What is Selah Sunday?

On the last Sunday of each month, we have Selah Sunday. This is a church-wide rhythm of rest, where we pause from our normal Sunday Gatherings to practice Sabbath. It’s a time to enjoy God’s presence in nature, connect with neighbors, or explore what God is doing in other local churches around our city. Although we love our Sunday Gatherings, this is a practice God has invited us into for this season and our hope is that it helps us all incorporate rest into our lives and experience the presence of God in new and deeper ways.

Why We Pause

The word Selah, found throughout the Psalms, is an invitation to pause and reflect and to take a breath in the presence of God. Selah Sunday is our way of embodying that pause. Sabbath rest is woven into creation. In Genesis 2:2-3, God Himself rests, not from exhaustion, but to delight in creation. We are not just resting from something, but resting for something: for deeper communion with God, for renewed awareness of His presence, and for the spiritual transformation that comes through unhurried time.

A Lifestyle of Rest

By stepping back from our normal rhythms, we make room to be with God in unexpected ways. Whether it’s walking in nature, sharing a meal with neighbors, or visiting another church in our city, Selah Sunday is an act of trust: trust that God is at work even when we’re not producing, and trust that rest is not a detour from discipleship but central to it.

But Selah Sunday is not the only way we Sabbath. It’s just one expression of a greater invitation to embrace rest as a posture of the heart and a way of life. Our goal is that this rhythm would help each of us cultivate a lifestyle of rest. A lifestyle where even our work flows from a place of trust, not striving, and where we are formed into people who carry the peace and presence of Jesus into every part of life.

Resources

Here are some additional resources and verses on how we see rest in the Bible and why we put this into practice.

• Genesis 2:2-3 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
  
• Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
• Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
• Book recommendations coming soon!