PARSONS: Well, we have to discern what we mean by "Sabbath,"
because technically speaking, Sabbath, shabbat in Hebrew, according to the Old Testament and
how God established it at creation, it is a creation ordinance, a very important point.
He established it on the seventh day of the week, which is, of course, our Saturday.
Now, most Christian scholars have agreed that what God established there as a creation ordinance was
fundamentally a day of rest in the cycle of one in seven, that it's secondary that it happened to
be on the seventh day, that the point is that it was a day of rest in the cycle of one in seven,
because, you know, according to calendars and so on as things changed throughout the years what
is actually the seventh day, the sixth day, the fifth day, and so forth, but in the New Testament,
of course, we see that Christians were gathering together on the Lord's Day. And we believe,
we understand that the Lord's Day was the first day of the week to celebrate and commemorate
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so, as John was in prayer on the Lord's Day,
as we see people in Acts, of the church, gathered on the Lord's Day from time to time,
the impression we're given is that the Christians in the first century understood and saw that the
first day of the week was really the Christian Sabbath or the Christian day of worship.
And so, today and throughout history Christians have looked at the first day of the week as the
Christian Sabbath. Now, whether you call it the Lord's Day or the Christian Sabbath or
simply the Sabbath is in my mind secondary. The New Testament calls it the Lord's Day.
I think theologians have rightly, such at Westminster and much of our forefathers,
have said "What's the Christian Sabbath? It's the Christian day of rest and worship." And I think
that's perfectly fine. And so, should we celebrate the Christian Sabbath? Should we celebrate,
commemorate, keep the Lord's Day? Absolutely! And I would even say that because it is a creation
ordinance, it's really not up for grabs. It's not an option for us. I would say that Christians are
really called to have that day, the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath,
as the Lord's Day, a time for rest, a time for worship, a time for fellowship, a time for,
you know, mercy ministry, and even for those deeds of mercy and necessity; doctors, firefighters,
police officers, nurses, and so on, but that I would even add this, even we as pastors,
it is our day of rest and worship as well. And that is something that is misunderstood,
I believe, by a lot of pastors. Sure, you might get another day off in the week. Fine.
But the Lord's Day is your Lord's Day. It is your Sabbath as well. It is our day to
celebrate. It is our day to fellowship. It is our day to worship and is even our day to rest,
and even though we don't always get to rest as much as we might like,
our rest in doing the things that God has called us to do is joyful rest. Now,
I preach typically three times a Sunday, twice in the morning and once in the evening.
And here we are right now on a Tuesday night, and I'm actually still tired from Sunday.
My voice is still catching up from Sunday night. I was tired coming in this Sunday,
but I really do believe this. I believe that my work in ministry and preaching and serving the
Lord and, quite frankly, it's not just preaching, it's greeting people between services and all
the rest, answering questions and talking to folks. All that is a part of ministry;
it's a part of service. But I don't hold what I do any differently than any Sunday school
teacher. You've taught Sunday school for over a decade. I don't hold what I do over deacons and
what other elders do, what ushers do, what other teachers are doing. We are all doing ministry.
I just get to help lead in the celebration along with the choir, along with our chief musician,
along with other pastors, along with the musicians. I'm helping to lead in the worship
and lead in the celebration. And so, I think we need to see it, all of us, as our day of rest and
worship because it's a creation ordinance that God has established for history throughout all time.