It might seem a little strange, at first blush, to see a the church’s “Call to Confession” as the theme of a blog post. I would never be able to count the times I have probably recited this confession in church, word-for-word.. and how many times I have glazed over and given little, if any, thought to what i’m praying. I guarantee you that I have often read this while not actually believing that my worship of Him was pitiful, or that my witness for Christ was done with a hesitant heart, or that I am not a good steward of the skills and gifts He has blessed me with. I don’t often acknowledge my slowness to read the Bible and study His Word, and consequently, my failure to follow His will for my life – His will being one which takes me outside myself and makes me dead to sin and alive in Christ. The issue is not that I’m reluctant to bear His cross.. I simply don’t bear His cross. I am not even remotely a good example or witness for God.

But thank God that His love is steadfast! And that He forgives us for all of our wrong-doings and lack of right-doings, and that His Son died and took the punishment we deserve. It was eye-opening for me. I pray that God would give us a new and right state of mind, heart, and soul – one that is increasingly more Christ-like and God-fearing.

Call to Confession

God, our Father,
you have set forth the way of life for us in your beloved Son.
We confess with shame our slowness to learn of him,
our failure to follow him, our reluctance to bear his cross.

Forgive, according to your steadfast love,
the poverty of worship,
our neglect of fellowship and the means of grace,
our hesitating witness for Christ,
our imperfect stewardship of your gifts.

Have mercy on us, O God;
cleanse us from our sins,
and put a new and right spirit within us;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Pastor Joe Novenson gave the sermon on Sunday morning at Lookout Pres. Church. It was especially good, and although I doubt i’ll be able to do it justice here, I wanted to share  his points. His sermon was entitled:

“Jesus encounters those who oppose him and who are opposed because of Him.”

I. The opposition of those who do not follow Jesus
Refusal to consider truth fairly (v.55)
- All the chief priests and elders and scribes met during the night; they were looking for evidence against Jesus; they had already made up their mind that He was guilty (when does a judicial system ever make the decision before finding encriminating evidence? This was absurd!)
Refuting the evidence unjustly (vv.56-59)
- They couldn’t find evidence against Him, so they bore false witness and lied about things that He had done; but as v. 56 says, “their testimony did not agree.”
Removal of his presence agressively (vv. 64-65)
- They condemned Jesus as deserving of death; the high priest tore his garments; they spit on him and hit him – they were aggressively opposed to his presence.

Peter's Denial of Christ

II. The opposition of those who do follow Jesus
Dodging when following is dangerous (vv. 66-68)
- The first “denial,” Peter dodged the accusation of the servant girl in the courtyard. “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” Peter was already incredibly brave for having followed Jesus to the courtyard of the high priests. He had only just previously cut off one of the guard’s ears, and now Peter is standing in their midst. He is in great danger!

Denying when danger escalates (vv. 69-72a)
- The second time, Peter outright denies knowing Jesus. He is in greater danger now as the people around are beginning to take notice. The third time, Peter curses himself and swears “I do not know this man of whom you speak.”
- We have a certain limit to how far we will go for Jesus. When the real danger and sacrifice kicks in, we oppose Him and forsake Him as if we never knew Him.
Breaking and crying when our failures become convicting (v. 72b)
- Peter broke down and wept – suggests that he may have literally fallen to the ground because his failure to and denial of Christ was so evident.

III. The character of the Savior facing opposition
His silence identifies the truth that’s essential (vv. 60-61a)
- “But he remained silent and made no answer.” When accused and condemned with the false testimonies of the high priests, Jesus remained silent.
His answer identifies the person that’s essential (vv. 61-63)
- We are essential to make salvation complete. God’s strength is greatest in our weakness. “Grace quake” – “may all our expectations and plans be thwarted so that we can experience utter reliance and dependence on Christ.. so that we can dance in His presence as a little child.”
His suffering identifies the provision that’s essential (v. 64)
- The high priests and elders “condemned Jesus as deserving of death.” His suffering and death was essential in order for our salvation to be complete.

Main Point: Anyone is capable of aggressively opposing Jesus, but Christ’s character unmasks the folly of any opposition.

I just started going to this Sunday school at LMPC before the 11:00 church service. A couple of my friends invited me to come with them, and I think I’m going to start going to it every Sunday. I can’t remember what it was called, but it’s got a really wide variety of age groups in it. There are a lot of college students, as well as a lot of middle aged and older couples as well. We’re going through I Thessalonians right now… great book! Dr. MacDougal is teaching, and I’m excited to learn and see where the class goes.