Reformed Worship, Part 17

Pastor Tom Chantry of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Milwaukee, WI continues his excellent series on Reformed Worship. Here is an excerpt from Part 17.

"The second category of distractions is made up of those necessities of life which we might have dealt with during the six days, but which instead eat away at our Sabbath. Christians sometimes refer to Christ’s words about pulling an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, arguing that the work they are doing is necessary. It is true that sometimes circumstances conspire against our Sabbath, requiring emergency measures. How often, though, have we placed ourselves in such a circumstance by failing to do “all our work” in the six days God gave us? A pastor friend of mine once said that it was fine to pull your ox out of a ditch on Sunday, provided you had not pushed him in on Saturday. When the week is spent in procrastination, we are without excuse for failing to honor the Lord’s Day.

Diligence during the week is the prerequisite to whole-hearted worship on the Sabbath. It is wise to ask oneself a series of questions before the Sabbath arrives. Is my work done, at least as far as it needs to be done before Monday? Is there food in the house? Is there gas in the car? Am I ready to do nothing tomorrow but focus on the God of Glory? If so, I have used my six days wisely, and my Sabbath should be a blessing." ~ Pastor Tom Chantry, Reformed Worship, Part 17