1689 London Baptist Confession (part 56)

Father in heaven, thank you for this beautiful morning. Thank you for the opportunity. We have to be here to learn about you to worship

You to fellowship with one another Lord, we want to pray for Kristen fish while she's

In labor and getting ready to deliver this baby and Lord, I just pray that you would Grant a safe delivery that all would be well and everybody would be healthy

Lord bless our time this morning in Jesus name. Amen So yeah, we got the call last night come get the kids.

So we have all the kids and that's why Janet's not here. You know, it's funny because she had to go get the

Wake the chickens up. I don't even understand chickens, but that's what they're doing. So We what's that Chickens wake you up.

Yeah, I don't know but I guess there's slackers You have to wake him up in the morning or whatever. See here.

She is. They wake the chickens up successfully They were ready. Okay, so we've been talking about Sunday.

We've been talking about the Sabbath and Just to kind of briefly review

I just thought here's a good place to start Sunday is for worship Hebrews 10 24 and 25 and let us consider

How to stir up one another to love and good works not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some

But encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near we have you know,

I Think my notes even say because Sproul says Christians have a special obligation to gather on the

Lord's Day for corporate worship And the only thing I don't like about that is guess what the word

Obligation I Mean, I I guess it's true I just hate to think of coming to church and being with the

Saints and singing songs and praying and hearing the word taught everything as duty as obligation because in my mind when

I think of that I think of Drudgery and it's anything but And I sincerely believe that if if people are coming with the idea that they have to punch in and punch out and they're just kind of Fulfilling a commitment fulfilling an obligation then they're missing the point we are

Called out ones. We're separate from the world. We are the elect the eclectus the the ones chosen by God out of the world and He brings us together in fellowship and we ought not to think that of that as some kind of mere obligation

We talked about Let's turn to Genesis 2 because I think this is

Intriguing. In fact, I after last week's message from Pastor Mike. I was reflecting on Genesis 14 and Isn't it interesting?

And When was tithing instituted? I don't know either when was it?

Mosaic law sure before that When was it and see that was my that was my takeaway from last week all the things that pastor

Mike preached everything and I Just sat there and I thought wait a minute Abram in Genesis 14

Gave 10 % to Melchizedek I Think you know, he could have picked any number

There's something about 10 % and you know, I look at my trusty MacArthur study notes and what do they say? They say well, it's typical for people of that time to offer 10 % to their

God or gods. Yes, Carol If you think of it that way it can't be right.

I know Yeah, and and I agree that we have an we do have an obligation a duty a commandment right together together

I just think it's a it's a matter of You know when I roll out I've been on Sunday morning do I think

I have an obligation to go to church today You know,

I have a duty. It's a grim duty But I'm the guy to perform it. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, and let's just go back to Carol's and not an analysis or example for a minute I'll get to you in a sec.

Bob. I mean just imagine you look at your spouse in the morning You say I'm obligated to love you

Now your day just got off to a great start in it. Yeah, you don't say it, but you're thinking it I I guess

I'm just I'm more on the Andrew Smith side. I'm like, let's look at the let's be the You know, is it right and good to think?

Yes. I have an obligation. Did it well, I suppose so if You know you're like having difficulty getting yourself up or motivated or you didn't get to bed till 3 o 'clock in the morning or what?

Have you you know? But I think better to look at it from a standpoint of you know, let's just start with the gospel, you know

In light of what I've done in fact, I was gonna do this if I was doing communion this morning But I sort of bailed on that because I just thought

I have too many things in my head right now So Mike's gonna do community, but I just thought

We gather together Colossians 3, you know, we're to Exhort one another, you know with Singing and all these different kind of things and why do we get together to do that?

Well, it's because we've been redeemed because we've been saved because the gospel is true and it is at the forefront of our thoughts and we want to encourage one another with the gospel and with the truths of the gospel and everything like that and Then the result is when we come even to the

Lord's table or when we gather together we ought to be excited to be here where it'd be excited to see one another and part of it is because we know who we used to be right in first Corinthians when he's listing off these sins that Used to Identify different people whether it's homosexuality or different things and he says and such were some of you so in light of who we were what we've done how great should our rejoicing be that in spite of all those things

God has set his affection upon us Christ has died for us. He's redeemed us from our sins and We get to come together and worship father son and spirit for what they've done right for us and I I just can't really think of that as Sorry with all with all respect to RC Sproul and everybody else as an obligation or a duty as a box

I have to check because it's it's better than that It's much better than that right and and I agree with that.

