Keeping Sabbath

Mark 2:23 - 3:6

Wow, apologies to all my blog followers for this very late posting. I had computer issues during the week, getting all my stuff transferred over to a new system, and thus was not as connected as usual.

In this sermon I address two questions I am often asked about the Sabbath--which is the right day and what is appropriate for me to do on the Sabbath.

In the sermon I make a big deal over the fact that as Christians, we do not really celebrate the Sabbath, since  that is an Old Testament concept which is rooted in the Law and set for the seventh day of the week. Rather, we celebrate the Lord's Day. We keep the principle of a sabbath, but we do it on a specific day, in honor of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Sometimes Sabbatarians (those who insist that the Christian Sabbath must be observed on Saturday) try to make a point that it was not until Constantine, the Roman Emperor, converted to Christianity that the church began to worship on Sunday. That is not the case, as this article shows.

Actually, except for the fact that we want to honor the Resurrection of Jesus--the event that changed the world--it does not really matter what day we set aside for sabbath. Paul was clear that we should not get hung up on special days. See Galatians 4:8-10. There are millions of people who cannot take Sunday as their day of worship and rest, at least not every week--medical personnel and caregivers, pastors, air traffic controllers, first responders, etc. But take a day we must, for God order our bodies to function in this way, and we need sabbath to worship, refresh and rejuvenate.

In the sermon I speak a bit to the principles that I understand to govern the Christian sabbath. If you have not heard it, give it a listen (linked from the side of this page).

Thanks for digging deeper.