This summer I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Theological Foundations for Youth (TFY) program held at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While many lectures, discussions, and opportunities were instrumental in spiritually preparing me for the future, a talk on the Lord’s Day immediately struck me.

TFY is three-week “theological boot camp” to work through the weighty topics necessary for teens to consider before they enter the adult world. The program is directed by Pastors David Whitla and Rutledge Etheridge. These men pulled in multiple speakers to cover a variety of topics to build a firm foundation in young Christian lives. The topics ranged from the history of the RP Church to God’s call to spread the gospel worldwide. Every speaker came armed with a lecture guideline, a PowerPoint presentation, and a pocket full of jokes to keep everyone engaged. 

David Whitla was our leader for the first week at the seminary. He took up the role with courage and led us in multiple deep discussions. While all of his lectures were well planned and in-depth, his discussion on the Sabbath day left me convicted about more sins than I can count. I’ve grown up in a Christian home where my parents emphasized going to church on Sundays, so I wanted to pat myself on the back for such diligent attendance. As David spoke, though, I remembered the many ways I had marred the holy day that God has made.

To start the lecture, David explained why we have the Sabbath day. He read from Genesis 2, which states that God created the heavens and the earth, and rested on the seventh day. God has set the example of how to live since creation. And in Exodus 20, God commands us to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God…. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (vv. 8-11). Our merciful God has given us a full 24 hours to rest and come together as a church and worship Him. The Sabbath day is to be set apart and different from all other days of the week; it is to be a picture of what is to come. 

At this statement I found myself remembering all the times that I pushed off my homework until Sunday night, all the times that I worked out for my glorification, and all the times that I watched TV instead of meditating on God’s Word. I remembered the lies that I told myself in order to justify what I was doing.

Pastor Whitla progressed into the topic of recreational activities on Sundays. He reminded us that this particularly is an area of personal conviction, but that we should strive to put activities on other days of the week. While it isn’t a sin to enjoy sports, it may be inappropriate to get together on the Lord’s Day to indulge your competitive nature or to sit and focus your full attention on a sports game. He mentioned that if something is important to fit into your schedule, then plan to fit it in on another day of the week and not on the Lord’s Day. We should find ways to “set apart” our Sundays and prepare ourselves spiritually for the week ahead. We should spend time with our Christian brothers and sisters praising God.

Pastor Whitla ended the lesson by encouraging us to avoid saying, “I don’t get to do (blank) on Sundays.” Instead, we should celebrate all that we get to do on the Sabbath and the rest that we receive! The Lord’s Day isn’t to be a day in which we finish everything we didn’t get done during the week. It is a day to spiritually prepare ourselves for what we will be facing in the week ahead—and we do that best through personal devotions, fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and corporate worship of our triune God, with works of mercy, piety, and necessity.