I'm just I'm just saying I think it's it Transcends the the banal the the baseline the

You know just the the mere thought of like I mean, I mean, I can't really think of In all candor.

I can't think of too many times to maybe to my detriment or my shame Where I got up in the morning and thought

I or In my case when I was working The last several years when

I got up at night at 830 Where I thought I get to go to work all night. I I rarely thought that and I didn't mope around at work, but I didn't think this is a great thing that I get to go do sorry

Wasn't that exciting to go be with? I think I would say something like I had to go be with a thousand of my closest friends because that's what

I did and Sometimes it was more than a thousand of my favorite friends, but So I so I that that's just my you know, my personal feeling but yeah,

I I agree that we have an obligation We have a duty. We have a commandment, etc, etc. I just Want to elevate it above that so Bob?

Well, I I would even you know Take it a step further because there were times where you know Especially when I was working a radio car where I would get upset with my supervisors for various reasons.

I wasn't saved And and I would try my hardest To just think

I'm just not gonna do anything today. I couldn't do it. I just I couldn't do it

Well, what you know one of my favorite stories and then we'll get back to the material here one of my favorite deals ever is

I Don't remember how we got in contact was when I'm sure it was a call disturbance and Took her to jail for Drunk and disorderly drunk in public 647

F for those of you keeping track Booked her into custody and everything like that a couple days later

I get a call, you know from the watch commander come on in so I go in and she's written a letter This woman did and I'm expecting oh boy, you know, what's she gonna allege or whatever?

Oh, it's just how wonderful I was and you know, I think she asked for everything but my phone number And and I just she was just like he was so nice and everything and I'm like, yeah,

I took her to jail. Thank you much She had low expectations,

I guess, you know Folks people all right, so Back to the topic at hand.

Yeah, I I mean I I think for me It's just it's just about attitude and you know And and maybe it's tainted by what the

Puritans were doing, you know and imposing the blue laws We talked about that a little bit. In fact some of them, you know, when you think about it

I think it's only about effect. I was talking to somebody the other day who wasn't even aware That basically most of the package stores not all of them but a lot of them like there was one close to our house have closed down Because they're no longer

You know Needed in that sense why because I can go at a big why and there's all this and this person

I was talking to had No idea that these things had changed and I'm like, yep. It's one of the blue laws Coming off the books all the restrictions that the

Puritans placed, you know, and I'm sure that they probably Would be in favor of banning alcohol together but these restrictions placed to kind of keep people from sinning right

And if you think about it the idea That laws can keep people from sinning.

What about that? I mean, let's make it against the law to commit murder.

That'll stop murder, right? So let's make it against the law to violate the Sabbath that way. Nobody will violate the

Sabbath Wrong we'll just be punishing people for violating the

Sabbath all the time. So we talked about the various ways that they They did that they impose these kind of laws on people

But Oh Genesis 2 would somebody read Genesis 2 verses 1 to 3 we're gonna read that.

So thank you Now how many times does it say? Does it talk about the work he had done in creation there?

It's like three times and the idea of rested, you know is certainly stressed there and So from that we would get the idea that this is you know first of all, we talked about this

God didn't rest in the sense that he just Unplugged right because if he unplugs the entire universe ceases

But he stopped his creative work and The emphasis there about how he stopped working and really people look at that and they say well

This is clearly a message to us much in the same way that I as I listened to Genesis 14 and just thought okay.

How do you know it was a tenth? Somehow he and you know why

Melchizedek I I don't think it's really kind of Inferring too much

See if you infer something you're drawing it if you imply something you're saying it

So just I don't think it's inferring too much from that story to think that Melchizedek taught

Abraham Abram some things and that Abram gave ten percent

Back to Genesis 2 this idea of Resting that he completed his work

Etc. Etc. Etc. A lot of people look at that and say well There's a reason that's there and it's not because God needed rest, right?

He does not grow weary nor faint we'd know that from Isaiah 40. He doesn't run out of energy

He's inexhaustible So why is it there that he rested and the idea is?

From whence they draw the Sabbath six days He worked some day he rested and they take that as an idea.

In fact, it's in our statement of faith in our confession of faith so by his word in a positive moral and perpetual commandments people say well

New Testament doesn't give a command To obey the Sabbath the

New Testament give a command to give a tithe No God loves a cheerful giver, right?

