13 Best Bible Verses On Why We Go To Church On Sunday

Are there any Bible verses on why we go to church on Sunday? Most Christians worship God in some sort of a church building on Sunday, the first day of every week. Regular church attendance is part of spiritual growth. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 10, verse 25, writes,

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (KJV).

But that verse does not answer the Bible question of why Sunday is almost universally regarded by Christians as being their primary day of worship.

Sunday church services are the tradition, but where did this practice start?

Old Testament Bible Verses On Why We Go to Church On Sunday

Going to church on Sunday mornings is more than just a centuries-old tradition. In the Old Testament, the Jews rested and worshipped on the Sabbath, or what we now call Saturday. The fourth of the Ten Commandments is:

Exodus 20:8

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (KJV).

Unlike the other nine of the Ten Commandments, this particular commandment is not repeated in the New Testament.

The sabbath was a day of rest and it occurs on the seventh and last day of the week. Sunday is not the sabbath since it is the first day of the week. Comparing days of the week, Monday is considered the first day of the business week.

There is no specific Bible verse saying “Thou shalt go to church on Sunday.” Some Christians have tried to stretch the fourth commandment and turn it into a Bible verse about mandatory Sunday church attendance.

They take the commandment that was meant for the Jewish people, specifically for Saturday, the last day of the week, a day of rest and worship, and a holy day for the Jewish people, and apply those principles to Sunday, the first day of the week. But tradition aside, there are specific Bible verses on why we go to church on Sunday.

The Old Testament Jews rested on the seventh day of the week, on their Sabbath. But when Christians go to church on Sunday, the first day of the week, the pastor, with all of the congregants who are involved in the ministry of the church WORK! Sunday is not a day of rest for any church worker. Some pastors consider Monday (the second day of the week) as their day of rest.

But there are clues in the Bible that tell us why the body of Christ has made Sunday the day to go into the house of the Lord to worship.

The first Bible verse on why we go to church on Sunday, while not specific, gives an interesting clue and an excellent example by God Himself.

Genesis 1:5

“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” (KJV)

God, Himself, worked on the first day of creation week — on Sunday — a “day of light,” if you will. He started to create things on that day, and creating light was the first.

Bible scholars believe that light in the Bible symbolizes truth. On Sunday, the first day of the week, Christians go to church to get spiritually enlightened, i.e., to receive the truth of God’s Word.

New Testament Bible Verses On Why We Go to Church On Sunday

The rest of the Bible verses about why we go to church on Sunday, the first day of the week, are found in the New Testament. Since Jesus was a Jew, He regularly went to the synagogue, a Jewish type of church, to worship God His Father. He did so on the sabbath, on Saturday, the last day of the week.

Luke 4:16

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” (KJV)

But after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, something dramatic happened, and it was related to the miracle of Christ raising Himself from the dead.

According to Mark 16:9, Jesus arose from the dead on “the first day of the week” (KJV). Although Jesus had been dead for three nights prior, His friends were mourning Him, and after the sabbath (Saturday) was ended, early in the morning on the first day of the week, which would be our Sunday, two of His friends, (both named Mary) went to His grave to grieve.

Here are the verses all describing the same account from all of the four Gospels.

Matthew 28:1

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” (KJV)

Mark 16:2

“And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.” (KJV)

Luke 24:1

“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.” (KJV)

John 20:1

“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.” (KJV)

These verses record the first ever Sunday morning church service!

These followers of Jesus came to His grave to grieve, but their grief was replaced by joy and worship! Christ arose on the first day of the week — on a Sunday. His friends had the privilege of worshipping Him, alive — on the first day of the week.

Sunday, no longer the sabbath, became an extra special day to worship the risen Savior; their future Sunday worship services commemorated that very special Resurrection Sunday.

Bible Verses On Why We Go to Church on Sunday Evening

Yipes! Go to church on Sunday night, too? Isn’t Sunday night a time to rest to get ready for a new busy work/school week? While this may reflect the attitudes of many, there are verses in the word of God about why we should go to church on Sunday evening also.

It may surprise you that Jesus, our perfect example, went to church on Sunday night.

The same day after the resurrection of Christ, two of Jesus’ disciples were walking to a village called Emmaus and the resurrected Jesus came and talked with them. They were discussing Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christ talked with them about the Scriptures, and when they got to their destination, they asked Him to stay and eat with them, and so He did.

When He took the bread, blessed it, and broke it, the men realized that it was their friend, the risen Christ, who had been with them all that time! Read the entire account in Luke 24:13-35. This was the evening of that resurrection day, what we would call Sunday night.

The disciples hurried back to Jerusalem to meet with the other disciples to tell them that they had seen the risen Lord Jesus. And while they were meeting that Sunday night, Jesus, Himself, came and talked with them.

John 20:19

“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” (KJV)

Fast forward some years later to the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts. The early Christians assembled on the first day of the week.

 Acts 20:7

“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” (KJV)

One of the practices of the early church as part of their worship was to break bread. The term, “break bread,” refers to the Lord’s supper, or communion, commemorates the death of Jesus Christ, and which He specifically told His followers to do in Luke 22:19 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (KJV)

This meeting of Christian believers, specifically disciples, was held on a Sunday “the first day of the week,” and Paul was preaching to them after sundown. This church service lasted all through the evening and almost into the next day — midnight. This was a Sunday night church meeting.

Bible Verses On Why We Go to Church On Sunday — Giving to God

Some years later, the Apostle Paul, when writing to the Christians at Corinth, instructed them about their financial giving. This is another Bible verse that implies going to church on Sunday, the first day of the week.

1 Corinthians 16:2

“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” (KJV)

The Christians at Corinth knew exactly what Paul was telling them to do. He instructed them that on Sunday, “the first day of the week,” to take a portion of their finances, give it to the local church, and he would come and collect it so that it would be distributed for the work of God.

In this present day, it is a normal part of Sunday church service to collect an offering from the people to help with the expenses involved in God’s work. Giving to the work of God is part of the good deeds that Christians are to do in order to glorify God.

“The Lord’s Day,” is a term that Bible scholars believe is another reference to the first day of the week — Sunday. This phrase is used only one time in the Bible, by the Apostle John. This term apparently s was familiar to the early Christians because of the apostles’ teachings commemorating Christ’s resurrection.

It was on “the Lord’s Day,” the first day of the week, a Sunday, in which the Apostle John received his vision that comprises the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:10

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,” (KJV)

Bible Verse On Why We Go to Church on Sunday — Our Good Works

For busy people, going to church on a Sunday morning may be a sacrifice, and going to church on a Sunday night even more so. But God as called His people to be a “living sacrifice” in

Romans 12:1

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (KJV)

A sacrifice has no will of its own. But since we are alive, and as Christians, we need to submit our will to God’s and join others in a gathering of people who share our Christian faith to worship on the first day of the week, both morning and evening, and even for mid-week church service.

Regular church attendance is a testimony showing that God, and His house, are important to us. Going to church, especially on a Sunday, is part of our “good works” that Jesus referenced in

Matthew 5:16

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (KJV)

These Bible verses about why we go to church on Sunday are not specific commandments, but rather, the basis for our present-day church attendance. May we be like the psalmist, who said,

“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 (KJV)

I hope to see you in church this Sunday!

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