The Lord's Day: Why We Come Together on Sundays
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Text - Matthew 28:1-8; Acts 20.7; Rev 1.9-11
Text - Matthew 28:1-8; Acts 20.7; Rev 1.9-11
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Title - The Lord’s Day: Why We Come Together on Sundays
Lord’s Day
Lord’s Day
grk. kyriakon hemera
Background
When Sunday was assigned “Emeperor’s Day”, the Christians were persecuted and forced to choose between Caesar or Christ.
The true Christians chose Christ, and called Sunday “Lord’s Day”
the day belongs to the Lord
therefore, on this daym, Sunday, Christians gather for Jesus Christ
Main Issues
Main Issues
Christians are accused (by sabbath keepers) of -
having the mark of antichrist - because Sunday worship is supposedly a RCC doctrine and invention
disobeying the direct command of God - for worshipping on Sunday (first day of the week) instead of Saturday (7th day)
Key Questions
has Sunday replaced Sabbath in isgnificance and purpose?
are following the way the RCC believe and practice Sunday worship?
why do we gather for worship on Sundays?
Main Subject
Main Subject
Although biblical worship is not confined to a day and a place, Sunday as a day of worship has many spiritual significance to the church from the beginning of Christianity.
Main Points
Main Points
Is Sunday a replacement of Saturday/Sabbath day?
Is Sunday a replacement of Saturday/Sabbath day?
The Roman Catholic Cathecism says so -
2189 "Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Deut 5:12). "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord" (Ex 31:15).
2190 The sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ.
2191 The Church celebrates the day of Christ's Resurrection on the "eighth day," Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord's Day (cf. SC 106).
2192 "Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church" (CIC, can. 1246 § 1). "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass" (CIC, can. 1247).
2193 "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound . . . to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord's Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and body" (CIC, can. 1247).
2194 The institution of Sunday helps all "to be allowed sufficient rest and leisure to cultivate their amilial, cultural, social, and religious lives" (GS 67 § 3).
2195 Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day.
An RCC theologian explains -
The earliest Christian writings we have present this truth of Christ being resurrected on what they called the “eighth day.” The early Fathers taught that after the seven days of the first creation, Christ completed and fulfilled all that the first creation “shadowed.” And when did this occur? On “the eighth day,” or Sunday. The epistle of Barnabas, chapter 15 (written in the late first or early second century), says:
Finally [God] says to them: “I cannot bear your new moons and Sabbaths.” You see what he means: It is not the present Sabbaths that are acceptable to me, but the one that I have made; on that Sabbath day, which is the beginning of another world. This is why we spend the eighth day in celebration, the day on which Jesus both arose from the dead and, after appearing again, ascended into heaven.
As a matter of biblical history, Christ not only rose from the dead, he also appeared and ascended on Sunday (Luke 24:51)!
Sunday, for Christians, is “the first day” in that it is Sunday, the “eighth day” in its being the inaugural of the new creation and the “seventh day” from the perspective of that new creation. It is the day Christ entered into his rest and the day the salvation of the world was secured—we could then become a new creation in Christ and enter in to the rest and peace of Christ.
Notice - RCC teaches that
the OT sabbath is connected with the old creation
in the new creation, Sunday is the new Sabbath
Sunday is to be observed as a day of worship, rest and leisure
The weekly sabbath is not related to worship
The weekly sabbath is not related to worship
Sabbath was given to Israel for rest - Exodus 16.29-30 “29 See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.”
Sabbath was intended to commemorate God’s rest from His work - Exo 20.8-11 “8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
Sabbath keeping was a sign of covenant between Israel and God Exodus 31.16-17 “16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ””
For the church, rest is no longer a day, but a person - Jesus Christ - Matt 11.28-30 “28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””
Jesus gives us rest, because He IS our rest!
Is Sunday a day of Worship?
Is Sunday a day of Worship?
There is no single day assigned as a day of worship in the Bible!
There is no single day assigned as a day of worship in the Bible!
Worship is not attached to a day
O.T. worship was attached to a place - Jerusalem, Zion, the temple
13 Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see;
14 but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.
7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
Jesus introduced a new way of worship
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Worship is no longer dependent on location or a day -
worshipers can come to God anywhere!
Worship is can come to God any day!
The early church and the apostles did not institute a specific day for worship
The early church and the apostles did not institute a specific day for worship
at the beginning, they gathered everyday for prayer, teaching, breaking of bread from house to house
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
perhaps, because it was feast day (Pentecost)
later, the churches established a routine of gathering together for worship on the first day of the week
7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
first day… - significant in that Luke did not usually mention a specific day in his account
“when” - indicates the “coming together” was a regular or established practice
So why do we worship on Sunday?
So why do we worship on Sunday?
What is the real purpose of coming together on Sundays?
Reason #1 - The early church “came together” to “break bread”
Reason #1 - The early church “came together” to “break bread”
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
Jesus left them with an instruction at the last supper
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
took the bread and broke it
do this in remembrance of me
Paul teaches the breaking of bread to the church at Corinth
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
Paul corrects the church - 1 Cor 11:17-22
Paul reminds them why they "break bread”
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
“do this in remembrance of me” - the remembrance is not on the day, but on the Person
hence, the Lord Supper can be observed on Sundays, or any other day
Reason #2 - The early church came together for ministering for “edification”
Reason #2 - The early church came together for ministering for “edification”
Paul then sets in order the other purpose of the their coming together
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
the weekly gathering of the believers became the right time in which the saints can minister to one another through their spiritual gifts
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:
2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.
Reason #3 - Jesus emphasized the first day of the week as the appropriate time to come together, being the day He rose from the dead!
Reason #3 - Jesus emphasized the first day of the week as the appropriate time to come together, being the day He rose from the dead!
First - by appearing in the midst of his disciples during that specific day
note - Jesus rose from the dead early morning of Sunday
the same day he rose from the dead, Jesus appeared to the disciples in the evening
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
earlier in that same day, Jesus appeared to 2 disciples on a road
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.
29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
these disciples returned to Jerusalem that night to report what they had experienced - Luke 24.33—43
After 1 week, Jesus appeared again - on the first day of the week!
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Sunday is a day of rejoicing for the disciples!
Sunday is a day of visitation from the Lord!
Second - the Holy Spirit was poured out to the church on the first day of the week!
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Pentecost - 50th day, after 7sabbaths (49 days)
Sunday is a day of outpouring of the Holy Spirit and power!
Note: in Acts 20:7-12 A man was raised from the dead!
Third - Jesus visits John in the Isle of Patmos to reveal the future!
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Sunday is a day of revealing!
Worship on Sundays
Worship on Sundays
Since worship is a daily practice for the church, it becomes integral to the gathering of the saints!
the early church prayed until Christ came, then they worship
today, we assume by faith the Presence of Christ, even before He moves among us, so we worship!
Conclusion
Conclusion
On Worship
Don’t reserve your worship on Sundays, or for church gatherings
Worship God everyday of your life!
On Sunday
Let us “come together” - with expectation
Jesus will visit us with His mighty presence
Jesus will reveal things to His church
Jesus will minister to our needs through His gifts in the church
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 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.
SONG - He Is Lord;