It is a Biblical commandment to praise and worship God!

John 4:24: God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

God moves in a fresh way in his church amongst his people. An important part of this restoration comes from warm and sincere celebration of God through praise and worship.

If we ask whether it is a Biblical commandment to praise and worship God, if it really is important to the believer and if we should emphasise the role our Sunday Service plays in being obedient to this command, the answer is a stern YES!

Celebratory Sunday Worship where we heartily praise the Lord, is not the invention of man, or of the gospel music industry or any church renewal movement, but it is God’s idea. Since the days of the Old Testament, it was God’s idea that his people should meet regularly and continuously to worship him and to celebrate our relationship with him.

Just listen to Psalm 150, and see how we are taught to "praise the Lord!"

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in his mighty expanse.
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with trumpet sound;
Praise him with harp and lyre.
Praise him with timbrel and dancing.
Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise him with loud cymbals;
Praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!

God is still saying to his church, as he commanded so often during all the ages: "Praise Me!"

The reason for the Biblical command to worship and praise lies not with God, but with me. The reason is that WE need what praise and worship can do in our lives. It meets a deeply rooted need to celebrate the Lord.

Praise and worship change and inspire us! The living of a purposeful and content life, begins with celebrating God.

Love as Jesus loved!

In Deuteronomy 6: 4-5 we find what is considered as the greatest of all the commandments in the Old Testament: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. And in Leviticus 19:18 we read, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself." The Bible had taught these commandments to love, from the very beginning.

In both the Old Testament and New, we meet God as a God of love. And in both Old and New Testament, we find that God expects from us to have holy love.

But the old commandment does differ from the new commandment that John speaks about in 1 John 2: 7-8:  “I am writing you a new command... because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”   

When he wrote these words, John was thinking of Jesus’ own statement recorded in John 13: 34: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

It is not the command to love that is new, it is that Jesus gave us a new scope for love. It is not new in its being there, but it is new in its reach and standard!

In the old command, we were to love our neighbour as ourselves. In the new command, we are to love one another as Jesus loved and demonstrated God’s love to us.

This is the new commandment – to love as Jesus loved!

Listen to John 15:13, "Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Jesus loved us enough to lay down his life for us.

When we walk in the light and learn to forgive one another, we will take the next step as well: To love as Jesus loved!

Serve the Lord cheerfully

We need to understand that the Church of Christ is all about relationships. Everyone knows that the Church is not bricks and mortar, buildings and structures, laws and traditions.  When we say “church” we talk about people. 

The New Testament word for Church means "the called out ones."  The Church is made up of Christians. The Church is all of us who love the Lord and love his work. In the Church, we are related to one another based on our love for the Lord.

It is a relationship based on an understanding of who we are in relation to each other.

Rom 12: 3: For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Our opinion of ourselves ought not to be too high or too low. It ought to be an opinion based on what God has done in our lives and on what God’s calling means in our lives.  We need to desire for our lives what God’s idea is for us and what place and role God has given us in his work. We think too much of ourselves when we assume that we received a gifting that we do not have, or believe we should play a role that God has not given to us.   

On the other hand if we think too little of ourselves and if we do not recognise the gift of God in us, we do not serve according to Gods calling and equipping of us. 

We all are needed and important for God’s work. And we are responsible to each other and we are accountable to each other to get the work done. We need each other to accomplish what the Lord intended for us personally and communally.  We have to use the gift that God has given us.  This is how God wants to make a congregation strong.

Let’s build each other up in faith, in love and in enthusiasm. Let’s serve the Lord cheerfully in his Church community!

Simply being God's children!

See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.   Matthew 18:10

While children are persecuted in Iraq and other parts of the world - and often even within their own families – we need to remember how important they are to God, who has a special group of angels to help and guide them.  We need to pray for every child that suffers and make a difference in their lives, even if it is only in the life of a single one of them at a time!

But for today, let's learn about faith and trust from the children around us. Let's celebrate their spontaneity, love and simple trust. Let's do what we can to protect them from that which would mislead them - let's give them more of ourselves than of entertainment and materialism-driven values. And let's be comforted that when our children struggle, God sends his closest angels to be with them!

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me”, Jesus said.  “It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” What good news this is!

Whoever receives one such child in Christ’s Name, receives our Lord.   An important part of whom we are and what we do as the church is to receive people here in the name of Jesus Christ.

