THANK GOD IT’S MONDAY

Then [Jesus] said to them, “The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath. And I, the son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath!”

MARK 2:27-28

“Thank God it’s Friday” is a common sentiment in the workplace. Not that Fridays are any different from other day; the sun rises and sets as usual! It’s just that on Friday the workweek ends and the weekend begins.

It was not always like this. The Scriptures say, “Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God” (Exod. 20:9-10). This is one of the Ten Commandments, and the Jewish people understood the reasoning behind it: God created the world in six days but rested on the seventh, and man should do the same. Accordingly, they were forbidden to do any work on the Sabbath, and they defined work by listing thirty-nine prohibited actions. The penalty for breaking this law was death!

One Sabbath day, while Jesus and his disciples were busy about the work of the kingdom, the disciples picked some wheat and ate it as they traveled. This was technical “reaping” – one of the thirty-nine activities prohibited by the rabbis. So he was in contra-vention of the basic Jewish law, and his opponents challenged him. He replied that the Sabbath as made for the benefit of man and, therefore, it was appropriate for his hungry disciples to be fed. Then, to the anger of his opponents, he said, “And I, the Son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28).

Christians now celebrate a “Sabbath,” a day of rest and worship, on the first day of the week, rather than on the last day, in commemoration of Christ’s resurrection (see Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). The first day of the week was called “the Lord’s Day” in New Testament times (see Revelation 1:10). But what matters to secular people is not a day of rest in honor of the Creator who rested from his work, but a weekend away from work and freedom to do whatever they wish.

Jesus said that he is master even of the Sabbath, and the Sabbath is made for man’s well-being. If Jesus’ words are to be applied for modern people, surely they mean that our times of rest from work should be lived in conscious recognition not only of the Creator who rested, but also of his Son who rose again. Such recognition would lead to worship and service as a prime weekend activity. This would not only serve to renew weary people after the struggles of the previous week, but also would refresh them with spiritual energy with which to face the new week. When that happens, the refreshed and renewed can’t wait to get back to work. They may even be heard saying as they go, “Thank God it’s Monday!”

Doug Stone

Community Lay Director

Prayer Time

COUNTRY—LEADERS—WORLD—CHURCHES

·  2014-15 Elizabethtown Emmaus Board and Leadership

·  Sponsors and pilgrims for Chrysalis 53, YAC 4, Walk 130, and Walk 131

·  Deployed Military Service Men and Women

·  Those in your Reunion Group and those not in an Emmaus Reunion Group

·  The Spiritually Lost

·  Nicaraguan and Northpoint REC Community

·  Leann Yarbrough and Casey Drane, YAC 4

·  Chrysalis 53

·  Allen Tipton, Men’s Walk 130

·  LaTina Adams, Women’s Walk 131

Mark Your Calendars

Friday
January 3rd / YAC 4
Sendoff / 9:00 AM / Camp Nikao
Saturday January 4th / YAC 4
Candlelight / 8:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Sunday
January 5th / YAC 4
Closing / 5:00 PM / Camp Nikao
Saturday
January 4th / Board Meeting
Gathering / 6:00 PM
7:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Memorial UMC
Saturday
February 1st / Board Meeting
Gathering / 6:00 PM
7:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Memorial UMC
Saturday
February 15th / Chrysalis 53
Sendoff / 9:00 AM / Camp Nikao
Sunday
February
16th / Chrysalis 53
Candlelight / 8:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Monday
February 17th
/ Chrysalis 53
Closing / 8:00 PM / Camp Nikao