A lot happens in our lives on any given day. And whatever all of that is, we live from it as though it were the only true reality of our lives. It’s hard to imagine living from any other reality other than the one unfolding for us each day. But whatever that reality is, it is being held inside something far more real, far more true, far more certain.
This call to worship1 invites us into the reality that our lives exist inside the living ministry of Jesus Christ. The Triune God—who is Himself a beautiful, unbelievable, astonishing communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has drawn us into that very communion with Himself! And that changes everything about how we understand our lives. It shapes who we are, what we are for, how we worship, how we serve, and how we live through the ordinary moments given to us—grocery shopping, dental appointments, business meetings, classrooms, family dinners, and everything else that fills a human life.
At the center of this reality is Christ, our living High Priest—the One who gathers our human, unfolding life into His own faithful and perfect response to the Father. And in every one of those moments, the Holy Spirit liberates us to become fully alive as particular persons whose gifts, work, wounds, relationships, and ordinary responsibilities can all be used in Christ’s reconciling movement happening in each and every moment. Love isn’t some emotional feeling; it’s the shape our participation takes in those moments. Grace isn’t a commodity God dispenses to us; it’s the very ground that holds and sustains us in those moments. Vocation isn’t some professional aspiration; it is our lived expression from one moment to the next.
This call to worship also calls us to recognize that the worship we offer together extends into the whole of life. Our work, relationships, responsibilities, creativity, suffering, and ordinary presence can all become part of our lived response to God in Christ. We have a real, meaningful, remarkable place within the Body of Christ, and the ordinary places we inhabit are alive with the possibility of communion, healing, flourishing, and faithful presence.
Each week, when we worship with others, we come before God to be reoriented to this reality—to what is already true in Christ—so that we may leave worship with clearer eyes, freer hearts, and a deeper readiness to join the ministry that is already unfolding around us.
Themes
Participation in Christ • Communion • Grace • Union with Christ • Belonging • Christ’s priesthood • Divine initiative • Eyes to see • Liberation • Vocation • God’s story • Service • Love • Reconciling work • Ordinary life • Freedom from burden • Compassion • Hope
We’re not beloved because we’re particularly useful.
Scripture reading
John 15:4–5 1 Peter 2:9 Colossians 3:12–14, 17
When we gather to worship, remember that we don’t have to prove ourselves to God; we gather to receive again the grace already given to us in Jesus Christ. We gather as people who already belong to Him. We’ve been given a place in His story. And we are invited to participate in His ministry.
Jesus said the following: Remain in Me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in Me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. Jesus’ disciple, Peter, wrote the following: You are a chosen race, You are a royal priesthood, You are a holy nation, You are a people for God’s own possession. You are these things so that you may proclaim the excellence of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. And the Apostle Paul wrote this: Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, a heart of kindness, a heart of lowliness, a heart of humility, a heart of perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Prayer
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we’re here this morning because You have called us into Your life. It’s really just that. It’s not because we have spiritual aspirations. It’s not because we’re hoping for some kind of spiritual experience. You’ve drawn us into communion with You. You want us to share in Your life. You want us to share in Your love. You have made us Your own. We’re not beloved because we’re particularly useful. We’re not beloved because our ministry is particularly helpful. Before we ever accomplished anything, before we had ever proven anything, before we could even make ourselves useful, You received us in Jesus Christ as Your beloved children. Lord Jesus, You’re the vine, and we’re the branches. Our life comes from You. You’re not just some example of good ministry; You are the living High Priest who is doing ministry— right now, doing ministry. And You are pleased to have us—as Your body— join Your ministry— join Your reconciling work. Our life isn’t in what we can do for You; it’s in what You have already done for us. So teach us to remain in You. Free us from any burden of trying to carry Your kingdom on our shoulders, and open our eyes to see where You are already at work. You are already Minister. You are already Priest. You are already Intercessor. Where can we share in what You are already doing? Holy Spirit, make us fully alive as the people You have created us to be. Because Christ has assumed our humanness, and because He has restored our humanness, and because He has brought us— in all of our humanness— into communion with the Father, Holy Spirit, liberate us! Liberate our faith, our obedience, our service, our praise. Take our different gifts, our experiences, our personalities, our joys, and even our wounds, and pull them all into the ministry of Christ. Teach us that there are no spectators in Your kingdom. Holy Spirit, you have joined each of us to Christ, and therefore we each have a real and an active place within the ministry of His Body. Show each of us the portion we have been liberated to bring. And as we bring it, teach us the way of Jesus. Show us the form and shape our gifts are to have when they are conformed to Jesus Christ? Let our service take the shape of love. Let our words be spoken in love. Let our gifts be exercised in love. Let our work be done in love. Let us notice what is good and help it flourish. Let us see what is broken and alienated and disordered and move toward it with compassion and hope. Let us become a communion of love, not because we generate such a fellowship from all our social resources, but because we simply participate in Christ— we simply join His own, active ministry in love. Receive now our worship, and prepare us to offer our ordinary human lives all to You again— our homes, our work, our schools, our relationships, and all that awaits us this week. Father, we belong to You; You have adopted us. We have a place in Your story; You have given us a vocation. We don’t walk it alone; we are in communion with You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
A call to worship for the small assembly of Christians who gathered at Pathway Church in Beaverdam, Michigan, on September 20, 2026.