Are We Disciples?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 18th of January, 2026.  This service is the third of our hybrid series - part traditional and part modern.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

In our responsive reading a few minutes ago, we listed many ways we Christians can show our love for each other.  We said that true fellowship is close communion with God and with one another.  That word “communion” means more than sharing the body and blood of Jesus a few times each year.  A communion is also an association, a close group of like-minded individuals having a common religious faith or shared interest.  While we are all unique persons, often with differing opinions and from different backgrounds, the one thing we have in common is Jesus, our belief in Jesus.

But being a Christian – a real Christian – requires more than just believing in Jesus, even more than affirming Him as the Son of God.  Demons know exactly who - and what - Jesus is, but they’re not Christians.  Being a Christian means being a disciple of Christ Jesus, and being a disciple means following Him, following the example of His life, and living it.

Not long after feeding the 4000, Jesus and His disciples traveled by boat to the region of Magdala.  Some Pharisees and Sadducees came there and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign, too, like He had done for the 4000 and so many others.  He refused, telling them they’d already received signs, including the sign of the prophet Jonah and his time in the belly of a fish and in Nineveh.  Then Jesus took the disciples and went to the Gentile city of Caesarea Philippi.  It was there that Jesus delivered a very important lesson to His followers.

Please listen as the Apostle Matthew shares this lesson with us, as recorded in the 16th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 13 through 27, and as read by Myrna Davis from the New American Standard Bible version of our Holy Bible.

13 Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ.

21 From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. 22 And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.”

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds.”

--Matthew 16:13-27 (NASB)

Before going further, I’d like to clarify that when Jesus speaks of what is bound on earth and heaven, that thing is forbidden on earth and in heaven.  Likewise, when something is loosed on earth and in heaven, it is permitted, allowed.  And when He says “if anyone wants to come after Me”, we can read that as “if anyone wants to follow Me”.  To be His disciple means to deny self, carry the burden of the cross, and follow the path He set.

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You have given each of us a measure of faith to believe that Jesus is Your Son and our Redeemer.  Then it’s up to us what to do with that faith.  We can accept Him as our Lord and do our best to carry out His commands, or we can sit back and let our faith grow lukewarm or cold.  Father, too often we forget that Jesus expects our faith to lead us to be His disciples and to make more disciples in turn by sharing the Gospel with others.  He wants us to truly follow Him and His example.  Please help us put aside the ways of the world and be better followers.  Help us return hatred with love, violence with prayer and forgiveness.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus as we walk through this life.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us.  Tell each of us what we need to hear.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Christian educator and clergyman Nathan Schaeffer once wrote:

At the close of life, the question will not be,

"How much have you gotten?" but "How much have you given?"

Not "How much have you won?" but "How much have you done?"

Not "How much have you saved?" but "How much have you sacrificed?"

It will be "How much have you loved and served," not "How much were you honored?"

The things the world values, God sees as insignificant.  Focus on the things of heaven, do the will of God.  This is how we follow Jesus, who always did the will of our Father God.

My dear friend the Rev. Dr. Allen Tyndall once told me that, "The mark of a disciple of Jesus is to be an influence on the culture in which we live."  Too many good Christians allow the culture to be an influence on them, rather than the other way around.  But it’s hard to let go of the world.  I mean, we’re born into it and live all our days in it.  We breath it, smell it, hear it, taste it, feel it.  It’s everywhere we go and always in our sight.

The trick is to live in the world but not of the world.  This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he told us not to be conformed to the world.  Jesus warned that the world will hate us if we follow Him, and no one really wants to be hated, so I think this is one reason some people choose to not fully follow Jesus, or at least not to let anyone other than their fellow believers know that they follow Him.

The thing is, we’re supposed to have a positive influence on the world.  And we do that by bringing more people to Christ.  But we want to sit still in the boat and not make any waves.  We want to quietly worship God and Jesus without ruffling any feathers.  We trust in the Lord, but not so much that we’re willing to go out on a limb for Him.  So are we really disciples?

If we do call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ Jesus, how will anyone know?  The Apostle James, half-brother of Jesus, says that our good works will give evidence of our faith, our belief, our discipleship.  I believe, though, that this is simply a follow-on to something Jesus once said.

Spreading the Gospel message and making more disciples isn’t the only thing Jesus told us to do.  Some might say it wasn’t even the most important command He left us with.  The Apostle John recorded this other command for us, and I think this fostered James’ discourse on faith and works.  Hear the words of Jesus as saved for us by John in verses 34 and 35 of the 13th chapter of his Gospel account…

34 “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”

--John 13:34-35 (NASB)

Some of us have trouble even loving other believers, let alone non-believers.  But if we honestly love one another, all others, we will try to help them out of trouble.  And there’s no greater trouble than eternal damnation, everlasting pain and punishment.

