Analysis Essay

As a Seventh-day Adventist, the best day of the week for us is the Sabbath which we observe. The reason why we observe the Sabbath is because of the fourth commandment in the Bible which God asks us to “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy...but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.” So from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, we observe the Sabbath. The next question might be why from sundown to sundown since the day starts at midnight. The reason for that is because in the beginning of the Bible when God created the world, more specifically after he created the light, it specifies what a day is: “And God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” From that verse we take it to mean that biblically, the day starts at sundown. So from these two verses, we get our ritual of observing the Sabbath. What Sabbath means to us is that it allows us 24 hours where we concentrate, think and focus on God. All bills, problems, concerns, worries and such things seem to disappear and all our attention is on God thereby giving us the rest He wanted us to get while worshipping Him. By the end of Sabbath, we are well rested and hopeful to start the new week.

Our preparations for Sabbath begin on Thursday evening. That is when we go grocery shopping especially during the winter months since sundown is earlier in those months. We go grocery shopping on Thursday night so that there is sufficient food to last the weekend and also to get a head start on the cooking for the weekend. This allows that our Sabbath is opened on time and it doesn’t leave Friday for everything to be done. The next step of our preparation is still on Thursday night but after the food shopping. This is when we get home and we prepare our outfits for church. We pick out the outfit and if something needs to be washed or ironed, then we also do it on Thursday nights. This helps us to follow our ritual so that on Saturday mornings when we wake for church, we’re not rushing to find an outfit, or ironing which would qualify as labor.

On Fridays, during the day, that is when the house is cleaned from top to bottom while the rest of the meals are cooked. The house being cleaned allows for us to enjoy our Sabbath without any concerns of what needs to be done thus giving us a peace of mind. The rest of the meals being cooked ensure that we have food to last until Sunday at least so that there will be no need for anyone to be “slaving” over the oven to prepare food. By sundown Friday, we have all gathered together in the living room and are preparing for a mini worship service to open the Sabbath. The worship service entails singing religious songs, reading Bible verses, reading a devotional, and praying together. The purpose of the worship service is to allow a smooth transition from the work/school week into God’s time or the Sabbath. Also, the purpose of the worship service is to gather the family together for guaranteed family time. After the worship service, we greet one another and wish each other a Happy Sabbath. This emphasizes the ideas of togetherness and family.

On Saturday mornings, everybody gets dressed to go to church. Going to church on Saturday mornings is very integral to our ritual of observing the Sabbath. We go to church because we believe in worshipping God as individuals and worshipping God as a community. The purpose of the church service worship is to provide a backbone for the members for strength and encouragement. That way, if someone is feeling discouraged, being in the atmosphere of his or her fellow worshippers will strengthen their resolve. It also allows us one way to feel closer to God while being here on Earth. If everything goes as it should, we should feel that we are in God’s presence. Once we arrive at church, there are certain steps to be taken as well to ensure that the ritual is properly followed.

The first step of the church service is Sabbath school. The church is separated into different groups: infants and toddlers, preschoolers, adolescents, teens, college adults, church members and visitors. Each group has their own lesson book and each member should have their own lesson book as well. The purpose of the lesson book is that it helps to explain and explore different beliefs and concepts of our religion as well as of the Bible. Each member is to study their lesson book during the week to learn more about the Bible and what God’s purpose is for us. The purpose of the class on Saturday morning is to present a discussion where questions are answered and the lesson for the week is reviewed. This allows for different perspectives to be heard on the same idea while answering any questions a member may have had while studying the lesson.

After Sabbath School, there is song service. This is a portion of the worship service that can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes. The purpose of the song service is to allow members to request songs they would like the congregation to sing so that everyone can stay in the spiritual frame of mind. It also allows for the church leaders to put the finishing touches on the worship service that is to come. For some people, the song service is the first worship for them. It allows them to worship God through various songs and gets them in the spirit for the actual service. During this time, testimonies may also be allowed. Testimonies are when various people come up to the front and thank God publicly for a blessing or for a number of blessings. It can vary from something as simple as being alive to see the week through to something as drastic as having been diagnosed with cancer one week and then the cancer being nonexistent the next week. The purpose of the testimonies is twofold as well. The first purpose is to show that you are not ashamed to preach the love of God and to thank Him for his blessing. The second purpose is to give reinforcement to someone who may have an unanswered prayer or someone who may be thinking of praying for something that they might consider too insignificant or too difficult for God.

After the song service, the actual worship service is ready to begin. To start everything, a slow song is usually sung to usher the leaders onto the pulpit. The purpose of the slow song is to calm everyone so that the worship may be acceptable to God. Once on the pulpit, the leaders automatically kneel to pray for strength to perform the duties of worship as well as for guidance and the Holy Spirit so that they may say the right thing and do the right thing. From there, we have Call to Worship where a Psalm is usually read to begin the worship. The purpose of this reading is basically