GOD'S SABBATH DAY

Photo by N. Ben-Haim

The Sabbath is a day God set aside for thebenefit of all mankind. It was designed asa special day of rest and worship-an

opportunity to rejuvenate both mind andbody.

Keeping the Sabbath, as God intended, isone of life's greatest joys. It is a time ofphysical rest and mental relaxation after a busyweek at school or on the job. God gives us thisadditional time each week to reflect onspiritual things-to learn more about His greatpurpose for mankind!

In this lesson, you will learn about theSabbath-when, for whom and by whom itwas made. You'll learn why the Sabbath isvery special to God. You'll discover its mean­ing for those who keep it as He commanded.And you will learn why and how theprofessing Christian world changed it toanother day.

WHEN THE SABBATH BEGAN

Many people assume the Sabbath began inthe days of Moses, when the children of Israelwere led out of Egypt. But the Sabbath beganlong before the Exodus.

During the first six days of what iscommonly called Creation Week, God renewedthe face of the earth and created the variousforms of plant and animal life. On the sixthday, He created the first human beings, Adam

ABOUT OUR COVER . . .Partly restored synagogue in Capernaum is believedto be built on the original site of a synagogue in whichChrist preached on the Sabbath.

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and Eve. What did God then do on the seventhday? (Genesis 2:2-3) _

Why did God rest on the seventh day? HadHe become tired from all the work He haddone during the previous six days? (Isaiah40:28) _

God does not need to rest, nor does Hebecome tired as physical human beings do.Spirit beings do not grow old, wear out orbecome tired.

It was by the very act of resting on theseventh day of the week that God establishedthe Sabbath. But why did God set aside theseventh day of the week as a day of rest? Whydid He make the Sabbath in the first place?

The answer is found in the New Testament.What did Jesus tell the Pharisees about theSabbath? (Mark 2:27) _

Jesus showed that the Sabbath was madefor man. It was intended to help people every­where live happier and more abundant lives.From the beginning, God meant His Sabbathto be a day of joy and delight, a special day ofhappiness!

Christ, who came to earth as a human being,lived a life of perfect obedience to God (John15:10). When Christ began His ministry, Hecalled twelve apostles to carryon the Work of

God after His death. He spent three andone-half years teaching them God's way oflife.

What did the Apostle Peter say regardingChrist and the example He set? (I Peter 2:21)

Peter and the other apostles had lived withChrist for three and one-half years, observingeverything He had said and done.

After His death and resurrection, Christlater called Paul to be an apostle. What didPaul say about following the example set byChrist? (I Corinthians 11:1) _

The apostles followed the example set byChrist and taught the Church to do the same.

It is important to understand that Christ,who had formerly been a glorified member ofthe God Family, set an example for all tofollow. Likewise, when God rested on theseventh day, He was setting an example ofwhat man should do.

GOD'S LAW IS FOR OUR GOOD

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, Pastor Generalof the Worldwide Church of God, has oftenpointed out that God instructed our first

parents, Adam and Eve, in the way that wasgood for them. He taught them what theyneeded to know in order to live happy andsuccessful lives. Part of God's instructioninvolved the "tree of the knowledge of goodand evil."

What were God's instructions about thisparticular tree found in the Garden of Eden?(Genesis 2:16-17) _

This tree represented the way of deciding foroneself right from wrong-good from evil­rather than relying on God's revealed instruc­tion (represented by the "tree of life"). Godwarned if they ate of the tree, they wouldultimately die.

Soon afterwards, Eve was tempted by theserpent (Satan the Devil-Revelation 12:9) toeat the fruit of this tree (Genesis 3:1-6).Believing Satan, she ate of the fruit and gavesome to Adam. By disobeying God, Adam andEve decided to choose for themselves what wasgood and what was evil. They chose the way of"human experimentation." Mankind has beenliving this way ever since!