This is where James’ good works comes in.  To help the non-believers, we do as Jesus commanded and share the Good News with them.  They may accept it, they may not.  But at least we’ll have planted a seed.  Someone else may come along and till the ground and water that seed.  The seed may grow and flourish into a beautiful spirit, or it may wither and die.  At least we’ll have tried, and we’ll have done what Jesus commanded.  Then we can truly call ourselves disciples.

While looking for and capturing the music for this service, I did a quick Google AI search on discipleship.  Here’s a summery of the result:  “The mark of a disciple of Jesus is a transformed life characterized by love for God and others, obedience to His teachings, bearing spiritual fruit like love, joy, and peace, actively making new disciples, and a commitment to prayer, worship, and fellowship within the Christian community, all rooted in a surrendered, learning heart that follows Christ daily.”  As much as I hate to admit it, not being a big fan of AI, I believe this nails discipleship.

Let’s do a little self-examination and note how many of those traits we can see in ourselves.  And then let’s work on all the rest.  Then, if someone asks are we disciples, we can truthfully answer, “Yes”.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, by Your love and mercy, You gave us the faith to believe in and follow Your Son Jesus.  But sometimes we have trouble with the “follow” part.  We hesitate to share our faith in public, to talk to someone we don’t know and tell them about Jesus, to reach out the hand of fellowship and love to folks who may hate what we believe in.  Sometimes we even struggle to love our fellow believers.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  We thank You for the faith You’ve given us.  Please embolden us to put that faith into action, so we can truly call ourselves disciples.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so… 

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us how to live by how You lived.  You had a greater impact on the entire world than anyone else who has ever walked this sod, yet You only ask that we help change our little corner.  Please help us ignore any effect the culture may have on us, and help us instead to influence the culture.  Help us make a positive change in the world around us, in our own neighborhood and community.  Help us be more open in showing our faith, putting Satan behind us so that we don’t stumble.  Please forgive us when we struggle to love others, or even talk to them about You.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, sharing Your love as we go.  Help us be true disciples.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Persecution

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 11th of January, 2026.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

As I mentioned last week, today is when we celebrate the baptism of the adult Jesus in the River Jordan by His kinsman John.  Persecution began almost immediately, when Satan set his sights on Jesus there in the wilderness.  Of course, God kind of set this up since He had His Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness, there to be tempted by the devil.  But the persecution that our Lord had to endure started much, much earlier than this.  In fact, it began within days of His birth.

We’ve been listening as the Apostle Matthew recalled for us the birth of Jesus and the visit of the wise men from the east.  Now please pay attention as Matthew continues with his Christmas story into an event that is often overlooked or ignored, or forgotten, one that is not so pleasant to read and recall, as recorded in verses 13 through 23 of the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the Child and His mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the Child and Mary, His mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called My Son out of Egypt.”

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A cry was heard in Ramah —

weeping and great mourning.

Rachel weeps for her children,

refusing to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the Child and His mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the Child are dead.”

21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and His mother. 22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

--Matthew 2:13-23 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You so much for sending Your angel to warn Joseph of King Herod’s evil plan.  And thank You for giving Jesus and His earthly family safe passage to Egypt to escape the carnage that ensued.  Father, this was just the first of many persecutions that Your Son and His church would endure at the hands of the rulers of the people and those that serve Satan.  Jesus was able to withstand all persecution and temptations, but we are not always as strong.  Please give us the strength and the courage to stand against evil, to resist temptation, and to endure any persecution because of our faith in and love of Your Son Jesus.  Please forgive us, Father, when we falter and let doubts creep in, when the pain we experience becomes too great.  Help us be more like Your Son in our reaction to whatever comes our way.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand our message today.  This we humbly pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Back in 1989, the magazine Today in the Word recalled that, “During China's Boxer Rebellion of 1900, insurgents captured a mission station, blocked all the gates but one, and in front of that one gate placed a cross flat on the ground.  Then the word was passed to those inside that any who trampled the cross underfoot would be permitted their freedom and life, but that any refusing would be shot.  Terribly frightened, the first seven students trampled the cross under their feet and were allowed to go free.  But the eighth student, a young girl, refused to commit the sacrilegious act.  Kneeling beside the cross in prayer for strength, she arose and moved carefully around the cross, and went out to face the firing squad.  Strengthened by her example, every one of the remaining ninety-two students followed her to the firing squad.”

