âBut I donât wanna go to church!â Marva Dawn has often heard that cryâand not only from children. âWhat a sad commentary it is on North American spirituality,â she writes, âthat the delight of âkeeping the Sabbath dayâ has degenerated into the routine and drudgeryâeven the downright oppressivenessâof âgoing to church.ââ According to Dawn, the phrase âgoing to churchâ both reveals and promotes bad theology: it suggests that the church is a static place when in fact the church is the people of God. The regular gathering together of Godâs people for worship is importantâit enables them to be church in the worldâbut the act of worship is only a small part of observing the Sabbath. This refreshing book invites the reader to experience the wholeness and joy that come from observing Godâs order for lifeâa rhythm of working six days and setting apart one day for rest, worship, festivity, and relationships. Dawn develops a four-part pattern for keeping the Sabbath: (1)ceasingânot only from work but also from productivity, anxiety, worry, possessiveness, and so on; (2) restingâ of the body as well as the mind, emotions, and spiritâa wholistic rest; (3) embracingâdeliberately taking hold of Christian values, of our calling in life, of the wholeness God offers us; (4) feastingâcelebrating God and his goodness in individual and corporate worship as well as feasting with beauty, music, food, affection, and social interaction. Combining sound biblical theology and research into Jewish traditions with many practical suggestions, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly offers a healthy balance between head and heart: the book shows how theological insights can undergird daily life and practice, and it gives the reader both motivation and methods for enjoying a special holy day. Dawnâs workâ unpretentiously eloquent, refreshingly personal in tone, and rich with inspiring exampleâpromotes the discipline of Sabbath-keeping not as a legalistic duty but as the way to freedom, delight, and joy. Christians and Jews, pastors and laypeople, individuals and small groupsâall will benefit greatly from reading and discussing the book and putting its ideas into practice.
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