So what about this idea of a perpetual? Commandments From the

Sabbath and it's drawn from this idea that this is what God did on the seventh day He rested he set the example for us now true or false

Rest is vital for human beings What happens if you say don't sleep for three days?

What's that Crash, I'm sorry You fall asleep you can't help it anybody ever been awake for two days

You ever try to drive after you've been awake for two days. I did that once I don't know what it's like to be on drugs, but I think it's like being on drugs

Can you see things that aren't there? You know, it's like okay. I know that there isn't some dragon crossing the street, but I don't want to hit it

It's a very odd thing Rest is good for us. And yet, you know, what do we

I I know many people who just will not rest and the results of not resting on top of just being tired are

Well, let's just say it this way. It's deleterious. I decided to throw that out there. It's bad for you

It's bad for you. We need rest The Confession says it is the Word of God that establishes the

Sabbath as a perpetual commandment God did not institute the Sabbath and just leave it at that but gave specific particular rules and regulations regarding the

Sabbath under the Mosaic economy Israel was commanded to keep it holy.

This was given in the Ten Commandments and according to the Reformers The ceremonial law and the dietary laws were fulfilled in Christ and there are therefore abrogated but the moral law of the

Old Covenant remains enforcing the Christian economy now What would separate the moral law from?

the ceremonial law internal versus external

Okay, for example, we know that it's wrong to commit murder Nobody needs to tell us that how do we know that because God has written in our hearts.

We know that there are some cultures in the world that commit murder

In fact our culture, I guess you could argue commits murder by virtue of abortion

And how do they do that? They numb themselves to the truth of what they're doing But going back to this idea of difference between the moral law and ceremonial law one of the aspects of the ceremonial law is that it is explicitly given

Right. So the idea here is that the Sabbath is implicitly given by example

It's given by you know, if it was important to God to demonstrate the need to rest then it's a perpetual law that's kind of the idea and In the judgment of the writers of the

Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist Confession of Faith The Sabbath is part of the moral law of the

Old Testament So by his word back to the confession in a positive moral and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages

He hath particularly appointed one day and seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him

Which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week there's a

Not much wriggle room there. The London Baptist Confession of Faith says the Sabbath is binding not just upon believers, but upon mankind throughout history

We'll have some discussion here in a moment and from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week

Which is called the Lord's Day and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath Now the

Puritans argued that the Sabbath is to be observed simply on a seven

Seven day basis seven day rotation

It's interesting that John Calvin declared that it could be every Wednesday The Sabbath could be every

Wednesday if the church agreed to it In other words, he didn't care what day it was as long as there was a day at rest there is ample evidence that the earliest

Christians gathered on Sunday to Worship God and to celebrate the Lord's Supper because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday The first day of the week fact

I did a little search on the first day of the week We're gonna look at a few verses we could find the same thing in each of the synoptic

Gospels But let's look at Matthew 28 verse 1 Matthew 28 verse 1 the theme being the first day of the week or Sunday and to just see how

Important the first day of the week becomes would somebody read Matthew 28 one, please. Okay, so after the

Sabbath Toward the dawn of the first day of the week. So after Saturday is completed toward the dawn of Sunday That's the resurrection right when they go to the tomb

Sproul says this he says the resurrection provided strong testimony to one of the elements of the classic

Sabbath The Sabbath day in the Old Testament looked to the past to the work of creation God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day and that was recalled by observing the

Sabbath day The addition to looking or in addition to looking to the past There's also a looking ahead to the future

The Sabbath is an outward sign of God's promise to give everlasting rest to his people

Every time the Sabbath day abs is observed It not only looks back to the past and recalls

God's work of creation, but also points to the future Underscoring God's work of redemption for us

So Why did it change from Saturday to Sunday? This is The idea being that now the first day of the week becomes the day of rest.

Let's look at John 20 verse 19 John 20 verse 19. This is after the resurrection and This is you know,

I mean this is a particularly amazing section to me because The disciples had been despondent

You know just about a day and a half before the during the

Last Supper Well two days before because we're gonna see this. But anyway, would somebody read

John 20 verse 19 and it's interesting because He appears to them post -resurrection if you recall the first time he's with them who's not with them

Thomas So Jesus then comes back but he doesn't come back on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday or Saturday he comes back on Sunday So there seems to be an importance attached to Sunday on the first day of the week.

