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The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath Mark Buchanan (Thomas Nelson) |
Finely honed prose conveys the heart of Sabbath, leading us away from legalism through a life-giving liturgy of rest and play. Buchanan argues compellingly and winsomely for stopping, for no other reason than God told us we could.
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Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time Dorothy Bass (Jossey-Bass) |
This philosophical yet practical book challenges the reader to think about time as a gift from God. Bass helps us look at our days, weeks, and years from God’s perspective.
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The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics Ched Myers (Tell the Word, Church of the Saviour) |
This book’s diminutive size belies its theological wallop. In just 70 pages, Myers explores Old Testament theology, Jesus, and Sabbath, and he links Sabbath to social justice with depth and clarity. It is a life-changing read.
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Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline Lauren Winner (Paraclete) |
Though this book has only one chapter on Sabbath, Winner, who converted from Judaism to Christianity, helpfully connects the dots between the two faiths with absolutely beautiful prose.
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Sunday: A History of the First Day—from Babylonia to the Super Bowl Craig Harline (Doubleday Religion |
While not specifically Christian, this book offers an accurate, readable history of Sunday and Sabbath. Harline offers a helpful explanation of how our modern calendar has evolved and changed over the centuries.
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Related Elsewhere:
The Rest of God, Receiving the Day, The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Sunday are available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.
CT published an excerpt from Mark Buchanan’s The Rest of God, an excerpt from Craig Harline’s Sunday, and two from Dorothy Bass’ Receiving the Day in March 2000 (here and here).
Author Lauren Winner contributed her own Top 5 Picks, of spiritual memoirs. She is the author of several books, including Girl Meets God: A Memoir. She discussed that book, as well as her thoughts on the Sabbath, in an interview with CT.
Previous Top 5 lists have featured prayer, doubt, community, sports, parenting, Advent, life ethics, emerging movement, Islam, loss, Calvin, spiritual memoirs, neglected doctrines, spiritual memoirs, marriage, Lent, fiction books for the soul, managing your money, devotionals, how character shapes belief, food, atheism, China, presidents, world Christianity, ancient-future faith, the civil rights era, social justice, church history, popular culture, the Civil War, apologetics, atheism, and sex.