We receive the children into the household of God, the faith community.  Think about how different children are from adults. They do not come to church to do a task or run a project.  

They come to church because they can and may be part of God’s family. Because God loves them and his grace welcomes them with open arms. They come because they love to be with the Lord and learn about him and praise and worship him. 

And so they remind us of our own status in the Lord’s household.  It is important for us to be accountable for God’s work and to contribute to the work of his Kingdom.  But first of all we are here not because of all the good things we can do, but because of all the good things God has already done for us and wants to do for us. We are not here to tell Christ how to run his work and church. We are not here to be equal partners with God.

Instead, we are here as God’s children. We are here as grateful, trusting, believing and faithful children of our heavenly Father. We are here because the grace of God calls us and gathers us here.

The children remind us of who we all are. When the church forgets that, we forget who we are. We forget that we live by the grace of God alone, and we begin to think that we can live by our own common sense and strength and goodness. But when we receive a child in the name of Christ, we learn again who we are—the children of God whom Christ has received—and so we are reminded of, and strengthened in, the grace of God.

You are not alone, anymore.... because your God is here.

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God" (Is 40:1). In Is 40: 9 we are told what the comfort is:  You who bring good news to Zion, say to the towns of Judah: “Here is your God!”

Those who come face-to-face with death, their own death and the death of a loved one need to hear: “Here is your God!”

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God and your God is here" (Is 40:1, 9). These words must be heard today by those who suffer because of their broken marriage relationships. Young men and women who get married with so many dreams and excitement and then have to leave with pain, anger and disappointment needs to hear. And it needs to be heard by the children from these broken marriages.

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God" (Is 40:1). Those who suffer as a result of life threatening decease have to hear these words:  Your God is here!

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God" (Is 40:1). It must be heard by those who live with unemployment, poverty,  and those who experience financial loss.   It needs to be heard by those who are bullied and robbed and financially abused. Your God is here!

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God" (Is 40:1). Teenagers who are intimidated, rejected by their peers, who have no friends, who feel abandoned by family and unaccepted by their fellow learners and educators, need to hear these words.   Your God is here!

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God" (Is 40:1). The victims of abuse need to hear these words. Women and children who suffer behind closed doors, because of physical, sexual and emotional abuse! Orphans and widows, and child headed families, aunts and grannies looking after orphaned children and are crying for help and support need to hear:  Your God is here!

Listen to the Word of God:

Your God is here!

God is coming to you

and his coming means that he will grant you comfort.

You are not alone, anymore....

Because your God is here.

God is your refuge.

His grace will comfort you through faith in Jesus Christ which is a gift of his Holy Spirit.

Are you afraid of the dark? Remember, God is light!

Are you afraid of the dark? Many people are.

We see losing that fear of the dark as a good thing. We see it as part of becoming a mature adult.  Loosing an unhealthy fear of the dark is a good thing. But, at the same time, we should beware not to lose sight of the effects of darkness. Those effects are very real indeed. 

Darkness is nothing to be trifled with, especially spiritual darkness.

Darkness, understood biblically, is where the hidden things of evil have freedom to thrive. Darkness is the enemy of the light. Darkness is the strategy of evil to ensnare the unsuspecting.

It is easy to underestimate the power of darkness. It’s easy to make accommodations for darkness. It’s easy to stumble into darkness. You see, as the light dims our eyes slowly adjust. As Christians, we need to do periodic evaluations of our own lives to make sure that the level of light stays bright. Have you taken a good look at your life lately? Are you intentionally walking in the light? John gives us a wake up call. He gives us a challenge to turn on the light and take a good look at ourselves in the clarity of that light. Let’s look at a powerful Word for us today:

God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 

(1 John 1:5-7)

Sowing in the Kingdom of God.

Sowing in the Kingdom of God.   Matthew 13.

A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow   But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred,  sixty or thirty times what was sown.

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 

But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it.

The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord.   The field is the world, and the good seed is the people of His kingdom.

Ready to die and ready to live!

When we have settled the issue of our eternal destiny, we are set free to live life to the full. Only then do we understand why we are here. You are here for a reason. God has a purpose for your life. His purpose is, that as you hold onto his eternal promises, you will make a difference to his kingdom through a “promise driven life”!

As Christians, we know that the greatest reaction to God’s promise of eternal life in Christ is to glorify God in gratefulness and love for him. 

This was Paul’s desire. Paul’s desire was to glorify God whether in life or in death. In all things our lives should glorify God.

