In our semester study of Exodus, I am constantly reminded of my daily need for the grace of our Lord Jesus and to “forget not all His benefits.”  (Psalm 103:2)  One of the great benefits our Lord
has given to us is the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is the day we gather with the church, visible and invisible, and worship our Triune, Living God.  It is also a day of rest.  But another function of the Sabbath is to remind us that God
is our Creator and that truth gives us peace, comfort, hope, and joy to face the week ahead. In Exodus 20:8-11, God, in the Ten Commandments states,

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.  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.

In Exodus 31:16-17, He goes on to say,

The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.

So what is the significance? Not too long ago, the day-to-day routine in America observed this day of rest. Shopping centers were closed, public schools would not schedule sporting events on Sunday, and believers would go to Worship.

Around 20 or so years ago, a few stores starting opening for business on Sundays.  There was relatively little resistance and before we knew it, Chic-fil-a was the only business in the mall with
its gates closed on Sunday.  Soccer practice and play practices were soon to follow suit.  There were even churches who scheduled their Worship Services on Saturday night so people could
have the whole day Sunday “to do whatever they wanted.”

It is no small coincidence that when people forgot the Sabbath, they forgot their Creator.  As a matter of fact, it was around the same time, 20-30 years ago, evolutionists became emboldened in
their cause.  You see, the Sabbath reminded not only the believers that we rest on this day because God rested in creation, but it provided the same reason to non-believers.  I remember
asking my mother, as a non-believing high school student, why Publix closed on Sunday.  I learned it was because God created the earth in six days, and on the 7 , He rested.  And we wereth
not a church going family.

We live in a world obsessed with optimizing time.  The Sabbath is assaulted with soccer, play, choir, etc. practice.  Stores are readily available and construction now continues on houses in my neighborhood each Sunday.

As followers of our Lord Jesus, we must continue to obey the 4 Commandment and honor the Sabbath, not only in our worship, but in our witness to the world.  We hold the Lord’s day as set
apart to remind us of our loving Creator and to point a lost and dying world to Him. As we have to turn down football and soccer teams, plays, and many other opportunities for our
students, simply because they fall on Sunday, be encouraged, the message of the Sabbath still rings forth in our Worship and, especially, in our practice.