Working on Sunday

[speerjp1]

[jchahl]

No problem :wink

[chev1958]

Hey, guys, I didn't mean for the "pastor working on Sunday" part of this thread to get ugly. I was just pointing out that while the congregation is enjoying the worship service, the pastor is actually working. Some folks don't really believe it's work, but I tell you that I'm more worn out after a full Sunday of services than I am after five days at my secular job. And please understand that I'm not begrudging my pastoral duties -- I love what the Lord has called me to do. Just remember that your pastor is working on Sundays.

Mitch

[Pastor Matt]

That is why they call me in, so I can work while the pastor takes a break. :lol:

[Anon]

Hey, guys, I didn't mean for the "pastor working on Sunday" part of this thread to get ugly. I was just pointing out that while the congregation is enjoying the worship service, the pastor is actually working. Some folks don't really believe it's work, but I tell you that I'm more worn out after a full Sunday of services than I am after five days at my secular job. And please understand that I'm not begrudging my pastoral duties -- I love what the Lord has called me to do. Just remember that your pastor is working on Sundays.

Mitch

My husband says the same thing.

I just think its different because, while the pastor is working, he is also "assembling" as required. The first day of the week is not a "day of rest" necessarily as the Sabbath was, and actually I don't have a problem with people working Sunday afternoons or going in for a night shift Sunday night. What I do have a problem with is alot of people who *could* choose to work around church, yet the priority is not great enough for them and they prefer to just miss.

[IM4given]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By James W. Knox James Knox is pastor of Bible Baptist Church, 872 Glenwood Road, Deland, Florida 32720 USA; phone: 904-736-9274. Pastor James Knox is well regarded for his plain Bible teaching and preaching. He is host to a popular radio broadcast, a prolific author, and a generous supporter of many missionaries throughout the world. You may visit his Web site at: You may e-mail him at: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As we seek to live a life of devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are continually faced with tough choices. We often find ourselves pulled in opposite directions. On the one hand we have our duty to God. On the other hand we have our duty to family, society and others. Since we are commanded to take care of our household (I Timothy 5:8), to train our children (Proverbs 22:6), and to provide things honest in the sight of all men (Romans 12:17), we cannot go out of the world (John 17:15, 1 Corinthians 5:10) but must have some interaction with mammon (I Corinthians 7:32-34). Some have entered monasteries, moved to the mountains, or in other ways isolated themselves in an attempt to serve God or their family. These self-serving extremes do not fit the overall tenor of the great commission or the victorious life exemplified in the book of Acts. The church, by any honest definition of the word, is an assembly, a gathering, a body, a building. There is no way that one can sit alone, keep the family at home, spend "quality time with God" on the lake, etc. and be part of an assembly. An isolated church member is a contradiction in terms. A lone body part is a frightful thing. A single brick provides no shelter or security for anyone. The fact that some take the Lord's promise to be in the midst of two or three as an alibi to forsake their brethren, rather than a cause for rejoicing in areas where the brethren are few, is sad at best. All sincere believers understand that salvation is wholly a matter of faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is also understood that salvation makes one part of a communion, a body, an assembly. So here are some points to ponder for those who must be in the world and not of the world. Here are some ways we may examine ourselves to see if we are serving God or mammon. 1. "I don't have to go to church. I am free in Jesus to do what I will." Does this principle apply to your job? Will you absent yourself from work and make the same statements with the same haughty air to your employer? 2. Are you satisfied with attending only the morning service? After all, you have been to church, done your duty, and gotten a dose of religion. Do you work until lunchtime and then go home? After all, you have been to work. There is no point in going overboard. 3. Do you plan to be at church on time or do you carelessly or deliberately come in late? Do you plan to be at work on time or do you make a habit of showing up whenever you feel like it? 4. If you had a meeting with your employer would you allow your children to talk, play, or get up and move about while he was speaking to you about an important project? Why not? Respect for him? Fear of losing your paycheck? Then why such treatment for the members of your body? Why such disrespect for the man who is ministering the word of God? 5. Are you a part of your church's visitation program? Its public outreach? The upkeep of its building and grounds? No, of course you don't have to be, but, if you are asked by your employer to work overtime, or stay late to finish a project, or come in on Saturday for a special assignment do you comply? 6. Will you plan a family outing for a day when you are supposed to be at work? Why not? You could simply tell your supervisor that you don't have to go to work to be a worker. Will you plan a family outing on a Sunday or the day of the midweek service because you "don't have to go to church to be a Christian?" 7. Would you skip work and tell the boss you believe that it is just as important to stay home and work with your family? Would you fail to show up on the job and tell your supervisor that it didn't matter because you thought it was just as important to spend some time working alone? If these are not acceptable excuses for missing work why are they acceptable excuses for forsaking the assembling of the believers? 8. If relatives who do not work are in town, or a friend comes by who has a different view of work than you, do you stay home from your job so as not to offend them or so that you can catch up on chit-chat and gossip? What if relatives are in town who are not Christians or friends are visiting who do not attend church? Will you absent yourself from the place of testimony to accommodate infidels? 9. Suppose you went to work on a hit and miss basis, or when you felt like it (which wasn't too often), and when you did go it was with little or no enthusiasm. Do you think anyone would take you seriously if you tried to speak to him about his need to be a part of your company? Perhaps someone who cares more for mammon than for God can be an effective witness for Jesus Christ, but it would be the first time in the history of the church. May God help us to faithfully carry out all our duties as saved men and women! And may He, by His grace, help us to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness more diligently than we seek mammon and the praise of men.

