude to be
a child of God and incorporate some of those things on your next Sabbath together.

Resources to Go Deeper
Book Recommendations:
– Subversive Sabbath by A.J. Swoboda
– The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

A Blessing for Your Family Team Sabbath This Month

“May this Sabbath bring rest and joy to our hearts and our home.
May today be a little less go, go, go, and a little more slow… slow… slow…
May we care less about things, and care more for people.
As we relax in God’s love, may we take time to listen and remember that we are all God’s children.”

– Lectio for Families