There are many verses in the Bible showingthat God's way-defined by His law-is forthe good of all mankind. Notice what the

THE FIRST SEVEN-DAY WEEK

Order of Days

Days of Week

1SUN

2MON

3TUE

4WED

5THU

6FRI

7SAT

NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY

24 HOURS 24 HOURS 24 HOURS 24 HOURS 24 HOURS 24 HOURS 24 HOURS

Occurrence or Light Waters Dry land Sun, moon Fish and Land SabbathSpecial Creation appears divided appears, and stars birds animals made

on Each Day- on earth vegetation become created and man by rest

Gen. 1:3-31; 2:1-3 created visible created

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following verses teach about God's law beingfor our good. Write down the main idea foundin each of them.{Deuteronomy 4:5-6} _

{Deuteronomy 4:39-40} _

{Deuteronomy 5:32-33} _

{Deuteronomy 6:24-25} _

{Deuteronomy 7:12-13} _

What did King David say about God's law?{Psalms 19:7-11, summarize these verses} _

And what did the Apostle Paul write aboutGod's law in the New Testament? {Romans7:12} _

People through the ages have believed thatGod's law is harsh, cruel, overbearing-aburden and yoke of bondage! But the Biblecertainly does not teach this. It teaches just theopposite-that God's law is for the good of allmankind.

BETWEEN ADAM AND MOSES

As we have learned, Adam and Eve did notbelieve that God's way was best. They did notseek God's guidance and revelation, nor liveaccording to His laws. Instead, they chose todecide for themselves what was right and whatwas wrong. From then on, humanity lived apartfrom God.

When Adam and Eve had children, theytaught them the way they thought was best. Intime, most people did not even realize theywere breaking God's law. But that did notmean God's law was not in effect. God's law isalways in effect.

What was the result of man's disobedienceafter the first 1,500 to 1,600 years of human

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existence? {Genesis 6:5} _

What did God decide to do because of theviolence that filled the earth? {Verse 6:13}

Cut off from God, man did not know theway that leads to peace and happiness. Theresult was chaos and confusion-a society soevil that God had to destroy all life by aworldwide flood.

Not long after the Flood, men began tofollow the same evil ways of those who weredestroyed in the Flood. Under the leadership ofa great despot named Nimrod {Genesis1O:8-9}, what did the people decide to do?(Genesis 11:4) _

What did God do to prevent further work onthe tower? {Verses 7-8} _

Many years later, God began to work withone man. What was his name? {Genesis 12:I}

What did God promise him? (Verse 2) __

What kind of man was Abram {whose nameGod later changed to Abraham} and why didGod choose to bless him? (Genesis 26:5) __

Abraham lived more than 400 years beforeMoses. Yet we learn that Abraham obeyedGod's laws. The Sabbath, which had beeninstituted at creation, was one of the lawsAbraham kept.

What was another of God's laws thatAbraham understood and obeyed? {Genesis14:20} _

Many people believe the Ten Command­ments were not given until the time of Moses.But the Ten Commandments and other laws of

God were in force from creation. If you wouldlike to read more about this important subject,write for the free reprint article, Were the TenCommandments in Force Before Moses?

Between the time of Abraham and Moses,the nation God had promised to make ofAbraham had its beginning. First Abrahamand Sarah had a son, Isaac. Then Isaac andRebekah had Jacob. And Jacob (God changedhis name to Israel) had twelve sons whosedescendants became known as the twelve tribesof Israel.

One of Jacob's sons, Joseph, was sold by hisbrothers as a slave. He was taken to Egyptwhere he eventually became second incommand under Pharaoh. Because of a greatdrought, Jacob and his family, numberingfewer than a hundred at the time, moved toEgypt where God had inspired Joseph to saveseven years' supply of food.

At first, the Israelites contributed noticeablyto the Egyptian economy. They were proficientbuilders, farmers and herdsmen. But aftermore than a century, a pharaoh rose to powerin Egypt who did not know of Joseph nor thegood things he had done. He feared thegrowing Israelite population and decided toenslave the people.

For nearly a century, the Israelites wereslaves to the Egyptians, who did not worshipthe true God. The Egyptian calendar was quitedifferent from the one God had given. Insteadof a seven-day week, which God established atcreation, the Egyptians had a ten-day week.They worshipped strange creatures like thehalf-man, half-lion sphinx. The tombs of thepharaohs and the hieroglyphic writings ofancient Egypt reveal many of the unusualcustoms observed by these ancient people.

The Israelites, as slaves of the Egyptians,were not permitted to worship the one trueGod. In time, they lost much of the knowledgethey had of Him.