Let's look at Acts chapter 20 verse 7

Acts chapter 7 or Acts chapter 20 verse 7 He prolonged his speech till midnight now that word speech by the way is

Log on From which we would get word, right? I Think it would be fair to view it as a sermon

Simon Kistemacher says this he says on the first day of the week Ie Sunday, this is the first New Testament reference to Sunday worship

The Christians gathered for the celebration of the Lord's Supper which was followed by the communal meal the love feast

In Acts the expression to break bread means to celebrate communion So they're gathered together to worship on the first day of the week.

I think it's also interesting I read some more of what he said he was talking about how most of them would have been working and Then come to church

Because they didn't live in a Christian society. They lived in a Jewish society where the

Sabbath was celebrated on Saturday and Sunday was a day of work Okay He says the believers gladly listened to Paul preach for an extended period even though yeah many of them would work the same day

They saw Paul's visit as an extraordinary Opportunity to receive instruction from an apostle and they knew that on the next morning

Monday They would depart for Syria hence they rejoiced to hear Paul explain the scriptures

Let's look at 1st Corinthians 16 to Paul is trying to Put together an offering for the church in Jerusalem 1st

Corinthians 16 to again this theme of the first day of the week 1st

Corinthians 16 to and would somebody read that please okay, so it doesn't take long to figure this out

The there's Sunday, and there's a collection Right there will be no collecting when

I come well. He's gonna come on a Sunday first day of the week you know again the importance of They would gather together.

They would have a service. They would ought give offerings Revelation 1 10

I'll just read this when John gets his vision from The Lord or about the

Lord I Was in the spirit on the Lord's Day on Sunday And I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet over and over and over again this

Emphasis on the first day of the week on Sunday, and these are you know

I just I said this so don't hold it against me Sunday morning should be a foretaste actually

I think this is a paraphrase of what Sproul says Sunday morning should be a foretaste of heaven We have an opportunity to stop our normal labor to come together for spiritual refreshment and to serve and Worship God by offering our praise to him

So that that's you know kind of a overview of what? Scripture says about Sunday, and why the

Reformers believe that it went from Saturday Sabbath to Sunday Sabbath and even if we don't think about it as Sabbath per se we think about it as the

Lord's Day There are implications for that and we'll be talking about that in a minute But I I've been doing a lot of thinking about this

I couldn't help but wonder if we could do because I saw different surveys And what people said you know a lot of people said they still think of the

Sunday as the Sabbath and this kind of thing If they were professing Christians But I think if we could just take an anonymous survey, and you know what

I like about anonymous surveys People are honest right if I if I come to you sorry

But if I come to you, and I ask you a question You're gonna be thinking what Steve gonna think if I say

X Y or Z But if we could just get to the truth if we did a survey here of just everybody who's a professing

Christian at BBC And we said what's the most important day of the work of the week to you?

Some people would say Sunday, and they would actually mean it Some people would say Sunday And maybe not mean it unless they had complete anonymity where they could just say well in truth the most important day of the week for me is

Friday why because then I've survived the work week, and I get the weekend right

Everybody's working for the weekend But a lot of people would say or a lot of Christians would say that you know

Sunday is the most important day of the Week well it should be now according to a

Lifeway survey What's the primary way that most people observe the

Sabbath 80 % of Christians Do this or they say that this is how they keep the

Sabbath by going to church Two -thirds say they do so by spending time with family

Okay, fewer say avoiding avoiding paid work.

We don't really think about that a whole lot And you know there are different Obviously I had a profession in which

I didn't get to go in and request Sundays off You know you couldn't really do that in fact a funny story when

I was in when I was going to seminary or I knew ahead of time I'd be doing that so I I got myself put on Graveyard shift, and then

I thought I'm just really gonna go for it I'm gonna go to the scheduling person and say I'd like permanent

Wednesday and Thursday off Figured he'd probably say yes, and it would make it a lot easier for me to go to school

Somebody complained about it How come he gets permanent days off right and Do his credit the guy the scheduling guy says do you want permanent

Thursday Wednesdays and Thursdays off no? All right, then be quiet.

