2. The Sabbath

The Sabbath

We might as well admit it....Sunday has pretty much become another day......another day for hobbies, for work, for play, for recreation, for shopping, for sports, for pretty much anything and everything but recognizing and honoring it as the Lord's Day.

You have probably heard the observation made that our grandfather's generation referred to Sunday as the "holy Sabbath," our father's generation referred to it as the "Sabbath," our generation refers to it as "Sunday," and now the day is simply part of the "weekend."   We can't argue with that observation; in fact, we have given up far more of the Sabbath than we probably realize.

So what happened to the Fourth Commandment?  You know, that list of commandments that we defend placing in our courtrooms and in our school buildings?

The fourth command is still there, right where God put it, written on stone, and one of the commandments that God will write on our hearts under the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:33-34).

Sunday  is still the Lord's Day. As the Lord's Day, gathering for worship with God's people is the priority of the day.  Works of mercy are permitted (but don't wait until Sunday to become merciful!).  Works of  necessity are permitted (but is it really necessary if you put off doing it on Saturday because you spent all Saturday playing at something else?).  Works of piety, that is, work related to the worship of God,  is permitted (Have you ever preached or taught a lesson in Sunday School...led the music...kept the nursery, etc?  It's work, isn't it?  But what a great work!).

As the Lord's Day, gathering for worship with God people is the priority of the day.  Everything else is to be planned around that priority.

It's amazing how our calender, our lives, and our hearts will be better ordered once we establish the priority of the Lord's Day and of the corporate worship to be given to God on that day.

I like what is written about the Lord's Day in "The Family Worship Book," edited by Terry L. Johnson, Senior Pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia:


"The key to your own and your family's spiritual health is remarkably simple. Though there is considerable hype to the contrary, it involves no pilgrimages  to sacred places. It requires no week-long or weekend retreats, seminary, or special programs. It depends on no special techniques or novel methodologies. You won't have to spend another night out. You won't need to add more meetings to an already frantic schedule. The key is to be found in the regular, ordinary, weekly worship services of the church. It is not a glamorous key, but it is the key nonetheless."

By the way....go back for the evening worship service  (yes, you can do it!).  After all, it is the Lord's Day, not the Lord's morning (or the Lord's hour).

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A great article on the Sabbath by Terry Johnson can be found on the website of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah.

See more about "The Family Worship Book" edited by Terry Johnson, by clicking here.