Today is Communion Sunday. I hope to take a few lessons from the Communion service and connect them to the first two runways of God’s Flight Plan for Our Lives: Worship and Grow. The premise of this lesson is that if we will Worship Jesus in his sacrifice, it will help Grow us into a more loving, more Christ-like maturity. Worship and Grow are connected runways that will launch us individually and collectively into the wide blue yonder of God’s love.
As wonderful as miracles are, Jesus never told us to create memorials to his miracles. As profound as his teachings are, Jesus never told us to create a memorial to the Sermon on the Mount or any of his parables. But he did tell us to keep the Communion service as a memorial to his death: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). There are many details to remember and many insights to be gained by meditating on the death of Jesus. By worshiping Jesus in his sacrifice, we too will Grow as others did. Mary of Bethany had lived a sinful life but was freed of her shame and given a legacy of honor for anointing Jesus for his burial (Mark 14:6-9). Joseph of Arimathea, one of Jesus’ wealthy followers, grew in godly boldness and asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. He put Jesus’ body into his own tomb cut into solid rock and covered it with a large stone. In so doing, Joseph fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would die like a criminal but be buried with the rich (Mark 15:43 and Isaiah 53:9). Simon of Cyrene and his sons Rufus and Alexander helped Jesus carry his cross (Mark 15:21). Later, in Romans 16:13, we learn that Rufus became a believer and Paul honored Rufus’ mother as his own mother. All three of these, Mary of Bethany, Joseph of Arimathea, and Simon’s family, were given honor for remembering, loving and worshiping Jesus in his time of death. Friends, Worshiping Jesus, by remembering his death, will free us from shame and Grow us into bold followers of Jesus. Worship will launch us, our families and our church into significance, honor and eternal life.
Appreciation for an athlete, musician, dancer, carpenter, or other tradesmen’s skills and dedication is similar to worship. Thanksgiving to the Creator of life is worship. We recognize God’s love, intelligence, creativity, faithfulness and wisdom, and we express thanksgiving to him. That is worship. Worshiping and admiring Jesus for his strength, love, self-control, etc., will transform us into his glorious likeness.
Friends, as we engage in true Worship we Grow in true greatness and ever-increasing glory. A World War II Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and poet, John Gillespie Magee Jr., wrote a poem titled, High Flight. It is about the joy he found in flying. The poem expresses the joy we can experience as we soar in Worship.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things….
He goes on to say he has wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence, chased the shouting wind and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air….
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
where never lark or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Worship is like flying free in God’s sunlit skies, and it is also like the fertile soil in which our own greatness can Grow. Ongoing worship is the rain that will water our fields, making us fruitful disciples. Worshiping our heavenly father will Grow us into better fathers. Worshiping the Creator will make us more creative. Worshiping his genius, will increase our own intelligence. God’s generosity will Grow us into giving, contributing members of the church and of society. Worshiping Jesus, the Son of God, will help us be better children of God, and better followers of Jesus.
Today, please allow me to challenge you to a new level of worship. Let the music move you, but don’t wait for the music to move you, Worship whether you feel like it or not. Don’t wait for circumstances to be just right before you give God thanks. Give him thanks in all things. Don’t wait until you feel your finances are in perfect order before you support the work of the Kingdom, begin to give as an act of worship. Rather than allowing failures, weaknesses, broken relationships and broken life, to stop you from worshiping God, please let me encourage you to lift your eyes to a higher plane of living, to the Abundant Life God has for you. And friends, as each of us does this, we’ll get this air ship off the ground and rising into the endless blue skies of New Life, Abundant Life and Eternal Life. God has a bright future for you!
I would love to hear from any of you about today’s sermon.
Please contact me at pastordanmatney@hotmail.com or call me at 970-390-0731.
Pastor Dan Matney
