Want to know God? Look at Jesus.
A call to worship.
Themes
Revelation of God in Jesus • Incarnation • Union with Christ • Vicarious humanity • Atonement • Substitution • Divine love • New creation • Victory over sin • Mission of God • Identity in Christ • Restoration • Transformation from the inside out • Mediation of Christ
And this is the heart of the gospel: Jesus Christ, the Father’s so greatly loved Son, lived and died to bring us back to the Father.
Scripture reading
John 14:9 Hebrews 1:3 Luke 19:10 1 Peter 3:18 Romans 5:8 Galatians 2:20
This call to worship1 puts Jesus front and center and says, “If you want to know God, look at Him.” It celebrates that Christ didn’t just help us—He united Himself to us, died for us, and now lives in us, and that changes everything.
Here is what Jesus said: Jesus answered: “Don’t you know Me, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Here’s how the writer of the Book of Hebrews puts it: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being Here’s what Jesus said: Jesus said, “…For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” Here’s how Peter put it in his letter: Christ suffered once for sins, the Righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. Here’s how Paul wrote about it: God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Prayer
Father in heaven, that human being that lived 2000 years ago, that human being named Jesus— our presence here this morning proclaims that He was Your greatly loved Son. He wasn’t just some incredibly good man or some great teacher; He was and He is Your Son. He shares in the very same divine nature as You. He is the exact representation of Your being. And this means that if we really want to know who You are, God, we need not look any further than Jesus. And way beyond a relationship of simply knowing something about Jesus, the relationship is one where He has joined us to Himself. Not metaphorically. Not symbolically. Not allegorically. But in the deepest parts of who we are, it is there that You have joined us to Him. And You have made this union such that His life has become our life. This is not merely a feeling that You have given to us; it’s a reality that changes absolutely everything. And its “realness” is independent of our feelings. Because You have joined us to Jesus Christ, we now share in His love, and we share in His power, and we share in His victory over sin and death. When He died, He died to save us. He came to find and save the lost. And that was us, Father. He came to complete Your mission— to become human, to live for us, to share in all our brokenness, to die for us, to pour His Spirit into us, and to recreate us from the inside out. He took all our sins, our mistakes, and our wrongdoings, and He faced the punishment that we deserved. He didn’t just take our punishment; He also lived a perfect life for us, offering Himself to You, God, both in His life and in His death as the perfect answer to our sin. He made us right with You. His death was not a tragic accident; it was the greatest act of love ever. He saw our need, and in love, He stepped in to rescue us. That He came so far and died so horrifically shows us just how serious our sin really is. And it shows us just how great Your love is for us. And this is the heart of the gospel: Jesus Christ, Your so greatly loved Son, lived and died to bring us back to You. In the name of Jesus, who shows us exactly who You are, who is the radiance of Your glory and the exact representation of Your being, who gave Himself for us, who suffered for sins, who died for us, who found us, who restored us, and who brought us back to You, Amen
1
This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians who gathered at Pathway Church in Beaverdam, Michigan, on Sunday, July 21, 2024.