Have you ever just wanted a day OFF? Well, God in His infinite wisdom knew this. He gave us the Sabbath. This is not about legalism; this is about common sense.
I like to joke with my friends when they are tired, “Hey, remember ‘rest is a commandment!’
If you grew up in the time before the 1970’s, you may remember that most businesses were closed on Sundays. No shopping at the mall. No buying groceries at the Supermarket. Closed.
A bakery might be open for a few hours so that people could come get their bread and special desserts for Sundays. You might see an open gas station every so often. But mostly, Sunday was a day off.
Sunday was spent with family and friends, and especially grandparents and cousins. Compare that to today, when many children don’t even know who their fathers are. Forget about spending time with grandparents, and learning the wisdom of the “olden days.”
There is something different about Sunday, it’s not supposed to be business as usual. It is supposed to be Holy (separate) unto the Lord.
We like to throw around 2 Chronicles 7:14. “If MY people, who are called by MY name, will humble themselves and seek my face and turn from THEIR wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and then I will forgive THEIR sin, and heal their land.”
It doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist to see that America is going down the wrong road. Judgment is falling all around us. It is not the job of the church to point to the world, and tell them what they are doing wrong. It is the job of the church to humble themselves, take the time to pray and seek God, turn from their wicked ways. And we can’t do that if we are spending Sunday at the Mall !! (unless of course you are there handing out tracts, bibles, and witnessing….)
When God first gave the Sabbath to Israel, he also gave them instructions for planning ahead:
Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” Exodus 16:28-30
I remember growing up, my parents would figure out on Friday what they needed for the weekend, withdraw the money out of the bank, buy whatever food we needed for Sunday dinner, and fill the car up with gas.
Israel was to gather extra on the day before the sabbath, so that they would not have to work on the Sabbath.
Israel was instructed:
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8 – 11
It was also the Sabbath that preserved the Jewish people through the ages, and kept them as a special people:
Exodus 31:13
13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
If we are the church, do we look any different to the world in this respect? Would anyone know we are Christians because we have a day we keep for the Lord?
Like I said, this is not about legalism–it’s about common sense. Obviously, nurses and doctors are needed on the Sabbath. You wouldn’t let someone die or hold back medical care.
Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” Luke 6:8-10
Jesus asked, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Luke 14:4-6
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If the greatest problem of our society is the breakdown of the family, which in turn leads to abortion (which we know God hates), drug addiction (because people are hurting) and a host of other issues, wouldn’t it make sense to start by putting the family back together?
REST — Restore Enjoying Sundays Together.
What if WE, as the church, began to Honor the Sabbath Day, and Keep it Holy? What if WE stopped going to the Mall, grocery stores, and gas stations on Sundays? What if we spent time with family and friends, turned off the TV, and spent time praying and honoring God?
Would God then forgive our sin, and heal our land?
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- The Sabbath day (bummyla.wordpress.com)
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God (bummyla.wordpress.com)
- Sabbath Rest (thekindnesskronicles.wordpress.com)
- Remember the Sabbath Day by Keeping it Holy (communionwithjesus.wordpress.com)
- The Sabbath of the Lord Thy God (sabbathsermons.com)
SueAnn Porter 
Did the Christians of the New Testament church keep the Sabbath or no? Let us analyse the scriptures as our authority. Did Jesus keep the commandments of God or did he not?
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Jesus says by the testimony of himself he did keep the fathers commandments. Did he observe the seventh day Sabbath? Let us look at what his custom was.
Luke 4:16 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 for to read.
What did Jesus do customarily on the Sabbath? He went to the synagogue.
Luke 4:31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days.
What did Jesus do on the Sabbath? He taught people. Jesus observed the seventh day Sabbath. Are we to follow the example of Jesus or do something different?
1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
What did Jesus do? He left us an example so that we can follow in the same things that he was doing. What should we do with the example of Jesus?
1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
What are we to do? We are to walk in the same way that Jesus walked. Jesus kept the seventh day Sabbath and so should we. Did the new testament mean the seventh day Sabbath? Did some changes happen along the way? Did it mean something else other than the seventh day? http://sabbathsermons.com/2009/08/30/the-new-testament-sabbath/
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What day did Jesus rise from the dead? The first day of the week which is on Sunday.
Mark 16:9 Now when [Jesus] was risen early the first [day] of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
What reason do Christians give for keeping Sunday holy? They say they keep Sunday holy because it is the day of the resurrection of Jesus.
“Jews dedicate the seventh, or Sabbath, day to recalling the divine basis of life. Christians follow a similar seven-day cycle but give special prestige to Sunday honouring the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which, according to the Christian scriptures, occurred on the first day of the week.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia 2000
The Catholic church says;
“We celebrate Sunday because of the venerable resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and we do so not only at Easter but also at each turning of the week”.
On what day was Christ laid in the tomb? The preparation day (Friday) before the Sabbath drew on.
Luke 23:52 This [man] went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
23:53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
What did the women do after seeing where Jesus was laid? They began the work of anointing Jesus preparing spices and ointments. What delayed their work? They delayed their work to rest the Sabbath day (Saturday) according to the commandment. When did they recommence their work? They recommenced their work on the first day of the week (Sunday) bringing the spices to the tomb.
Luke 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
When the Sabbath ends what commences? The gospel of Mark it plainly states that “when the Sabbath was past” then the first day of the week began. All the gospel writers concur on this point.
Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
16:2 And very early in the morning the first [day] of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
John 20:1 The first [day] of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Matthew 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Rather than leave bodies on the cross on Sabbath the Jews appealed to Pilate to have their legs broken to hasten their death.
John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away. http://sabbathsermons.com/2010/10/30/the-sabbath-in-the-new-testament/
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