This is not only about the “church” things we do. This is about everything we do. We do not only glorify God on Sundays, serving and worshipping God around his Word and Sacrament.  We are to glorify God every day of the week in everything we do: in our jobs, our families, our politics, our sports, our play. In all of our attitudes, actions and plans, we are to glorify God.

We glorify God when we reflect the life of Christ through our lives. In every situation that we face, we need to ask ourselves what Jesus would have us do. This is really the essence of following Jesus.  As we obey the leading of the Holy Spirit the through his Word, our lives will glorify God. We will surrender to Christ, the King.

We need to remember, as Paul did, that we are here for others. While Paul desired to depart and be with Christ, because he believes it is “far better” to be with Christ, he knew there were many more people that needed him:

  I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. (Philippians 1:23b-26 NIV)

Paul knew that his life was about being here for others. That is why Christ came to us and Paul was following the example of his Lord, giving his life to bring others to the Kingdom of God.

Our lives can make a difference in the lives of others. This is what the church should be about:  people caring for one another, people helping one another, people encouraging one another, people serving one another and people showing others that to live for Christ results in gaining eternal joy and life!

Because we are ready to die, we can truly begin to live.

Through the Spirit we call God our Father.

Imagine being born into a very poor family that is also dysfunctional.  A family with no hope, no future that does not care for you. Now imagine that a kind and wealthy couple come to you and offer to take you into their home and family as their own child.  They offer you everything you desperately need, free of charge. All you have to do is believe that the offer is real and agree to it. 

It does sound like a fairy tale, but this is what happens when we trust God’s promises and we place our faith in Jesus Christ as our living Lord.

In Romans 8 Paul explores the wonder, the miracle and the joy of the freedom we have in Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit in us.  He assures us that every saved person becomes part of God’s family and enjoys all the privileges of his eternal Son, Jesus our Lord.

We read these comforting words in Romans 8: 14 – 15: Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit given to a child of God. And by the Spirit we cry, "Abba, Father."

According to Paul we became the children of God. We know this because we are led by the Holy Spirit. We have a new family.  God is our Father, Jesus is our friend and Saviour and the Spirit provides us with a sense of “being a child of God” by gracefully working in our inner consciousness. 

Paul tells us that when we are part of God’s family, through faith, the Sprit helps us to act like God’s family.  If a person in faith accepts the offer to be a child of God, he or she soon develops behaviours that are common to the Father's family. The Spirit makes God’s presence known through us as we walk with God every day.  

We are not slaves of sin who fear punishment but we call God by the intimate, personal name which is Father, or even the less formal word, “Abba” that translates to “Daddy”. Praise the Lord! We have a new family and a new Father!

It means that we have a new freedom. No more forced labour for evil or the tyranny of our own human weakness.  Our minds have been changed by the Spirit to love and serve God above all. 

As a result of our relationship with God, we are able to call him Father. Abba! Daddy!

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Reclaim the Holy Trinity!

On Sunday 15 June 2014 we observe Holy Trinity Sunday.  Let’s therefore ask ourselves whether we constantly claim the wealth of blessings and richness of our confession when we worship, serve and proclaim our Triune God.

The Holy Trinity is not an “optional extra" to God. It is the nature of God as revealed to us in Scripture.

The biblical truth about the Holy Trinity has become a pressing issue for contemporary Christians, simply because it often seems as if we are losing this biblical account of the Triune God, and, it seems, without controversy or debate.

This happens because we are in danger of shifting the Holy Trinity aside in our ministry practices and public worship language, without announcing that we have changed our minds about the nature of the God we profess to follow.  Often the Holy Trinity is taught in confirmation class or in Sunday school, but more as a mathematical problem to be solved, than teaching the living reality of the Triune God that we serve, worship and love.

Here is an example of how the way we refer to God changed over centuries:

The Apostle Paul said: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who consoles us in all our affliction, for just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so our consolation is abundant through Christ, sealed in our hearts through the power and constant presence of the Holy Spirit" (2 Corinthians 1:3–5, 21–22).

John Calvin wrote: "Christ is not only the pledge of our adoption, but God also gives us the Holy Spirit as a witness to this adoption, through whom we may freely cry aloud, 'Abba, Father.' Whenever we are distressed, remember to ask for the presence of the Spirit who will enable us to pray boldly" (Calvin’s Institutes, III.20.37).

