Remember The Sabbath Day To Keep It Holy
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Once a year, traditionally in May, many Seventh Day Baptist churches emphasize our only distinctive on what is now called "Sabbath Renewal Day." This is the worship service we will be using in Madison this coming Sabbath. Some of the hymns are not commonly available so I have included them here: click on the image for a large version. The Scriptures can usually be found by placing the cursor on the verse reference.Worship Theme:
"We worship God who gave us the Sabbath"
Meditation on Holy Scripture:
"If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Isaiah 58: 13-14 (ESV)
Responsive Call to Worship: Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
"And I will give you rest."
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,
"For I am gentle and lowly in heart,"
And you will find rest for your souls.
"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."Hymn: "God of the Sabbath" (verse 1)
I. God made the Sabbath.Responsive Reading: "from" Genesis 1:1-31 (KJV)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
"And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good."
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."Pulpit Reading: Genesis 2:1-3
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.Hymn: I Sing the Almighty Power of God
Responsive Reading: Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12, Leviticus 23:3, Isaiah 58:13-14a, Mark 2:27-28
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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,"
You, or your son, or your daughter,
"Your male servant, or your female servant,"
Or your livestock,
"Or the sojourner who is within your gates."
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth....
"Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy"
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
"Six days shall work be done,"
But on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest,
"A holy convocation."
You shall do no work.
"It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places."
If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
"From doing your pleasure on my holy day,"
And call the Sabbath a delight
"And the holy day of the Lord honorable;"
If you honor it, not going your own ways,
"Or seeking your own pleasure,"
Or talking idly;
"Then you shall take delight in the Lord...."
And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm,
"To save life or to kill?"
And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man,
"Not man for the Sabbath."Hymn: Another Six Days Work is Done
II. Jesus affirmed the Sabbath.Pulpit Readings: Matthew 5:17, Luke 4:16
"Our Lord's words: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
"And Our Lord's practice:" And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.Responsive Reading: Matthew 12:1-15
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
"But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."
He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
"Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?"
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
"For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."
He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand.
"And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"- so that they might accuse him."
He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
"Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."Hymn: God of the Sabbath (verse 2)
III. We observe the Sabbath.A Sabbath Catechism: Sabbath Recorder, April 19, 1920 [adapted]
Why are we Christians?
"We are Christians because we have repented of our sin and transferred our trust for salvation to Jesus Christ alone, and are following Him day by day as our Lord. We believe it is through Jesus Christ alone that God gives us his gift of eternal life."
Why are we Baptists?
"We are Baptists because immersion in water, as practiced and enjoined by Jesus and His disciples, is a symbol and a pledge of our new and risen life in Christ"
Why are we Seventh Day Baptists?
"We are Seventh Day Baptists because we desire and purpose to do our best in keeping the commandments of God."
Who is our example and guide in Sabbathkeeping?
"Our example and guide in the matter of the Sabbath is Jesus Christ."
When was the Sabbath established?
"The Sabbath is a constituent part of the Bible story of Creation."
How is the Sabbath treated in the law of Moses?
"The Sabbath is given a central and important place in the Decalogue."
What did the Hebrew prophets teach about the Sabbath?
"The Hebrew prophets put great emphasis on the spiritual and moral value of the Sabbath."
Does the New Testament change the Sabbath principle?
"There is no evidence in the New Testament that the Sabbath principle was changed."
Does the New Testament substitute another day for the seventh day for Sabbath observance?
"There is no evidence in the New Testament that another day was substituted for the Seventh Day for Sabbath observance."
Did Jesus abolish the Sabbath or change the day?
"Jesus did not abolish or annul the Sabbath, neither did He change the day."
What did Jesus do for the Sabbath?
"Jesus explained the true meaning of the Sabbath."
What did Jesus say about the Sabbath?
"Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."
Is the Sabbath a burden or a hardship?
"The Sabbath should be our joy and delight, our pleasure to do God's will and keep His commandments."
How can we promote the observance of the Sabbath?
"By believing it, by loving it, by teaching it; by being loyal to it, by keeping it faithfully, and by making it a vital part of our lives."
To this end, let us pray -
"We thank you Father, for the Sabbath Day. May it be as blessing to us week by week, and all the time. Help us to be true and loyal and keep the Sabbath right in Your sight. In Jesus' name, Amen." Hymn: Remember the Sabbath
Individual Readings: Isaiah 56:1-2; Ezekiel 20:20; John 14:21
* Thus says the Lord: "Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
* "and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God."
* "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."