DELIVERANCE UNDER MOSES

The time came for God to deliver His people

and lead them to the land He had promisedAbraham. God sent ten destructive plaguesupon the land of Egypt before Pharaoh finallylet the Israelites go. God led them out of Egyptinto the desert wilderness on their way to thePromised Land, the land of Canaan.

Since the Israelites had forgotten much ofGod's law, it had to be revealed to them. Godchose an unusual, but effective way to revealthe correct day to observe the Sabbath.

When the Israelites were hungry and neededfood, what miracle did God perform to feedthem? (Exodus 16:4) _

What were the Israelites to do on the sixth dayof the week? (Verses 5, 22) _

Then what happened on the seventhday-God's Sabbath? (Verses 23-26, summar-ize these verses) _

What did the people do on the Sabbath?(Verse 30) _

The children of Israel wandered forty yearsin the wilderness of Sinai before inheriting thePromised Land. How long did God continue tosend them manna? (Joshua 5:12) _

God stopped sending manna soon after theIsraelites entered the Promised Land.

There could have been no doubt which daywas the true Sabbath after forty years ofmanna appearing daily, except on the Sabbath,when it did not appear at all. Approximatelyhow many times did this occur? 40 years x 52Sabbaths per year (on the average) =

Within a few weeks after the Exodus, whatgreat event took place? (Exodus 20, summarizewhat happened) _

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What is the fourth commandment that Godthundered out from Mt. Sinai? (Exodus20:8-11) _

THE SABBATH - A SPECIAL SIGNBETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE

The nation of Israel was to become God'snation. Would the observance of the Sabbathday be a special sign of identification betweenGod and His people? (Exodus 31:13) _

How long was this sign to last? (Verses16-17) _

The Sabbath is very special to God. It is amemorial of creation, and a special signidentifying God as Creator and those who keepit as His people.

The Sabbath was to be a perpetual covenantbetween God and His people. Look up in adictionary the word "perpetual" and writedown the meaning. _

God intended the Sabbath to be observedforever!

Israel was given this special sign. By keepingit they would be set apart as God's people.

ISRAEL DISOBEYED GOD

After the land of Canaan was settled, theIsraelites soon began worshipping false gods.What happened a few years after the death ofJoshua? (Judges 2:10-13, summarize theseverses) _

What were conditions like nearly 400 yearslater? (Judges 21:25) _

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Finally, the Israelites set up a monarchy.Their first kings were Saul , David andSolomon. After the death of Solomon thekingdom split into two nations-Israel to thenorth and Judah to the south. Both nationssoon began worshipping pagan idols.

God, through His prophets, first warned thepeople of Israel and then Judah that if they didnot obey Him, they would suffer nationalcaptivity

What did the prophet Isaiah, who lived over600 years before Christ, instruct the peopleregarding the Sabbath? (Isaiah 58:13-14) _

In spite of all that God's prophets said ordid, the people of Israel and Judah mostlyfailed to observe the Sabbath. Just as had beenprophesied, the nations of Israel and Judaheventually went into captivity. Israel was takencaptive by the Assyrians between 721-718B.c., and Judah by the Babylonians between604-585 B.C. Seventy years after the nation ofJudah was taken captive, the Jews werepermitted to return to their homeland.

Under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah,

Sabbath-keeping is a special sign between Godand His People.

the city of Jerusalem began to be rebuilt. Theseleaders knew the reason why the nation ofJudah had gone into captivity. It was becausethe people had forsaken God's laws. They hadbroken the Sabbath, had not observed God'sholy days, had not tithed and had worshippedidols. Ezra and Nehemiah taught the peopleGod's laws and admonished them not todisobey God in the future.

What did Ezra do as the Jews began toresettle the land? (Nehemiah 8:1-2, write themain idea) _

What did the people discover? (Verse 14) _

And what did they do? (Verses 17-18) __

The people eagerly kept the Feast ofTabernacles, one of God's Festivals which hadnot been properly kept for hundreds of years!

What else did the people learn about afterthe book of the law was read? (Nehemiah 9:14,read verses before and after to get a better ideaof what is being discussed) _

But what soon happened when the peoplesettled into their everyday life after thecaptivity? (Nehemiah 13:15-16) _

Nehemiah corrected the Sabbath breakers.From that time forward the Sabbath was morestrictly observed by the Jews.