But today we, with the same confession at heart, often do not say more than: "Be blessed, for God is always with you."

This contemporary version is certainly true, but why are we hesitant to name our triune God in biblical language? Why do we not speak, pray and testify with confidence about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? It became rare to hear references to all three Ways of Being or Persons of the Holy Trinity in an integrated way, except at the baptismal font or during the benediction.

We must be careful that we are not becoming confessing Trinitarians - but practicing Unitarians.  

Our language about the eternal God of the covenant of grace should be as diverse and varied as is the idiom of the Bible and of our age old universal Christian tradition and creed.   Why do we so often hear people repetitively referring to “God” in prayers, discussions and devotions?  Or someone may address a topic referring only to Jesus.  Did Jesus not come to us to show us the Father, and did the Father not send the Spirit to teach us about God’s saving grace? Consideration of God as Holy Trinity and replicating the words of Scripture about God provide us with a more faithful vocabulary that is also richer and more varied than the current practice of many Protestants.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit – essential Reformed testimony.

The language of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, engraved in Scripture and creed, is essential for our efforts to speak faithfully and truthfully about God. Our reverence and service of the One- in-Three and Three-in-One binds us together with ancient believers and ancient denominations. Can there be a unity outside only worshipping the Holy Trinity as the only God, Saviour and Comforter we know? And can we claim to speak about God as Bible believing Christians in any other way?

"Father, Son and Holy Spirit" is a root out of which grows the wealth of our vocabulary of praise. We must rather amplify and expand the ways of naming the Triune God, rather than simply repeating the word "God" in prayer and liturgy repetitively. Could there be any good reason why should not refer to the Lord God in the language of Scripture to enrich the ways we speak of the Lord and to our God.

The language of our prayers, hymns, songs and sermons shapes our faith as surely as it reflects our faith. We must pray and sing to the "one Triune God, the Holy One of Israel, the eternal God of the covenant, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom alone we worship and serve through the graceful work of the Holy Spirit."   This is biblical language and therefore should be church language. Our God is also worthy of such worship and praise in our private prayers.

If the ways I address the Triune God and speak of the Lord, could just as well have been the words of a Jew, who does not believe in Jesus as God the Son, or a Muslim, who rejects the Trinity too, I am doing something terribly wrong!

Let’s learn from the New Testament writers how to honour our almighty God, and teach one another anew the Trinitarian language of Scripture. 

Let’s remember to adore our Father with all our heart, soul and strength.

Let’s ask from our Father which art in heaven, everything we need.

Let’s always pray in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Let’s beg for the guidance and inspiration of the Spirit to be able to follow and love Jesus who always will show us the Father, bringing us home to the throne of grace.

Let’s worship and serve the only one, true, triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Liturgical prayers for Pentecost Sunday.

Call to Worship:

Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget how kind he is.  He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.    Ps.103.2f.

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.    Jn.3:16

Glory to the Father,

and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, it is now,

and will be forevermore!

Amen.

Come, let’s worship our God!

Prayer of praise and the forgiveness of our sins:

Father, we are your children; your Son lives in us and we in him.

Hear us, for your Spirit prays through our prayers. Glorify yourself through us in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.

Once, on that first Pentecost Sunday, we were baptised with fire when the Holy Spirit was poured onto your people. Hear us Lord, for we too have been filled with your Holy Spirit.

Father, bring glory to your Name, bring glory to the Name of our Saviour and Lord; bring glory to your Name through the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.

And yet, almighty eternal God – we have sinned against you in thought, in word, deed and omission - forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.

Forgive us because we have not done unto others as we want them to do unto us. Forgive us that we have not loved you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

As we now quietly in our hearts confess our sins – Lord, listen to our prayers!

(Silence)

All this we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Forgiveness of sins:

Thus says the Lord,

‘I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,

and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. Isa.44:22.

I declare that for the sake of Jesus Christ, you sins are forgiven.

I proclaim this in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Prayer of Intercession:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who baptised us with fire when the Holy Spirit was poured onto your people. Hear us Lord, for we too are filled with your Holy Spirit.

Grant us the gifts of the Spirit that we serve our Saviour Jesus Christ and all his people. Grant us the strength that we may live as people who received the right to be called children of God.

On this day of remembrance, we pray for your church throughout the world and particularly in our country and our city, that it may be united in faith and in its witness to your gospel and your perfect will.

We pray for the nations of the world, especially those facing war, famine or any other disaster.

