Prayer & Preparation for January 7th, 2024
This Lord's Day
Hey church,
Here are some details about this week's services (we do have a communion service in the evening):
Songs we'll sing: "My Heart Has Found Its Rest in Christ," "How Rich a Treasure We Possess," "God Is for Us," "Rejoice," and "Facing a Task Unfinished" in the morning; and "10,000 Reasons," "His Mercy Is More," "God of Grace," and "What Grace Is Mine" in the evening
Sermon in the morning: "Our Joy in Mission" based on a survey of texts, especially John 17
Cross-references: Isa. 46:8-13; John 3:16-17; 13:20; 20:21; Rom. 11:30-36; Heb. 12:1-2
Communion meditation in the evening: Ephesians 1:3-11
Here are some citations that have been fodder for my thinking and preparation this week:
"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
- C.S. Lewis
"Those whom Jesus calls he also sends-a sending so significant that receiving his 'sent ones' amounts to receiving him...(John 13:20)."
- David Mathis
"The biggest barriers to effective evangelism according to the prayer of Jesus [in John 17] are not so much out-dated methods or inadequate presentations of the gospel, as...lovelessness.... We need look no further to understand why the church's impact on the community is frequently so minimal in spite of the greatness of our message."
- Bruce Milne
As I continue this week to strive to be a worker for your joy (2 Cor. 1:24), I'm encouraged by Jesus' words to the man who had been demon-possessed. It's in the reading for this week in the five day a week plan. Mark 5:19 records that Jesus instructed the man to tell his friends "how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Verse 20 says he did exactly that, and everyone marveled. That's my prayer for me and for everyone present this Lord's Day. To be clear, the prayer/goal is not for everyone to marvel at my ability to tell, but at the Lord who has done so many and so merciful things.
And before we take our leave of that narrative, can I encourage you to notice and marvel at the man's begging Jesus that he might be with him (v. 18), and of Jesus' not permitting him (v. 19). Perhaps that says something to our desires to continue in worship of and fellowship with Jesus instead of serving him by going into the world to which he's sent us. And perhaps it says something about our privileged place in redemptive history, wherein it has been to our advantage that Jesus has gone away, because now we have the ever-abiding presence of the Spirit of Christ with us and in us. Thank you, Lord Jesus! Perhaps it says something to those of us who may have lost our first love. Have you, have I, in my busy-ness of doing things for Jesus, somehow forgotten about the joy of being with Jesus?
Finally, let me share with you (or maybe remind you of) David Powlison's devotional thoughts in his January 3 entry. They've challenged me in my prayers and preparations for the preaching task this week:
"People change when they see that they are responsible for what they believe about God. People change when truth becomes clearer and brighter than previous life experience. We change when our ears hear and our eyes see what God tells us about himself (Psalm 103:10-13; Isaiah 49:13-16). God is in the business of changing people's minds; he is not hindered by distortions. He can reveal himself, 'shining in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ' (2 Corinthians 4:6). Life experience is not supreme; neither are the lies people believe; God is supreme, and he alone trumps what we bring to the table.... Ask the Lord to make himself known to you..."
...and to our church family, and to our world, through the preaching of the Word this Lord's Day.
Love you, church!
Jeff Tague
