Observing the Sabbath Starts on Monday Morning
Prepare All Week
When it comes to observing the Sabbath, one of the best pieces of advice I received as a young Christian from an older minister was that observing the Sabbath starts on Monday morning. What does he mean by that? What he means is God gives us six days to do our work, and that’s enough. And then he has one day given to us for a special work: worship in the presence of God with his people.
So that means, in the first place, I need to order my life Monday through Saturday so that I can do the work God has given me to do in the six days that he’s given me. And if I can’t do that, then the problem is on my end and obviously not on God’s end.
The Sabbath as Rest and Hope for the People of God
Guy Prentiss Waters
In this addition to the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, Guy Prentiss Waters provides a study of the Sabbath, from creation to consummation.
The second thing that I do is to keep the main thing the main thing. This is a day of worship and fellowship, so I want to commit to being in the Lord’s house with God’s people every Sunday and worship every opportunity that I have. And so if the church that I’m a part of is meeting in the morning and in the evening, I want to be there. And then in the between times, I want to take opportunities for fellowship as they present themselves. This could be a meal with fellow Christians, or it could be serving Christians who are in a nursing home and can’t get out and be with the people of God, just spending time to encourage them. There are lots of ways that we can use this time to serve others in fellowship on God’s day.
Guy Prentiss Waters is the author of The Sabbath as Rest and Hope for the People of God.
Related Articles
How (and How Not) to Keep the Sabbath
It is tempting to rush into discussions about what to do (and not to do) on the Sabbath. But before we get there, there are a couple of questions that we need to ask.
The Biblical Case for Observing the Sabbath Today
We were made to work, but we were made for more than work. We were made for worship—fellowship in communion with the living God.
It’s by Design That We’ve Never Lived without the Sabbath
In the creation account, God makes the world and everything in it in six days. A seventh day follows that is set apart from the previous six in some important ways.
Podcast: Is the Sabbath Still Relevant for Christians? (Guy Waters)
Guy Waters discusses God's original purpose for the Sabbath, how the idea of Sabbath rest recurs throughout the Old and New Testaments, and whether the Sabbath is relevant for Christians today.