We pray for our own country and for our government, that there may be justice, peace and a better life for all in our land.  We pray for the society of which we are part, that all may learn to respect those who are different from them, whether in language or class, and that all may seek the common good.

We pray for the poor, the sick, the suffering, the dying, the sorrowful. We pray for all who are anxious, or in doubt, despair or any kind of trouble.

We think about.....

We pray that you will hasten that day when at last your home will be with your people, and you will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain.

You called the disciples to fish for people:

help us all to be your witnesses and to win others for Christ.

You inspired the prophets of old: help your Church

to proclaim your gospel and your will faithfully to the world.

Lord Jesus ,You forgave the thief on the cross:

bring all people to repentance and reconciliation.

You gave us your peace:

bring the peoples of this world to live in unity and harmony.

You sat among the learned, listening and asking questions:

inspire all who teach and all who learn.

You were unjustly condemned by Pontius Pilate:

strengthen al who suffer injustice and persecution.

Lord Jesus, you were rich, yet for our sake became poor:

move us all to share generously with those who are poor.

You lived as an exile in Egypt:

be with all migrant workers and foreigners amongst us, and protect their families.

Prepare our hearts, O Lord, to hear your Word. Quieten in us any voice but your own, and grant that by the power of your Spirit we may both hear and believe your gospel and learn to obey your will.

Father, bring glory to your Name and to the Name our Saviour and Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray..

Amen.

What is Pentecost?

Pentecost Sunday, 8 June,  remembers and celebrates that Jesus kept his promise that we will not be left alone after his ascension, but that God would send the Spirit to teach, guide and strengthen us, as we obey the great commission to spread his Gospel across the globe.   Hundred and twenty followers of Jesus were filled with the Spirit on the first Pentecost Sunday and they represented all of God’s Church, through all the ages, including us.

The English word “Pentecost” is a translation of a Greek word pentekostos, which means “fifty or fiftieth. Early Christians received this name for our feast from Greek-speaking Jews who used this name to refer to a Jewish holy day, known as Shavuot in Hebrew. It originates from Leviticus 23:16, which instructs believers to count fifty days from the end of Passover to the beginning of the next holy day, the Shavuot.

Shavuot was the harvest festival of Israel. (Exod 23:16).

This festival became especially significant for Christians.   Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, on the Jewish holy day, Shavuot/Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Christ’s followers. The first Pentecost Sunday was a wonderful “harvest feast” as 3000 new followers of Christ were brought into the Kingdom of God and baptized into Church of Christ.

What actually happened on that first Pentecost Sunday?

This event is recorded in The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2:   “And when the day of Pentecost had come, [the first followers of Jesus] were all together in one place”  (Acts2:1). All of a sudden, they heard a sound like a strong wind, filling the house. And something like tongues of fire rested on their heads. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak” (2:4).

The promise that the Holy Spirit will fill God’s people and the Church was not only for that generation. It was for all generations of believers. It was also for us.  We do not have to try to build the Church of Christ in our own strength. The powerful “Wind”, the Spirit, and the cleansing passionate “Flame”, the same Spirit, will fill us anew and we too will be able to bring the Gospel to all – in the strength and through the wisdom of the Spirit of God.

Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit!

Pray that your life may be filled with the Holy Spirit, as we seek to do Gods work and build up the Church amongst us.  

May the LORD bless, keep and sustain you and grant you a blessed and empowering Pentecost!

Liturgical prayers for Ascension Day, Thursday 29 May 2014.

Call to worship:

From Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

the Lord scoffs at them.  He rebukes them in his anger.

I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.

Ask me! says the Lord, and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession.

Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.

Blessed is everyone who takes refuge in Christ, enthroned in heaven.

All hail, ascended King!!

Prayer of adoration and forgiveness of sins.

Merciful God, who in your mighty power raised Jesus form the dead and raised him into heaven, we come into your presence in the name of our Lord Jesus, the ascended Christ and our King who is enthroned in heaven.   

And now we give you thanks, o God, because in his risen body Christ appeared to his disciples, and in their sight was taken into heaven, to reign with you in glory.

We bring honour to you, our Saviour, whom we call Christ, our Lord, who victoriously reigns now, and reigns forever at the Father’s right hand. 

You, our Lord, dealt with our every need, delivered us from every enemy, healed us from all sin, harm and injury and you are worshipped when heaven and earth bow down before you as Lord of all.

