The Christian Day of Worship

No matter where I am on a given Sunday, I go to church. As I do, I am struck with the reminder that we are joining other Christians around the world. We are all part of one family. That family has a special bond on Sunday. Our spirits join together in praise to God.

Since my husband and I travel internationally, I might worship in America one Sunday, Cuba the next, France the next or Poland, Germany, Africa or Austria after that. Wherever we go, I have a sense of belonging. Even when I can’t speak the language or totally understand the sermon, I feel the Spirit.

If you have ever traveled internationally, you know there are differences in the way countries mark their dates and times. If you observe local calendars or need to date a local document, you must check to see what standard is used. The International Organization for Standardization would use 2011-08-01 for the first day of August 2011. Europeans would write 01-08-2011 while 08-01-2011 is the American usage.

There are many other differences in noting time. While many countries use a 24 hour clock, several use a 12 hour clock. Among the countries that use a 12 hour clock, the military, aviation and some other industries in those same countries use a 24 hour clock to avoid confusion.

Many European countries do not count Sunday as the first day of the week. They follow ISO 8601, set in 1988 by the International Organization for Standardization, which marks Monday as the first day of the week.

Most Christians observe the day of worship on Sunday and regard it as the first day of the week. They will often tell you if they are unable to worship on Sunday, their week does not start off right. We should worship Jesus all during the week but there is something about corporate worship that energizes the soul.

No matter how one tells time or marks their calendar, across the time zones of the world, there are gatherings to worship God and thank Him for the wonderful gift of HIs salvation. His Spirit joins us together. I have been privileged to worship Him with people from many nations. It gives me a little taste of what eternity will be like when every knee will bow before Him.

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb (Matthew 28:1).  Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week. . . Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul. . . spoke to them and continued his message until midnight (Acts 20:7).

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