Sabbath resources

While I'm thinking about it, here are some of the books I've been reading and found helpful about the Sabbath. Just in case you have nothing else to do!

(In fact, I just said to my dad who's sitting here at the breakfast table next to me, "Here's that book if you want to read it!" He laughed and said he'd have to add it to his stack of 11 or 12 "must read" books.)

Sabbath Keeping by Lynne M. Baab

My friend Jan Johnson recommended this book to me a couple of weeks ago after I asked her about her own Sabbath practices and so I immediately ordered it from Amazon. (Sometimes when I know I'm going to love a book I have to go ahead and buy it so I can write all over it--I'm one of those people who reads with a pen in hand!)

I really loved this book--it's full of practical wisdom on the Sabbath and packed with quotes from real people about their Sabbath practices.

One thing I especially liked was her helpful guidelines about choosing what to cease from doing on the Sabbath and what to actually do on the Sabbath. It very often comes down to a question of motive--not a list of do's and don'ts for everyone under the sun. 

Her guidance was very helpful to me in determining what I (and our family) should cease from on the Sabbath and also what we should strive to do. (More on that in another post.)

After reading this, my copy is underlined, arrowed, starred, and completely marked up. It's one I know I'm going to read again. (And I'm going to visit Amazon again soon because she has a great list of other Sabbath resources I want to check out.)

The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan

This is one of the first books I read on the Sabbath. It whetted my appetite to learn more about the Sabbath and is in my stack of books to read again. 

It's been a while since I read it, but one of the things I liked was that each chapter ended with a way to put into practice what the chapter talked about. 

I really like Mark's writing style. His book, The Holy Wild, is one I read every year.

The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

 

I've just started this book and haven't made it far enough to say much about it. But I've heard great things about it and am excited to dig in. 

The Sabbath by Alistair Begg

I listen to sermons by Alistair Begg most mornings while I walk. (When he really gets going, his Scottish accent gets stronger and his Rs really rrrrrrroll!)

This series on the Sabbath is challenging, informative, and unapologetic about the fact that keeping the Sabbath holy is the fourth commandment. 

He too offers guidance about what the Sabbath means for us today--what is considered "work" and how we can keep the Sabbath holy.

(This series can be purchased as a set, but you can also download individual sermons to listen to on your iPod.)

So, there's the beginning of my list. Have you all read or heard anything else about the Sabbath that's been particularly helpful?

Comments

[Marla Taviano]

I feel like you crawled inside my mind again. I own those first two books. They're marked, starred, underlined, written all over. LOVE them. And I've been meaning to read that other one. People keep quoting him.

And Alistair Begg is my all-time favorite preacher EVER. We attended his church for a few months when we lived up near Cleveland, and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

I want to meet you. Sigh.

[Delina]

I love this topic on Sabbath. I grew up keeping Sabbath (as part of the denomination in which I was raised) but as an adult, I've found that it's important for me to relearn what it means to keep Sabbath in order to make it meaningful and not legalistic based on tradition
.
I too have read The Rest of God (LOVE his writing!) and I'm plowing through The Sabbath (it's one that you have to read slowly, in a quiet place...not something you can skim or read casually...it requires lots of brain power!). I love the analogy of entering Sabbath as if you're entering into a cathedral.

In our home I want to make Sabbath pleasing to all the senses. We started giving our 10-month-old grape juice this weekend (he only drinks water otherwise) so he can associate Sabbath with it. :-)

Add to the mix that I'm a pastor's wife and Sabbath is probably the hardest, most stressful day of the week.

Love the topic and I'm looking forward to reading the first book, hearing those sermons and, of course, the rest of your posts on the topic.

[Mary]

I haven't started reading it yet, but Breathe by Keri Wyatt Kent is supposed to be very good. I read about it at "Not Before 7". Here is the link to her post on the book.
http://notbefore7.blogspot.com/2008/04/think-different-sabbath-simplicity.html

[Shani]

wow a blog about the Sabbath and you did not mention any Seventh day Adventist resources on the Sabbath. They have many resources and have been keeping the Sabbath for over 100 years.