Review:  Last lesson, we discovered that we are NOT given life by keeping God's law but we also discovered God wants to protect us from pain which the law can do. We are NOT saved by works or anything we do. We are saved by grace. BUT, we learned being forgiven does not mean permission to continue to do things that harm ourselves (first 4 commandments - because they hurt our relationship with God) or others (last 6 of the commandments). All the commandments are pretty straight forward, except one - Sabbath. This command is about spending time with God. That's straight forward, but the day we spend may be a surprise to you.

INTRODUCTION:  God wants to have a relationship with us. We need to spend time with Him to develop that relationship, and God has already established a day for that purpose.

LD-1         Does John acknowledge that the Lord has a special day?  Revelation 1:10
                  1.     The Lord does have a special day.   

LD-2         Let’s identify which day is the Lord's.  Matthew 12:8
                  1.     The Son of Man - Christ - is Lord of the Sabbath day.

LD-3         Let’s identify which day is the Sabbath day.  Exodus 20:10,11
                  1.     The seventh day is the Sabbath.
                  2.     Our calendar lists Sunday as the first day of the week.  Therefore, Saturday is the seventh day.
                  3.     The seventh day of creation differed  from the preceding six in that:
                        a)     It memorialized the six creative days.
                        b)    The Lord rested on it.
                        c)     He blessed and hallowed it.
                  4.     In Genesis 2:1-3, we read about creation and how Christ ended His work and rested.  We also read that He sanctified the Sabbath - set it apart for holy use.
                  5.     In Ephesians 3:9, we find that it was Christ who, by the power of God, created all things.

LD-4         What was Christ's custom regarding worship while He was on this earth? 
                  Luke 4:16
                  1.     His custom was to worship in the synagogue (church) on the Sabbath.
                  2.     He read Scripture - a good thing to do on the Sabbath.
                  3.     In Acts 17:2; 18:4 we see that it was Paul's custom to reason with both Jews and Greeks out of the Scriptures every Sabbath.

LD-5         We found out that the seventh day is the Sabbath.  But which day is the seventh? 
                  Luke 23:54-56; 24:1
                  1.     Jesus died on Friday - the preparation day, preceding the Sabbath.
                  2.     The women rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
                  3.     Then the women came to the sepulcher early on the first day of the week.
                  4.     Here is given a chronological sequence; the preparation day, followed by the Sabbath, which, in turn, is followed by the first day of the week.
                  5.     Today Christians honor Good Friday as the day on which Christ was crucified and Easter Sunday as the Resurrection Day.

LD-6         The Gospel of Mark (2:27) says the Sabbath was made for man.  That brings up an interesting point.  How long will the Sabbath continue to be observed?
                  Isaiah 66:22,23
                  1.     This prophecy of Isaiah is talking about the re-creation of heaven and earth.
                  2.     We will worship from one Sabbath to another.
                  3.     The Sabbath will continue to be observed in the earth made new.

LD-7         What is the purpose of the Sabbath?  Ezekiel 20:12,20
                  1.     The Sabbath is a sign that God sanctifies us, or prepares us for His use by making us Holy.
                  2.     Secondly, it is a sign that we know God.

LD-8         Whose example should the Christian follow in choosing a day of worship?
                  I John 2:6
                  1.     If we say He abides in us, then we should walk as He, Christ, walked.

SUMMARY: The real issue, then, is whether or not we decide to follow Christ all the way so we can have a fullness of health and life.

PREVIEW:  BUT, most Christians do not keep the seventh day, Saturday, as a holy day. WHY? Is there any scriptural proof for keeping the first day, Sunday, as the Sabbath?  This is our study next lesson.