Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro

Week 7: Chapter 7 — The Sabbath Principle

Read Chapter 7 of Leading on Empty. Key Scripture: Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:27.

Sabbath is not a productivity hack or a wellness trend — it is a theological statement about who God is and who we are not. This chapter invites us to recover one of the most countercultural and life-giving practices in all of Scripture.

Discussion Questions

7 questions

1.Cordeiro argues that Sabbath is not optional for the sustainable leader — it is architectural, woven into creation itself by God's own example. Before reading this chapter, how did you think about Sabbath? Has this chapter shifted your view?

2.The author notes that God rested on the seventh day not because he was tired, but to model a rhythm for his image-bearers. What does it mean that God built rest into the fabric of creation? What does it say about the kind of God he is?

3.Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). In other words, Sabbath is a gift, not a burden. Why do so many Christian leaders treat it as the latter? What does that inversion reveal about our deeper beliefs?

4.Cordeiro is specific about what Sabbath is not — it is not catching up on email, preparing next week's sermon, or doing things that feel restful but are actually still performance-oriented. By his definition, do you currently practice a real Sabbath? What gets in the way?

5.The author writes about the importance of protecting Sabbath — of treating it as a non-negotiable appointment rather than a movable luxury. What would it take for you to make Sabbath genuinely non-negotiable in your current season?

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Closing Prayer

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Lord of the Sabbath, you built rest into creation before sin entered the world — which means rest is not a concession to weakness but a gift to your image-bearers. Forgive us for despising that gift. Forgive us for the arrogance of believing that your mission cannot survive without our constant activity. Teach us to stop, to cease, to trust you enough to rest. May our Sabbath be an act of worship and a declaration of faith. In the name of the one who is Lord even of the Sabbath. Amen.

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