Psalm 67:1–2
2 Corinthians 5:18–20
John 20:21

The psalmist tells us that the blessing of God is never meant to end with us.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make His face shine on us—
so that Your ways may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.


The Apostle Paul explains how the reconciliation we receive in Christ becomes a ministry we are to share.

All this is from God, 
who reconciled us to Himself through Christ 
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… 
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, 
as though God were making His appeal through us.


And finally, John records Jesus' words about how He draws us into the same movement in which He Himself was sent.

Again Jesus said, 
‘Peace be with you! 
As the Father has sent Me, 
I am sending you.’

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
we’re here again this morning 
with open hands,
not because there’s something in them—
like our needs 
or our sincerity.
We know that our worship isn’t what we bring. 
It is in what You, Father, 
have already given to us in Christ.

Everything begins with You.
Your grace flows in an irreversible direction. 
There is no scheme where You provide a part
and then wait for us to supply some remainder.

Before we loved You,
You loved us.
Before we sought You,
You came looking for us.
Before we could offer You anything, 
You gave Yourself to us in Jesus Christ.

Your grace isn’t generic divine generosity toward us.
It isn’t a package of spiritual commodities—
like pardon, peace, heaven, purpose. 
Your grace is very specific;
Your grace is very particular:
You gave Yourself 
to us 
in Jesus Christ. 

So this morning, 
we receive again Your grace, 
Your mercy, 
Your peace, 
Your love.
Not because they expired yesterday 
and we need more.
But because we need to be reminded 
of the truth—
of the objective reality— 
of what You have accomplished in Christ—
that is: our reconciliation with You!
The reality 
that Your Son 
assumed our humanity, 
our flesh and blood, 
our human nature;
that His obedient life, 
and death, 
and resurrection, 
and ascension 
were for us 
and in our place; 
that He brought us back 
into right relation with You.

Holy Spirit, 
enable us again 
to know that truth, 
to inhabit it, 
and to enjoy it, 
and to live from it.

Turn whatever we think obedience is 
into a liberated overflow of gratitude and praise. 
Keep us from our anxious attempts 
to complete Christ’s work.

Father, receive our worship.
Jesus, gather our imperfect prayers 
into Your perfect prayer.
Holy Spirit, turn our attention again 
toward the goodness 
and the faithfulness of God.

And Lord, 
do not allow Your blessing 
to stop with us.

You have reconciled us 
so that we might become people of reconciliation.
You have comforted us 
so that we might comfort others.
You have shown us mercy 
so that we might become merciful.
You have welcomed us 
so that, through us, 
the lonely, 
and the wounded, 
and the forgotten, 
and the burdened 
might encounter Your welcome.

You haven’t given us ministry as an upgrade option. 
Because we are in Christ, 
we find ourselves facing in the same direction He is—
toward You, Father, in worship 
and toward the world in reconciling love.

So we ask 
that You move us beyond our own private religious experiences.
Open our eyes to those around us.
Give us presence in another person’s life—
not “the lost,” “the difficult,” “the needy”, 
but an actual person who has a name, 
whom Jesus knows and loves, 
who is lonely, suffering, alienated.  

Teach us to speak about Your love, 
and to make that love visible.

Give reconciliation a visible form here in this church. 
Turn this place into a laboratory of grace 
where reconciliation is bodily, 
and relational, 
and observable

Make it obvious 
that we are people 
who have received Your grace, 
who return Your praise,
who reflect Your love.

As we worship now, 
prepare us to be sent again into the world—
where we join the risen Jesus 
who is already at work 
among the people He loves.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
through the Holy Spirit,
to the glory of the Father.
Amen.

John 16:13–15
1 Corinthians 12:12–13
Ephesians 4:11–12
1 Peter 2:9

John records that Jesus told His disciples:

When the Spirit of truth comes, 
He will guide you into all the truth… 
He will glorify Me, 
for He will take what is Mine 
and declare it to you. 
All that the Father has is Mine… 
the Spirit will take what is Mine 
and declare it to you.


Paul wrote:

For just as the body is one 
and has many members, 
and all the members of the body, 
though many, 
are one body, 
so it is with Christ. 
For in the one Spirit 
we were all baptized 
into one body.

The gifts He gave 
were that some would be apostles, 
some prophets, 
some evangelists, 
some pastors and teachers, 
to equip the saints 
for the work of ministry, 
for building up the body of Christ.


And Peter wrote: 

You are a chosen race, 
a royal priesthood, 
a holy nation, 
God’s own people, 
in order that you may proclaim 
the mighty acts 
of Him who called you out of darkness 
into His marvelous light.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
we’re here again this morning 
because You have called us together, here.

We’re not a collection 
of similarly religious individuals 
who happen to occupy the same room. 
Our very being as a church 
comes from beyond ourselves. 
It comes from You. 

Jesus, You are our center. 
Holy Spirit, You have formed us 
into a communion around Him. 
You have drawn us otherwise isolated individuals 
into the Body of Christ. 

Holy Spirit, open our eyes to Jesus.
You are the light 
who helps us see Him clearly.
You illuminate the face of Jesus Christ. 
You help us to know that He is truly with us.

So, then, 
turn our attention away from ourselves 
and toward the One 
who is our life, 
and our hope, 
and our Lord.

We haven’t come for a heightened emotional experience. 
We just want Jesus to become more clear. 
We want to be nearer to Him.
We want to trust Him more deeply.

Give us ears to hear His voice this morning.

Keep us from making Him 
into some projection of our own thinking. 
Holy Spirit, 
enable us to receive Him 
as He gives Himself to be known.

And draw us toward one another.
Free us from isolation—
that isolation that tells us 
we can follow Jesus alone.
Keep us from thinking that this time together 
is an optional social supplement 
to our otherwise personal, real relationship with Jesus. 

Teach us again that we belong to one body, 
that we need one another, 
that every person You have gathered here 
is precious to us 
and necessary for us. 

This communion we enjoy, Father,
isn’t manufactured by us. 
It is received from You. 
Christ has joined us to Himself, 
and in joining us to Himself 
has joined us to one another.

Lord Jesus, 
You are the Head of this church. 
You are the true Minister here among us.
Help us to see 
that ministry here doesn’t belong 
to just a few people.

And keep us from thinking 
that we possess independent ministries 
which we perform for You. 
Instead, help us to participate 
in the ministry that You are doing 
as the risen and ascended Lord.

Father, keep us from wondering 
if we have a ministry. 
And enable us to discern 
where Christ, by His Spirit, 
is inviting us to participate 
in His ministry.

By Your Spirit, 
awaken the gifts You have placed within us.
Give us eyes to notice one another, 
hearts ready to serve one another, 
words that encourage one another, 
hands willing to help one another, 
and courage to respond to one another 
whenever we receive a call.

Father, receive our worship 
through Your Son 
and in the fellowship 
of the Holy Spirit,
who joins our faltering prayers, 
and imperfect praise, 
and distracted hearts 
to the perfect 
and devoted 
and faithful response 
that Jesus Christ is right now 
offering to You, Father, 

Keep us from remaining spectators,
and help us to be joyful participants 
in what You are already doing.

As we worship, 
form us into a people who see Jesus, 
who love one another, 
who gladly join His ministry 
for the sake of the world.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.

