Church attendance in many western countries is declining, but in Africa, church attendance is exploding. Among reasons researchers find some people do not attend church are these: prosperity offers more options to do other things; more activities for kids take place on Sunday; blended families require two sets of values to accommodate; plus, the guilt of not attending is gone. We can report that so far African Americans have much higher church attendance of 53% compared to 44% of the majority population. In establishing the nation of Israel, God gave specific directions for the spiritual health of the people. They were to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. Keeping the Sabbath holy was a covenant obligation God made with his people at Mt Sinai. The people were to cease work in order to refresh their physical bodies, cultivate their spiritual relationship with God, and help those in need. Since Christ came and established the New Covenant, Christians today live under it. But we still recognize the value of setting aside a day to maintain our physical and spiritual wellbeing. Most Christians reserve Sundays to do this.
