SESSION 5 (2022)
RESOURCES
SESSION 4 SLIDES which introduced Sabbath and Formation Groups
LEG 1 (7/25-8/7)
READING
DFL - Chapter 2: Deeply Formed Practices of Contemplative Rhythms (re-read p29-37 on Sabbath)
EHS - Chapter 6: Discover the Rhythms of the Daily Office and Sabbath (re-read p150-160 on Sabbath)
EHD - Chapter 5: Embrace God’s Gifts of Limits
EHS - Chapter 4: Journey through the wall - letting go of power of control
Allender (Sabbath) - Introduction: Delight that Delivers Us to Joy
REFLECTING
Reflect on the following questions regarding the reading, writing in your journal:
What is one step you can take today to quiet the noise in order to listen more attentively to the voice of Jesus and slow down in order to live more faithfully to the way of Jesus? (EHS-WB, p26)
Fill in the blanks: What I am beginning to realize about God this week is _______. What I am beginning to realize about myself this week is _______. (EHS-WB, p34)
Describe a wall you are currently facing or approaching. How has this sessions reading altered your view of this wall and how to navigate it? (If you honestly believe you are not approaching or facing a wall, reflect on a past wall you have faced).
Describe a limit that you have rejected, one that you believe God is calling you to receive and submit to joyfully as God’s invitation to trust Him? Describe a limit that is holding you back, one that God is calling you to break through by faith so that others might know Him, or so that I might become the person He intends? (DFL, p95)
Briefly respond to each of the following six questions, identifying your persona limits: 1) What are the limits of your personality and temperament? 2) What are the limits of your current season of life? 3) What are the limits of your marriage or singleness? 4) What are the limits of your emotional, physical, and intellectual capacities? 5) What are the limits of your family of origin? 6) What are the limits of your time? (DFL, p97-99)
What would you do for a 24 hour period of time if the only criteria was to pursue your deepest joy (and money were no object)? (Sabbath, p15)
Thinking on the word delight, one that Dan Allender uses frequently in his description of Sabbath, reflect on the following questions: 1) WHERE and WHEN have you experienced delight? 2) WHY do we so often flee from delight and lose the taste for it? 3) WHAT counterfeits turn our senses from joy? 4) HOW do we begin to taste and see the goodness of God? (Sabbath, p15)
PRACTICING: Evening Sabbath
Anticipate the Sabbath by answering the following questions in anticipation of what is to come:
WHAT are we going to do (and not do)?
HOW are we going to do it?
WHEN are we going to do it?
WHERE are we going to do it?
WHO are we going to do it with?
WHY are we going to do it?
Reflect on the Sabbath by answering the following questions in response to what has passed:
What one thing did you most enjoy about your Sabbath?
What worked will? How will you incorporate next time?
What did not work well? How will you adjust for next time?
What did you prepare? How will you prepare differently for next time?
LEG 2 (8/8-8/28)
READING
Allender (Sabbath) - Chapter 1: Seldom Sabbath and Part 1: Sabbath Pillars
REFLECTING
Reflect on the following questions regarding the reading, writing in your journal:
What is one step you can take today to quiet the noise in order to listen more attentively to the voice of Jesus and slow down in order to live more faithfully to the way of Jesus? (EHS-WB, p26)
Fill in the blanks: What I am beginning to realize about God this week is _______. What I am beginning to realize about myself this week is _______. (EHS-WB, p34)
If you don’t observe the Sabbath, what do you suppose has kept you from doing so? (Sabbath, p19)
During this leg we are practicing a Sabbath that begins in evening and continues into morning. What part of God’s good creation will you love this Sabbath? What portion of reality will you enter with senses around, ready, and desiring a taste of goodness? What beauty will you receive and then give back as the praise and honor that is deserved? (Sabbath, p44)
How have you / how will you mark your entrance into Sabbath, setting this time aside as sacred?
