First Day iof the Week

            Some times, life throws you a curve ball. While in Spain, one of the first things that we did was to get a calendar. I also purchased a planner to put down everything that we were going to be involved in during our stay in Spain. When I looked at the calendar, I was struck by the fact that the first day of the week was “Monday.” That meant of course, that the last day of the week was Sunday. On most of the calendars, the last day of the week was made in red compared to black for the rest of the numbers. I never questioned as to why this was in Spain if it was either a religious reason or a reason from the government. Our local church met on “Sunday” or “Domingo” as it always is in most countries but the calendar in that country showed that Domingo was the seventh day of the week. If our church in Spain followed the Scriptures tot he letter, we would be coming together on Lunes or “Monday.” First Corinthians 16:2 says, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”

          Early on in the New Testament, we see the women heading for the tomb on the first day of the week and then from that point on, the first day of the week has the preeminence for local church worship. In the above verse, Paul exhorts the believers in Corinth to take up the offering on the first day of the week suggesting that is the time when they would gather together as a group of believers. The “sabbath” is still the seventh day of the week and is not to be confused with the “first” day of the week, or Sunday in our case in much of the world in which we live. Some things are important to note at this point. First, the believer is exhorted to worship not just on the first day of the week, but every day. Our worship is not confined to just one day a week but goes on through the week and includes every day. It is also important to note that the original church did not have a specific building associated with it. They met in homes such as in the case of Philemon and the church that was in his home. It would seem that the early church did come together for a specific reason on the first day of the week as was the case in the church at Corinth. Hebrews 10:24-25 exhort us to come together for encouragement one to another and to do so until the Lord comes. It was interesting to note that the church in Spain still came together on “Sunday” but the local calendar said it was the seventh day in the week and not the first. One thing for sure, we are to worship the Lord every day and we are to come together as a local church group on a weekly basis since they gathered together on the first day of the week. Are you enjoying the fellowship of a local body of believers somewhere? Are you worshiping the Lord each and every day? Praise God that we can come to Him everyday.