Sunday Sermon - 08/11/2019 - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8
Opening Prayer:
O Holy God, happy are the people whose God is the Lord! Though we are not worthy of your blessings, and though your salvation requires full admission of guilt, you do not lead us in paths of endless abasement and selfish sorrow, but into paths of righteous joy and quiet peace! You pluck us from lives of futility, feed us with truth, and protect us from evil arrogance. May your people rejoice in Jesus Christ, for in his holy Name we put our trust. Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, that you may be honored in the contentment and joy of your people.
We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
O Holy God, we are pressed down by the weight of Christ’s last days on earth. Simultaneously beautiful and profane is Christ on the cross, the haunting image of the gory price of our sin.Wonder and joy hover around Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the breaking dawn of freedom from sin in the hearts of the repentant. And curiosity and mystery surround Christ’s Ascension, for though we understand that he left to prepare an eternal home for us, we are ever perplexed at his timing, and we struggle to wait patiently for the promised good.O Heavenly Father, if the memory of Christ’s last days and departure precipitates such pleasing grief and mournful joy, how glorious will be his long-awaited return?If the crushed figure of Christ on the cross causes tears of repentance to fall from our eyes, what magnificent tears of joy will flow when he stand tall on the earth, all creation bending low before him? If Christ’s first steps from the tomb fill us with the joy of justice upheld, what righteous relief will flood our hearts when all mouths are shut, and all boasting and pride and arrogance is stopped when Just Judge of all creation walks on the earth again? If Christ’s departure leaves us wondering and hoping and longing for the fullness of eternal adoption, what unspeakable satisfaction will overwhelm us when he comes to take us to the home he has long been preparing for his people?And if his last days on earth perplex us with the unfathomable depths of divine wisdom, what curiosities and mysteries await us when we lie face down before the Almighty Christ, look left and right and up and down, and see no end to his goodness, no end to his holiness, no end to his majesty? Come, Lord Jesus! Come claim the adoration and worship and thanksgiving you are due! And grant that the flame of faith would burn in our hearts ever brighter as we wait for that glorious day.
We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ and for his glory. Amen.
Sunday Sermon - 1 Corinthians Message 14
08/11/2019
1 Corinthians 6:1-8
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