Hebrews 7:25
John 15:4–5
Galatians 2:20
Colossians 3:1–3

The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that it is Jesus who intercedes. He is the one who is taking action on our behalf. 

He wrote:

Consequently, 
Jesus is able to save to the uttermost 
those who draw near to God through Him, 
since He lives 
to intercede 
for them.


Jesus himself tells us that we live from Him. John recorded these word of Jesus: 

Remain in Me, 
as I also remain in you. 
No branch can bear fruit by itself; 
it must remain in the vine. 
Neither can you bear fruit 
unless you remain in Me... 
Apart from Me 
you can do nothing.


Paul teaches us that it is Christ who lives in us. To the Galatians he wrote: 

I have been crucified with Christ 
and I no longer live, 
but Christ lives in me.


And to the Colossians Paul wrote that our whole life is in Christ. He wrote: 

Since, then, 
you have been raised with Christ, 
set your hearts on things above, 
where Christ is 
seated at the right hand of God... 
For you died, 
and your life is now hidden 
with Christ 
in God.

Father, 
we come to You this morning 
because Jesus Christ, Your Son, 
has opened the way for us to do so.

It’s not that He showed us the way. 
It’s that He is Himself the Way. 

He became human. 
He made the journey we couldn’t make for ourselves.
And He has taken us with Him 
all the way back 
into communion with You. 

He is something far greater 
than an important person in history.
He is risen. 
He is alive. 
He is present with us right now, 
and even now He lives 
to intercede for us.

His ascension didn’t mean 
that He completed all His work 
and then withdrew. 
As the risen and ascended Christ, 
He is our Mediator. 
He lives to intercede for us.

The same Jesus 
who prayed for His disciples, 
who healed the broken, 
who received and ate with sinners, 
who offered Himself to the Father, 
is the same Jesus 
who ministers to us 
right now. 

And so, Father,
we acknowledge 
we’re not here 
to continue His ministry 
because He is absent. 
We get to participate 
in His ministry 
because He is present 
and He is active.

Lord Jesus, 
we confess that we live 
as though everything depends on us—
on our strength, 
on our faithfulness, 
on our wisdom, 
on our ability to get things done
and to get them done right. 
Free us from that burden.

Your gospel, Lord Jesus, 
turns our eyes away from ourselves. 
We can let go of all the exhausting examinations:
Is my faith strong enough? 
Are my prayers sincere enough? 
Have I done enough?

You have instead 
turned our eyes toward You!
And although our responsibility isn’t diminished; 
it sure is liberated! 

We have been freed 
from the impossible job 
of making ourselves acceptable, 
so that we may now finally 
and simply respond 
as Your beloved children.

Teach us 
that our life 
is 
found 
in 
You.

You live in me!
We live in You!

This isn’t a devotional feeling.

You have bound Yourself to us in the Incarnation. 
You have taken our human nature into Your own person, 
You have healed it through Your obedient life, 
You have carried it through death, 
You have raised it in resurrection, 
and You have brought it into the Father's presence.

Whatever our existence now is, 
it cannot be understood apart from You.

Our life 
is participation 
in Your life.

So, then, 
where our faith is weak, 
help us to rest in Your faithfulness.
Where our prayers falter, 
draw us into Your prayer.
Where our love is small and pathetic, 
help us to participate in Your love.
Where we are tired of serving, 
remind us that we are not alone; 
that we are actually serving through You.

Holy Spirit, 
open our hearts 
to this life we have in Christ.
Open our eyes to see 
where Jesus is already at work. 
And give us the freedom 
to not manufacture ministry, 
but to join joyfully in His.

As we worship, 
draw us out of ourselves 
and into the life of the Son, 
who brings us to the Father.

May our songs become participation 
in the praise He is already giving.
May our prayers become participation 
in His already-intercession.
May our lives become participation 
in His love for this world.

Father, 
receive our worship 
in and through Jesus Christ, 
Your beloved Son, 
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Genesis 1:26–27
Ephesians 1:3–5
Colossians 1:15–17

In the opening chapter of Genesis we read: 

Then God said, 
“Let us make humankind in our image, 
according to our likeness.”
So God created humankind in his image;
in the image of God 
he created them.


In the New Testament, we read:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ 
with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places,
just as he chose us in Christ 
before the foundation of the world
to be holy and blameless before him in love.
He destined us for adoption as his children 
through Jesus Christ,
according to the good pleasure of his will.

Christ is the image of the invisible God, 
the firstborn of all creation;
for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created.
All things have been created through him and for him.
He himself is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
before there was all of this—
before sin, 
before any of us, 
before creation—
there was 
Your life 
and Your love.

Love wasn’t something that started
when You created us. 
Your love 
is who You have eternally been. 
You, Father, 
have never been without the Son. 
And You have always loved Him. 

There wasn’t a deficiency in You
that led to creation.
You did not create us 
because You were lonely. 
All of this came into being 
when You were already 
infinitely alive, 
infinitely personal, 
and infinitely rich in communion.

It was out of Your goodness that You created us,
so that we might know You, 
so that we might belong to You, 
so that we might share 
in the life and love 
that comes from You.

We weren’t created 
to be a workforce 
for a cosmic employer. 
We didn’t come into existence 
to be defendants 
before a cosmic judge.
We were created 
for communion 
with You.  

Creation isn’t a collection of things 
You happen to have made. 
All things have been created for Him!
You willed all of this into existence 
because You freely willed, 
from before creation, 
to have us participate 
in Your very own life 
through Your Son, Jesus Christ. 

Father, thank You! 
Before we ever sought You, 
You were already turned toward us in love.
Before any of our failures or fears came into existence, 
before all the things we try to define ourselves by, 
Your purpose for us 
was already set in Jesus Christ 
before the foundation of this world was ever laid. 

Our failures are real, yes, 
but they are not ultimate. 
It isn’t our sin that tells us the deepest truth about ourselves. 
Jesus Christ does. 

Lord Jesus, 
You are not an afterthought in our story.
You’re not merely the Father’s response to Adam’s failure. 
You’re not a long footnote to our rebellion. 
You’re not Plan B. 

All of creation is, first of all, through You. 
All of creation is, first of all, for You. 
All of creation is, first of all, held together by You. 

You are not one more item 
in some large theological system. 
You are the single concrete reality 
where we learn who God truly is 
and where we learn what we are intended to be.

You are the place where God comes to us. 
And You are place where we are brought to God.
You mediate God's love to us. 
And You mediate our perfect responsive human love back to the Father.

Holy Spirit, 
open our hearts this morning.

Free us from all the anxious beliefs we have 
that tell us that some part of all this is up to us; 
that we must earn our place with God.

Free us from that isolation 
that tells us we belong only to ourselves.
Help us to know that our identity isn’t from others.
Help us to know that it’s also not self-constricted.

Bring us into that participation with the Father 
that we have been made for—
that real communion with the Father 
through the Son.
And then brings us closer toward each other.

We’ve not here as spectators. 
We’ve not here as consumers. 
We’ve not here to run “church”.
We’ve come this morning 
because You have called us together as Your people.

We know, this morning, that our worship is received
because it is taken by Jesus Christ and offered through Him. 
Turn our attention away from ourselves 
and toward the God who loved us 
before we ever knew how to love in return.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
we belong to You.
And with joy and thanksgiving, 
we worship You.
Amen.

