We live in a day when those things that stand in the way of the prevailing narrative of the culture are canceled, banished out of existence as we once knew them. As much as we are rightly worried about cancel culture in the world, perhaps we should repent of our own cancel culture in the church in our cancelling of the second service on the Lord’s Day. As things currently look, this great “cancel” in the kingdom of God may never be recovered. We seem to have said good riddance to the evening worship service forever on the very day God set aside for us to anticipate entering our eternal rest.

This cancelation of the evening worship service on the Sabbath is a sad development in America and speaks volumes about our view of corporate worship. In fact, most readers of this article will question that such a complaint has any warrant since most modern Christians are completely unaware that such a practice ever existed. Yet, it shouldn’t go without mentioning that what appears now to be completely unknown was, at one time in this country, across denominational lines, a mainstream conviction. Churches used to have a morning and evening service on the Sabbath. The rare occurrence would have been to find a church whose doors were closed at six o’clock. How did we get here and what are the consequences of this ginormous cancellation of the evening service in Christ’s church? Read more»

Chris Gordon | “Cancel Culture Got To The Evening Service” | December 9, 2021

Resources

• How To Subscribe To Heidelmedia
• The Heidelblog Resource Page
• Heidelmedia Resources
• The Ecumenical Creeds
• The Reformed Confessions
• The Heidelberg Catechism
• Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008). [see the chapter on the evening service]
• Why Your Congregation Should Have An Evening Service
• Video: With Chris Coleman On The Grounds, Reason, And Fruit Of The Second Service On The Lord’s Day
• Recovering The Lost Treasure Of The Second Service
• Heidelcast 163: Taking Calls On Choosing A College, Warfield’s Eschatology, Jesus’ Return, When the Roman Catholic Church Began, Sacraments, Rubicon Moments, Evening Services, And Church Discipline
• On Cancelling Services And Holding Devotions At Home On The Christian Sabbath
• More On The Second Service
• Why A Second Service?
• Twice on Sunday
• When the Borderline and Sideline Converge: Sunday Evenings
• Is Missing Church A Sin?
• The Evangelical Fall From The Means Of Grace
• With The Reformed Pubcast On The Means Of Grace
• Resources On Reformed Piety
• Recovering The Reformed Confession: the Table Of Contents

Post authored by:

• R. Scott Clark

  

  R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.

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