Call to Worship
Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth (Ps 124:8).
O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us.
Silent meditation on the Lord’s kindness
Confession
My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world (1 John 2:1–2).
O eternal God, and most merciful Father, we confess and acknowledge here before your Divine Majesty, that we are miserable sinners, conceived and born in sin and iniquity, so that there is no goodness in us. For the flesh constantly rebels against the spirit, so that we continually transgress your holy precepts and commandments, and so purchase death and damnation to ourselves through your just judgment.
Nevertheless, O heavenly Father, since you have promised to offer pardon to all that repent, and seek it in the name of your beloved Son, Christ Jesus, and that by your grace we are displeased with ourselves for the sins we have committed against you, and truly repent of the same, we most humbly ask you, for Jesus Christ’s sake, to show your mercy to us, to forgive us all our sins, and to increase your Holy Spirit in us, so that we, acknowledging from the bottom of our hearts our own unrighteousness, may from now on not only mortify our sinful lusts and affections, but also bring forth such fruits, as may please you; not for any worthiness in them, but for the merits of your dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our only Savior, whom you have already given as an oblation and sacrifice for our sins, and for whose sake we are certainly persuaded, that you will deny us nothing, that we shall ask in his name, according to your will.
For your Spirit assures our consciences, that you are our merciful Father, and so you love us and your children through him; that nothing can remove your heavenly grace and favor from us. To you, therefore, O Father, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, world without end. So be it.
~Middleburg Liturgy (1586)
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God….But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath (Rom 5:1–2, 8–9).
Thanksgiving
I waited patiently for the Lord,
and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.
He brought me up from a desolate pit,
out of the muddy clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and they will trust in the Lord (Ps 40:1–3).
Scripture Reading
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.
In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.
In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory (Eph 1:3–14).
Reflection
Our status before God is not contingent on our virtue. Christianity declares that our status is found in our association with Christ. In Christ, we are blessed and holy. We have not merited righteousness. Christ has won it for us. And in Christ, that righteousness is lavishly poured out on us. In Christ, all things, visible and invisible, will be brought together, which is a way of saying, all things will be governed by him and all things will be purified in him.Our identity, then, is in Christ. And our identity has its end in God’s glory, as all things do. The reality of our identity in Christ is evidenced by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This work is God’s guarantee that redemption has been applied to us. In Christ, we are forever secure.
1. How many times does the phrase “in Christ” or “in him” occur in the passage?
2. In what ways do we try to earn favor with God? How does being in Christ challenge our self-righteous attempts?
3. If our identity is in Christ and subsequently sealed by the Spirit, what can take that away? (see Romans 8:33–39).
4. How secure are we in Christ’s work? (see Romans 8:28–30).
5. Ponder the truths in this Heidelberg Catechism question.
Q. Why are you called a Christian?
A. Because I am a member of Christ by faith and thus share in his anointing, so that I may as prophet confess his name, as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him, and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and hereafter reign with him eternally over all creatures.
~Heidelberg Catechism Q. 32
Slowly pray the Lord’s Prayer, pausing with each line.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
*For a helpful guide to praying the Lord’s Prayer, download the resource here.