Genesis 49:18
Psalm 100:3
Colossians 1:17–18

I wait for Your salvation, O Lord.


In the end, it seems, Jacob knew where our hope would finally rest. 

Our deepest problems aren’t solved with more precise instructions. God himself must act.

The Psalmist wrote these lyrics; 

Know that the Lord, He is God!
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people; 
we are the sheep of His pasture.


Jesus enters our situation and He provides, from our side, the faithful human response to God that we fail to provide. Christ does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Paul wrote this to the Colossians; 

He is before all things, 
and in Him all things hold together. 
And He is the head of the body, the church. 
He is the beginning, 
the firstborn from the dead, 
that in everything 
He might be preeminent.

Faithful God, 
our Father,
we’re here this morning as Your people.

When we call You “our Father,”
it’s not just casual language.
We get to address You as Father 
because the eternal Son 
has brought us into 
His very own relationship with You.

We know You and worship You 
in the way You, God, 
have actually given Yourself to us. 
And You have given Yourself to us
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You have called us together, here, this morning.
and it’s not because we’re strong. 
It’s not because we’ve lived without failure. 
It’s not because we have earned some place with You. 
We come because You are gracious and faithful—
Your faithfulness runs deeper than all our unfaithfulness.
We come 
because You 
have made us Your own 
in Jesus Christ.

Through every generation 
You have kept Your promises. 
You have worked through 
weakness, 
hardship, 
failure, 
hope, 
always leading Your people 
toward Your salvation.

The history we read in Genesis
hasn’t been a parade of saints.
Nor has it been a meaningless record of disasters.
Because of Your long and patient history 
with the likes of Israel, 
You have burned into our understanding
the meaning of things like
holiness and sin,
mercy and grace,
faithfulness, forgiveness, reconciliation,
atonement and salvation and resurrection.

Your faithfulness, Father, doesn’t mean
that our lives have 
no wilderness, 
no grief, 
no failure, 
no unanswered questions.
But it does mean that You will remain faithfully at work in us
no matter how broken our histories become.

The worst of our stories 
will not defeat Your purposes. 
They become, instead, the places 
where we learn just who You are.  

This morning, 
we join Jacob’s ancient prayer. 
And we too say:
“We wait for Your salvation, O Lord.”
because our hope, too, was never in 
Judah’s strength
or Joseph’s fruitfulness
or Levi’s priesthood, 
or any of our own sons
or tribes
or strengths
or battles
or futures.
or blessings.

We thank You 
that our salvation 
has come to us in Jesus Christ. 
He is our Shepherd.
He is our King.
He is our Savior.
He is the Head of this church.
In Him You have gathered us together as one people. 
We belong to Him, 
and because we belong to Him, 
we belong to one another.

You haven’t saved a bunch of isolated individuals 
and then left us all spiritually disconnected. 
We have been united to Christ. 
We have been incorporated into His body.
We now get to participate 
in a corporate communion 
together in Christ, 
through Your Spirit. 

None of us lives, 
believes, 
or worships 
alone. 

We don’t have an impressive building. 
We don’t have an enormous budget. 
We don’t have great numbers of people. 
But if Christ has gathered us here to Himself, 
then something holy is happening:
the Body belongs to its Head, 
and every member belongs to every other member through Him.

So quiet our hearts now. 
Turn our attention away from ourselves and toward Christ. 
Receive our songs, 
and our prayers, 
and our hearing of Your Word, 
and our fellowship with one another.

Holy Spirit, 
open our hearts again 
to the goodness of the Father 
and to the grace of the Son. 
Teach us to trust You 
where our lives are unfinished. 
Remind us that Your faithfulness 
is greater than our weakness 
and that Your purposes 
are stronger than our failures.

We are Your people.
You are our God.
And Jesus Christ is our salvation.

So with gratitude, 
hope, 
and joy, 
we worship You now: 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Genesis 46:3–4
Genesis 47:7
Genesis 47:27

God said to Jacob:

Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, 
for I will make you into a great nation there. 
I will go down to Egypt with you.


We also read that: 

Joseph brought in his father Jacob 
and presented him before Pharaoh, 
and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.


And then we read that:

Israel settled in the land of Egypt, 
in the region of Goshen, 
and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

Faithful God,
You go with us.
You are determined 
to have communion with us!

You are with us in our familiar places
and in the places we never expected ourselves to be.
You are with us when our lives feel sure,
and when everything is uncertain.

We are thankful that our uncertainty 
has no bearing on Your purposes for us, 
or on Your presence with us.

We are secured by Your promises, 
not by our uninterrupted comforts. 

When we’re afraid, 
remind us that You are near.
When we can’t see the way ahead,
teach us to trust Your faithfulness.

You’re not limited by our circumstances.
You can bring hope in our hard seasons.
You can bring life in our barren places.
You can bring a new beginning where we see the end of things. 

There are no circumstances, 
no barrenness, 
no failures, 
not even death
that can set a boundary 
on Your love 
toward us. 

Lord Jesus,
You came to us in humility.
You didn’t save us through power or force,
but through mercy, 
and service,
and self-giving love.

Teach us to follow that way—
the way of Jesus.

Make us a people who bless others.
Help us welcome people here, 
particularly the lonely.
Help us to encourage the weary,
to care for those who are hurting,
and to share what You have given us.

Keep this church from living only for ourselves.
Make this place a blessing to others.
All Your self-giving has been toward the world that You love, 
so enable our lives to also move outward. 

You have sent your Son; 
and the Son has sent us; 
and Your Spirit enables us to participate 
in what it is You are doing. 

So Holy Spirit—Spirit of Christ—
make us fruitful in love.
We are thankful that none of us are isolated spiritual individuals. 
We are a communion 
whose life reflects Christ.

It is sin that disorders this communion. 
So where there is fear, grow our trust.
Where there is hurt, grow our forgiveness.
Where there is division, grow our patience.
Where there is discouragement, grow our hope.t 

Teach us to carry one another’s burdens,
to rejoice with those who rejoice,
and to weep with those who weep.

As we worship today,
turn our hearts toward Jesus.
Open our ears to hear Your Word.
Open our voices to praise You.
Open our lives to serve one another.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
receive our worship
and make us a blessing.
Amen.

Genesis 50:20
Colossians 1:17
John 13:34

Joseph said this to his brothers: 

You intended to harm me, 
but God intended it for good, 
to accomplish the saving of many lives.


Paul wrote:

Christ is before all things, 
and in Him 
all things 
hold together.


And Jesus said,

As I have loved you, 
so you must 
love one another.

Faithful and loving God,
You are the Lord 
of every part of our lives.
You are present 
in our homes, 
in our work, 
in our friendships, 
and struggles, 
and hopes.

Your character isn’t determined 
when we assess our circumstances
You don’t abandon us 
when life is confusing, 
or painful, 
or unfair.
Even when we cannot see 
what You are doing,
You remain faithful,
and You bring life, 
and healing, 
and hope 
out of places of sorrow.

In fact, 
You have taken the place 
of our deepest evil 
and made the grave itself 
the beginning 
of new, resurrected life. 

Thank You 
for gathering us here this morning.
This church exists 
because You have united us to Christ 
and have drawn us
into the very same communion 
He shares with You. 