GOD OR MAMMON

http://www.jamesknox.com/jameswknox@juno.com

[Kubel]

I don't have a problem with working on Sunday. At our old church, if you worked on Sunday, you were breaking "the day of rest" and were sinning, which I guess they erroneously thought was the Sabbath, which even if it were (which it isnt), it still wouldn't apply to me, a Gentile, anyway. :loco

[bibletotingunslinger]

Nice Spoiler :thumb



Right or wrong, I am asked to work Sundays all the time for the most part I just say, "I keep the Sabbath Holy",,, no body has argued yet.
Exodus 20:8
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exodus 20:9
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exodus 20:10
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Sunday works for me.
Not my place to judge anyone else, I LOVE you all, even John81, Just putting in my :2cents

[JJJ4given]

Maybe start packing a sack lunch?

@jjj

Bro. Moody stated in his sermon that pastors ought to take at least one day a week off. He emphasized that according to God's plan, that human are supposed to work 6 days a week and take at least one day a week off, and that it really does not matter which day of the week one takes. however, those who are choosing to work for the WORLD and are forsaking church services are serving Mammon and not God, which is wrong. You sound like you are just wanting to be argumentative about this issue.

If you choose to work a secular job on Sundays, that is fine and it is between you and God. But you should not condemn others for wanting to use that day to serve the Lord in what ever capacity they choose , either as a congregant or as a pastor. Pastors and their families deserve a break too, so they may choose another day to relax and rest.

First, I condemn no one.

Second, I put the Bible above any fallen man, including D.L. Moody.

Third, I am not, nor have I been, argumentative about this issue.

I have only agreed with one other persons observation that pastors work on Sundays, and have also quoted verses to back that up. I do not desire for anyone to change whether or not they work on Sundays, but I am with Paul when he says: "Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man

[manofconviction]

I have done that (worked on Sunday). I came under the conviction that a disciple of Christ, not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. I have position of responsibility and will not work myself or to the best I can not make another work as a result of my frequenting an establishment. I am not perfect in this (my wife needs her "Dunkin Donuts coffee" once in a while :java:

[Flourgirl]

There are many people in our age who have not been taught/don't have the character/don't have the opportunity to avoid working on Sundays. There are also a few jobs such as medical, and police that have to work Sundays.

