Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale now promoting its Christmas Day service online after initially announcing a Dec. 25 closure
Posted on 12/19/2005 6:23:54 AM PST by NYer
With many large churches across the U.S. announcing they won't be open on Christmas Day, some pastors are defending their decision to stay closed, even going so far as to blast those who question their motives.
Among them is Jon Weece, pastor of Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., who received complaint e-mails from Christians in all 50 states.
"I was deeply saddened by the knee-jerk response of the Christian community as a whole to give the benefit of the doubt to the media and not a church or a brother in Christ," Weece said in his Dec. 10 sermon. "I'm still troubled that more Christians in this community specifically did not stand up for us knowing what this church represents."
(Audio of the entire sermon is available here.)
Weece blamed Satan the devil for using the Christmas issue as a distraction, prompting Christians to bicker among themselves.
"People are not the enemy," he said. "The devil is, and it is obvious that he has been at work in this situation."
Weece said the services being offered on Christmas Eve were still technically the "first day of the week" if one went by the custom of starting days at sunset, which some believe was the case in Jesus' day.
He went on to note: "Christmas began as a pagan holiday to the Roman gods, and if we were to really celebrate the historical birth of Jesus, it would either be in January or mid-April. I'm only pointing out the historical technicalities not out of intellectual arrogance, but again because of the illogical, ill-informed and even hypocritical arguments that were aimed at me personally this last week."
Weece also said Jesus himself walked all over opinion and tradition: "Do not lose sight of the controversy that Jesus incited by turning traditions on their head. And always remember in the economy of Jesus, the one whose birthday so many are claiming to be so passionate about, Jesus placed value and emphasis on people over policy and procedure and protocol every single time."
Meanwhile, the largest Christian church in South Florida has reversed itself on its closure Christmas Day, and now says it will be open for a single service next Sunday morning, Dec. 25.
Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale now promoting its Christmas Day service online after initially announcing a Dec. 25 closure |
Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale originally decided to give its members and workforce a day off to spend with their families on Christmas, even though it falls on Sunday, its traditional day of worship. Instead, it had scheduled a slate of extra services for Saturday night, Christmas Eve.
 Pastor Bob Coy |
"I've been called a bad person and a shame to Christianity," pastor Bob Coy told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "It made me realize that many people misunderstood our motives."
But after an onslaught of negative public reaction from both inside and outside his congregation, Coy had a change of heart.
"Say it isn't so," read one e-mail, according to Coy. "You're shutting your doors on Jesus' birthday. I'm appalled at the message you're sending to the community."
Coy also was advised by some church members who said they wouldn't be able to attend services on Christmas Eve, and preferred to come on the actual holiday.
"Christmas is filled with unrealistic expectations," he said. "I don't want to fuel that. If people need Jesus on Christmas, I want to make Him available."
The entire issue has exacerbated the national Christmas controversy at a time which many believe is supposed to harken back to the Gospel of Luke's "peace on Earth."
"There is no biblical mandate that we meet on Sunday, only that we meet," writes Larry Baden in an online messageboard. "This is clearly a nonessential issue. Nobody's orthodoxy stands or falls on having a Sunday service. Nobody's salvation depends on having a Sunday service."
Minister Jeff Chitwood contends: "I think the issue centers on canceling worship on a day that is supposed to be centered on Christ. Too many times the church accuses the world of taking Christ out of Christmas but now the church is the one changing things because a day centered on Christ conflicts with schedules. What kind of message does it send to those who we have condemned in the past? At our church we are rescheduling service times but not eliminating the opportunity to worship on a day centered on Christ."
One poster said true worship is about much more than just singing or attending a church service.
"The way I greet my family when I go home from work is an act of worship. The way I talk to my co-workers. The dedication I give to my employer. The passion and inspiration I find in teaching or writing or editing or reading or mowing the lawn or ironing my shirts. ...
"Let's all just focus on God this Sunday. He's a big Guy. I'm sure those who look for him will find him – even if they don't set foot in a church building."