Sometime after the death of Ezra andNehemiah, in an effort to avoid the mistakes ofthe past, the religious leaders began to enforcethe Sabbath in a more vigorous manner. Theyadded many strict rules about what could andcould not be done on the Sabbath day, thusmaking it a burden to keep. It was into such asociety that Jesus was born.

CHRIST KEPT THE SABBATH

By the time Christ was born, most ofthe world from India to the Atlantic Oceanand from England to the Sahara desert had

been brought under the rule of the RomanEmpire.

The Romans generally allowed the nationsthey conquered to continue their own religiousworship. Thus the Jews in Christ's day werefree to observe the Sabbath and the HolyDays.

Was it Christ's custom to regularly keep theSabbath? (Luke 4:16) _

What did He do while in Capernaum? (Verse31) _

The New Testament shows that Christ keptthe Sabbath throughout His life. As we havealready learned, He set an example for all tofollow. If He had wanted to set an example forkeeping Sunday, He certainly could have. ButHe kept the Sabbath perfectly every week,setting an example for us to do the same.

Christ showed that the Sabbath should notbe a burden, as the religious leaders had madeit. Time after time, the Pharisees tried to trapJesus in alleged violations of their strict rulesregarding the Sabbath.

On one occasion, Jesus and His discipleswalked through a field on the Sabbath day andthe disciples began to pluck and eat some of theheads of grain. God's law stated nothing aboutthis being unlawful. This was one of the don'tsadded by the religious leaders. To thePharisees, plucking a few heads of grain on theSabbath-even if one was hungry-was"work." Therefore, they determined it wasunlawful.

What did Christ say about such over-strictobservance of the Sabbath? (Mark 2:23-26,summarize these verses) _

Here Christ was showing that God's law wasnot meant to be burdensome. What did Christthen say to the Pharisees? (Verses 27-28) _

Christ showed that it is His right-notman's-to instruct us on just how to observe

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the Sabbath because, as we shall see, it was Hewho originally made the Sabbath!

What else did Jesus do on the Sabbath?(John 5:9) _

Did the Jews agree with what he had done?(Verse 10) _

The above are but a few of the manypassages showing that Christ kept the Sabbath.He showed that it was made for the benefit ofmankind. It was never intended to be awearisome burden, as the Pharisees had madeit!

CHRIST THE CREATOR

A very important point to understand aboutthe Sabbath is who made it in the first place.To do this we must understand who and what isGod.

Do you know the Hebrew word for God inGenesis 1:1? It is Elohim, a plural wordmeaning Gods-more than one God! God is afamily. Just as a family or church has morethan one member, so there is more than onemember in the God Family.

Are there currently two beings in the GodFamily? (John 1:1-2) _

Who did the "Word" become? (Verse 14) _

In the God Family, the Bible reveals therehave always been two Personages. Today, theyare known as the Father and the Son. Butbefore His human birth, the Son (Jesus Christ)was called the Word.

The Greek word for the One called the Wordis logos. It means "Spokesman." What role didthe Word have in the creation of all thatexists? (John 1:3) _

What did the Apostle Paul say about Christand creation? (Ephesians 3:9) _

Understanding that the Word-"Spokes­man"-was the one who later became Jesus

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Christ, how were the events of Creation Week(the renewing of the face of the earth afterSatan's rebellion-see earlier lessons) broughtabout? (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24) _

The phrase "And God said, Let ..." showsthat the creation was done by proclamation.The Spokesman, the second member of theGod Family, speaks only as the Father directs.God created all things by Jesus Christ. It wasJesus who spoke, and the work of creation wasdone by the power of God's Spirit (Psalms33:6-9; 104:30).

Then which Member of the God Familyrested on the seventh day, thus setting aside or"making", the first Sabbath mentioned inGenesis 2:2-3? _

So if Christ had done away with the Sabbathduring His ministry on earth or by His death,He would have done away with the day He setaside at creation!

Christ did not do away with God's law or theSabbath. In fact, what did He say in thisregard? (Matthew 5:17) _

SABBATH KEPT BYTHE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

The New Testament Church was establishedon the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 31. Christ hadcommissioned His apostles to go into the worldand preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God(Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15).