Thank You 
that we’re not here alone,
but as a church family
joined together in Jesus Christ, 
and by extension, 
joined in relationships 
of mutual love with one another.

Help us then 
to receive one another 
with patience, 
and kindness, 
and grace.
Teach us 
to carry one another’s burdens,
to forgive one another,
to encourage those of us who are exhausted,
and to be glad with those of us who are joyful.

Lord Jesus,
You are the One who holds all things together. 
All things!
So, hold us together today.
Where we’re hurting, 
bring healing.
Where there’s distance, 
bring reconciliation.
Where there’s fear, 
give us courage.
Where there’s pride, 
teach us humility.
Where there is confusion, 
give us wisdom.
Where there is loneliness, 
remind us that we belong to You 
and to one another.

All of these relational disorders 
You have healed in Christ 
and You have made them available to us 
in communion with each other.

We haven’t been held together 
by friendliness 
or common preferences, 
but by our unity in Christ, 
maintained through truth 
and grace 
and repentance 
and forgivness 
and your Spirit.

Shape us into a people 
who don’t hide from the world,
but who enter it with Your love.
Send us into our workplaces, 
our summer activities, 
our homes
as people of peace.

Your Spirit has brought us 
not only into Christ’s communion with You, 
but also into His mission in the world.
So help us to serve 
and to lead 
and to speak truth 
and to care for others without fear.

Give us the wisdom 
to see what is broken
and the courage 
to do what is right.
Use our gifts 
not for ourselves,
but for the good 
of our neighbors
and for the flourishing 
of the places 
where You have placed us.

Help us to restore damaged relationships 
and damaged systems 
so that Your love is unhindered 
and our lives can flourish

Keep us close to You, Lord.
Do not let success make us proud
or hardships make us bitter.
Remind us that our identity 
is not found in our achievements,
or our position, 
or the approval of others,
but in Your love for us in Jesus Christ.

We haven’t become Your children 
through achievement, 
or performance, 
or usefulness, 
but simply because Christ has come close to us—
closer than we can come to ourselves. 
And He has taken our humanity as His own 
and now holds us in His own faithful relationship with You.

As we worship,
turn our hearts toward You.
Open our ears to Your Word.
Fill us with Your Holy Spirit.
Renew our love for Jesus,
deepen our love for one another,
and prepare us to live faithfully 
in the world that You love.

Receive our worship,
and make our life together 
a witness to Your grace.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.

Psalm 133:1
Hebrews 10:19, 21–22
Romans 8:15–16

King David wrote these words:

How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!


The writer of the Book of Hebrews preached these words:

Since we have confidence 
to enter the sanctuary 
by the blood of Jesus,
and since we have a Great Priest 
over the house of God,
let us approach 
with a true heart 
in full assurance of faith.


And the Apostle Paul wrote these words: 

You have received a Spirit of adoption.
When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’
it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit
that we are children of God.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You have gathered us here.

We have been gathered.
And we have been united. 
And it’s not something that’s been manufactured 
through our compatibility 
or our shared preferences 
or our music and the arrangement of chairs. 
Our fellowship 
and our friendships 
begin in Your own communion 
of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 
and are given, then, to us 
through our union with Christ. 

This past week’s church camp 
of tents and RVs, 
campfires, shared meals,
laughing and conversations, 
inconveniences and exhaustion—
it was something more 
than just a pleasant social experience. 
In all of it, 
You’ve reminded us 
that we belong to one another
because we belong to You.
Christ has gathered us into His life 
and in so doing, 
has given us to one another.

And so we’ve not come here this morning
to make ourselves worthy
or to produce perfect worship 
or perfect open-mic offerings
with the right amount of intensity 
or sincerity 
or competence. 

We’ve come through Jesus, 
our great High Priest,
who has already opened the way to You, Father —
who brings Your life and love to us —
and who is, even right now, 
carrying our prayers and our praise to You.
He brings all of our humanness— 
all our faltering and inadequate prayers, 
and confessions, 
and thanksgiving, 
and worship—
to You.

By Your Spirit, then, 
gather up everything we bring. 
We’re not bringing some edited, religious version of ourselves;
we’re bringing our joy and gratitude,
our weariness and distractions,
our hopes and our needs. 
Gather up everything we’re bringing this morning
and draw us into the worship of Your Son. 
Draw us into the Son’s communion with You. 

Make us attentive to Your Word,
open to Your grace,
and present to one another.
Correct our assumptions about You, 
about ourselves, 
about each other.
We’ll let go of the impulse to justify ourselves. 
We want Your grace to encounter us as we are,
and give us what we truly need. 

We come with confidence,
not because our faith is strong,
but because Jesus Christ is faithful.

Amen.

John 1:29
1 John 4:16,19
Romans 5:6–10
Luke 19:9–10

In the Gospel of John, we read this: 

John — that is John the Baptist — 
saw Jesus coming toward him 
and said, 
“Behold, the Lamb of God, 
who takes away 
the sin 
of the world!"


John, that same gospel writer, in one of his later letters, also wrote this:

We have come to know 
and to believe 
the love 
that God has for us. 
God is love, 
and whoever abides in love 
abides in God, 
and God 
abides in him. 
We love 
because He 
first 
loved us. 


In the Book of Romans, Paul the Apostle writes this about the incarnation: 

While we were still weak, 
at the right time, 
Christ died 
for the ungodly. 
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person — 
though perhaps for a good person, 
one would dare even to die — 
but God 
shows His love for us 
in that while we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us. 
If, while we were enemies, 
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, 
much more, 
now that we are reconciled, 
shall we be saved 
by His life. 


And finally, Jesus said this to Zacchaeus: 

Today, 
salvation has come to this house. 
For the Son of Man came 
to seek 
and to save 
the lost.

Overwhelmingly and extravagantly loving 
God of heaven and earth, 
Your Old Testament saints, 
Your Old Testament prophets, 
they all had one expression 
on all their lips; 
and that is: 
“He is coming!” 

There was an anticipation of a coming — 
Your coming — 
that would be entirely new, 
that had never happened before, 
unlike Your presence in The Garden, 
unlike how You walked with Enoch, 
unlike Your face-to-face friendship with Abraham, 
unlike Your self-revelation to Moses, 
a complete descending 
IN PERSON 
out of Your Eternity, 
breaking into time, 
breaking into our self-alienation, 
taking on our flesh to be truly near to us, 
to live as a Man amongst men, 
to live with us, 
to talk with us, 
to bear our sins 
and take them away, 
and to restore us 
to fellowship 
with You. 

And so the last of Your prophets 
lifts up his voice and shouts, 
“He has come! 
Behold the Lamb of God.” 

And so, 
You did come. 

You came in the way of sheer, limitless love 
all the way from Your side of Eternity 
into our history. 
You invaded our history. 
You interrupted our history. 
You upset our history. 
You broke in 
and made for us a radical new beginning… 
because absolutely nothing on our side of history, 
absolutely nothing in ourselves, 
could move at all in Your direction. 

You did not wait for us to seek You. 
Nothing in us could seek You. 
Nothing in us would seek You. 
Your coming originates with You alone. 

You did not wait for us to be good. 
You did not wait for us even to try. 
Your love is not calculated 
or prompted 
or caused 
by anything in us. 
You have not loved us 
because we are of value 
or because we are worth loving 
or because we are fit for it. 

