What Sunday is Good for

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8, NLT)

“The world and the church need genuinely rested Christians: Christians who are regularly refreshed by true Sabbath rest” (Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World)

Entire books have been published in the last few years on the impact of stress, fatigue, and sleep deprivation on our society. But few if any books, articles or reports have connected all of this with the loss of one day in seven as a day of rest.

But the fourth commandment is clear. Our bodies and souls are made to work six days and to rest on the seventh. We cannot persistently violate that law without breaking down at some point – either physically, emotionally, or in family relationships.

D.L. Moody said, “Saturday is my day of rest, because I generally preach on Sunday, and I look forward to it as a body does to a holiday”

There are three purposes: To Rest, Reflect, and Rejoice.

It was Socrates who said that an unexamined life is not worth living. Sabbath rest is not merely a time for rest or recreation. It’s modeled after the activity of God himself, who, having worked six days, took a Sabbath. He eased from His labors, not to go off and play, but to examine what He had done. Looking over the previous six days, He declared, “It is good.”

Sabbath is designed to provide us an opportunity to pause and look at what we have done and to decide whether it was worth doing and, if so, whether it was done well. It also gives us an opportunity to prayerfully plan the week opening before us*.

What Sunday is good for?

Rest, Reflect and Rejoice

Which day is your Sabbath day (if you’re working on Sunday)?

Take time for God and self… Choose a day

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

*Quote from Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook of Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2007), 720-221 [Except two quotations above and summary below].