The concept and practice of Sabbath was a revolutionary activity in the promised land. How did it turn into a set of rigid rules about not selling liquor or opening stores on Sunday and forgotten by most Christians?

Walter Brueggemann has written an original four-session study for thoughtful Christians about the origins and radical call of Sabbath titled "Sabbath as Resistance." It is a practice that was designed to protect the marginalized and remind all of us that we are not God. It involved certain forms of resistance to the consumerist society of ancient Israel that are more relevant today than ever.

Dorothy Bass has written an original two-session study titled "Sabbath Practices." She offers thoughtful Christians concrete ways to reclaim these and shows how our lives can be enriched and faith deepened as we relearn them.

Carol Wehrheim has written all the Leader's Guides.

We suggest that your group begin with the Brueggemann four-session unit and then study Dorothy Bass's two-session "Sabbath Practices" unit. However, both can be used entirely independently.