The initiative of Your love toward us 
lies totally 
and completely 
and fully 
and entirely 
and absolutely 
and only with You. 
Your love 
is not because 
of us. 

It is not responsive 
to something in us. 
If it were, 
there would be no incarnation. 
There would be no salvation. 
And You would not have had to break in. 

But we — 
we love 
because of You, 
because You first loved us — 
intensely and personally loved us, 
so much so 
that You gave all of Yourself to us in Your incarnation 
when nothing at all in us 
prompted any of it. 

And this is 
perfect love. 

And this is why 
Your perfect love 
casts out all our fear — 
fear of whether or not 
we are ever worthy enough. 

For it was when we were unworthy 
that Your love for us came free, 
and overflowing, 
and abundant, 
and luxurious — 
love such as we know Your love to be: 
absolutely unprovoked 
and entirely due to only Your sovereign initiative 
and entirely free from any obligation, 
spontaneously overflowing, 
uninhibitedly outflowing from You 
toward us 
fully 
in Your incarnation. 

Your love is an ultimate fact 
that knows no WHY. 
It is uncalculated 
and incalculable. 
It is overwhelmingly extravagant. 
It is unconditional. 

There is no answer to the question, 
“How can man come to You?” 
All other religions are crushed, 
made senseless, 
rendered valueless 
because You 
have come 
to us. 

Your love comes 
to seek sinners, 
to seek us, 
and to save us

In the name of Jesus Christ, 
whose coming was the self-bestowal of God to us, 
whose coming means that all self-centered approaches to God are set aside, 
whose coming brings us into immediate touch with God — 
into a personal relation with God — 
whose love takes hold of us 
and changes our whole world, 
and changes our whole self, 
and changes everything about how we see 
and how we live, 
whose will can become our will, 
whose affections can become our feelings, 
whose actions can become our actions, 
to whom we look 
as the Author 
and the Finisher of our faith,
Amen

Ephesians 2:1–10
2 Corinthians 4:16
Ephesians 3:16
1 Corinthians 15:20
Colossians 1:18
Romans 8:29

You were dead 
in the trespasses and sins 
in which you once walked, 
following the course of this world, 
following the prince of the power of the air, 
the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — 
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, 
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, 
and were by nature children of wrath, 
like the rest of mankind. 

But God, 
being rich in mercy, 
because of the great love with which He loved us, 
even when we were dead in our trespasses, 
made us alive together with Christ 
and raised us up with Him 
and seated us with Him 
in the heavenly places 
in Christ Jesus… 

We are His workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus for good works, 
which God prepared beforehand, 
that we should walk in them.


We do not lose heart. 
Though our outer self is wasting away, 
our inner self 
is being renewed 
day by day.


According to the riches of His glory, 
may He grant you to be strengthened with power 
through His Spirit 
in your inner being.


Christ has been raised from the dead, 
the first fruits 
of those who have fallen asleep.


He is the beginning, 
the firstborn from the dead.


Those God foreknew 
He also predestined 
to be conformed 
to the image of his Son, 
that He might be the firstborn 
among many brothers and sisters. 

Brilliantly wise, 
richly merciful, 
graciously kind, 
and unconditionally loving 
Father in heaven, 
in Christ’s resurrection, 
You have placed an unbreakable bond 
between Him and us.

In His resurrection, 
You have decreed 
and promised 
and guaranteed 
our resurrection. 
Because You have raised Jesus, 
You will raise us. 
And although this is true, 
it isn’t true in the sense 
that because You have raised Jesus — 
because of this isolated miracle from the past — 
we now have some evidence 
that You can also raise us 
sometime in the future. 

No. 

His resurrection 
is the beginning of all our resurrections, 
just like first fruits 
are the beginning 
of all that is harvested. 
In His resurrection, 
You have already begun fulfilling the promise 
that is our resurrection. 

When will we be resurrected? 
It has already begun. 

The age to come has already begun. 
The new creation has already dawned. 
The future has already started. 

And in this new creation, 
You have predestined us 
to be conformed 
to the image 
of Your resurrected Son. 
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly man Adam,
we now bear the image of the Heavenly Man, Jesus Christ.

This is not a future truth — 
or some future reality. 
It is true now. 
You have already made us alive together with Christ, 
and You have already raised us up with Him, 
and You have already seated us with Him. 

We were once dead 
in the trespasses and sins 
in which we once walked.
But, then, You, Father, 
who is rich in mercy, 
because of Your great love, 
made us alive, 
and brought us into union with Christ Himself 
and into union with His resurrection. 
And You have made us your workmanship. 
You have re-created us in Christ Jesus for good works, 
which You prepared beforehand, 
that we should instead walk in them.

We once walked 
according to the course of this world. 
And we now walk 
according to a course You have prepared for us. 

How has this transition happened? 

You have made us alive with Christ 
by union with Him in his resurrection. 
And you have united us with Him 
as He right now is — 
resurrected and ascended. 

This is why our lives are alive with obedience. 
This is why we are filled with dynamic holy living, 
because You have radically changed us. 
We are resurrected and alive in Christ.  

We do not despair! 
Even if our outer self is undergoing decay and is perishing, 
our inner self is marked by resurrected life 
and is being renewed 
day 
by day 
by day. 

We are in Christ. 
You have united us to Him. 
So at the core of our inner being, 
in the deepest recesses of who we are — 
our inner self — 
we will never be more resurrected than we already are. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, 
the firstborn from the dead, 
together with Whom we have been made alive, 
together with Whom we have been raised up, 
together with Whom we have been seated in the heavenly places,
Amen.

Genesis 39:2
Psalm 34:18
Romans 8:1
Hebrews 4:16

In the midst of all the trauma in Joseph’s life, we read these words:

The LORD was with Joseph.


In the midst of all the trauma in David’s life, he sang these words:

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted 
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.


Paul penned these words to the Roman Christians whose churches were traumatized by division, suffering, and persecution:

There is now no condemnation 
for those who are in Christ Jesus.


The writer of the Book of Hebrews preached these words to Christians who were tired, vulnerable, and in danger of losing heart.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace 
with confidence, 
so that we may receive mercy 
and find grace to help us 
in our time of need.

Lord Jesus Christ,
You are here with us this morning.  
In fact, 
You were here before we arrived.
You haven’t asked us 
to reach some threshold of effort 
before You would be with us. 

You haven’t been waiting for us 
to welcome You here. 
You have welcomed us here.
You have gathered us as we are. 
You are with us. 

And so we’ve come with all our burdens. 

We’d much prefer an escape hatch 
from all the hard things distracting us. 
We’d prefer it 
if You could just remove 
all our difficulties. 

But here we are, 
with all the burdens we’re carrying
and all the joys, too, that we’re sharing,
and all the grace we’re needing. 

Meet us in all of these ordinary places of our lives.
Meet us at work, 
at home. 
meet us in our struggles. 
meet us in our service.

Make us faithful in all the things we’re in, 
because whatever it is You’re calling us to, 
it’s being worked out 
in our ordinary responsibilities, 
in our relationships, 
and in all the pressure we’re under. 

And in all of that,
help us to be kind 
with all our words.
Hold us steady 
in Your love.

Give us the strength 
to resist living like there’s a split 
between our “spiritual” life and our daily life. 
You’ve claimed all of who we each are;
every sphere of our creaturely existence is Yours. 

So, keep our hearts close to You.
When we’re drawn toward things that are false or harmful,
give us the courage to choose what is right.

And in all of that, 
keep us from reducing holiness 
to just some private rule-keeping.
And instead, 
give us a Christ-shaped regard for others.
Teach us to honor one another
as people made and loved by You.

Make us a people of truth.
In this little church
—really anywhere—
our image doesn’t matter more than truth does. 
So guard us from careless words and false judgments.
And give us wisdom 
to listen really well.
Give us the strength 
to protect the vulnerable.
Give us the kind of mercy 
that doesn’t turn away from what is right.

When our life gets hard 
and the way forward is really unclear,
remind us that You have not left us.
Your presence is always the deeper, truer reality of our lives—
more true, 
and more deep 
than the one we think we’re in.
Hold those of us who are hurting,
strengthen those of us who are weary,
and give each of us hope 
that Your grace is at work 
in our lives.

Father, draw us to Your Son.
Jesus, make us more like You.
Holy Spirit, unite us here in love 
and send us out in peace.
And may our lives together 
point others to the hope 
and welcome 
of Your kingdom.
Amen.

Genesis 38:26
Psalm 34:18
Romans 5:8

There is a person in scripture whose entire life was transformed by a single confession. We read about this confession in Genesis when Judah exclaims: 

She is more righteous than I.


Similarly, King David wrote these song lyrics when he was in a position of fear and humiliation. He wrote: 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted 
and saves the crushed in spirit.


And the Apostle Paul penned these words in his letter to the Romans:

While we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us.

Gracious God, 
we’re here this morning again. 
But not because we have earned a place 
or have had some moral success in our lives.
The truth is, 
all our failures are exposed before You. 
We are only here
because You have turned toward us 
in Jesus Christ. 
He called us. 
He gathered us. 
He welcomed us. 
He brought us near.

And He turns toward us
even when all the stuff we’re hiding
is exposed. 
Before You, Father, 
are all our joys and our burdens.
Before You 
is all of our wounded humanity. 
Before You 
are all the places in our lives 
that feel strong and hopeful,
and the places that are fragile, 
or hidden, 
or broken.
Nothing is concealed from Your mercy,
and so nothing is beyond Your care.

Forgive us where we’ve failed 
to love others well.
Forgive us where we have held back kindness, 
or courage, 
or compassion.
Forgive us where we’ve been quick to judge others
and slow to recognize our own need for grace.
Help us to see ourselves truthfully.
And then turn us back again toward Jesus,
and make us honest, 
and humble, 
and new.

You don’t turn away 
from the wounded, 
the lonely, 
the overlooked, 
the ashamed.
So then, 
teach us also to see one another 
with that same mercy.
Make this little church 
a place of welcome
and healing.

Form in us the opposite realities we see in the world, 
realities of fear, evasion, injustice. 
And by Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ,
gather us together, 
and form us into a community 
where burdens are shared 
and no one is left alone.

Teach us to live out the truth of our salvation— 
that it isn’t a private forgiveness; 
it’s us being drawn 
into the Son’s communion 
with You, Father, 
and, therefore, 
into a communion with one another.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
receive our praise, 
our prayers, 
our lives.
You have given us life. 
You have met us in Jesus Christ.
You are present with us now.
We worship You with gratitude and joy. 
Amen.

1 Corinthians 12:12–31
John 14:16–26

In a letter the apostle Paul wrote 
to a church in the city of Corinth, he said:

Just as a body, 
though one, 
has many parts, 
but all its many parts form one body, 
so it is with Christ. 
For we were all baptized by one Spirit 
so as to form one body… 
God has placed the parts in the body, 
every one of them, 
just as He wanted them to be… 
There are many parts 
but only one body… 
God has put the body together, 
giving greater honor to the parts that lack it, 
so that there should be no division in the body, 
but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 
If one part suffers, 
every part suffers with it; 
if one part is honored, 
every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, 
and each one of you is a part of it.


Jesus said this about the Holy Spirit:

I will ask the Father, 
and He will give you another advocate to help you 
and be with you forever — 
the Spirit of truth… 
And this Advocate, 
the Holy Spirit, 
whom the Father will send in My name, 
will teach you all things 
and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Brilliantly wise,
intensely personal, 
and intimately knowing
Father in Heaven, 
You made it 
so that in the life 
and death 
and resurrection 
of Your Son,
all Your past promises to us 
became completely and fully realized.

And then 
You made a new set of promises — 
a new covenant. 
One that created 
a new people 
who had a new mainspring for life. 
A covenant that overcame everything 
that got in the way 
between You and us. 
A covenant that overcame the bondage, 
and the sin, 
and the ignorance 
that kept us all 
from a full and loving communion 
with You.
A covenant that brought 
complete forgiveness of sins. 
One that brought 
newness of life. 
One that brought 
Your coming kingdom. 

How?!
How did You do this?

You raised Jesus from the tomb, 
by which You put to death 
everything that we inherited 
from the first Adam.
And You made available 
a fresh start 
for all of humanity 
through the last Adam, 
Your much-loved son, 
Jesus Christ. 

And when You gave to us 
this incredibly good news,
it came to us, 
not as new information 
or a new story 
written in a book, 
not as a new good idea, 
not as a new vision for our lives.
It instead came to us 
with a faith 
that only Your Holy Spirit 
could inspire within us, 
out of which 
we would be recreated
into whole new beings, 
out of which 
a whole new creation 
got established — 
a creation from which 
awe-filled joy would be experienced, 
and true worship would unfold, 
and new communities of transformed people 
would be bound together. 

You gave to us this great news, 
and it came with Your Holy Spirit, 
a living instrument 
that now resides within us — 
within our very beings — 
and will reside there
until Your Son returns. 

It came with Your Holy Spirit 
who knits us together 
into particular communities
so that we can be 
the continuing earthly body 
of the crucified and risen Jesus,
who is seated at Your right hand.

It came with Your Holy Spirit 
who gives us eyes of faith 
so that we together as a community 
can see Jesus Christ,
and can be 
in an intimate 
and personal relationship 
with Jesus Christ — 
not so that we could be 
a new ethnic group 
or an association 
of like-minded individuals 
or a civic institution 
or a club, 
but so that we could be 
the body of Christ. 

On our own, 
we are prone to sin. 

On our own, 
we posses no special being, 
and no special status. 

On our own, 
our mission and work 
are disoriented and corrupted. 

But we are not on our own. 

We are animated by Your Holy Spirit, 
who is grounding our life in Christ, 
who is growing us up 
into perfection 
according to Your very own intentions, 
who is uniting us 
and upholding us 
to be the body of Christ, 
who is enabling us 
to enjoy amazing communion with You 
right now,
who is building us up,
who is maturing us,
and who is empowering us 
to bear witness 
to what awaits us 
at the end of time. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, 
in whom we are renewed, 
and grounded 
through worship,
Amen

Genesis 34
Psalm 34:18
Isaiah 53:4–5

King David wrote these lyrics for a song:

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.


The propet Isaiah wrote:

Surely He has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows…
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His wounds we are healed.

Tenderly attentive,
patiently redemptive
Father in heaven, 
we’re here this morning 
exactly as we are; 
not as all-cleaned-up versions of ourselves.

Some of us are here, 
and we’re wounded, 
tired, 
ashamed,
silenced, 
afraid. 

And some of us, 
because we are those things,
are here,
and we’re calculating, 
desiring,
managing, 
maybe defending. 

It doesn’t matter, though. 
Because You are still the God who comes near. 
You move into our abyss—
our abyss of sin, 
and violence, 
and shame, 
and cowardice, 
and brokenness.
And You come alongside us— 
the brokenhearted 
and the stiff-necked.

In Jesus Christ,
You have carried our griefs,
You have borne our sorrows.
And by His wounds, 
You have healed us.

And we are rather glad 
that You are indeed like that —
that Your covenant with us is grounded 
in Your own unconditional love toward us,
and not 
in us.

Otherwise, 
we’d always be asking, 
“Where are the good people 
that You’re working through, 
and are we them?” 

But instead we ask
“Where are You going after sinners?”

And that’s where we see You. 
You are moving 
through our sin.
You are refusing 
to let Your covenant be destroyed 
by any of our foolishness. 

We see you in Jesus; 
who is the faithful Son, 
the true Brother, 
the righteous Avenger 
who doesn’t massacre the guilty 
but bears our guilt; 
who is the Bridegroom 
who doesn’t seize His bride 
but gives Himself for her; 
who is the Judge 
who exposes our sin 
by condemning it in His own flesh.

So now, as You heal us, 
Keep us honest before others
Make us people who tell the truth,
who protect the vulnerable,
who confess our sins,
who refuse to repay evil with evil,
and who welcome one another
with the mercy of Christ.

Show us Your presence, 
here with us now, Lord.
Bring us into Your peace.
Teach us to worship You
in spirit and in truth.
Amen.

Genesis 33

Jacob looked up and there was Esau, 
coming with his four hundred men…

But Esau ran to meet Jacob 
and embraced him; 
he threw his arms around his neck 
and kissed him. 
And they wept…

Jacob said, 
“If I have found favor in your eyes, 
accept this gift from me. 
For to see your face 
is like seeing the face of God, 
now that you have received me favorably.”

God of Jacob,
You meet us in our night, 
when we’re alone, 
and afraid, 
exhausted; 
when we have no control 
over what’s unfolding. 

And in just such moments,
we get to see who we really are. 
You wound our pride,
You break through our illusions
that we can somehow secure our own future.

And there, 
in that place, 
in the real conditions of our life, 
You heal us.

And You bring us into a new day
where Your grace has gone way out ahead of us,
where Your mercy is just waiting for us, 
where all of our expectations are blown away. 

This morning, Father,
turn Your face toward us, 
the only face You have, 
the one revealed in Jesus Christ. 
It’s not a face we have to guess at 
from our circumstances 
or our emotions 
or our fears. 
It’s the face that blesses sinners, 
and welcomes the weary, 
and forgives enemies.

So enable us now to recognize Your face
in the faces of one another.
Where we might expect judgment in someone’s face, 
give us peace.
When we are afraid of someone’s face, 
give us courage.
And if we have wounded somebody 
or have been wounded,
turn us into people who can embrace each other again.

Help us now, Holy Spirit,
as we limp our way forward in hope,
to worship the Father
expressed perfectly in the face of the Son,
Amen.

John 14:16–20, 26
Galatians 4:6
Romans 8:23–26, 34–39
Hebrews 4:14–16
Hebrews 7:25–26

Jesus siad:

I will ask the Father, 
and He will give you an advocate 
to help you 
and be with you forever—
the Spirit of Truth. 
He will live with you 
and will be in you. 

Jesus went on to say:

Because I live, 
you also will live. 
On that day 
you will realize 
that I am in My Father, 
and you are in Me, 
and I am in you.

The Advocate, 
the Holy Spirit, 
whom the Father will send in My name, 
will teach you all things.


The apostle Paul wrote:

Because you are His sons, 
God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, 
the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

We groan inwardly 
as we wait eagerly 
for our adoption to sonship, 
as we wait eagerly 
for the redemption of our bodies. 
The Spirit helps us in our weakness. 
We do not know what we ought to pray for, 
but the Spirit himself intercedes for us 
through wordless groans.

Christ Jesus who died—
more than that, who was raised to life—
is at the right hand of God 
and is interceding for us. 
So, who shall separate us 
from the love of Christ? 
Shall trouble 
or hardship 
or persecution 
or famine 
or nakedness 
or danger 
or sword? 
No, 
in all these things 
we are more than conquerors 
through Him who loved us. 
Neither death nor life, 
neither angels nor demons, 
neither the present nor the future, 
nor any powers, 
neither height nor depth, 
nor anything else in all creation, 
will be able to separate us 
from the love of God 
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


The writer of the Book of Hebrews wrote:

Since we have a Great High Priest 
who has ascended into heaven, 
Jesus the Son of God, 
let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 
For we do not have a high priest 
who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, 
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, 
just as we are. 
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, 
so that we may receive mercy 
and find grace to help us 
in our time of need.

Jesus lives to intercede 
for those who come to God through Him. 
Such a high priest 
truly meets our need

Father, 
we’re here this morning with all that is in us. 
We’ve left nothing of ourselves behind. 
And we’re also here with all that is not in us right now.
Things maybe like:
spiritual strength,
the sense of Your presence,
even a desire to worship,
even hope.

We come with faith—we do—
even if there is hardly any left, 
and we come with all the places in us
where our faith has been worn thin—
the places of waiting and disappointment,
the places of unanswered prayer, 
the places where it sure does seem like You are absent .

We come with songs, too, Lord,
but… but also with silence, 
because there’s stuff happening that makes it hard for singing.

We come with our prayers,
and also with all the ache we feel 
when our prayers have turned to just… breathing. 

Lord, we confess that we long for a spoken word from You 
that we can actually hear,
a sign that we can see,
a promise from You that’s fitted exactly for what we’re carrying.
We want to know 
not just that You are good,
but that You are good right here —
in this grief,
in this waiting,
in this unanswered thing.

The truth is, 
You haven’t given us something less than the promise we long for.
You have given us something more—
something more and something else entirely. 
You have given us Your Son.
You have not merely spoken from heaven.
You have spoken to us in flesh and blood.
You have not loved us from a distance, 
from somewhere out there beyond our suffering. 
You have come all the way down, 
and have gone all the way into 
our pain, 
and our troubles, 
and our loss. 

You have entered our weaknesses,
our sorrow,
our silences.
You took our humanity as Your very own
and You carried it into the very life of God.

You have gone into the very places 
where we think we are alone.
You have cried the cry of the abandoned:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

When we feel forsaken,
we are not in a place You never were.

When there is nothing but silence,
we are not outside Your knowing and Your caring.

When we have no more words to pray,
we are not beyond the prayers prayed for us by Your very Son. 

There is no pit so deep
that His cross has not gone deeper still.

So receive us, then,
not according to the strength of our faith,
but according to the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

Receive us, then,
not according to the clarity of our prayers,
but according to His living intercession 
that is happening for us in this very moment. 

Receive us, then,
not according to the steadiness of our hope,
but according to His risen life.
He is our prayer when we cannot pray.
Christ is our trust when we cannot trust.
He is our worship when we come empty.
He is our Amen before You, Father.

