How the light of Jesus Christ shines through us.
A call to worship.
Themes
Ministry • Risk • Participation in Christ • Culture • Conformed to Jesus Christ • Light • Glory • Transformation • Image of God • Priorities • The god of this world • Perplexed • Persecuted • Struck down
What might it be like to make decisions based on the gospel; not on budgets, not on avoiding risk, not on “common sense.”
Scripture reading
2 Corinthians 3:18–4:11 John 15:20
This call to worship1 is about you. You have been given a ministry. Paul wrote this to the church of God that was at Corinth:
We all are being transformed into the image of Christ, who is the image of God— we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another. We’re just becoming more and more and more glorious. Through God’s mercy, we have been given a ministry— and what ministry is this that we’ve been given? The glorious ministry of the Spirit, a ministry that brings righteousness, not condemnation. Since we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Instead, we set forth the truth plainly— and what truth is that? The truth of the Gospel. And even if the Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, because the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel— the light that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach— what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord. The God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” did just that— He made His light shine in our hearts —the darkest of places— and He give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory— the very same light displayed in the face of Christ. But this treasure that we have— this treasure of His light, the light of Jesus, that shines forth from us— this light is shining forth from jars of clay—us; we are jars of clay. And because that’s all that we are, the world sees that this all-surpassing power that is displayed in us is from God and not from us. It’s why we are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; it’s why we are perplexed, but not in despair; it’s why we are persecuted, but not abandoned; it’s why we are struck down, but not destroyed. We carry around in our body —in our jar of clay— the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive, we are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. And Jesus said this to His disciples: Remember the word that I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.
Prayer
Father in heaven, when we think of the attributes of an assembly of believers that meet together in Your name —a church that is yours— “risk-taking” is not the first attribute that comes to mind. Yet, if we live for the sake of the gospel we’re not exactly sure just how that would be risk-free. So, inspire and equip us to take risks for the sake of the Gospel. Enable us to understand ourselves as different from the world around us— different because we are participating in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the world around us is not. Enable us to make decisions based on the Gospel, not on budgets, not on avoiding risk, not on common sense. Because Father, we live by your rules— a set of rules that are quite a bit different from those of our culture— the culture that’s engulfing us, that we’re swimming in, that we breathe in every day, that defines the thinking and sense that is common to the world. Father, we want to be conformed to Jesus Christ, not to the surrounding world. The god of this age blinds people’s minds to the light of Christ. And so, they conform to the norms of culture— norms that favor the bottom line, the safer option, the use of coercion to bring a sense of unity. In contrast, Father, we want You to shine in and through our hearts, in and through our mortal bodies, in and through our faces. We want to shine forth the light of the knowledge of Your glory— the same glory that was visible in the face of Jesus our Lord. Father, our model for living is not those the world holds up as heroes; our model is Your Son, who is Your perfect image. So make us and keep us different from the world. Transform us into that same image, and do so in ever-increasing degrees of glory, from one degree of glory to the next— each degree a closer and closer depiction of Jesus, and less and less like the culture surrounding us. Enable us to be a community of contrast— not a community that is similar to society— instead, a community that takes risks based on Gospel priorities, rather than society’s priorities. And when we do —when we give collective witness to Jesus Christ— we imagine that those blinded by the god of this world will no doubt resist. And we will be hard-pressed, we will be perplexed, we will be persecuted, we will be struck down. The more distinctive we become as we move closer and closer to the image of Your Son, the more distinctive our conduct will be, and the more it will go against the grain of what’s normal around us. And when that happens, we will be transformed into the image of Your Son, and Your light will shine through us, and the world will see Your glory. Enable us, Father, to live as we should across cultures— across the dominant culture of our world and the culture You are fostering here at this local church, the culture of a church that is Yours. In the name of Jesus, who is our master, who taught us what it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be gentle, to be hungry and thirsty for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to make peace, and to be reviled and persecuted for it, Amen
Inspiring resources
A call to worship creates wonderment, amazement, curiosity, yearning, captivation, provocation, hopefulness, thankfulness, affection, rapture, delight. As these mix together, the response is worship.
If this call to worship leaves you wondering, or curious, or provoked, or hopeful, consider diving into this awesome book that inspired this call to worship.
1
This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians who gathered in Pathway Church, Beaverdam, Michigan, on Sunday, February 26, 2023.