Observing the Lord's Day

Pastor Mark Hogan teaches on sanctifying the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10) as the Christian Sabbath, taking a positive approach—asking what the day is for rather than listing prohibitions—drawing on Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, and Puritans like Ezekiel Hopkins. He outlines three categories of duty: acts of piety, with corporate worship as the chief part (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16; Heb 10; Ps 122), making the day 'church-shaped' with prayer meeting, Sunday school, and fellowship, plus private and family worship where fathers lead catechism and devotions (Isaiah 58:13–14); acts of charity such as hospitality (Rom 12:13; 1 Pet 4:9) and visiting the sick (Matt 12:12); and acts of necessity like eating and genuine emergencies. Applications from Reformed writers include preparing on Saturday night (J.I. Packer), delighting in the day as the Puritans' 'market day for the soul' (Ps 118), improving the day, and anticipating eternal rest, since Hebrews 4:9 says a sabbatismos remains for God's people—Spurgeon called it a 'dress rehearsal for eternity.' Finally, citing Thomas Shepard's warning against both profaneness and pharisaical strictness, Hogan urges guarding against legalism, closing with Christopher Wordsworth's hymn 'O Day of Rest and Gladness.'