You know But people will complain literally about anything right it doesn't really matter

But What about the idea you know some people have to work on Sunday, that's just a reality

What would you say to somebody who has to work on Sunday? I mean, maybe they work in retail What did you say to a

Christian who has to work on Sunday? Okay, I would say that you know I mean you have to look at it as this is

God's provision for you You need to rejoice in that I don't have more things to say Erickson Okay, if they can find fellowship somewhere else you know whether it's an evening service

Bible study during the week Anything helpful, okay, choose your

Sabbath pick your Sabbath pick a day of rest It is good to have a day where we just kind of any

Well, I don't want to define rest too much just yet, but I would say this That when we talk about the

Sabbath. It's good to have a day, and it's so easy to trend or descend into legalism

Because here's what I want to say I want to say we should try to think and to view life

And I encourage people to do this through a gospel lens all the time But how much more on Sunday right on the

Sabbath and if you're working on Sunday? It's more difficult, so you know Wednesday's your

Sabbath that John Calvin Wednesday thing and we'll talk more about Calvin and his Sabbath keeping here

Because he wasn't particularly fastidious about it But here's what

I would say too. I would encourage people having you know when I first got saved working 16 hours on Sunday every

Sunday because it was my schedule. I and it was one of the quirks in our day schedule

That you would go through periods where you had a double because we worked for threes

We we would work a double shift for no overtime Once a week, and then we got three days off So when

I first get saved my first four months were Sunday doubles I Didn't really care for that very much

And it led to some bizarre things like me saying to the chaplains who would come in and they would gather the inmates together

And I'd say could you just leave that door open? I just want to hear the guys sing you know They were just like you're weird

Anything I just wanted anything but here's what I would I would just encourage people that if they're in that situation to try and Move out of it

To try to go to a place where they don't have to work on Sundays You know if somebody came to me, and they said you know

I can get a job Where I'm off on Sundays, but I'm gonna make 10 % less money

I'd say jump on it Because you can't put a price tag

I mean you just can't you can't put a price tag on being able to come and worship.

You're so kind to say that He says says that there's and it's true

There are churches that have Saturday evening services And it may be because they have people who work on Sunday that that could be part of it.

I tend to think it's for other reasons, but But or watch the

NFL or whatever yeah clear the slate on Sunday So you know get my religious duty.

That's why you know what the obligation thing. I don't like it Because it just leads to pragmatism.

I think if we if we take it too far But I would encourage people to get

Sundays off if they if they possibly could No, I I think that's true. You know when we're talking about the

Sabbath and the necessity of it and rest And you know reflection there are people who live like you said at a frenetic pace.

You know everything is go go go go go go go and one of the reasons and everything's loud and everything else and one of the reasons for that is because to Take the time to contemplate the meaning of life, right?

to contemplate eternity It's frightening I'm gonna have the opportunity in Less than two weeks two weeks yesterday to Speak to a bunch of unbelievers at my aunt's funeral in California and one of the things

I'm gonna because I thought about how I'm gonna because I Did my uncle's funeral a couple years ago, and it really you know what bothers you

Maybe it wouldn't bother you because maybe you haven't done that many funerals might bother Bob. You know what I dislike is

Is when people come up to me, and I know they're not Christians because they're Mormons or whatever and They thank me for what

I said it during the service. I hate that Why? Because what

I want them to do is come up to me and go Are you trying to tell me I'm going to hell? Right that's what

I want them to say So I'm like I'm looking I'm thinking in my mind. I'm going I need to find another way to tell people that they're going to hell

For my for my aunt's funeral Yeah, so I thought you know what

I really liked you know I'm not I But I really liked Karen Yulo's funeral.

I just liked how it went, and I thought now I can't Talk about my aunt the same way.

I talked about Karen because I don't know I don't have any real particular reason to think I mean it's possible my aunt believed because she heard the gospel a number of times

I don't know that she did But I thought you know because what

I did was I talked in John 14 about Jesus says that I'll give you rest not as the world gives and I thought you know what

I Want to talk about rest Sabbath right giving rest giving relief giving less frenetic ism to life and One of the ways we do that is we can rest in Christ.

