Category: Exhortation

Where is Jesus now? The Ascension answers that question. We know that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. He is ruling and reigning from his heavenly throne. He has given the Father the kingdom, and now he is preserving, progressing, and perfecting his kingdom. He is bringing all things under subjection.

We know that when he was raised from the dead, Jesus was raised bodily. But gnostic thinking would like us to assume that since Jesus is in heaven now he longer needs a physical body. But the same Father who raised Jesus physically, also has his Son sitting beside him in a physical body.  As one author observed:

Jesus has gone before us in a way we may follow through the Holy Spirit whom he has sent, because the way is in his flesh, in his humanity.[1]

Our Lord is in his incarnation body at the right hand of the Father. This has all sorts of implications for us in worship. We are worshipping a God/Man; one who descended in human flesh and who ascended in human flesh. He is not a disembodied spirit. He is truly God and truly man.

As we come into worship, remember that you are worshiping the One who understands your needs, because he has a body just like you; he understands your joy because he has a body just like you. And so he calls us to worship him in spirit, but also with our bodies. So, let us spiritually and physically ascend to the heavenly city.

I mentioned last week that there is a form of glory-stealing taking place in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus Christ took away the glory of death. Death’s glory is not the glory of God, but rather it was the glory of possessing something that did not belong. What did death possess? Death possessed the glory of being undefeated. To that point in history, death had the final laugh. The house of death was intact; unmoved and uncompromised, until the glory of the empty tomb. The tomb was empty because it could not contain the glory of Christ and His Kingdom.

When the tomb was empty, then the household of Satan was threatened; then the glory of death was threatened. Matthew 12 describes this scene when it speaks of Jesus coming to the strong man’s house and plundering his goods and binding the strong man. This is the imagery we must keep in mind of the resurrection: Jesus comes and plunders the glory of death. He takes away the possessions of death, and on the Third Day he says: there is a new victor in the world. Death does not have the final word. “O Death, where is your sting?” The answer is: It lost its appetite.

The Resurrection is the true glory; the resurrection is the final word, and death has been robbed. All authority and power belong to the Risen Lord. And it is by His power that we enter into His gates to worship on this most holy day. Come, let us worship our Risen King!

Prayer: Lord, God of strength, you gave your Son victory over death. Direct your Church’s fight against evil in the world. Clothe us with the weapons of light and unite us under the one banner of love, that we may rejoice in your victory of death and your triumph over the Evil One. Amen.

It is hard to read through the Bible and not come to the realization that God’s story is filled with death. It begins with the death of Adam and Eve and it continues with endless bloodshed through the prophets and kings. And if we neglect to rightly speak of the resurrection of Jesus we will view the Christian life as one shaped by death.The way the Apostle Paul deals with this is to use the terms death and resurrection” almost interchangeably. You can be certain that when Paul speaks of Jesus’ death he is implying his resurrection, and when he speaks of the resurrection he is implying the finished work of Jesus in death. This is how we are to view the gospel message. Though the Bible speaks much about death, it is with the assurance that it is not final; that God has in good pleasure and mercy rescued us in the Resurrection of the Son of God.

Prayer: Almighty God,
by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ,
you have broken the power of death
and brought life and immortality to light;
grant that we who have been raised with him
may triumph over all temptation
and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory;
through him who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.

Is the resurrection of Christ neglected in the Church today? The truth is: many Christians fall into a false dichotomy. Some tend to give preeminence to the cross over the empty tomb. We too want a cross-centered gospel. The cross was the tree of death of Jesus, but the tree of life to those who believe. However, the implication of a cross-only view of the gospel is that though it rightly emphasizes repentance and forgiveness, it usually does not go any further. We cannot be truly cross-centered without also being empty-grave-centered.[1] The Church needs a rich resurrection theology. If we live in introspection and confession, we will never live the abundant life God has called us to live.

In our worship, the cross teaches us that we are clean to enter into Yahweh’s holy temple. In our worship, the resurrection compels us to revel in the God who makes all things new.

