From the very beginning, God set one day of the week apart as special.
In the Old Testament this was the seventh day of the week. From the dawn of creation it was set apart in the way God ordered the flow of time in the fabric of creation. It had the effect of building a definite rhythm into life. Later it was formalised in the Ten Commandments into what became the Jewish Sabbath.
After Jesus’ resurrection, however, the day changed from the seventh to the first day of the week and became known as the Lord’s Day. It is still a Sabbath, but now sees Jesus as the key to enjoying its rest and its essence lies in the fact it provides a foretaste of the New Creation inaugurated by Jesus’ resurrection.
In line with the church’s practice through the ages, this is the day we look forward to and value most. What we do and what we receive on this one day will colour and shape every other day of the week for us and our families.
Each Lord’s Day we meet for morning and evening worship at 11.30am and 6.30pm. In due course we plan to recommence our Sunday School with a view to teaching the Bible to the next generation.
It is a sad, but curious thing that more and more Christians seem to have lost sight of the beauty and importance of this day. And, strangely, it was the Jewish American Senator, Joe Lieberman, who drew attention to its uniqueness in his book entitled, The Gift of Rest. It became a bestseller in the US and was applauded even in secular circles among people who were crying out for rest.
In this increasingly rest-less world, how much we need to rediscover this precious gift God has given, not just in the church; but in the world at large, and use it to the full!
