To talk of all thy truth at night - The benefits of Sunday evening worship

This article is based on material first published in the monthly bulletin of Grace Baptist Church, Stockport, and on its website.

In the previous article, I pointed out that till quite recently the majority of evangelical believers across the UK thought it normal to attend two services each Sunday. But I went on to point out that during the last half century or so, many evangelical churches in the UK have stopped holding two services on the Lord’s Day. I want to ask now, ‘What brought about the change?’

Sweet is the work: The benefits of Sunday evening worship

Can you remember the first time you went to church? I can’t. My parents took me to church when I was a baby. They took me and my older sister every week. And then when my younger brother came along, they took all three of us. Morning and evening.

Evangelical TimesStephen Rees

Well, the big shift, I believe, was this. Many Christians stopped believing in the importance of keeping a Sabbath day. In fact, it became fashionable for Christians to say that we shouldn’t be bound by rules at all. As Christians we should only do things that we feel moved by the Holy Spirit to do; things that we find fulfilling and helpful. They said that following rules was ‘legalism’. They said that it was all very well for Old Testament Israelites to follow commandments and rules – they were ‘under the law’ – but as New Testament Christians we are ‘free from the law’.

And one immediate application of that was that now they could feel free to use all the seven days of the week in whatever way they might find most enjoyable. Yes, it was a rule for Old Testament Israelites to set aside one day in seven as a day of worship, but New Testament Christians don’t have to follow suit. If Christians choose to go meetings on Sundays, that’s fine; if they choose to stay in bed all day to rest up after six days of work, that’s fine too.