"The sanctification of the Lord’s day (or the first day of the week) is also implied in Revelation 1:10 where the Apostle John says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” John speaks of a day which is distinct from all other days. “Some say, how do we know that this was the first day of the week? Every day is the Lord’s day. But it is the design of John to tell us when he had those visions. And if by the Lord’s day is meant any day, how doth that inform us when that event took place?” [39] John uses an expression that Christians in his day would instantly recognize as the day of Christ’s resurrection: the first day of the week. Seventh-day Adventists argue that this refers to the Saturday, Jewish sabbath. But this assertion is clearly unscriptural. “Nowhere in God’s Word is the Saturday sabbath ever called the ‘Lord’s day.’... The adjective in the expression—‘kuriake (-os, -on)’ [i.e., the Lord’s]—occurs in only one other verse of scripture: in 1 Cor. 11:20 in the expression ‘the Lord’s Supper’ (‘kuriakon deipnon’), which supper was usually held on the first day of the week. This very fact surely implies that the Lord’s day (‘he kuriake hemera’) was also then held on the first day of the week.” [40] A passage of Scripture which clearly identifies the Lord’s day as the day of Christ’s resurrection is Psalm 118:22-24: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
The Apostle Peter, in addressing the Sanhedrin (Ac. 4:8-12), applies Psalm 118:22 directly to the exaltation of Jesus Christ, which began at His resurrection (cf. Mt. 28:18, Rom. 4:3-4). [41] Psalm 118 identifies the day of Christ’s exaltation as a day of rejoicing and gladness. Were the disciples of Jesus rejoicing on the seventh day (Saturday)? Were they glad and happy on that day? No, absolutely not. On Saturday Jesus was dead and still laid up in a tomb. On Saturday the disciples were in mourning. Their leader had been put to death as a common criminal. They were living in fear, doubt, sorrow and apparent defeat; but on Sunday, the first day of the week, Christ rose from the dead; and their tears turned to joy, their sorrow to gladness, their doubt to hope, and their defeat to victory. “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). This is the origin of the term “the Lord’s day.” It is the day on which the Christian church celebrates the victory of the Son of David. “We observe the Lord’s day as henceforth our true Sabbath, a day made and ordained of God, for the perpetual remembrance of the achievements of our Redeemer.... Entering into the midst of the church of God, and beholding the Lord Jesus as all in all in the assemblies of his people, we are bound to overflow with joy. Is it not written, ‘then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord’?” [42]
The historical evidence presented thus far is sufficient to prove that Jesus Christ has changed the sabbath day from the seventh to the first day of the week. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. He appeared to His disciples on the first day on more than one occasion. The disciples gathered together on resurrection Sunday, and then again at Pentecost, in order to meet with the risen Christ. The apostolic church engaged in public worship on the first day of the week. [43] This involved preaching, the sacraments and tithing. The Apostle Paul indicated that first-day public worship was universal in the churches of Galatia. The Apostle John used the phrase “the Lord’s day” as a time reference that all the churches of Asia Minor would instantly recognize: the day of Christ’s resurrection (Ps. 118:22-24), the day of joy and worship. “Must we not conclude that these inspired men regarded the authority of God as now attaching to this Lord’s day?” [44] Yes, we must."
But it wouldn't matter to me if the only thing he did were things that involve serving members of his family.
His father, a pastor many, many years was recently diagnosed with tongue cancer. He did a Q & A session with his father about 3 or 4 weeks ago (look in their audio archives; very good). Very humble, prayerful, God-fearing man and family. He might live 9 more days, or weeks, or months, only God knows.
His mother-in-law was recently re-diagnosed with some form of cancer as well.
If all Jon Weece does is organize a prayer time with and for his family I think it would be exactly what God wants him to do. As Christians, regardless of titles or positions we are *all* called to be ministers.
Personally I'll attend a Saturday evening service. My wife and I plan on setting an example for our family and use Christmas day as a time to serve and be with those who don't have families. Our particular calling is to care for and lead a Bible study and worship time for young, unwed, mothers-to-be or new-mothers in a special home just for them.
I don't mean this in a bad way but I can't help it if it reads that way --- but if you are so passionate about a building being open how much more passionate should you be about doing something like I'm going to do? Do you have any Christmas morning plans other than "warming the bench" or will you "get in the game"? I *really* don't mean that to sound harsh but I fear that there's no way to express my sentiment without it coming across mean. No offense intended.
Christ said not one jot or tittle of the moral law would pass away.
I have no problem with what you are doing Christmas day. That is admirable. And good food for thought.
Thank you. Too many people would take that as a "holier-than-thou" attitude instead of an honest reflection about what we Christians are really supposed to be like. I'm far from perfect but hope to be a better man tomorrow than I am today.
That's a very nice explantion of tradition, but where in scripture does it say that the 7th day of the week is no longer the sabbath and the 1st day of the week is?
"This teaching of the creed is Biblical. For it is the doctrine of the Fourth Commandment itself. The Fourth Commandment is part of the moral law of God, and the moral law of God is perpetually valid. No more is this commandment done away with than is the commandment against taking God's name in vain. Like the other nine, it was engraved in granite by the finger of God. If it were the case that the Fourth Commandment was entirely ceremonial, we would now have only nine commandments, not ten, and should speak of the "Ennealogue," not of the Decalogue. The Fourth Commandment, perpetually valid, requires that we remember a day to keep it holy and, in connection with this, that we cease from our work.
The New Testament Scripture does not abolish the Fourth Commandment. Jesus did not abolish this commandment; nor did He have a lax view of Sabbath-keeping, in comparison with the Pharisees. This is the notion that is sometimes found in the Church, so that those who are careless about remembering the Lord's Day are regarded as good Christians, whereas those who are careful about observing the Sabbath are suspected of Pharisaism. It is true that the Pharisees charged our Lord with laxity regarding the Sabbath. They accused Him of breaking the Sabbath (John 5:18). They said, "he keepeth not the Sabbath Day" (John 9:16). But this charge was false.