One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that you, Lord Jesus, are the Lord of all and the King of kings.

Through the gift of your Holy Spirit, equip us to first of all seek your Kingdom that we may understand your love, and humbly turn to you in faith as we beg your forgiveness for our sins and your deliverance from our disobedience.

As we silently confess our transgressions, forgive, heal, purity and sanctify us today.

(a few moments of quiet prayer)

By the cross of Jesus, teach us how to love - and by the resurrection and exaltation of Christ – teach us how to live.

Lord, in your mercy, listen to our prayer!

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Hymns and songs of praise and worship!

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Our Father in heaven, we give thanks and praise,

because the Lord Jesus, the King of glory,

triumphant over sin and death,

has ascended to the highest heaven

as the angels and all your children looked on in wonder.

Christ, the Mediator between God and humankind,

Judge of the world and Lord of the heavenly powers,

has not forsaken our human lowliness when he ascended to heaven,

but has given us the hope that we, his members, might follow him to heaven,

where he, our Head and our beginning, has gone before us.

Father we give thanks.

Lord, we give thanks!

Jesus we give thanks!

Majestic Lord Jesus Christ, everything promised about your glorious, heavenly reign has not happened on our earth yet! You are the King, and yet, your dominion is in many ways not visible and is now coming to us and to our world, even as we pray. 

We live in hope, and in faith, that we truly heard the Word of God, that testifies that you will return in glory in the same way you ascended to heaven, to effect your glorious reign in the smallest detail of everything on earth, as it is in heaven.  

Exalted, enthroned King Jesus, thank you that you not only bring salvation to us, but through your work done through the ministry of your Church, you bring redemption and salvation to the world, yes, to the ends of the earth. 

Your people accept the grace that you bring, and commit their lives to the power of the Holy Spirit who empowers your children and your Church to fulfil your commission to preach the gospel to everyone.

Now bring justice wherever we serve you and bring hope and light where darkness still hides your glorious reign and salvation.

Dear Lord of every aspect and facet of our lives, help us to live only for your honour and glory. Help us to be obedient, by the power of your resurrection and of your Spirit.

We pray for all your servants, majestic Lord! For those who preach your Word and for those who listen.

Protect and guide all missionaries sent to the ends of the earth to proclaim salvation in you. Guide and keep them and bless their work for you. 

Call many more servants to do your work and make us obedient to your call.

In your power and mercy, heal the sick and comfort those who are weeping. Set the captives free and grant relief to the poor. 

Sanctify those who are powerful and influential and remained humble and bring to fall those who are proud, selfish and corrupt. 

Bring to an end the kingdom of darkness and let your majesty shine as the light of the world.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us your peace.

And now, great King of kings and Lord of lords –

have mercy on us, and on all your people.

In your all powerful Name, Lord Jesus Christ, and by your grace, we pray through the true faith that in you we are more than conquerors. 

Amen.

"Resurrection life" means to live in the Body of Christ (2)

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. We were by nature children of wrath.  But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. (From Ephesians 2:1-7)

Remember your past prison – Spiritual Death?

John Stott says about this passage, "Paul first plumbs into the depths of pessimism about mankind, and then rises to the heights of optimism about God. It is this combination of pessimism and optimism, of despair and faith, which constitutes the refreshing realism of the Bible. For what Paul does in this passage is to paint a vivid contrast between what humankind is by nature and what we can become by grace."

It is this contrast between the spiritual death of humankind and the deliverance of God, which will cause us to rejoice about the privilege to live the Body Life – the true life found in the Church of Christ.

Paul takes us into the depths of human sin and wickedness, before he shows us to rise to the heights of God's deliverance and pardon.

Our past state is defined as being disobedient. It says “you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air”. We once were sons and daughters of disobedience. Spiritual death and disobedience characterised our lives before we came to live in Christ. We walked according to the directions of ungodly society before we came nearer to Christ, to live in him.  

We are also described as doomed. In verse 3 it says we “were by nature children of wrath.”  Those who do not receive Jesus Christ are objects of God's wrath. They are condemned.

Why reflect on this? That we may rejoice with enthusiasm about the Body Life given to us in Jesus. That we may praise God with all our heart for the resurrection life, when we understand that it delivered us from our sins and from the wrath of God  - and made us a people who are alive through the Spirit: sanctified, forgiven and saved.

Praise God for the grace of knowing that we now are part of Christ’s Body – one of those people who are alive in him.

