5-11-2018

Good Morning All,

                  Exodus 20:8; “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”.

  “MOM, DO I HAVE TO GO TO CHURCH?”  Has that question ever been asked in your house?  Some of the liveliest discussions in Confirmation Class usually occur when someone asks, “How often do I have to go to church?”  It gets pretty interesting when a few say you should go all the time.  Some say you have to go when there is communion.  Some say you have to go at least twice a month.  When they finally all have their say, they look to me for THE answer with each one expecting to have the right answer.  I tell them this, “You do not have to go to church in order to be saved.”  If you ever want to make a group of 12-14 yr. olds be quiet; tell them that!

    Of course, we don’t leave it there.  This question opens up a whole bunch of interesting issues.  Do you have to go to church? No! But why don’t you want to?  Worship service or time is a gift from God.  It is not something that I have to do.  It’s not an example of “Ok God, I am here like you told me I had to.” It is also not a way to earn extra credit “Hey God, look; I went to all the work of being here, score me a few bonus points please.”  That is how many people view going to church but that is not how God views it.

     Worship is not about what you do for God but about what God does for you.  It is in the worship service that we hear God’s Word of forgiveness spoken to us through the absolution, the readings, and the sermon and through the sacraments.  God comes to you with his invitation to rest from the cares of the world, to rest from the attacks of the devil, to lay down the burden of your sin and to rest in his holy comfort.  That is part of what this commandment means.  Keep the Sabbath (we use Sunday) holy; that is separate from the rest of the days.  Use it to recharge and refresh your spirit and your soul.  Use to re-energize your life.  Use it to throw off the pain of last week and start anew.  Rest in God’s holy favor.

    Use it and then remember it.  Throughout the week remember what you heard.  Remember that your sins are forgiven. Remember that you are a redeemed child of God loved and cherished by the Creator of the universe.  Remember what God has done, is doing and will do for you; remember the Sabbath.  We not only remember it by honoring it; we remember it as we use it throughout our week.  It is a gift from God not a requirement for us to keep.  It is a chance to rest and refresh.  It is a chance to be comforted by God through his Word and through his people.  It is the time to hear God’s most precious message given directly to us.  Remember the Sabbath Day; keep it holy.

Dearest Father, too often we try to go and go and go.  We think we have no time or desire for your holy rest or to hear your precious Word.  Forgive us for this.  Move us to appreciate and enjoy the time when you gather us together to hear your wondrous message of grace and peace.  We thank you for what you have done for us in the past, for what you are doing for us now and what you will do for us tomorrow.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret