Prepare for Worship

Hey Church!

We began walking through the Gospel of Mark on the Sunday after Easter, back at the end of April, in a two-part sermon series titled, first, “The Identity of Jesus” and, second, “The Mission of Jesus.” In short, Mark has taught us that Jesus is God (that’s His identity) who left the glory of heaven to suffer the depths of earth, so that those of us trapped in the depths of the earth might, through faith in Him, gain the glory of heaven (that’s His mission). This Sunday we come full circle, back to that Easter celebration of His resurrection from the dead, and back to the main point: Jesus, as God, has invited us to share in His glory through saving faith in Him. 

But resurrection is more than the most pivotal moment in history, when the proverbial check that paid our eternal debt cleared the bank; resurrection is, for us as believers, also a new paradigm for our earthly lives. Our days are no longer characterized by the flesh’s slow decay unto death, but by the Spirit’s life within us, leading us from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:16-19; Prov. 4:18). That means that the many forms of death we suffer–though they are truly painful!–are like the pains of childbirth, which will be virtually forgotten in light of the joy that will be revealed to us after its work is complete (John 16:21). 

We plan to close this Sunday’s service with a testimony of God’s resurrection power at work in the lives of a married couple in our church, followed by a song called “Before and After.” The song, like the testimony you will hear, comes on the other side of a journey through death to new life. The specifics of each story may be different, but they all share Jesus’ resurrection power in common. 

The best thing you can do to prepare your heart and mind for worship this Sunday may be to spend the whole weekend observing death and resurrection in your story. If you had to look back and name the five most bitter winters of your life, what would they be? With those events in mind, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a glimpse of what He may have been up to, ultimately for your good and His glory. What beautiful things exist in your life today that, perhaps, would not exist had you not first been reduced to ashes?