Themes
God’s nearness • Hospitality • Friendship with God • Revelation • Intercession • Justice and mercy • God’s desire to save • Christ as the Righteous One • Invitation to the table • Worship as response
You are not a silent God. You speak, You reveal, You even share with us Your heart.
Scripture reading
Genesis 18:1–5, 17–19, 22–25 John 15:15–16
This call to worship1 is about the God who does not stay hidden, who will not stay hidden, but comes near—near enough to sit at a table, near enough to share His own heart. It’s about the God who calls us friends, who lets us into His purposes, who saves the many through the One.
In Genesis 18 we read: The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He said, “If I have found favor in Your eyes, my Lord, do not pass Your servant by. Let me bring You water, and a meal, so you can be refreshed.” Furrther in we read: Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.” And further still we read: Abraham remained standing before the Lord and said, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” John in his gospel writes this: And Jesus said to His disciples: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”
Prayer
Father in heaven, You are not far away. In fact, You draw near— near enough to sit at a table, near enough to share a meal, near enough for us to hear Your promise with our own ears. You are not a silent God. You speak, You reveal, You even share with us Your heart. “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” You asked. And in that question, You showed us what kind of God You are— a God who calls us friends, who lets us in on Your purposes, who invites us to stand before You and plead for others. You are the Judge of all the earth— and yet, You are the Judge who longs to spare. You look for reasons to save, You search for the righteous who can cover the many. And in all these ways of being with us, of loving us, of desiring us, from Abraham to this morning, Jesus Christ becomes so obvious to us— the Righteous One, who stood before You and stands before You still on our behalf, who intercedes for us even now, who gave His life that we might not perish, but live. So here we are, Lord, just here, in this little place, welcomed to Your table, drawn into Your friendship, invited to join Your mercy. We’ve come to worship You— the God who comes near, the God who shares His heart, the God who saves. Amen.
1
This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians that gathered in Pathway Church, Beaverdam, Michigan, on August 31, 2025.