How strong is our faith?  This is a tough question that we need to ask ourselves, maybe ask each and every day.  We may not really know the answer until we’re faced with a similar lose-lose situation.  But would we have the courage, the strength, the willingness to walk to our death just for doing what is right, just because of our faith and belief in Jesus?  Would we respond like that girl and the 92 that followed her, or like one of the first seven, more concerned with this life than the next?  It’s a tough question.

Now, I’m sure very few, if any, of us will ever have to choose between Jesus and death.  Most of us have never faced any greater persecution than funny looks or disparaging comments if we show any sign of our faith.  A lot of Christians are hesitant to even pray over their meal in public, worried about what other people may think or say, concerned about upsetting someone, afraid of any consequences that may arise from it.  I think of that as self-inflicted persecution, or self-intimidation.  I am very encouraged to see more and more people giving thanks for their meal each time we eat out.  It’s kind of like the girl, doing what is right in the sight of God and not being worried about the consequences.

In my invocation, I quoted a verse from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, when He said that we are the light of the world, like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.  Just a few moments earlier in that sermon, in what we call the Beatitudes, Matthew recorded Jesus blessing us in verses 9 through 12 of the 5th chapter of the Apostle’s Gospel account…

9 “God blesses those who work for peace,

for they will be called the children of God.

10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”

--Matthew 5:9-12 (NLT)

OK, show of hands…  How many of us would feel happy and glad to be persecuted, to be mocked and have all kinds of nasty, untruthful things said about us?  When Jesus tells us to be happy and glad, He’s trying to remind us that the faithful have been mistreated all along.  He’s saying that when we put our faith and belief ahead of our earthly, bodily concerns, when we do what is right even under threat of persecution, we will be greatly rewarded in heaven.

Now you may not have noticed, but Jesus did not use the word “if” in that passage.  It’s not that we should be happy if we are persecuted because we follow Him, it’s that we should be happy when we are persecuted because of our faith.  It’s going to happen, in one form or another, to one degree or another.  Jesus knew this.  That’s why He also said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  Persecution is certainly a trial, and it can clearly bring sorrow to the persecuted.  And ultimately, the persecutor will also be sorry for their actions and words.  But we believers need to remember that Jesus has already conquered the world.  He did it on the cross.  He did it for you and for me.

Family, the Christian church has been persecuted since its founding, with a young Pharisee named Saul vigorously rounding up believers for trial.  The church is still being persecuted, and the persecution is growing, spreading, reaching even here into these United States, where many came for religious freedom.  Jesus promised that in this life we would suffer many trials and tribulations, and that includes persecution.  Yet we must not give up.  We must not hold back the Gospel to those who would demand we be quiet.  We must not surrender to those who would destroy the church.

Trust in the Lord, and lean on Him for strength.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who has overcome the world.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for sending Your Son to redeem us of our sin and to offer us salvation through our faith and belief in Him as the Christ and our Lord.  He came and overcame the world so that we might have eternal life.  But we know that for now, Satan has the run of the earth.  He is doing all he can to destroy our Lord’s church, through deceit, through temptations, through persecution.  His agents are everywhere, making this life difficult for believers, hoping to break our faith.  Father, please forgive us those times we let our faith slip and weaken.  Please strengthen us and keep reminding us of what You have in store for us once this life is finished and the next begins.  And please help us do a better job of sharing our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and Jesus’ sacrifice.  

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your word, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, shortly after Your birth, Herod ordered the slaughter of innocent boys in an attempt to kill You and end the supposed threat of a new King of the Jews.  This was the first time You and Your earthly family faced persecution.  And it didn’t end there.  Throughout Your mortal life, the powers that be tried to have You silenced, tried to destroy You and then Your church.  Thank You, Jesus for showing us how to face persecution and trials.  Thank You for reminding us of what awaits us in heaven if we just keep hold of our faith, no matter what befalls us.  Please strengthen us and encourage us to keep pressing forward with our mission of teaching others about You.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

We Have Come to Worship Him

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 4th of January, 2026, Epiphany Sunday.  Today's service included the installation of church officers and the observance of Holy Communion.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Since we have so much going on this morning, I’m going to keep the message short, at least by my standards.  But I do want to take a moment to acknowledge that today is the Sunday before Epiphany, when the Messiah was revealed to the Gentiles by the visit of the three kings, which is observed on January the 6th.  Jesus’ baptism is observed on the first Sunday after Epiphany, which will be next Sunday, the 11th.  And that’s just to refresh your church calendar knowledge.

