Sabbath Day

Many people are not attending church these days, and some of these folks are Christians. Of course, it is understandable in cases of illness or even in the case of a Sunday employment responsibility. We also know there are many places around the world where one is not free to attend a church service on the Sabbath Day.

Let's look at the phenomena from the vantage point of my life in Westchester County, New York. Here is a partial list of reasons why people have told me that they aren't going to church on Sunday. "My son has a soccer game." "I had a busy week. I am so tired." "Our family has to catch up on chores, my house is a mess and the kids have too much homework." "Home repairs." "Sunday is the only day that I can sleep in. Anyway, I can watch a service online." I have certainly made some of these excuses myself over the years.

Let's look a little more closely at the underlying issues regarding church attendance. As we look at some of the reasons people stay away from church we see that people are exhausted and overwhelmed by their lives. They feel unable to accomplish basic weekly chores. These are issues that must be addressed and can be eliminated in order to be free and available to attend a weekly worship service.

Then, there are the other issues which arise and explain why Christians stay away from churches. Foremost among them is lack of viable churches in their vicinity. Many churches no longer preach sound Christian doctrine and have instead become something other than what Christ intended. Other churches seem cold and unable to welcome newcomers. What of ungodly and hurtful things that happen to some in various congregations? The music played at service has also arisen to be a factor in people's minds when choosing a worship service.

Regardless of the issues you might have regarding the need to attend church services, there is a clear mandate to do so biblically speaking. God himself constructed and gave us a template for doing so in the early books of the Bible and the theme of corporate worship continues to be developed and referred to throughout the entirety of the Bible.

The Old Testament books of Exodus and Leviticus mention worship. Vitally important is the commandment mentioned in Exodus 20:8-11 commanding Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 

Here is another such passage: when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent -Exodus 33:10. 
Moving on in the Bible, we see an account of worship during the time of King David, 2 Samuel 6:5 says David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.

As I have studied the various scriptures concerning worship it is pretty clear that people then as well as now have struggled to keep holy the sabbath day.  When Exodus 20:10 states that neither our sons or daughters are suppose to work on the Sabbath Day. This means that we parents have to take a stand as regards what activities they are allowed to engage in on Sunday.

For those of you in Westchester, who don't know what that means, let me further explain. We must say no to our children sometimes. As I can attest, that could mean various tantrums, hate-filled tirades and allegations of ruining their lives on the part of a child. Resolving to follow this directive
from God Himself could have far reaching implications for you and your family.

After God did the creative work of bringing the whole world into existence He rested and He exhorts us to do the same. What could be more compelling? Another compelling fact to reflect upon is that Jesus is pictured in the synagogue studying scripture and worshipping God on the sabbath. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read -Luke 4:16. 

In Luke 4:16 Jesus shows us part of the purpose of the sabbath to be that of reading and studying scripture. Time spent on Sunday doing this will help us grow toward spiritual maturity and in living the Christian life. A godly church offers an opportunity to share time with spiritually mature elders and hear a mature Christian, the Pastor, teach, help you understand the Bible and assist you in fostering your relationship with God. In 2 Timothy 4:2 Paul rather compellingly tells Timothy: Preach the word, be urgent in season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. God equips certain ones among us to fulfill this role of preaching and you can meet that person at the pulpit on Sunday.

Jesus desired that we should all be one in Him.  In other words we should be united in some ways. The Bible describes Christ and the church as a body with Him as the head and we as the parts.  This suggests working together tightly and efficiently. The picture of Jesus as the groom and the church as the bride is another example of this closeness. Yet, the concept of coming together with one another and with Christ is never taken for granted in the Bible because somehow in our sinful ways this commandment is put aside.

Our busy lives and selfish ways get in the way of doing was is really important, that is giving God glory and praise on the day that He set aside as holy. In addition, to the worship of God, we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross and have communion in memory of that. So, I urge you as Paul so perfectly did in Hebrews: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching- Hebrews 10:25.