5 Ways to Make Sunday a Sabbath

I’m happy to say that this post was co-written by my awesome husband. He has taught me a great deal about the importance of Sabbath and so his input is all over this post.

When I first began walking seriously with the Lord, keeping the Sabbath was an important priority to me. I had heard all the reasons why it was no longer a big deal but I didn’t buy them.

• Why could we drop one of the ten commandments and keep the other nine?  (I still haven’t heard anyone say that it’s no longer a big deal to worship idols or to steal, commit murder, etc.)
• Just because many people have become a bit too legalistic in their Sabbath keeping does not mean we should avoid the subject entirely.  (That’s falling off the other side of the horse, if you know what I mean.)
• Keeping the Sabbath has just become a good excuse for taking a long nap and being lazy.

But, keeping the Sabbath seemed a little simpler back in my college days (no offense to my college readers-much love to the college ladies!)  I mainly just had to make sure I’d done all my homework and studying before Sunday (I never cleaned my dorm room, anyhow).  Now that I manage a home, take care of little ones, and have too many financial burdens, keeping the Sabbath can seem near to impossible. Can I get a witness?  So, this post is for me and my house.  But, I hope you’ll take note and find ways to make Sunday a Sabbath in your neck of the woods.

1Work hard on Friday and Saturday. I’ve found that if I don’t work hard on Friday and Saturday, I just won’t be able to rest on Sunday.  It takes preparation and forethought to have a real Sabbath. This was so from the beginning.  God commanded the Israelites to gather twice as much manna the day before the Sabbath.  In order to rest one day, they had to work twice as hard the day before.  I may not have to work twice as hard, but I do have put forth more effort to free up space for other things on Sunday.

My best Sabbaths have been the ones where I didn’t over plan the weekend and I had the laundry done, the bills sorted, and the floors swept before the Big Day.

2 Plan special forms of celebration for Sunday. Sunday should be a day for unique activities that celebrate Jesus and all He has won for us through His death and resurrection.  But this is only possible if we stay away from chores and agenda items that feel like work to us. On the 7th day, God rested and celebrated all that He’d created. He didn’t rest because He was tired.  He rested because He was satisfied with the way things were.  I rarely feel that sigh of satisfaction because I have a hard time letting go of the to do list.

My husband and I sometimes enjoy a nice breakfast together on Sundays.  We used to enjoy this great cherry chocolate bread when we celebrated Sundays with others.  Even as we talked about this post, we agreed that we needed to create some special Sabbath celebration traditions for our family.

3 Spend time with the Saints. Hebrews suggests that Sundays provide a foretaste of the rest that Jesus followers will enjoy for eternity. So, in a sense, Sundays are the movie trailer for the Feature Film-Heaven.  And who will be the actors in that eternal show?  Jesus, of course, and all those He’s saved.  So, as a form of rehearsal, it’s important to spend time with Jesus followers on Sunday. This increases the likelihood that we’ll talk about and celebrate Jesus, gives us opportunity to encourage one another, and provides time to think about the fact that we hope to spend eternity with these friends enjoying Jesus together.

My favorite Sabbaths have been those where I prepared a big pot of soup on Saturday afternoon.  Then on Sunday, we were free to invite some friends from church over to eat.  I didn’t have to do much work and we were able to extend our time of sharing and enjoying Christ together into the afternoon.

4Reflect. God took time to reflect on His creation as He rested.  When our hands are not as busy, there’s great opportunity for our minds to wake up and think a little more than usual.  Taking time to sit and think about lessons God is teaching you or challenges you’re facing can change your outlook for the week ahead.  And, reflecting is a great activity for all that time you’re spending with other saints.  Talk about the sermon you heard or the song you loved. Take this one day out of the week to give your brain some time on the treadmill.  The sweet nuggets of Truth that you grab on this day can keep you going when you hit Thursday.

Good Sabbaths are often marked by having a good time to talk with my husband about the sermon, about our lives in general, and what we’re learning through it all.  These conversations keep me going when the weekdays seem so taxing.

5Do Good to Others. When we think of keeping the Sabbath, we can become silly like the Pharisees with our long lists of what we should not do.  Instead, we should think like Jesus and remember that the Sabbath was made for man.  What better way to celebrate that then by doing good for friends, neighbors, and even strangers on this day?  This is what God was asking for when He told the Jews they had the Sabbath all wrong in Isaiah.

This is an area where I’d love to grow more. I know that all it takes is a batch of cookies or a loaf of bread to easily make a neighbor feel loved.  I know that’s not ‘loosing the chains of injustice and spending myself for the hungry,’ but it’s a start.   Free from your own worries of everyday chores, you have time on Sunday to be creative and find ways to do at least one special thing for someone on Sunday.

Your Turn

Okay, I would love to hear from you.  How do you make Sunday a Sabbath?

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