When do we worship?

Speaker: Rich Gartman

Series:

Scripture:

Main Idea:

Intro

As we continue our study of Who, What, When, Where, and Why of the church we arrive at the when. Just so you can know the reason for doing such a basic study is to unify Journey Church on very simple doctrines. These last few sermons and the next few will then become part of a new members class I would like to start in the future. This class will deal with our beliefs and our vision of the future.

Today we pick up with one more W of when

When do we worship is something that actually is a big deal even today. Many in here would say Sunday and they would be wrong. Many then would come back to Sabbath – Saturday and say that is when we worship. And then they would be wrong. Worship is something we do everyday not one day a week. But that is another sermon. Today we look at corporate worship not personal worship and what day we participate in that.

A professor at a Christian college once told me it never fails. A few months into a new year a few students begin to start going to messianic Jewish services, they start to prescribe to Sabbath worship, and they sew on the tassels to their clothing. Sure enough a few months later here comes on of my friends doing this. These are not weak minded people but people when presented with another view simply chose that direction. More then likely because they had beliefs to worship on Sundays that was only backed up with, “we have always done it that way.”

So lets start with the establishment of the Sabbath.

Bible Verse

Exodus 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 a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The Institution of the Sabbath

Explanation – Point 1

From creation onward, the people of God worshiped on the seventh day of the week. This was a “creation ordinance” that the Creator Himself established by His example, with the intent that His creatures would follow it. He worked six days and called His image-bearers to work (Gen. 2:15); He rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2; Ex. 20:11; 31:17) and called His image-bearers to rest. He signified this with His benediction, setting apart the seventh day as “holy” (Gen. 2:3).

Later, when the Sabbath command was reiterated, we read: “In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed” (Ex. 31:17). The word “refreshed” (Hebrew, naphash) is used only two other times in the Old Testament: once in reference to giving rest to animals, servants, and visitors within Israel (Ex. 23:12), and once in reference to David and his men (2 Sam. 16:14). After God worked to make everything, it was as if His rest refreshed Him. Yet God’s rest and refreshment mean so much more; they have to do with His joy and satisfaction. The psalmist writes, “May the Lord rejoice in his works” (Ps. 104:31). God’s rest and satisfaction was that of a King; having created the heavens and the earth to be His cosmic palace, He took His place on His throne, so to speak, on the seventh day. (Daniel Hyde)

Illustration – Point 1

A few years ago a whole church decided to move a service to Saturday because they wanted to be “biblical.” The funny thing is they set the service time at 6pm because Saturday morning wasn’t going to work for most of the church. Jewish people observe days differently then we do today. Instead of midnight to midnight to make a day it is sun down to sundown. So in truth they still were not worshipping on the Sabbath, instead on the first day of the week, Sunday.

Application – Point 1

Bible Verse – Point 2

The Institution of the Lord’s Day

Explanation – Point 2

There are many churches that worship on Saturday including seventh-day Adventist. Seventh day Baptist, various churches of god, assembly of god, Sabbath churches. I found a website that had 495 churches. So are we doing it right?

I would love to make this point clear though before we begin. Sunday is not the Sabbath. It is not the new Sabbath. Sunday is just the day we and the early Christian church began to come together to break bread, to study the word, to worship together.

Illustration – Point 2

J. Vernon McGee told of a man who came to him and said, “I’ll give you $100 if you will show me where the Sabbath day has been changed.” McGee answered, “I don’t think it has been changed. Saturday, the seventh day is still Saturday, and it is still the Sabbath day.” He got a gleam in his eye and said, “Then why don’t you keep the Sabbath day if it hasn’t been changed?” McGee answered, “the DAY hasn’t changed, but I have been changed. I am joined to Christ; I am a part of the new creation. We celebrate the first day because that is the day He rose from the grave.” That is what it means that the ordinances have been nailed to the cross, (Col. 2:14). (Source unknown).

Application – Point 2

Many Christian churches in the early church were made up of jews. They still went to synagogues on Saturday but they began to meet in house to break bread on the first day of the week. It was in relationship to Christ resurrection on Sunday. This also became a time to study the new letters being written at the time, and a time to take up collections. The early church began to see more significance on this day to come together. Is there anything biblical wrong with this.

No. Sabbath was set up by God as a day to rest and worship. But even in the OT times everyday was a day to worship. In fact the corporate worship establish in the OT was to make sacrifices on Sabbath. Never did it command that day to be a day study the scriptures. That was later established by scribes. Since we no longer make Scarifies, I hope, then we no longer have to observe that aspect of the Sabbath. There is no particular day set up to come together to study scripture. We should study scripture on our own everyday. But the early church set up Sunday to come together in remembrance of the resurrection. This is a big deal and when we meet on this day because our salvation is in the fact that Christ conquered death. But as Baptist this is not the only day that we meet and that is ok. The early church sometimes meet several times a week. We also meet on Wednesday. But what if we meat on Thursdays instead. This is not something that is a sin. Paul in Romans 14 :1-10 says

1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord;[a] and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose[b] and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother?

See this is not something that will define your salvation. Only Christ and his sacrifice and his resurrection can define salvation.

We meet on Sundays because of his resurrection, we meet on Wednesday as a mid week meeting to have that time to be built up by word. To strengthen one another. And this is good. If we met on Saturday night (still Sunday) or Sunday night (now Monday) well good. We choose this day out of history of what Christ did and the early church.

Bible Verse – Point 3

Rest is Still Important

Explanation – Point 3

Illustration – Point 3

One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did.” But you didn’t notice,” said the winning woodsman, “that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest.” (Source Unknown).

Application – Point 3

Conclusion