What is your greatest fear regarding practicing a regular Sabbath? What is at the root of that fear? After identifying and naming the fear, address it by asking, why wouldn’t I want to take time to delight in God’s goodness? (Sabbath, p154)
PRACTICING: Evening/Morning Sabbath
Anticipate the Sabbath by answering the following questions in anticipation of what is to come
WHAT are we going to do (and not do)?
HOW are we going to do it?
WHEN are we going to do it?
WHERE are we going to do it?
WHO are we going to do it with?
WHY are we going to do it?
Reflect on the Sabbath by answering the following questions in response to what has passed
What one thing did you most enjoy about your Sabbath?
What worked will? How will you incorporate next time?
What did not work well? How will you adjust for next time?
What did you prepare? How will you prepare differently for next time?
LEG 3 (8/29-9/11)
READING
LOTO - Chapter 11: Sleeping - Sabbath, Rest, and the Work of God
Heschel (Sabbath) - Introduction by Susannah Heschel (DOWNLOAD PDF)
Brueggemann (Sabbath) - Chapter 1: Sabbath and the First Commandment (DOWNLOAD PDF)
REFLECTING
Reflect on the following questions regarding the reading, writing in your journal:
What is one step you can take today to quiet the noise in order to listen more attentively to the voice of Jesus and slow down in order to live more faithfully to the way of Jesus? (EHS-WB, p26)
Fill in the blanks: What I am beginning to realize about God this week is _______. What I am beginning to realize about myself this week is _______. (EHS-WB, p34)
Describe your evening liturgy. What are your regular nightly routines? How are these routines - both what you do and how you do them - shape you? What do your evening and sleeping patterns, struggles, or habits reveal about your loves, fears, commitments, and what you trust?
Tish writes, “This is the message we receive from our culture: No limits. Nothing should stop you, slow you down, or limit your freedom.” Where do you see resistance to limits in your culture and in your own life?
Describe one step you can take to modifying your evening liturgy to shape you - and those who live with you - more into the image of Christ? It might simply be returning to an evening rhythm of Examen. It might be a change to the way in which you use technology and screens.
Describe the “typical” Sunday for you growing up as a child. Obviously there is no single typical Sunday, but what were those things you and your family did most frequently or with the greatest rhythm? How did these rhythms impact the formation of your faith?
Describe the “typical” Sunday for you over the course of the past year. Again, while there is no typical Sunday, what have been those things you have done most frequently or with the greatest rhythm? How are these habits shaping you? What has been restful that you would like to incorporate into Sabbath? What are things that should be done outside of your Sabbath?
What “thou shalt nots” have you heard or understood to be connected to Sabbath? After this sessions readings, which do you still believe are applicable for you and the way in which you delight and find restful ness through Sabbath? Which do you no longer to be applicable? Why is that? Were they simply a fundamentalist view of Sabbath? Or were they an impersonalized view?
How does a “day off” (the way you typically experience it) differ from sabbath? How are they similar? (this is a repeated question from Session 3, Leg 3 - note how your answer may differ)
How might you approach worshiping with your church family and serving on a Sunday morning differently when viewing this as a part of sabbath? (this is a repeated question from Session 3, Leg 3 - not how your answer may differ)
PRACTICING: 24-hour Sabbath
Anticipate the Sabbath by answering the following questions in anticipation of what is to come
WHAT are we going to do (and not do)?
HOW are we going to do it?
WHEN are we going to do it?
WHERE are we going to do it?
WHO are we going to do it with?
WHY are we going to do it?
Reflect on the Sabbath by answering the following questions in response to what has passed
What one thing did you most enjoy about your Sabbath?
What worked will? How will you incorporate next time?
What did not work well? How will you adjust for next time?
What did you prepare? How will you prepare differently for next time?
PUBLISHED: Thursday, July 14, 20222, at 5:53PM
UPDATED: Thursday, July 21, 2022, at 11:38AM (uploaded Heschel and Brueggemann readings, added reflection questions)