Though the cell doors of spiritual death are locked tightly, there is One who has a key.  And his name is Jesus. 

"Resurrection Life" means to live in the Body of Christ. (1)

Ephesians 2:1eff:   And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air.... And God raised us up with Christ.

Prison is a terrible place to be. The loss of freedom becomes as much a state of mind and emotions as a state of body.

The Bible teaches that every single one of us have experienced the prison existence. In fact, we were born in prison. It is a prison of the soul, described in the Scriptures as spiritual death. It is as horrible a place as any prison built with hands can be. And from this prison of spiritual death many never are released. Many die there without ever experiencing life.

Our text contrasts the past prison of death into which we were born, with our present position of living in the Body of Christ, the Church, into which those of us who have put our faith in Christ, have been brought.

This is a word of hope.

It is a revelation of the grace providing for us the true pardon from sin and deliverance from the shackles of death. The Body Life also creates for us the opportunity to be pardoned and loved by our peers, our family and our faith community.

Do you understand how blessed you are? Do you understand just how much you have to be thankful for? Do you realise what you can do by the resurrection power of Jesus?

By knowing that living the Body Life means to be resurrected from death and released from the prison of sin, you can truly appreciate just how far you have journeyed with Christ.

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Because Christ has been raised, the believer expects to be raised as well.

Christ's resurrection was not a return to this life and this flesh, to this body that we own at the moment. Christ's resurrection was a raising to eternal life. Christ's resurrection freed him from ever facing death again. Remember what Christ Jesus said in the Revelation:

(Rev 1:18)  I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!

1 Cor 15:20: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Christ has indeed been raised. God raised Jesus from the dead, by his power, according to his plan and will.

And Christ is the first fruits. Remember the meaning of “first fruits” in Israel? They were a promise to Israel of more to come: More barley, more milk, more grapes, more lambs, more children, more grand children, more blessings, more joy!

Christ as the first fruits is God's promise to us of more to come. More resurrections. More life. More joy. More satisfaction. More assurance of faith. More fullness of our experience of God’s eternal Kingdom.

There is a connection between Christ's resurrection and the believer's resurrection. The future destiny of Christians is bound up with what has happened to Christ. Because Christ has been raised, the believer expects to be raised as well.

Because of Christ's resurrection, we know that someday the trumpets will blow – and we will be shaken awake to live forever.

Yes, death is still a reality. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, even over death, through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:57).

And the victorious life begins now!

Easter Sunday is about the resurrection of Jesus!

Easter Sunday is about the resurrection of Jesus!

Do we give the message of the resurrection of Christ enough thought and time in congregational life?

The central message of Easter is the resurrection of Christ. That is why we till Pentecost Sunday focus on this most important of all Christian truths, that Jesus was raised from the dead - and we call it Eastertide.

Indeed, all Christian worship throughout the year testifies of the resurrection of Christ. The fact that Christians worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, testifies that the resurrection of Jesus is the fundamental truth on which Christianity stands.

Jesus rose on the first day of the week. And we worship on the first day of every week, to say to the world that we serve a risen Saviour. Sunday worship testifies every Sunday of the importance of the resurrection to every Christian and all of humanity.

Jesus is alive. He did conquer and we are redeemed!

Let’s celebrate Eastertide with joy, vigour, faith, commitment, faithfulness and much love. 

What is so “good” about Good Friday?

Good Friday is a commemoration of the day of the suffering and death of Jesus. So why call it good?

Because it is a crucial day that celebrates a most significant moment in the history of the world.

Ever since Jesus died and was raised, Christians have proclaimed the cross of Jesus to be the turning point for all people, and even more so for all believers in Jesus Christ as Saviour.  Paul considered it to be “of first importance” that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, all in accordance with what God had promised all along through the ages. (1 Corinthians 15:3).  We remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 1:10).

Before we understand the good news of the gospel, we have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we have been oppressed by the consequences of sin. 

 Good Friday is “good” because as horrifying as the suffering of Jesus was, it had to happen for us to be able to receive the joy of Easter. The wrath of God came upon Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be given to his people.

The day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was an act of God to redeem us from the burden of sin.

On Good Friday we learn that God’s wrath met his mercy and grace at the cross. 

Good Friday is “good” because the suffering of Jesus brought us the joy of salvation, his death brought us eternal life and his sacrifice absolved us from our guilt.

And it is good, because without Good Friday, there would have been no Easter Sunday!