The Bible says, “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” (Colossians 2:16) These four items had become points of contention in the early church. The Apostle Paul had grown weary of the saints fighting over them, so he told them to quit it. Unfortunately, divergent strands of Christianity still fight over these things. In particular, Christians still seem to want to judge each other over how they observe the Sabbath.

This week I visited my father, Rev. Eugene Sims, in the nursing home. He has been awarded the designation Pastor Emeritus of our church. I told him of our successful switch to a Saturday night worship service. He knows about entrenched dogma in the American church. Even though he is in failing health, his mind is clear. He reminded me of this admonition in Colossians. It is a command of scripture that we not be judgmental about how others celebrate the Sabbath. Because of this, we do not sit in judgment on any church that holds to a traditional view of Sunday as the Sabbath. We are fully convinced that the Lord is pleased with the attitudes of those who worship him on Sunday. And we are also convinced that the Lord is pleased with the hearts of the New Hope people who worship him on Saturday.

The Lord deserves to be worshiped everyday. We choose Saturday.