A recent hit country music song revolves around the singer’s love of Sundays. As the song unfolds, he describes the various people and activities of a typical morning church service, followed by an afternoon of leisure with friends and family. He then repeats his assertion that these are the things he likes about Sundays.
The nostalgic bent of the song means that a great many people, including myself, have an affinity for the world he describes. As I listen to it, I can relate on so many levels to the scenes he describes.
Of course, as a Pastor, Sundays are my absolute favorite day of the week. I love worshiping with God’s people and experiencing the blessings that come with this day.
Now, Sunday might well be considered a work day for those of us who are preachers. And believe me; I’ve heard my share of jokes down through the years about how we only have to work one day a week. My only response to that is to say that, even then, if the sermon runs a little long, those same folk quickly complain that I work too long!
By contrast, my least favorite day of the week is Monday. This the day I pick up the proverbial pieces from Sunday - little notes handed me about this, that, or the other need, issue, or concern. It is also a day full of administrative meetings, all of which are necessary but somewhat taxing.
Little wonder that some ministers prefer to take Monday off. I can certainly understand why. But for me, doing so would only put me that much further behind the ball for the remainder of the quickly unfolding week.
By contrast, I like to take Fridays as my off day. To begin with, if there is no church activity on Saturday, it gives me some semblance of a weekend. Thursday evening thus becomes my Friday night, and Friday my Saturday, as it were. This is refreshing, because, by the time (the real) Saturday morning unfolds, my mind is usually totally consumed with thoughts of Sunday.
Thus, Fridays are filled with the standard fare – cutting grass, trips to the hardware store, running errands, getting haircuts, etc… Which brings me to my point.
This morning, while running around, I was reminded of the greater significance of Friday. You see, an automotive auction establishment is located between my house and town. I pretty much have to pass it going and coming. And Friday morning is the day and time of their big weekly sale.
This means that, beginning every Thursday evening and continuing early Friday mornings, a steady stream of used cars are hauled in. But, by mid-morning on Friday, another steady stream begins to unfold – that of formerly unwanted automobiles being carried away by their new owners.
On Thursday, the used vehicles were brought in, unwanted and dispensable. Yet, by mid-day on Friday, most all of them have been redeemed and carted off to a whole new life!
Every time I see this parade of used cars, newly revalued, cleaned up, and in transit to their new homes, I am reminded of the great work of redemption done by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on what is often termed “Good Friday”.
On Thursday night, a whole world of people - used up, marred and scarred by sin – had been declared by the Devil as of no value and worthy only of being discarded. But, on Friday, Jesus Christ hung on an old rugged cross and paid the price of redemption! So that by Easter Sunday morning, when He came up out of that grave, their value had been definitively re-established.
No doubt, this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Christians at Ephesus (Ephesians 2:1-10):
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesha and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
And so, my friends, all I can say is that I am glad that God’s son, Jesus Christ, did not take Friday off! He chose instead to show up for His appointed task; and, as He Himself said in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 4, verse 34), “to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.”
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/.
The nostalgic bent of the song means that a great many people, including myself, have an affinity for the world he describes. As I listen to it, I can relate on so many levels to the scenes he describes.
Of course, as a Pastor, Sundays are my absolute favorite day of the week. I love worshiping with God’s people and experiencing the blessings that come with this day.
Now, Sunday might well be considered a work day for those of us who are preachers. And believe me; I’ve heard my share of jokes down through the years about how we only have to work one day a week. My only response to that is to say that, even then, if the sermon runs a little long, those same folk quickly complain that I work too long!
By contrast, my least favorite day of the week is Monday. This the day I pick up the proverbial pieces from Sunday - little notes handed me about this, that, or the other need, issue, or concern. It is also a day full of administrative meetings, all of which are necessary but somewhat taxing.
Little wonder that some ministers prefer to take Monday off. I can certainly understand why. But for me, doing so would only put me that much further behind the ball for the remainder of the quickly unfolding week.
By contrast, I like to take Fridays as my off day. To begin with, if there is no church activity on Saturday, it gives me some semblance of a weekend. Thursday evening thus becomes my Friday night, and Friday my Saturday, as it were. This is refreshing, because, by the time (the real) Saturday morning unfolds, my mind is usually totally consumed with thoughts of Sunday.
Thus, Fridays are filled with the standard fare – cutting grass, trips to the hardware store, running errands, getting haircuts, etc… Which brings me to my point.
This morning, while running around, I was reminded of the greater significance of Friday. You see, an automotive auction establishment is located between my house and town. I pretty much have to pass it going and coming. And Friday morning is the day and time of their big weekly sale.
This means that, beginning every Thursday evening and continuing early Friday mornings, a steady stream of used cars are hauled in. But, by mid-morning on Friday, another steady stream begins to unfold – that of formerly unwanted automobiles being carried away by their new owners.
On Thursday, the used vehicles were brought in, unwanted and dispensable. Yet, by mid-day on Friday, most all of them have been redeemed and carted off to a whole new life!
Every time I see this parade of used cars, newly revalued, cleaned up, and in transit to their new homes, I am reminded of the great work of redemption done by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on what is often termed “Good Friday”.
On Thursday night, a whole world of people - used up, marred and scarred by sin – had been declared by the Devil as of no value and worthy only of being discarded. But, on Friday, Jesus Christ hung on an old rugged cross and paid the price of redemption! So that by Easter Sunday morning, when He came up out of that grave, their value had been definitively re-established.
No doubt, this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Christians at Ephesus (Ephesians 2:1-10):
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesha and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
And so, my friends, all I can say is that I am glad that God’s son, Jesus Christ, did not take Friday off! He chose instead to show up for His appointed task; and, as He Himself said in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 4, verse 34), “to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.”
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/.