SABBATH on SermonAudio

If you have received Christ, you may only find your rest in Him. 1. Guard y'all's hearts (for Christ). 2. Grieve over unbelief (in Christ). 3. Grind to a halt (into Christ). Put not your trust in princes or in anything else, but rest your weary soul in Christ Jesus.

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up. "Brothers," he said, "listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: 16 "'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things 18 things known from long ago. 19 "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers 22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers.

This devotional explores the theological and practical implications of the Fourth Commandment through the lens of the Heidelberg Catechism, emphasizing that the Sabbath is a gift for gratitude rather than a burden for earning righteousness. The central message urges believers to prioritize the Lord's Day as the anchor of the week, gathering diligently to hear God's Word, participate in the sacraments, and engage in corporate prayer and fellowship. By citing passages from Deuteronomy, Acts, Colossians, Hebrews, and Romans, the sermon highlights how corporate worship fosters faith, instructs children, and strengthens the community against neglect. The tone is pastoral and instructional, encouraging listeners to view Sunday not as the end of the weekend but as the beginning of a week devoted to God. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a life of rest from evil works and active participation in the church's life to begin the eternal Sabbath in the present.

Why do we worship on Sunday if the Sabbath is on Saturday? Throughout the world, the vast majority of Christian denominations hold worship services on Sunday. However, if you ask professing Christians what caused Sabbath worship to move from the last day of the week to the first, most would either say the Sabbath is unrelated to Sunday worship or point to tradition. But there are important biblical reasons why the Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday. It's important first of all because Christ said that if you teach someone to disobey one of the least commandments, you will be least in the kingdom of heaven and the Sabbath is one of the ten commandments. But it's important because the Sabbath is about the rest we have in Christ. It is the day our risen Lord provides for his people so that they can be set apart from the world and all its cares, and go forth to do the work that Christ's atonement made possible. Some of the confusion surrounding the Sabbath is related to a misunderstanding of Israel's place in scripture. Israel's whole calendar was built around Passover and Pentecost and their observance and the Sabbaths around them were set every year based on the day of the week , but because Israel and their observances were a type pointing forward to Christ and his fulfillment, all of their Passovers and Pentecosts and their calendar that changed yearly were nothing more than shadows. There has only been one Passover that caused sins to be forgiven. There has been only one Pentecost where the Spirit of God inhabited his people. And their fulfillment caused the Sabbath to be set from that day forth. Please join us as we consider this important topic.

Other Sabbath healings questioned. Many will be saved? Proper way to respond to and create a special meeting.

This sermon examines the healing of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda in John chapter five, contrasting the man's focus on physical relief with Jesus' intent to address spiritual need. The preacher highlights that while the crowd awaited a miraculous moving of the waters, Jesus initiated the encounter to reveal the man's deeper condition, ultimately commanding him to rise and walk. The narrative emphasizes that physical healing serves as a vehicle for spiritual conviction, as Jesus later finds the man in the temple to warn him against sin, which is worse than infirmity. The discourse connects this event to the broader theme of Christ's mission to call sinners to repentance rather than merely curing ailments, using the miracle as a sign for others to marvel and believe. The sermon concludes by urging the audience to look beyond temporary relief to the eternal salvation offered through faith in the Son of God.

Egypt, the mightiest power on earth (at the time), steps into the ring against God—and no weapon formed against Him shall prosper. Against the backdrop of Israel's 430 years in Egypt, Moses and Aaron reunite and bring God's message and signs to the people, who believe and worship because the Lord has "visited" them: He looks after them and cares for them, as Ruth 1:6 and James 1:27 reveal. Pharaoh arrogantly refuses to recognize the Lord and makes the Israelites' labor harsher, withholding straw while keeping the brick quota; in Exodus 5:5, even the word "Sabbath" signals the clash as Pharaoh accuses Moses and Aaron of making the people rest. A line is drawn in the sand between God and Pharaoh, a false god, and the truth is clear: lost people think and act like lost people, as 1 John 2, 1 Thessalonians 4, and Romans 1 show. Yet God's word goes forth and accomplishes its purpose, just as Isaiah 55 and 2 Timothy 4 affirm, while the coming plagues expose Egypt's gods. The message is concluded with a call to rest in Christ, our Sabbath, make time to worship on any day, and trust God, because the victory is already won.

The sermon examines the account in Matthew 12 where Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in the synagogue, challenging the Pharisees' legalistic interpretation of the Sabbath. The central message emphasizes that doing good and showing mercy are lawful and essential on the Lord's Day, contrasting the compassion of Christ with the hostility of those who prioritize rules over people. The preacher draws a parallel between the ancient plot to accuse Jesus and the modern experience of believers facing criticism for standing on biblical truth, urging the congregation to respond with humility and grace rather than pride. By referencing Old Testament commands to help neighbors, the text highlights that the intent of the law is love, not restriction. The message concludes with a call to view the Sabbath as a time for worship and necessary acts of mercy, warning against the blindness of judgment and encouraging believers to trust in God's sovereignty over human accusations.

In this sermon we look at what occurs between Christ's death and burial as recorded by John.