52 SUNDAYS: Why Sundays?
This year we're challenging our members and regular attenders to attend a church service every week in 2014. You can read more about the 52 SUNDAYS challenge here. *This is the first of a series of articles about 52 SUNDAYS.
Why Sundays?
You know...if we were talking about anything else other than going to church on Sundays, I'd probably start by flipping the question around.
Why not every day?
Why not gather together every day for worship? Isn't the Father seeking people who worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:4) and Jesus said “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind..." (Luke 10:27).
Wouldn't it be great if church life looked like the first churches looked like?
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Acts 2:42-47 ESV, emphasis added)
I could argue that the church has always worshipped together weekly, that they did it on Sundays, and warned people not to be absent (Acts 20:7, Hebrews 10:25). That's all in your Bibles.
And I could argue that we should think deeply about the sabbath pattern of 6 days of work, 1 day of rest. It is one the 10 big rules, no? (Exodus 20)
Let’s start with gratefulness.
You are part of a church that gathers one time, every week, 52 Sundays a year. We sing great songs, hear the Scriptures proclaimed, celebrate testimonies, recite creeds, enjoy fellowship, pray for the brokenhearted, evangelize the lost, serve one another, use our gifts, break bread, baptize new christians, the list is too long. What’s not to love about Sundays?