Bible Study #11: The Lord’s Day
The Lord’s Day . . . Sunday . . . the Sabbath . . . all represent by the
traditions of the church a day of worship and rest. A study of both
Scripture and church tradition help us have a better understanding of the
significance of this day to the Christian and the church.
God Divides Time
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh
day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His
work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in
it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. Genesis 2:1-3
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work:
you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your
cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the
LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11
God divided time into six days and ___one___ day.
The six days are for doing all your ___ work ___.
The Sabbath day is for ___ rest ___ like God rested.
God also blessed the Sabbath day and made it ___holy___.
Thus God divided time into: work time………………..rest time
common time……………holy time.
God’s commandment to make the Sabbath a time of rest and holiness
applies to: (circle the correct answer)
Jews only Born Again Christians only All creation
Why did God cease from His work? Was it for His own benefit or for the
benefit of man?
And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Mark 2:27
According to Jesus, God made the Sabbath for ___man ___.
God as creator gave a wonderful gift to mankind. . . a day of rest and
a day of holiness.
God made the Sabbath day a blessing to man. This blessing is the physical
and mental renewal that comes by ceasing from one’s work and the spiritual
renewal that comes by experiencing the holiness of the day.
Why do you think God wants you to rest one day out of the week? because He made our bodies to need a day of rest (NOTE: help student to admit working 7 days a week is never healthy nor productive)
Why do you think God wants you to make His Sabbath day holy? Because He wanted a day in which we honored, worshipped, and made Him our priority on that day
Remember the Sabbath
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8
God made the Sabbath day holy, and has commanded you to
_____keep________ it holy.
How do you keep the Sabbath holy . . . set it apart unto God?
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, And
call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not
doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of
the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has
spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14
Who does the text say the Sabbath day belongs to? My holy day - this day belongs to and is set apart to God
God wants you to call His Sabbath a _____delight________ and
_____honorable________.
How does God want you to make His day a delight and honor Him on His
holy day, the Sabbath? Turn away from doing my own pleasure, not doing my own ways; finding my own pleasure; speaking my own words (NOTE: understand the Sabbath is a day of doing only God’s will and pleasure exclusively - we must choose not to do our will and pleasure)
According to Isaiah’s teaching how do you think you should honor God
on the Sabbath (make your statements positive rather than negative)? I must seek to please God in everything I do on the Sabbath by doing only God’s will and pleasure.
When you obey God’s commands concerning His Sabbath, then
you shall _____delight________ yourself in the Lord.
What does God mean by, “delight yourself in the Lord”? (NOTE: understand and express that this delight is the great joy, peace, and contentment that comes when we draw close to God in our intimate love relationship with Him)
What was done on Sabbath?
According to the Bible what did God’s people do on the Sabbath?
Psalms 92:1-4 a song for the Sabbath: give thanks; sing praises; declare God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness, play musical instruments
Psalms 22:25; 35:18; 40:9-10; 111:1 praise God in the assembly; give thanks and praise in the assembly; speak openly of God in the assembly; give thanks in the assembly
Acts 13:14-15; 42-44 reading the Word; speaking a word of exhortation/encouragement; preaching and hearing of the Word of God
Luke 4:16-20; 4:31; 6:6; 13:10 reading of the Word; teaching the Word
Luke 23:56 rested according to the commandment - I,e., Exodus 20:8-11
Acts 20:7 the breaking of bread; and preaching of the Word to among and to those who had gathered
Acts 16:13 prayer and speaking the Word of God to those who had assembled
From the texts above summarize what God would have us do on the
Sabbath day: gather/assemble together to give thanks and praise Him, read, speak and teach His Word, exhort and encourage one another, rest, the breaking of bread (either fellowship or the Lord’s Supper), and prayer (NOTE: each of these texts speak directly or indirectly of gathering together - always plural!). God’s people are to gather & assemble on the Sabbath.
Isaiah 58:13-14 teaches us we are to do God’s will and pleasure on the
Sabbath day. What does Hebrews 10:24-25 teach us about God’s will and
pleasure for us on the day we assemble together? God’s will is for us to assemble (not forsake assembling) for the specific purpose of stimulating one another to love and good works, and encouraging one another
(NOTE: understand the gathering on the Sabbath is not first about yourself or your needs, its foremost about God and the needs of others - stimulating and encouraging them)
According to the texts in Isaiah 58 and Hebrews 10 what are the two
primary reasons to keep the Sabbath? #1 reason is to please God by doing His will and pleasure; #2 reason is to stimulate and encourage others to love and good works, to seek to meet their needs
According to Luke 4:16 and Acts 17:2 what was the custom of Jesus and
Paul in order to keep the Sabbath Day? Both Jesus and Paul made it their custom to gather/assemble with God’s people on the Sabbath day
What do you think were Jesus’ and Paul’s motives for going to the
synagogue? To obey God’s commandment to keep the Sabbath and make it holy; to do God’s will and please Him
What do you believe God would have your custom to be concerning His
holy day, the Sabbath? To follow the example of Jesus and Paul: To obey God’s commandment to keep the Sabbath and make it holy; to do God’s will and please Him
Why Do We Assemble on Sunday?
Read the following texts and identify what you believe was a significant
event or a significant tradition to the early church according to the Bible.
Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 20:1; John 20:1 Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, Sunday
John 20:19; John 20:26 disciples were together on the first day of the week when Jesus appeared to them
Acts 2:1-4; Lev 23:15 the day of Pentecost when the Church received power from on high (they were empowered by the Holy Spirit from God) was on the first day of the week, Sunday
Acts 20:7 shows the early Acts church gathered on the first day of the week to break bread and preach the Word
1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul instructed churches to take a collection on the first day of the week
What conclusion can you draw from this texts regarding the first day of the
week, Sunday? (NOTE: the first day was of great significance to the early church, and seems to be a day in which the church gathered together)
The Witness of the Early Church
Ignatius: The first day of week was sacred to the followers of Jesus Christ because
on this day “our life sprang up through Him and His death (Ign Mag 9:1).
Didache 2nd century AD - “On the Lord’s day assemble and break bread and give
thanks, having first confessed your sins, that your sacrifice might be pure”
Justin AD 150 - Apology: “And on the day which is called the day of the sun there
s an assembly of all who live in the towns or in the country; the memoirs of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits . . . then president speaks admonishing us and exhorting us to imitate these examples. Then we arise all together and offer prayers; and , as we said before, when we have concluded our prayer, bread is brought, and wine, and water, and the president in like manner offers up prayers and thanksgivings with all his might; and the people assent with Amen; and there is the distribution and partaking by all of the Eucharistic elements. And they that are prosperous and wish to do so give what they will, each after his choice. What is collected is deposited with the president…”
“We hold our common assembly on the day of the sun, because it is the first day, on which God put to flight darkness and chaos and made the world, and on the same day Jesus Christ our saviour arose from the dead; for on the day before that of Saturn they crucified him; and on the day after Saturn’s day, the day of the sun, he appeared to his Apostles and disciples and taught them these things, which we have also handed on to you for your consideration.”
What confirmation of the Bible’s teaching on the Sabbath do you find in the witness and practices of the early church? (NOTE: help student to see the witness of the early church’s history evidences that the church gathered for worship on the first day of the week, Sunday. Point out that Acts portrays those Jews in the synagogues began to persecute the Christians and the Gospel spread and the church grew. Increasing the Christians were no longer welcome at the synagogues as they first were.)
Review the lesson. What are some of the more significant things the
Holy Spirit has taught you about the Sabbath?