Why because we know where we're going You know we have That that comfort and I think for people who are afraid to contemplate

You know age and afraid to contemplate the passing of time and afraid to look back at their life with Some shall we say microscopic

Looking you know and to have regrets to Even repent of things that they've done, but to also eagerly look forward

For those people it is important to contemplate To take that time to unplug and just kind of think about things that I I want to talk about rest

And what it is and what it isn't and you know those kind of things but mostly I just want people to understand that Jesus Christ gives rest in a way that the world cannot and when

Talking about Sabbath and the importance of it the importance of the concept even and which is where we are but various ways that people

Observe it It's interesting one man says that there are far few people

Fewer people avoiding things on the Sabbath like paid work and chores Then those who say they keep the

Sabbath by doing things like attending church and spending time with in other words They keep the

Sabbath in their minds by doing positive things not by necessarily doing Failing to or putting off other things like shopping or what -having

Sproul notes this he says when God rests on the Sabbath day. He did not sleep for 24 hours

He rested from his work of creation and delighted, and I think this is an important concept

Sproul says Says delighted in his own glory When he looked at creation he said what it's

Good, it's perfect. It's right When we enter our rest we rest from travail from struggle and from the sweat of our brow

We rest from pain from internal conflict and from anguish we enter in to the joy and peace

Not as my typist Did we entered into the joy and peach that the

Holy Spirit will give us you know. I'm just That promise of heaven is communicated every

Sabbath day And this is our scene. He says that's why I'm convinced. There is a perpetual significance to the

Sabbath day at least until the Lord returns It's a time even as Charlie was saying where we can look back

And we can look forward We just can contemplate what the Lord has done for us and in us and through us and even what he would

Have us do going forward other thoughts.

We need to close our questions We'll get eventually to you know my list Steve's list of do's and don'ts on the

Sabbath Because this is important. I mean there are some things that are okay. It's okay for my wife to cook me food

It's not okay for her to turn on the vacuum cleaner. I'm kidding Thoughts or questions

Okay, if not Oh mark about the fasting or about well, and I and I think having not studied that passage, but I think the idea would be

One of seeking spiritual clarity, you know

You know on a particular issue and I and I think I Had a professor who would

Fast and he goes it's not that I'm fasting for any particular reason because I just like to remind my body that I'm in charge and And I and I think you know to a certain extent and I I'm kind of joking, but I think this is

Sort of the the biblical mindset of fasting reminding ourselves that there are and and and I think this is where you're going that there are

Transcendent issues upon which to fix our minds and not the mundane things of life like food and whatnot so times of Reflection and just thinking about greater things and if fasting is

Helpful, then I think that's fine. I don't not

I Wouldn't find that there's a particular command to fast. I think it'd be a fine thing for people to engage when they're seeking to just clear their minds and be

Singularly focused I guess would be Good, but yeah, that would be something

I'd really want to study and I think that's good You know be still and know that I'm God. Well, what does that mean?

It doesn't mean, you know, typically what do we think it means? Shut up and relax because you know

God's in charge that's it. It doesn't mean that What it means is it's that kind of what

Mike calls, you know When you read through the Psalms and you see over on the side say la well, there's a lot of debate over what that means but one idea and I think it probably is right is

Just mean it just means Contemplate that think about that for a minute before you move on Just stop

Maybe even reread it just let that soak in think about it because this is a big concept and so the idea be still means

Stop worrying stop even thinking about anything other than this Be still and know that I am

God I'm in control. I Care for you, you know all the things that are true about God be still and know that I am

God Well, what does that mean? What does it mean that he's God it means that I can trust him It means that he set his affections upon me.

It means all these things. So start thinking about the implications of that and don't worry the beginning of Wisdom is the fear of the

Lord. Well, what does that mean? It means that if I understand God rightly if I'm thinking about him rightly then

I'm wise I'm ahead of the game Okay.

Well, let's let's close a prayer. We'll pick this up next week father Thank you for your word. Even as we think about Charlie was saying the frenetic pace that so many people keep the the constant barrage of news and Headlines and If it leads it bleeds or bleeds it leads and all the all the all the distractions of everyday life all the kind of Crazy pace that people keep you say to us it is good to take some time even once a week or more and to just think

We are yours You have called us with a purpose. We are to worship you to Humble ourselves under your care to think rightly about you to think rightly about ourselves

To contemplate Everything about you and to just worship you in our in our hearts in our minds

We ought to be doing that constantly, but that reminder to just do it To just think you are

God and we are your people And to rejoice in that Lord, I pray that you would give us

Not a sense of drudgery or obligation even though it is an obligation even though it is a command

But that you would elevate our thinking about Sundays About what it means to gather what it means to worship you what it means to have fellowship what it means to hear your word all these things that you're