For the next 30 years, we have the accountof Peter, Paul and the other apostles preachingthe Gospel to the Jews and Gentiles.

When arriving in a Gentile city he had notvisited before, Paul would first speak to theJews. The most effective way to reach themwas on the Sabbath in the synagogue. In thesynagogue were usually a number of Gentileswho had converted to Judaism. What werethese Gentile converts called? (Acts 13:43)______. Paul usually found that only

Sunday is observed by many because of thetraditions established by men.

a few of the Jews who heard him believedGod's truth. But among the Gentiles who heardhim, there were many who believed.

Was it Paul's "manner," even as it wasChrist's custom (Luke 4:16), to keep theSabbath? (Acts 17:2) _

In what city was Paul at this time? (Verse 1)

Some people who observe Sunday say thatPaul only observed the Sabbath when he wasamong the Jews. But Thessalonica was a city inMacedonia. It was not a Jewish city. Many ofthe Gentiles who heard Paul preach on theSabbath days believed God's truth (verse 4).

Are there other examples of Gentilesobserving the Sabbath with Paul? (Acts 13:42,44) _

Here in the city of Antioch in Pisidia (verse14), there were large numbers of Gentiles whowanted to hear more of God's truth. Had Paulwanted to instruct them not to keep theSabbath, this was the time.

Yet Paul never once told these Gentiles theyshould start meeting on the following day-

Sunday. As verse 44 shows, on the nextSabbath they came together to hear Paulpreach.

The above scriptures show that the apostlesand early New Testament Church kept theseventh-day Sabbath-just as Christ had doneyears earlier.

HOW SUNDAY OBSERVANCEORIGINATED

We have learned that God set aside theseventh day-the Sabbath-at the end ofCreation Week to be observed forever. Later,the Sabbath was codified as one of the TenCommandments during the time of Moses.

Christ kept the Sabbath.The apostles and the early New Testament

Church kept the Sabbath.Why then do many churches today keep

Sunday? As we have seen, there is no scripturalbasis for doing so. Let's learn when and howthese churches began keeping Sunday insteadof God's Sabbath.

Who deceived the woman (I Timothy 2:14)in the Garden of Eden? (Genesis 3: 1)_______. Who is this serpent andwhat has he been doing for the nearly 6,000years of human existence? (Revelation 12:9)

What else is revealed in the Bible about Satanand who he is? (II Corinthians 4:4)

One of Satan's great deceptions has been todeceive many into keeping Sunday as a day ofworship in place of God's true Sabbath-theseventh day of the week.

But why did Satan choose Sunday-the"day of the sun"?

What was Satan's name before he rebelledagainst God? (Isaiah 14:12) ________. His original name inHebrew meant "Light-Bringer"-Lucifer washis name in Latin. Lucifer was the shining starof the morning-a bringer of light! Doesn't itmake sense that he would want people to

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worship and honor him on a day he inspired tobe named after light?

In earlier lessons, we learned that Nimrod,who lived shortly after the Flood, set up awhole system of pagan worship centeredaround the worship of the sun. Through thisman, God's true religion was set aside andpagan idolatry became the dominant religionon the earth.

At the time of the Tower of Babel, Godconfused the languages and scattered thepeople to various parts of the earth (Genesis11 :7-8). Most people continued in the pagansun-worship they had learned.

How, then, and when did the church called"Christian" begin to observe Sunday instead ofthe Sabbath?

Quoting from The Schaff-Herzog Encyclo­pedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. III, 1884,pp. 2259-60, art. "Sunday," "Sunday (diessolis, of the Roman calendar, 'day of thesun,' because dedicated to the sun), the firstday of the week, was adopted by the earlyChristians as a day of worship... It wascalled the 'Lord's Day' ... No regulations forits observance are laid down in the NewTestament, nor, indeed, is its observance evenenjoined...."

If Sunday worship is not even mentioned inthe Bible, why then do many churches observeit?

