The Difference a Day Makes by Oliver Archer
In sharing the Bible with others—whether they are coming to faith in Jesus, have grown up in an environment of faith, or are of another faith—I have at times felt some trepidation when it comes to sharing about Sabbath. Of course, it is a gift and blessing. But the practice of Sabbath brings with it both immediate change and the prospect of future challenges, which can be at least a little daunting.
As an experienced Bible teacher and pastor, Oliver Archer is well acquainted with the ways Adventists tend to relate to and share Sabbath—and the pitfalls we sometimes fall into. In The Difference a Day Makes, rather making the whats, whys and hows the primary concern of Sabbath keeping, Pastor Archer focuses on the Who. “In the seventh-day Sabbath,” he writes, “God has woven into the very fabric of time His desire for an intimate love relationship with you.”
It is through the lens of a deeper relationship with Jesus that The Difference a Day Makes explores the blessing and sanctification of the day at Creation, the perpetuity of the seven-day cycle, the emphasis on the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments given in Exodus and Deuteronomy, the example of Jesus and the disciples, the covenant, and the role of the Sabbath in the end of the great controversy. The book’s thoughtful arguments and clear illustrations take us beyond mere obligation to keep a day holy, to uplift the beauty and purpose of God’s good intentions for that holy day. Sabbath is emphasised as a day of faith in a God whose very presence for us is rest.
These chapters are followed by a survey of the Bible’s teachings on the seventh-day Sabbath, complemented by an Appendix on passages used to challenge Sabbath-keeping. But the book concludes with an appeal from a pastoral heart for those discovering the beauty of Sabbath for the first time to pray, begin to observe Sabbath, join a worship service and to study further. These features make this book well suited for sharing with Christians of other denominations, but it also has value for those new to Adventism and those who have grown up in the church or been part of it for some time. After all, we all need to remember the beauty of the Sabbath.
The Difference a Day Makes is available from Adventist bookshops in Australia and New Zealand, or online.
Lauren Webb is an assistant book editor at Signs Publishing
