This Sunday is the first Lord’s day of 2024, and guess what: Jesus is still alive! More importantly, it serves as a reminder of why we call Sunday the Lord’s Day and why we gather: He is risen as He said.
Look at Matthew 28:1-7:
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
You might be surprised how many times I have been asked and continually get asked about what the deal is with the sabbath and why we gather on Sunday instead of Saturday (which is the sabbath day). A lot of times, people have them confused.
The Sabbath day was commanded in the OT to be observed as a “day of solemn rest, a Sabbath to the LORD” (Exodus 16:23). It recognized the rest that God Himself took on the 7th day of the Creation week (Genesis 2:1-3). Once Jesus came and fulfilled the requirements of the Law (Matthew 5:17-19, Galatians 4:4), He did something that no human being could ever do: fully obey and keep the Law. He was perfect and sinless — the opposite of all humankind. The Law, however, was never meant to save us. God revealed His righteous standard through the Law and pointed to our need for a Savior. Then, in Christ, He became flesh and made a Way for us to be made righteous — by grace through faith in Christ (John 1:14, John 14:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:4-9). Now, that Christ has come those things that were meant to point people to Him, those “shadows” pointing to Christ, the “substance”, we are not to be judged on our keeping of the Law or even the Sabbath but on faith in Christ alone (Colossians 2:16-17). Resting in God’s work and faithfulness was, after all, the point of the Sabbath; we can rest in the finished work of Jesus, knowing full well that His work is and will be completely finished (John 19:30, Revelation 21:6)!
Now, that is a very streamlined explanation, but it gets right to the point of the Lord’s Day: it’s all substance and no shadow. It is not a place holder of a thing but the thing itself. It is not merely pointing to Jesus the Messiah’s coming; it is pointing to the fact that He has come, showing that “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). He is risen. He is risen as He said.
So, let’s get a good focus on the Lord’s Day and remember what He has done for us — on the cross, of course, but especially through the empty tomb. Our worship hinges on the tomb being borrowed. Our faith is founded on the Savior who defeated death, hell, and the grave. Our Savior is alive and well! And since He is alive and well, our worship is important because we don’t worship an idol or a figure but a real-life living Savior. He sees and knows and receives our worship.
And, Lord willing, that is our plan this Lord’s Day. We are going to make much of Jesus. We are going to worship Him by singing about/to Him, reading from His Word, and proclaiming His gospel. Our hope is in Him saving us, and we look forward to Him saving others. We hope to point ourselves and others to Him alone!
More than that, we gather in anticipation of His return. And He is coming — just as He said (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20)!
Won’t you gather with us?
Here are our Scriptures and songs:
- Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 —
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
- Song | Rescuer (Good News) —
Scripture Inspiration: Titus 3:4-5, Jude 25, Romans 6:17-19, Romans 6:1, Psalm 52:9, Isaiah 61:1, Romans 5:6-8, Luke 15:10, Ephesians 2:4-5, John 15:13-15, Psalm 5:11, Psalm 34:22, John 14:6, Romans 6:6-7, Psalm 56:11, Luke 18:13, Galatians 1:3-4, Ephesians 1:7, Titus 2:14
- Song | Man of Sorrows —
Scripture Inspiration: cf. Isaiah 53 and John 1:11, 29; also Galatians 3:13, 21; 1 Peter 2:24; Mark 14:16-62; Matthew 26:39-44, 26:67-68, 27:26-30; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-10; Psalm 145:3; Revelation 4:11; Philippians 2:5-8; Matthew 20:28; Titus 2:13-14; Colossians 2:13-15; Romans 6:23; John 8:36; John 20:1-7; Matthew 28:1-20; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
- Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 —
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
- Song | Forever (We Sing Hallelujah) —
Scripture Inspiration: Matthew 27:51, Revelation 22:16, 1 Peter 4:6, Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Colossians 2:14, Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:45-46, John 19:30, Revelation 1:18, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, Hosea 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 5:9-13, Acts 4:33
- Song | Resurrecting —
Scripture Inspiration: John 19:2-5, Hebrews 2:9, John 13:1-17, Philippians 2:10, 1 Peter 2:24, Psalm 93:1, Matthew 4:16, John 1:4-5, 1 John 4:18, John 8:12, Acts 4:8-12, Isaiah 25:8, Hebrews 2:14, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, Psalm 145:1, Romans 6:23, John 14:27, Romans 8:9-11, Galatians 4:6, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Galatians 2:19-20, Matthew 27:65-28:4, Acts 4:33
- Invitation | Lord, I Need You —
Scripture Inspiration: 1 John 1:9, Matthew 11:29, John 14:27, Colossians 1:17, Proverbs 3:5-6, Hebrews 4:16, 1 John 2:1, Romans 1:17, Romans 5:20-21, 2 Timothy 2:1, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 8:9-10, Galatians 2:20, Psalm 33:3, Matthew 6:13, James 4:7, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 Peter 1:3-5
- Offertory | Come, Jesus, Come —
Scripture Inspiration: Revelation 22:20, 1 Thessalonians 4:18, Romans 13:11-12, John 17:24, Romans 6:9, John 10:18, Colossians 2:13-15, Matthew 28:18-20, Titus 2:13, Matthew 25:31, Revelation 1:7, Hebrews 9:28
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