The Free Press: Charlie Kirk’s Final Message to America, by Charlie Kirk & Erika Kirk:

Charlie Kirk finished writing a book just months before he was murdered. This exclusive excerpt is about the importance of observing the Sabbath—and why rest might heal our country. …

Erika Kirk. Charlie, on the advice of Dennis Prager, first began observing the Sabbath, turning off his phone for a period of time every week. Initially, he managed only an hour. But as he discovered that it unlocked a completely elevated version of himself, he began to expand the time, until he was offline from sundown Friday to mid-morning Saturday—and later, until as late as Sunday morning. …

Charlie genuinely felt that if the world had a weekly day of rest, just one, it would be the ultimate game changer. … [T]he Sabbath is the one commandment that if you choose not to do it, you are the one who’s missing out on the blessing. Not God. Even if you don’t believe in God, you still have to rest. …

Charlie Kirk. I write this with as much humility as possible: If I can carve out a Sabbath, so can you. …

I want to walk you through some of the most common objections, hesitations, and logistical questions people raise when considering the Sabbath. My hope is that this will not only clarify misconceptions, but give you the final nudge to take immediate action.

1. “Resting makes me feel guilty.” … If taking one day off makes you anxious or ashamed, then you must ask, What am I really worshipping? No idol condemns rest like the idol of productivity. This is the golden calf of the modern age. We bow to output, chase metrics, and sacrifice our joy on the altar of efficiency.

But our identity must be anchored in something far greater than toil. Work is good—it reflects God’s creative nature. But rest is holy—it reflects His sufficiency. The same God who calls us to labor for six days also commands us to rest for one. That’s not weakness; that’s worship.

2. “I don’t have enough time!” Yes, you do have time. … Take out your phone and check your screen time. Unless you work in social media or customer engagement, odds are you don’t need to be on your phone for more than 90 minutes a day. If you’re over that, you’re not “busy”—you’re distracted. …

[E]ntertainment is not the engine of my week. God is. Family is. Purpose is. And leisure—real, restorative leisure—comes after those.

If you share those values, then the Sabbath isn’t a burden. It’s a gift. It allows you to honor God and bless your family in a sacred, protected way—shielded from the world’s noise, nourished by peace. You’re not too busy for the Sabbath. You’re just busy with things that aren’t the Sabbath. And the beautiful thing is: You can choose differently.

3. “It’s too hard to unplug because of my work.” Respectfully, unless you’re literally running a country, you’re probably not too busy to rest. I say that with love—not to diminish your responsibility, but to call out the truth we often avoid: Work can become a form of servitude when it consumes every hour and robs us of rest.

In Exodus, we’re called to rest because God rested. In Deuteronomy, we’re commanded to rest because only slaves work without stopping. God links Sabbath to freedom. To resist the Sabbath is, in essence, to flirt with slavery again—not the kind imposed by Pharaoh, but the kind we willingly chain ourselves to through unrelenting busyness, performance, and obligation. …

4. “I’ll rest when things calm down.” I hear this one all the time. People say their lives are too busy right now, but they’ll rest later—maybe in a different season, when the kids are older, the business stabilizes, or the inbox is finally under control. But here’s the truth: This is procrastination dressed up as planning. …

Rest requires courage. It means confronting our fear that the world will fall apart if we stop working. It means choosing trust over control. And it means recognizing that the things that matter most—our health, our relationships, our spiritual life—cannot thrive on leftovers.

5. “My kids’ sports take up the whole weekend.” I hear this one often. But here’s the thing: No inherent conflict exists between participating in your child’s life and honoring the Sabbath. …

Too many parents today are physically present but emotionally absent. They sit in the bleachers but never look up from their phones. They miss the clutch shot, the smile from the court, the nervous glance looking for their approval—because their attention is devoured by digital distractions. We are raising a generation starved for the presence of their parents. Not just the logistics of parenting, but the soul of it.

The Sabbath is God’s rebellion against our inattentiveness. Your child may not remember the score of that weekend’s game, but they will remember whether you were watching. …

We’ve been conditioned to believe that our worth is tied to our availability, our output, our visibility. But Sabbath teaches us that your value is not measured by your responsiveness or productivity. It’s measured by your belonging—your rootedness in God’s love.

When you power down your phone, you’re not “missing out.” You’re entering a different kind of time, what the rabbis call “sacred time.” Time that doesn’t drain you but restores you. You begin to see things more clearly—your thoughts settle, your heart slows, your conversations deepen. And most importantly, you remember who you are apart from the endless stream of noise.

Don’t be afraid to turn off your phone. You’re not falling behind—you’re catching up to what matters most. The people in front of you. The presence of God. The peace you’ve been craving.

Let the Sabbath be your weekly rebellion. Let it be the time when the world’s demands go silent, and the eternal voice becomes audible again.

Charlie Kirk, Stop in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life (2025):

In a world that never slows down, where busyness is worn as a badge of honor and screens dictate our every move, Stop in the Name of God offers a radical yet profoundly simple invitation: pause, rest, and reconnect. Through the transformative practice of honoring the Sabbath, bestselling author Charlie Kirk guides readers to reclaim a sacred rhythm that restores balance, nurtures the soul, and strengthens relationships. This book is not about escaping modern life—it’s about living it more fully, intentionally, and meaningfully.

Drawing on timeless spiritual wisdom and practical insights, Kirk demonstrates how observing the Sabbath can reduce anxiety, improve focus, and deepen one’s connection with God, family, and self. He shows that true rest is not a luxury but a lifeline, a deliberate act of resistance against a culture obsessed with productivity and distraction. Through inspiring stories and actionable guidance, readers discover how a single day of dedicated pause can radically transform the week, the mind, and the heart.

Stop in the Name of God challenges conventional thinking about work, leisure, and purpose. It explores the profound psychological, emotional, and spiritual benefits of stepping away from the constant rush of life to embrace stillness, reflection, and worship. Kirk illuminates the power of presence, teaching that life’s richest moments are found not in perpetual motion but in intentional pauses that honor God’s design for rest, renewal, and restoration.

This book is a compelling call to action for anyone seeking peace in a noisy world, clarity amidst chaos, and deeper connection to what truly matters. By embracing the Sabbath as a sacred rhythm rather than a rigid rule, readers are empowered to reclaim time, strengthen relationships, and live with purpose, presence, and joy. Stop in the Name of God is more than a guide-it is a transformative journey toward a life of balance, meaning, and enduring spiritual fulfillment.

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