After the deaths of Peter, James and Paul,the organized preaching of the true GospelChrist brought practically came to a halt. TheApostle John lived till the turn of the firstcentury. Writing in the 90s A.D., did Johnwarn members of God's true Church aboutthose who were attempting to deceive themwith false doctrines? (II John 7-10, summarizethese verses) _

Did Jude write that false teachers had creptinto the Church? (Jude 4) _

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Over the years, pagan doctrines and falseteachings were brought into the New Testa­ment Church. True Christians were eventuallyput out (notice III John 9-10). A false, pagan"Christianity" became dominant. (A futurelesson will cover this subject in greaterdetail.)

By the early 300s A.D., Constantine becameemperor of the Roman Empire. He adoptedthis false form of Christianity as his religion.At this time, there was a controversy as towhether Sunday should replace the Sabbath asthe day of worship.

To settle the Sabbath versus Sundaycontroversy, Constantine, who had been a sunworshipper, in A.D. 321 issued the followingstate decree: "On the venerable day of the sun[Sunday] let the magistrates and peopleresiding in cities rest, and let all workshops beclosed" (Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12:3;translated in History of the Christian Church,by Schaff, Vol. III, 1950, p. 380).

What was Constantine's specific purpose formaking this decree? "It was his mode ofharmonizing the discordant religions of theEmpire under one common institution" (Lec­tures on the History of the Eastern Church, byDean Arthur P. Stanley, 1864, p. 291).

Without realizing it, people really worship thesun, not Christ, at Easter Sunrise Services.

Thus Sunday became the harmonizing factorand was established as the official day ofworship. Later Catholic counsels in Nicaea(A.D. 325) and Laodicea (A.D. 343-381) morefirmly established the official doctrine ofholidays and Sunday observance.

SABBATH TO BE KEPT TODAY

Did the Apostle Paul mention the seventh­day Sabbath in his writings? (Hebrews 4:4)

Did Paul say the Sabbath was abolished, or is itstill to be kept today? (Verse 9) _

The Greek word for "rest" in this verse isSabbatismos. It means "keeping of a Sab­bath." Paul literally said, "There remaineththerefore a keeping of a Sabbath to the peopleof God." That is certainly proof in the NewTestament that the Sabbath had not beenabolished.

In the fourth chapter of Hebrews, theSabbath is pictured as a type of the peaceful"rest" on earth which will follow Christ'sreturn. This will be during the Millennium,which will last 1,000 years (Revelation20:4).

Under Christ's rule during the Millennium,all nations will be taught God's laws-to obeyand worship Him. Will God's annual Festivals(and certainly His weekly Sabbath too) beobserved? (Zechariah 14:16) _

What will happen to the nations if theydecide not to keep God's Festivals? (Verses18-19) _

Does the prophet Isaiah also indicate theSabbath will be kept during the Millennium?(Isaiah 66:23) _

When the government of God is set up onearth and Christ rules for 1,000 years, theweekly and annual Sabbaths will be observedby the whole world!

HOW TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH

God made the Sabbath a day of rest andrejoicing! How then does He want us to observethe Sabbath?

There are several important points we mustbe aware of when we keep the Sabbath. First ofall, what are we commanded not to do on theSabbath? (Deuteronomy 5:14) _

What else should we not do on the Sabbath?(Isaiah 58:13, first part of verse) _

What is one thing we should do on theSabbath? (Leviticus 23:3, middle part of verse)

The Sabbath is a day of rest and "holyconvocation" which means we should attendchurch services. How does God want us to viewand keep the Sabbath? (Isaiah 58:13, last partof verse) _

This should set the tone for how we observe theSabbath each week.

God commands us not to do our regularwork on the Sabbath day. We must not pursueour own interests and pleasures. Hobbies,special interests, sports and other recreationare for the first six days of the week-not theSabbath! (Since God's days begin at sunset, weshould keep God's Sabbath beginning Fridayevening at sunset and ending Saturday eveningat sunset.)

During the Sabbath you can have additionaltime to think more about God, to pray andworship Him. You have extra time to read andstudy the Bible with your family, to grasp morefully our awesome potential of one daybecoming members of God's Family. You canget a full day's rest and fellowship with friendsat church services.

Remember: It is a blessing to keep God'sSabbath day holy-the day that reminds us ofHis great plan for mankind. Be sure to alwaysrejoice and delight in God's Sabbath!

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