Athanasius once said that the resurrection leaves traces everywhere. When we say every square inch of creation belongs to our Lord, when we say the world is being re-created, when we say the gospel is going forth to all the nations, when we say Satan has been defeated, when we say the head of the serpent was crushed by the greater David, when we say that the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdoms of our Lord, when we say the light of the Gospel is prevailing, when we say worship is holy warfare, when we say come and eat, when we say sing a new song to the Lord, when we say the peace of the Lord be with you, when we say the Lord bless you, when we say go into all the world, when we say He shall reign forever and ever, we are declaring to the world Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The world is filled with this message today, because the tomb could not contain He who was raised by the Father for our Justification.

Let us pray:

O God of glory,
in the Easter dawn
you raised Jesus from death to life.
As we are united with him in death,
so unite us with him in resurrection,
that we may walk in newness of life. Amen.

We celebrate today the coming of the King into Jerusalem. I think if Hollywood were to put Palm Sunday into a movie it would be as horrific as Prince Caspian. They probably would have Jesus coming in a military tank surrounded by an army ready to declare war. But Hollywood has never read Zechariah. Jesus is King, but Jesus is a king in a far different way than all other kings are kings. As king, He comes endowed with salvation, humble, mounted on a donkey, even a colt, the foal of a donkey. As king, He conquers by offering Himself for His people. And if we want to share His conquest, we must go and go likewise.

The way of kingship is cross before crown.

Prayer: Almighty God, on this day, your son Jesus Christ entered the holy city of Jerusalem and was proclaimed King by those who spread garments and palm branches along his way.  Let those branches be for us signs of his victory, and grant that we who bear them in his name may ever hail him as our Lord, and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life.  In his name we pray. Amen.

C.S. Lewis observed in his Reflections on the Psalms that a Christian can’t always be defending the truth, sometimes he needs to feed on it. This is very appropriate for the people of God on the Lord’s Day. This is day to receive the blessings of God in word and sacrament. This is a day to feed on the One who gave himself for us. This is a day to be renewed and encouraged to assume our roles in this world.

The Psalms and the entirety of Scriptures presuppose this nurturing role for the people of God. We cannot defend something unless we have been transformed by it. The Psalter, in particular, calls us to see if there is any wicked way and to be led to an everlasting way.

On this Sunday of Lent, we allow ourselves once more by the grace of the Spirit, to receive and to respond to this pure Word spoken by our Creator and Redeemer.

Prayer: O, Lord, cause us to love your law that we may consider our lives and be changed, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The story in Numbers chapter 21 is one that will continue to be remembered in Israel’s history. The people of Israel are journeying to the Promised Land. Their travel has been hindered by acts of disobedience. This story is no different. Moses says that on their way “they became impatient and the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” There are three points to observe in this passage. First, they became impatient. This is the default attitude of an unappreciative people. They are impatient to run the race faithfully. Impatience is the attitude of a people who lack an optimistic view of the future; who lack faith in God’s plans. Second, they oppose God and God’s anointed, Moses. They become practical atheists. Once you lose hope in God and in God’s representative, there is no more reason to live. Slavery becomes a more satisfactory option. Finally, they consider God’s gifts to be worthless. This is the final step to apostasy. It was George Whitfield who once said: “What greater sin can there be than that of ingratitude?”

This is not who we are. We are a people of hope; a people who trust in God and his leaders, and a people who are grateful. These are the characteristics of a people who worship God truly and humbly. Come, let us worship.

Prayer: Our God, may your redeemed declare your riches to all the nations. May we proclaim with grateful hearts your works among men, through Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord, Amen.

This is the Season of Lent. This Season brings us many opportunities to examine our lives in light of Scriptures. On these next five weeks we will draw out the implications of the ministry of our Lord, especially as he nears the cross. What does a life of self-denial, trials, and repentance look like? What does the cross mean for us and the world? What kind of ammunition do we need to battle evil? These are some of the questions we will consider in the weeks ahead.

As we enter this Lenten Season “we will be more thoroughly equipped to fight sin when we remember that it is never ultimately satisfying.”[1] As Marva Dawn writes concerning sin: “Always its pleasure will turn to dust in our mouths.” In C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund eats and eats of the White Witch’s Turkish Delight, a candy he continues to long for, though soon after eating it he becomes very ill. The poet David says, “Let me not eat of their delicacies.” The Season of Lent is a call to eat of God’s table, and to turn away all worldly delicacies. Let us begin this task as we worship our great God.

Prayer: Most Gracious God, cause our souls to be satisfied with the rich food of your table, and our mouths will praise you with joyful lips, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.