“Who do you say I am?”
A call to worship.
Themes
Son of Man • Son of God • God the Son • Messiah • Lord • Incarnation • Immanuel • God with us • The supreme mystery
We are not left to novel speculations and theoretical constructs about God… because He was really here, in the flesh — God incarnate.
Scripture reading
Matthew 16:13-16
This call to worship1 is from Matthew’s Gospel. It’s Peter’s confession.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptizer; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Prayer
Amazing, astonishing, and marvelous God, it seems important that we say who He is. Maybe because knowing You begins with knowing Him — begins with knowing God the Son, God incarnate, Jesus Christ. So we will speak it: Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is Lord! This baby, this child, this man from Nazareth, the son of Mary, He is Lord. He is God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Son of the Living God, and the one who teaches us to call his father our father. In Jesus Christ, You, God, opened Your inner life to us. And so, we are not left to novel speculations and theoretical constructs about You, because… You were really here, in the flesh — God incarnate. So, instead, what we have are real experiences of You in Jesus Christ. You have been experienced. And those experiences have been expressed in Spirit-generated, powerful, living, active, razor-sharp, and discerning words and sentences, written down, that tell us who You truly are — expressions that describe a mystery that unaided reason has never been — and will forever be — unable to fathom. Thinking right about You begins with the experience of the incarnate Jesus, the Son of God — God the Son. All that You are, all that You have eternally been in Your inner life, You now are forever towards us in Jesus Christ. Jesus was, and is, Immanuel — God with us. Jesus Christ makes You known to us in the intimate and loving manner that previously only He knew. For there is no true knowledge of You apart from Jesus In Mary’s womb, a perfect divine nature and a perfect human nature were joined, never to ever be separated from that moment forward, united forever in one person, the person of Jesus Christ. And in that moment, You, God of heaven, assumed full humanity. All that we are… You wanted to save, and so Your perfect Son became all that we are, so that all that we are could be taken to the cross. And it was. And now all that we are can be brought into a true and full and perfect and personal relationship with You. Help us this morning, and this season, to be immersed in this truth — in this Supreme Mystery — of incarnation. And may You — the one to whom this truth sings — be acknowledged, and praised, and worshipped, and glorified. In the name of Jesus, God the Son, God incarnate, God born human, full of inexhaustible wonder, 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 me to write this call to worship.
This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians that gathered in Pathway Church, Beaverdam, Michigan, on Sunday, December 12, 2021.