The Lord’s Day
The Lord’s Service. The Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Praise. And the Lord’s Presence.
At the beginning of this year, we took eight weeks to look at all that we do when we gather on Sunday. If you recall, we answered a series of questions, which can be found in this sermon series. Short of listening to all of those sermons, however, here they are as a short catechism.
Q.Where do we gather on the Lord’s Day?
A.Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22–24)
Q.Who gathers on the Lord’s Day?
A.The Lord and his people (Revelation 1)
Q.What are we doing on the Lord’s Day?
A.Remembering the covenant (Exodus 19–24) and seeing the glory of God (Leviticus 9)
Q.What are we singing on the Lord’s Day?
A.Sacrifices of praise (Psalms 107–150)
Q.What are we building on the Lord’s Day?
A.The local altar (Exodus 25:1–9)
Q.What are we eating on the Lord’s Day?
A.The bread and the cup of the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 11)
Q.Who are we serving on the Lord’s Day?
A.The Lord and one another (Hebrews 12:18–29)
While this list is full, it is not complete. And one important question, which surfaces in each question ("the Lord’s Day") was not answered. And that question was this: What is the Lord’s Day? When is the Lord’s Day? And what does the Bible say about when we are to meet?
In answering questions about liturgy last Spring, this question was postponed. But Lord willing, on this Lord’s Day, we will have the chance to consider why we gather on Sunday and why prioritizing that day is so important for individual Christians and for the church at large.
In the Old Testament, God gave a very specific command to Israel to “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” This is the Fourth Commandment that was given at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20) and then repeated when Moses prepared the second generation of Israel to enter the Promised land (Deuteronomy 5).
On the basis of the Ten Commandments, Israel was called to work six days and rest on the seventh. And on that day, the people would turn their hearts, minds, and bodies to worship God. That is to say, the Sabbath day called the people to worship God. But more than that, Israel’s entire calendar was given to them by God to order their year with holy convocations. You can read about them in Leviticus 23. And accordingly, under the Old Covenant, the people were commanded to keep the Sabbath in order to worship God.
But what about today? Does the Sabbath command still apply? Are all days the same? Or does the Sabbath transfer to the Lord’s Day, as the Second London Confession frames it?
These are important questions. And ones that take more than one blogpost to answer. In fact, answering the Sabbath question requires a whole Bible theology—a view of the Sabbath from Genesis to Revelation. So, I will not try to answer all the questions today or on Sunday. Yet, on Sunday, I will offer an answer to the question: When do we meet?
In answering questions about liturgy last Spring, this question was postponed. But Lord willing, on this Lord’s Day, we will have the chance to consider why we gather on Sunday and why prioritizing that day is so important for individual Christians and for the church at large.
Therefore, to prepare for Sunday take time to read Exodus 20:8–11, Psalm 92, and Isaiah 66:18–24. These are the three texts, along with John 20:1; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10, that will shape our understanding of why we gather when we do. Indeed, it has been a joy to see the way God has grown our fellowship and liturgy on the Lord’s Day, and I look forward to returning to preach this Sunday as we consider the glories of the Lord’s Day.
For Christ’s Glory and your joy in him,
Pastor David
LCF 22.7: “As it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by his Word, in a positive moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all ages, he has particularly appointed one day in seven for a sabbath to be kept holy unto him, which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week, which is called the Lord's Day: and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.”
At the beginning of this year, we took eight weeks to look at all that we do when we gather on Sunday. If you recall, we answered a series of questions, which can be found in this sermon series. Short of listening to all of those sermons, however, here they are as a short catechism.
Q.Where do we gather on the Lord’s Day?
A.Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22–24)
Q.Who gathers on the Lord’s Day?
A.The Lord and his people (Revelation 1)
Q.What are we doing on the Lord’s Day?
A.Remembering the covenant (Exodus 19–24) and seeing the glory of God (Leviticus 9)
Q.What are we singing on the Lord’s Day?
A.Sacrifices of praise (Psalms 107–150)
Q.What are we building on the Lord’s Day?
A.The local altar (Exodus 25:1–9)
Q.What are we eating on the Lord’s Day?
A.The bread and the cup of the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 11)
Q.Who are we serving on the Lord’s Day?
A.The Lord and one another (Hebrews 12:18–29)
While this list is full, it is not complete. And one important question, which surfaces in each question ("the Lord’s Day") was not answered. And that question was this: What is the Lord’s Day? When is the Lord’s Day? And what does the Bible say about when we are to meet?
In answering questions about liturgy last Spring, this question was postponed. But Lord willing, on this Lord’s Day, we will have the chance to consider why we gather on Sunday and why prioritizing that day is so important for individual Christians and for the church at large.
In the Old Testament, God gave a very specific command to Israel to “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” This is the Fourth Commandment that was given at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20) and then repeated when Moses prepared the second generation of Israel to enter the Promised land (Deuteronomy 5).
On the basis of the Ten Commandments, Israel was called to work six days and rest on the seventh. And on that day, the people would turn their hearts, minds, and bodies to worship God. That is to say, the Sabbath day called the people to worship God. But more than that, Israel’s entire calendar was given to them by God to order their year with holy convocations. You can read about them in Leviticus 23. And accordingly, under the Old Covenant, the people were commanded to keep the Sabbath in order to worship God.
But what about today? Does the Sabbath command still apply? Are all days the same? Or does the Sabbath transfer to the Lord’s Day, as the Second London Confession frames it?
These are important questions. And ones that take more than one blogpost to answer. In fact, answering the Sabbath question requires a whole Bible theology—a view of the Sabbath from Genesis to Revelation. So, I will not try to answer all the questions today or on Sunday. Yet, on Sunday, I will offer an answer to the question: When do we meet?
In answering questions about liturgy last Spring, this question was postponed. But Lord willing, on this Lord’s Day, we will have the chance to consider why we gather on Sunday and why prioritizing that day is so important for individual Christians and for the church at large.
Therefore, to prepare for Sunday take time to read Exodus 20:8–11, Psalm 92, and Isaiah 66:18–24. These are the three texts, along with John 20:1; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10, that will shape our understanding of why we gather when we do. Indeed, it has been a joy to see the way God has grown our fellowship and liturgy on the Lord’s Day, and I look forward to returning to preach this Sunday as we consider the glories of the Lord’s Day.
For Christ’s Glory and your joy in him,
Pastor David
LCF 22.7: “As it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by his Word, in a positive moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all ages, he has particularly appointed one day in seven for a sabbath to be kept holy unto him, which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week, which is called the Lord's Day: and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.”
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