It’s all made perfect in Christ.

A call to worship.

Themes

Mediator • God as man • Worship • Communion • Union with Christ • Made perfect • In Christ • Holy of holies

God has summoned us to a life of union with Christ, and so we are becoming in ourselves what we already are in Christ — persons with an unconditional response of faith and repentance and worship and praise. 

Christ leads us into the Holy of Holies — into God’s holy presence. And we worship with Him and in Him as our worship leader. And so even our worship, too, is really a gift of grace from Him — a gift to participate, through the Spirit, in the Son’s communion with the Father. 

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Scripture reading

1 Timothy 2:5–6

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This call to worship¹ comes from a letter that Paul wrote to his friend Timothy. He wrote this:

There is one God, 
and there is one mediator 
between God and men, 
the man Christ Jesus, 
who gave himself 
as a ransom for all.

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Prayer

Father in heaven,
the incredible movement of grace 
from You 
toward us 
was made possible 
by Your so-greatly-loved Son, 
Jesus Christ. 
And we’ve responded, 
to one degree or another,
with decision 
and repentance 
and obedience. 

Through Christ, 
You have given Yourself in love to us. 
And Jesus Christ—God as man— 
did for us, as a man, 
what we cannot do for ourselves— 
He presented us 
in Himself 
to You, Father. 
And so, 
to whatever degree 
our decision, 
our repentance, 
and our obedience has been, 
it is made perfect in Him. 

And so now 
this movement of us, then, toward You— 
this moment we call worship and communion— 
in the end, it too 
is also something 
that is given to us freely and unconditionally in Him. 
Our response of faith 
and our obedience 
and our worship this morning 
is really a response 
to the response that has already been made for us 
by Jesus Christ to You. 
And we now make it in union with Christ. 
So even our response, 
our worship,
our communion, 
is made perfect in Christ. 

Father, You have summoned us 
to a life of union with Christ, 
and so we are becoming in ourselves 
what we already are in Christ— 
persons with an unconditional response of faith 
and repentance 
and worship 
and praise. 

In Jesus Christ, 
we have someone 
who brings Your grace 
and forgiveness 
to us. 
And in Jesus Christ,
we also have One who, 
in our fallen humanity, 
absorbed all of Your condemnation for our sins. 
And so when He submitted 
to the guilty verdict of sin, 
we submitted. 
We participated in His self-offering. 

And in response— 
in our worship this morning— 
we not only receive Your word of forgiveness 
so freely spoken, 
and thus respond in worship.
But it is Christ also 
who leads us into Your Holy of Holies— 
into Your holy presence. 
And so we worship with Him 
and in Him
as our worship leader. 
And so even our worship, too, 
is really a gift of grace from Him— 
a gift to participate, 
through the Spirit, 
in Your son’s communion with You, 
and to do so 
with joy 
and peace 
and confidence. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, 
through whom we enter into— 
and live a life of— 
perfect communion with You, 
Amen.  

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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 me.

1. This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians that gathered in Pathway Church, Beaverdam, Michigan, on Sunday, May 22, 2022.