What was Jesus' teaching? What was the teaching of His behavior, first of all? Where did the Sabbath Day find Him, and what did it find Him doing? Was he in the field harvesting the crops? Was He taking scenic tours of the Mediterranean? Was He in the stadium watching the Nazareth Bobcats play the Capernaum Bears at some game of ball? Not at all, but He was always in the synagogue preaching the Word; and He was always doing good to distressed saints, healing them and destroying the power of the Devil.
What was the teaching of Jesus' word concerning the Sabbath? Did He ever admit that the Pharisee's charge was true? Did He ever say, "I am come, and, therefore, the Sabbath is no more"? Not at all, but He taught that remembering the Sabbath does not consist of idleness; it rather consists of working. He taught that this work must be the worship of God and the help of the needy brother. He taught that the Sabbath was made for man, for man's great good. And He taught that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Note well, Jesus does not call Himself, "Destroyer of the Sabbath," but "Lord of the Sabbath."
As the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus fulfills the Sabbath, creating the perfect rest by His atoning death and resurrection. That the Sabbath is now fulfilled Jesus shows by changing the Sabbath Day from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week. Not the Church, but the Lord Jesus set the first day of the week apart as the day of rest for the New Testament people of God. The Church has no authority to change the Sabbath Day or to require believers to observe the first day of the week. The Church does not make laws; she only proclaims the will of her sovereign Lord, as that will is revealed in Holy Scripture. The Lord of the Sabbath Himself ordained the first day of the week as the day of rest for the Church come of age. He did this by rising from the dead on the first day (Luke 24:1); by meeting with His disciples on the first day, prior to the Ascension (John 20:19; John 20:26); by coming back to the Church in the Holy Spirit on the first day (Pentecost was a Sunday); and by directing the apostles and the Apostolic Church to gather for worship on the first day (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:1,2).
Therefore, the Spirit of Jesus Christ calls the first day of the week, "the Lord's Day," in Revelation 1:10: "I (John) was in the Spirit on the Lord's day..." This one, brief text is a mighty, a conclusive, Word of God for the whole Sabbath-question. All by itself, it utterly refutes the position of Seventh Day Adventism regarding the day of rest and worship for the New Testament Church. What is of greater importance to us is that it clearly teaches that one day of the week, the day on which Jesus arose in glory, is a special day and must be specially observed by those who love the risen Lord. Even though it is certainly true that all the days of the week belong to Christ; nevertheless, it is also certainly true that one of them is "the Lord's day" in a unique sense.
The Church after the apostles saw this from the very beginning. Ignatius, the most ancient church father wrote: "Let every one that loveth Christ keep holy the first day of the week, the Lord's Day.""
Neither do I. Sabbath was made for man. One service on Christmas Eve should be sufficent that way EVERY FAMILY MEMBER if they wish can attend. IOW mom & the women folk won't be home busy cooking for the family etc.
The Sabbath is not just a day of worship it is a day of physical, spiritual, and mental rest that even Christ himself needed. The Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath.
If everybody wants to be honest the burden of preparing for Christmas day falls mostly on the women or mothers in the family. Many of them are as well Sunday School Teachers etc in the church. Perhaps giving them some rest on the Sabbath Day is wise? And I'm just waiting for some non thinker to say they take their wife out to eat :>} A woman still serves them :>}
another great site explaining why we keep the Sunday Sabbath:
http://www.apuritansmind.com/TheLordsDay/TheLordsDay.htm
He won't have to give up the money. There is no one verse (as with many Biblical doctrines) that "proves" this matter.
It is the totality of Scripture, including the relationship of the NT with the OT and how OT requirements are dealt with in the NT that lead to the conclusion.
interesting article though
But by Biblical standards that would start the evening before, so Saturday night is included as part of the Sabbath: Saturday evening until Sunday evening.
I really just don't get this, and I think a lot of people are being very snippy about the whole thing.
I agree with you but I was referring you to the article for its summary of the Saturday/Sunday debate. Good stuff there.
Read the scriptures in the piece. There is not one verse that proves anything.
Doctrine isn't always easy.
If he has a service at midnight Sunday morning, fine. But, not before.
Basically, the doctrine of the Lord's Day being on Sunday has been slowly eroding with the modern (largely doctrinally ignorant) church. But, it was the position of the church up until recently.
Definitely. There will be no shortage of congregations meeting on SunDAY for worship for those who feel they must, need, should, or want to attend at that time. Christ will be preached for people to hear. Congregations that aren't meeting on that day should be spending that time as the body of Christ in ministry to those who need it, whether it is only their family members or others in their community.
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