Open our eyes to Your Holy Spirit, 
to Your Comforter, 
who is in us, 
with us, 
alongside us. 
Whose groan in us is deeper than words.
Who cries in us, “Abba, Father,”
when our own voice fails.
Who bears witness in us
that we are Your children,
held in Your Son,
beloved by You, Father,
not abandoned in the dark.

Silence the accusing voice
that tells us our sorrow is rejection.
Silence the fear
that unanswered prayer means we’re forgotten.
Silence the lie
that we are placed outside Your mercy.

In Jesus Christ, You have spoken to us. 
There is now no condemnation.
He has borne all our judgment.
He has carried all our sin.
He has taken the curse into Himself and broken its claim.
So enable us to read Your heart 
through Your pierced and risen Son, 
because there we learn who You are. 
There we learn that You are not against us. 
There we learn that He has become 
our Brother, 
our Priest, 
our Advocate, 
our Life.

And now, Father, 
in spite of our open wounds. 
in spite of our questions. 
in spite of the darkness. 
in spite of our emptiness, 
gather us into His worship.
Enable us to participate in His praise.
Receive us into His prayers. 
Uphold us in His faithfulness

For Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ has ascended.
Christ intercedes.
Christ sends the Spirit.
Christ holds us before the Father.
So we worship You, Triune God —
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit —
the God who has come all the way down
and who will carry us all the way home.
Amen.

Genesis 31:3
2 Corinthians 1:20

In the story of Jacob, we read that the Lord says to Jacob: 

Return to the land of your fathers 
and to your kindred, 
and I will be with you.


And in his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote: 

All the promises of God 
find their Yes in Him.

Your faithfulness, God—
Your faithfulness—
carries us through 
and carries us beyond
the tangled mess of our sin, 
and our fears, 
and our conflicts. 

It doesn’t matter our mixed motives
our wounds, 
our idols, 
our anxieties, 
our maneuvering. 

Through it all, 
You remain the Living Lord. 

You do not abandon us. 
You judge. 
You protect. 
You separate. 
You lead. 

And at the center of it all 
is not our cleverness. 
Or our hostilities. 
Or our theiving. 
At the center 
is Your steadfast action 
to never let Your promise fail. 

Your grace is deeper 
than the messes we are in. 

You never wait for our lives to get better before you act. 
You enter our lives as they are 
and order them toward Your redemptive purposes. 

Even when our lives are confused, 
compromised, 
and filled with tension, 
You do not let go. 
You are faithful to lead us 
out of bondage. 
You are faithful to lead us 
away from false securities. 
You are faithful to lead us 
into the future You have prepared. 

You are more faithful than we are confused.

We are not pictures of spiritual strength. 
We are pictures of Your mercy. 
In the middle of our fears, 
in the middle of our dishonesties, 
in the middle of our conflicts, 
You remain true. 

You protect us. 
Your break our unhealthy ties. 
You lead us on. 

We have no hope 
in how well we manage our lives. 
Our hope is in You, 
becaue You keep your promises 
and You refuse to abandon us. 

In the name of Jesus 
Who in all of that, 
is not ashamed to be our Redeemer, 
Who bound Himself to us in grace, 
and Who brings us home to You, Father, 
Amen.

Genesis 31:3
Psalm 139:1
Exodus 3:7–8
John 10:11-15

God spoke these words to Jacob: 

Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, 
and I will be with you.


David penned these words in a song he wrote: 

You have searched me, Lord,
and You know me.


In the book of Exodus, we read these words that the Lord spoke: 

I have indeed seen the misery of My people…
I have heard them crying out…
and I am concerned about their suffering.
So I have come down to rescue them…


John recorded these words of Jesus in his gospel: 

I am the Good Shepherd. 
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep…
I know My sheep and My sheep know Me—
just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father.


And the Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Romans: 

And we know that in all things 
God works for the good of those who love Him, 
who have been called according to His purpose.
If God is for us, who can be against us? 
He who did not spare His own Son, 
but gave Him up for us all—
how will He not also, 
along with Him, 
graciously give us all things?
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 
Shall trouble 
or hardship 
or persecution 
or famine 
or nakedness 
or danger 
or sword?
No, in all these things 
we are more than conquerors 
through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, 
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, 
nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, 
nor anything else in all creation, 
will be able to separate us 
from the love of God 
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Triune God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are the Living God Who speaks,
and Who acts,
and Who judges,
and Who saves.

You are the Living Lord 
Who gives Himself to be known.

And so we’ve come here this morning,
not for religious atmosphere
or emotional support
or inspiration.
We’re here seeking You.
We’re expecting You—
the Living God.

You are not hovering above
our tangled lives,
our broken stories,
our disordered loves.
You’ve entered them.
You’ve redeemed us from within them.

All the stuff that is hidden from others 
isn’t hidden from You:
our fears, 
our fatigue, 
our resentment, 
our manipulation, 
our wounds.
There is no place too tangled 
or too complex 
or too wrong 
for Your mercy 
to already be in it 
and at work.

Lord God,
we’re here,
and it is not because 
we’re all cleaned up
or that we’ve mastered our own hearts 
and we’re spiritually competent.
We’re here because 
we need Your grace to find us, 
and heal us.

We haven’t made ourselves fit to be here.
Jesus has taken our unfitness into Himself 
and made it His own burden,
and that’s why we’re here.
That’s why we have communion with You.

Now as we sing and pray and study scripture together,
teach us again 
that Your faithfulness goes way deeper than our disorder.
Teach us again 
that Your promises aren’t fragile.
Your promises don’t depend on 
the stability of our emotions,
or the clarity of our motives,
or the success of our strategies.
You have bound yourself to us 
way more deeply than we are bound to all our own crap.

Your grace is way more real 
than whatever chaos we’re in.

So set us free this morning 
from every false lordship in our lives—
from everything that we call “Mine!” 
My career. 
My future. 
My plans. 
My house project. 
My story. 
All the things we fiercely protect.
For all things belong to You, Father, 
through the Son 
in the Spirit.

Draw us into all the freedom 
that is just right there for us in Your promise.

Help us to hear You this morning.
And when we do, 
help us to repent 
from whatever it is 
we want to then tell ourselves about it.

We’re not free because we’re becoming more self-grounded 
or more financially secure, 
or more educated, 
or more professionally experienced.
We are free 
because we are participating 
in the Son’s own communion with You, Father.
You haven’t liberated us into emptiness. 
You have liberated us into communion.

So, turn our eyes away from introspection 
and turn them to Jesus Christ,
the faithful Son,
the true Shepherd,
the One who does not manipulate us,
but gives Himself for us.

In Him, gather our scattered lives.
In Him, judge and heal what is crooked in us.
In Him, lead us from all our bondage 
and into communion with You.

In Christ, You haven’t come 
to help us find whatever self we’re searching for or making. 
You’ve come to put it to death 
and raise us into true humanity.

Come, Lord, and speak to us.
Don’t give us information.
We want to hear the Word that creates, 
and exposes,
and reconciles, 
and commands, 
and sends, 
and comforts, 
and reorders our realities.

We worship You 
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.
— Colossians 1:18

God… made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
— Ephesians 2:4–6

Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
— 1 Corinthians 15:20–22

Just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too might walk in newness of life… consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
— Romans 6:4–11

One has died for all; therefore all have died… if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.
— 2 Corinthians 5:14–17