On the Sabbath ...

My general perspective is "Yeah, Sabbath!"

Honestly, I haven't "studied" the Sabbath much in depth or in particular. But, as with many of the beliefs which I'm presently adopting and of which I'm becoming more convinced, observing Sabbath is one that, frankly, I want to believe ... because it seems to be just another of the innumerable blessings that God has graciously given His people. -- Yes, that's right: Sabbath is a blessing!

One other very important qualifier: I believe that the Ten Commandments are still relevant today and to be completely obeyed. I do not believe (as others hold) that God took them away with the advent of Christ and then brought nine back, with the one exclusion being the Sabbath.

"1 - What is the purpose of the Sabbath?"
1. Since Sabbath means rest, my guess is that the purpose is to rest.
.......a. Exodus 20:11 appeals to the Creation and not just to Mount Sinai in justifying this command when it states that God Himself rested on the seventh day and hallowed it after six days of work. -- God rested. God commanded us, including servants and animals, to rest.
.......b. If our faith is truly in God, then we must acknowledge that the reason our six days of work are blessed with fruit (money, possessions, etc.) is because God is graciously blessing our obedience -- not because there is some objective magic formula that states "all work yields product" and God just happens to agree. Thus, it does not follow that if 6 days of work bring more fruit than 5 days of work, then 7 must be even better ... because that then becomes disobedience. -- Trust God with your work, trust God in your rest.
.......c. Jesus Christ is the more glorious manifestation of the covenant, including the Sabbath. Christ is our Sabbath, granting us relief from the weight of sin. He also strengthens us for our kingdom labors, just as rest rejuvenates. -- Hebrews 4:1-11

"2 - What is the relationship between the 'sabbath observance' and 'meeting for worshiping the Lord'?"
2. People normally stop work to eat. We often sit down (a resting position) when we eat. Many in Biblical times reclined as they ate. It is Christ's body that we eat as we partake of communion in corporate worship. From Him we gain strength, not just because He is our Rest but because He is also our Bread (and our Wine and our Oil) -- Psalm 104:15. -- I think this question needs further discussion; I will simply refer you to the other portions of this email for now.

"3 - Is there a valid biblical argument for a Saturday vs Sunday Sabbath observance?"
3. There are Biblical arguments for both (Saturday vs Sunday), but which one is valid? I'd probably cast my vote for Sunday. I've heard arguments for this based upon Christ's resurrection taking place on the first day of the week ... something about the early church transitioning their synagoguing from the seventh day sabbath (from OT times) to the Lord's day (the first week day) -- Acts 20:7, I Cor. 16:2.

"4 - Are we free to observe the Sabbath on any given day of the week?"
4. Generally, I don't think so. But if extraordinary circumstances prevent a normal Sunday observance, then another day might be substituted (as I'm told that Stonewall Jackson did during the Civil War).

Celebrate the Sabbath. Christ stated, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28). My Pastor (Wilson) has explained: "God did not create men in order to have someone around who could keep the sabbath. It was the other way around. The sabbath is a servant to man (v. 27), under the authority of God. This brought the conclusion. This does not mean that autonomous man gets to decide that whatever he wants to do is okay on the sabbath. The reasoning must always be biblical, and in submission to the Son of Man (v. 28). But the Son of Man is not as uptight as some people think." The Sabbath is to be enjoyed.

Finally, please allow me to simply describe sabbath observance in our home: We generally observe Sabbath from 6 pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday (sort of Jewish, I think, but that's not the only reason why). At 6 pm Saturday, we sit down to a very nice dinner (which my wife has worked hard up to that point to prepare) with tablecloth, our best dishware, wine glasses, hot food including some meat, and a chilled wine. Sometime during supper, we raise our glasses and sing the Doxology (in one of several available forms). We may sometimes have dessert, but not always. After cleanup, we have some family devotions. Then we may play games, wrestle, watch a movie, or some combination thereof. (If it hadn't happened yet, we also get bodies and clothes ready for Sunday's corporate worship; but I really like it when this is done before 6 pm as well.)
.......Sunday goes pretty much as expected. I try to loudly play some Gospel music in the morning to encourage the children up and getting ready for church. It simply begs to be discussed what our approaches and perspectives are about heading to church and worshiping God corporately, including regular call to worship, confession, consecration, communion, and commissioning; but that will have to wait for another time. Our children stay with us throughout the entire worship service; we give them candy during the sermon.
.......We usually have leftovers from the previous evening's delicious meal, so no complaints there. We still try to ensure that Sunday afternoon is a good time.

You Are Like Your Father

Pop in the DVD. See a woman faced with a decision. ONE tells her, “Don’t do it. If you do, you will die.” The Other tells her, “Go ahead and do it. Don’t trust that ONE – he’s a liar. He’s just jealous of his position, because he knows that you’ll become his equal (rather than remaining his subordinate).” Pause the DVD. Let’s consider this: What should the woman do? To whom should she listen?

Is the ONE a liar, as the Other claims? Or is the Other really the liar? Let’s suppose for now that the Other is completely telling the truth. This means that the ONE is a liar. So if the woman listens to the Other, goes ahead and does it, and thus becomes equal to the ONE, then she becomes a liar … because that is what the ONE is, if the Other is telling the truth. Thus, the woman becomes a liar.

Now let’s suppose that the ONE is actually the truth-teller, and the Other is the liar. If the woman still listens to the Other and goes ahead and does what the ONE said to not do, she thus disobeys the truth-teller, follows the liar, and becomes like the Other whom she followed. I.e., she becomes a liar. – In either case, if she listens to the Other (whose logic is flawed), she becomes a liar. She should instead trust the ONE. – Now un-pause the DVD.

The woman eats the fruit and shares with her husband. They follow the liar and become like him. And we’ve had liars ever since.

John 8:44-45 – “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.”