Today I’d like to join those wise men from a foreign land as they travel to welcome the birth of a King.  They followed the light from a special star, a light that came to rest over the place where the Baby Jesus lay.

I promised I’d keep this brief, so I will be mostly letting the Apostle Matthew speak, with a few very pointed remarks from Jesus thrown in for good measure.  So please listen and follow along as Matthew tells this wonderful story he recorded in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account in verses 1 through 12, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

--Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, it was no coincidence that these three wise men were guided to the stable and the manger where the Baby Jesus lay sleeping.  This was how You chose to make the coming of Your Messiah known to the Gentile world.  Jesus’ entrance into the world was quite underwhelming.  Although a great multitude of Your angelic host sang and proclaimed our Lord’s birth, they appeared to only a few lowly shepherds who were in the fields with their sheep.  And those shepherds were the only people other than Mary and Joseph who knew of the Christ’s birth until the Magi appeared. Sometimes we forget just how humble our Lord’s birth truly was.  Thank You, Father, for using this to show us that we too should be humble in our life and dealings.  Please forgive us, Father, when we let pride get the better of us.  Help us be more like Your Son in our interactions with others.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand our message today.  This we humbly pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The three wise men were visiting the little baby Jesus.  As Melchior leans over to get a closer look at the infant he bumps his head on the roof of the manger and shouts, "Jesus Christ!".  Mary looks up and says, "What a nice name.  I was going to call him Irving."

“Irving Christ” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it.  Of course, the Apostle Luke, in his Gospel account, assures us that the angel Gabriel told Mary to name her baby Jesus, not Irving.  And while that does make for a cute little story, it still points out that three wise men came to visit the little Christ Child.

Now this would likely have been a rather arduous journey for them.  We’re not exactly sure where these men called home, but it was somewhere to the east and in Gentile lands.  And we believe that it took them 12 days to reach their destination – the stable where Jesus was born.  And that’s why we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas.

So why did they go to all this trouble?  Why did they come all this way?  To worship the King of the Jews.  They went through all this just so they could worship Jesus.

Jumping ahead about 30 years, Jesus was just baptized in the River Jordan by His kinsman John.  God’s Holy Spirit then led Him into the wilderness, there to fast and pray for 40 days and 40 nights.  Satan came and tried to tempt Jesus.

Matthew tells us of three of these temptations, in increasing order of the reward offered if accepted.  The third and final temptation went like this, as recorded in chapter 4 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 8 through 11…

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

--Matthew 4:8-11 (NKJV)

Satan offered Jesus all the world just to worship him.  I guess maybe the devil forgot that Jesus created the world and everything in it.  But what is really important is Jesus’ reply.  “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”  We are to worship God and only God, serving only Him.  Not Satan, not other humans, not things – just God.

Unfortunately for mankind, there will come another day when Satan will pull the same kind of stunt.  This time, he’ll demand we worship him by worshiping his servant, the Antichrist.  The temptation will be simply to keep our life, our mortal life.

Many will give in to that threat and bow down to the Antichrist, accepting his sign on their foreheads and hands.  For them, all hope will be lost.  For today, though, we all still have a chance.  But it depends on how well we follow our bible’s instructions, and especially on how well we listen to and obey Jesus, following His example.

Who or what do we worship?  How do we worship?  We must worship the Lord our God.  We must worship the Creator, not anything or anyone He created.  We must worship Him out of our love for Him, loving Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.  Worship God and none other.  Serve God and Him alone.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came humbly to teach us how to live.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for inspiring the men who followed Your Son to leave us records of His life.  By studying them, we can learn how we should live so that we can be more like Him, and more righteous in Your sight.  In this, You show Your love for us, and we thank You, Father.  We admit, though, that we don’t spend as much time reading the Gospel accounts and the letters of the disciples as we should.  We get so caught up in the busyness of life that we simply miss out on some of the lessons our Bible holds for us.  And too often we lose sight of what’s really important.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we fail to worship You as we should.  Please help us set aside anything that we might tend to worship or think more highly of than the things of heaven.  And please help us do a better job of sharing our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your word, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, at Your birth, You were worshiped by visitors, first by shepherds in the fields and then by wise men from afar.  They recognized that You were God’s Messiah.  And then You told us that all creation must worship God the Creator, and not any created thing, and certainly not Satan.  Thank You, Jesus for showing us how to be humble, and for teaching us what is truly important to God.  Please help us be more like You, more humble, more thankful.  Help be more obedient servants.  And help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.