Resources for Sabbath Sunday

On the last Sunday of the year, Emmaus Church stops to practice stillness, solitude & reflection instead of gathering together.

Sabbath is an ancient way to find rest for your soul. It is a 24-hour time period set aside to stop, rest, delight, and worship.

In our era of chronic exhaustion, emotional unhealth, and spiritual stagnation, few things are more necessary than the recovery of this ancient practice.

We hope these resources help you, your family, or a small group of friends to reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026, all while practicing Sabbath in a powerful way.

  • Take 1–2 minutes of quiet.

    Pray 1 Samuel 3:10 simply: “Speak, O Lord, for your servant is listening. Help me be still. Help me hear Your voice.”

  • Watch: Bible Project Video (5 min)

    • On page one of the Bible, God orders a beautiful world out of chaotic darkness within a sequence of six days. And on the seventh day, God rests. This introduces the major biblical theme of patterns of seven that conclude with God and humans resting together as partners. 

    • Jesus adopted this idea as a major part of his own mission to bring God's Kingdom to earth.

  • Read Psalm 90 and reflect on this truth:

    God meets His people in the turning of seasons.

    Scripture consistently invites us to look back at God’s faithfulness and look ahead with expectation. Psalm 90 tells us that a wise life is one that measures time not by anxiety or achievement, but by God’s steadfast presence.

    The God who carried you through this year will carry you into the next.

  • Take a moment to discuss or journal about some of these questions:

    Step 1: Looking Back

    • Where did I experience God’s faithfulness this year?

    • What sins do I need to confess and repent of?

    • What burdens, griefs or regrets do I need to surrender to the Lord?

    Step 2: Looking Inward

    • What emotions come up as I look at the year behind you?

    • What can you sense that Christ been trying to form in you?

    Step 3: Looking Ahead

    • What do I sense God inviting me to trust Him with in the coming year?

    • Where do I long to see spiritual fruit—and what might “abiding” look like there?

  • Take time to pray using the ACTS model:

    Adoration

    • Take time to praise Him for who He is, apart from what He’s done (holy, faithful, majestic, etc.) 

    Confession

    • “Lord, I confess the times that I’ve been self-reliant, fearful, or disobedient.”

    • “Take what I cannot fix. Cleanse me and renew me.”

    Thanksgiving

    • “Father, thank You for Your preserving grace this year.”

    • Thank Him for the seen and unseen ways He’s carried you in 2025.

    Specific Requests

    • “Jesus, teach me to abide in You.

    • Shape my desires, my habits, my relationships.

    • Lead me into Your new mercies for the coming year.”

    • Take time to pray for:

      • your family

      • your church

      • your neighbors / coworkers

      • those who are hurting or lonely

      • the lost

  • Pray Psalm 90:17 or Isaiah 43:19 over yourself:

    • Psalm 90:17: “Establish the work of my hands, O Lord.”

    • Isaiah 43:19: “Behold, You are doing a new thing. Help me notice it.

    May God bless you, keep you, make His face to shine upon you & give you peace in the year 2026 (Numbers 6:24-26).