I feel its not the best situation but many people do. Usually though its best not to have a deacon or other church leaders that regularly work on Sundays as its a poor example to the rest of the church.

I understand some who have to work or they would get fired...but I've met a few who either own their own business or make their own schedule and they STILL work on Sundays. That's not too good....

My job requires me to work on Sunday... I do have character.... not everyone has the opportunity to be off on Sunday.... some people do not have the luxury of being a "homemaker" or setting their own days off. It is really annoying when people come accross as holier than thou... when it comes to working on Sunday. Do any of you people that DO NOT WORK on Sunday's go out after church? To eat, to go to the grocery store etc..... you should not be frequenting those places on Sunday's. If people did not go to thosre places on Sunday's... then we would NOT have to work on Sunday, and could be in CHURCH.... you need to look at it both ways.... some people have to work to make a living.....

[IM4given]

I have had to work all sorts of jobs that required me to work on Sundays - if I do not work I do not eat, it is as simple as that. However, if it is at all possible I have not worked on Sundays. I do not take Sundays lightly as any other ordinary plain old day of the week, and I think some people do. I will NOT work on Sundays unless I just have to (emergencies) - and I think that is the difference - some people just don't think there is anything wrong with it at all.

If Sunday was an ordinary day just like any other day of the week, then why wouldn't we all gather on some other day like Thursday or Friday? We could have Friday School at 10am and Friday Morning Worship Services at 11 am and Friday fellowship at 6pm? Would more people come to church if we changed the day of the week to assemble ourselves together from Sunday to Friday?

The problem of attendance seems to have been solved by the big churches, the Purpose Driven Churches - let's feed them, entertain them, give them Sunday Afternoon Sports and beer by the kegs, and throw away gospel preaching - we don't want anyone to become offended by words like Repent, or Blood, or Sacrafice. Let's take the name Church off the sign boards and bulletins and call it a Worship Center or a Gathering. Let's not mention the name Jesus, because we might hurt someone's feelings.

They are marketing our Sunday Services like those slick Madison 5th Avenue advertisers because maybe people have forgotten what the real purpose of Sunday is all about? You know what the worst part about that is? - IT IS WORKING - and churches that still believe in the Bible and Preach the Gospel can't even convince their membership that maybe they ought to reserve their Sundays for God. What a crazy mixed up world we live in! :loco

[JJJ4given]

The problem of attendance seems to have been solved by the big churches, the Purpose Driven Churches - let's feed them, entertain them, give them Sunday Afternoon Sports and beer by the kegs, and throw away gospel preaching - we don't want anyone to become offended by words like Repent, or Blood, or Sacrafice. Let's take the name Church off the sign boards and bulletins and call it a Worship Center or a Gathering. Let's not mention the name Jesus, because we might hurt someone's feelings.

They are marketing our Sunday Services like those slick Madison 5th Avenue advertisers because maybe people have forgotten what the real purpose of Sunday is all about? You know what the worst part about that is? - IT IS WORKING - and churches that still believe in the Bible and Preach the Gospel can't even convince their membership that maybe they ought to reserve their Sundays for God. What a crazy mixed up world we live in! :loco

I don't see the relavency of this statement to this discussion.

[IM4given]

Okay then I will make it more relevant - working on Sunday interferes with church attendance - both the morning and the evening services, depending on which shift you are working. I believe it is more a matter of setting priorities than earning a living.

How come all of those thousands of people who attend the feel-good churches don't seem to have any problems with their attendance?

[brosmith]

Hypothetically speaking: if we as Christians are not supposed to "remember the sabbath day to keep it holy" then why should we as Christians obey any of the other commandents? How many of us have the 10 commandments posted in our homes? Why not just post 9 instead of 10 since the other one supposedly no longer applies? Yes, there are some occupations that "require" Sunday work but for the majority of people, the one motivation for working on Sunday is THE LOVE OF MONEY!