Why Saturday?

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath day of the Lord your God . . . " Ex. 20:8-9

Embracing the teaching of the ten commandments, Seventh-day Adventists recognize Saturday, the seventh day, as the Sabbath. This practice is derived specifically from the Fourth Commandment found in Exodus 20:8-11, which calls for us to work the first six days of the week and to rest on the seventh. In embracing the Sabbath, as a weekly celebration of God’s creation, we aspire to follow Jesus' own example in this practice, observing Friday night sundown to sunset on Saturday night as a time to rest and be present to God and one another.

Adventists observe the Sabbath in a variety of ways. We refrain from unnecessary work and the distractions of media and commerce. Participation in Saturday morning Bible studies and worship services attends us to God and God’s work in the world. We celebrate life as the creation of God by enjoying time with friends and family and taking in the beauty of the natural world. And we focus on serving our neighbors, rehearsing practices that will shape the way we live the other six days. Most importantly, Sabbath offers the gift of peace. We are reminded in resting that God has made peace with humanity through the Jesus Christ; and that peace extends to all our brothers and sisters in the human family. The divine gift of our reconciliation with a God who never stops loving us makes our reconciliation with one another possible as well. In a world so often filled with anxiety and division, the Sabbath affords us the opportunity to rest in the peace of God.