In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, contained in the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus prays first for himself, then for his disciples, and then for “those who will believe” in him. Yes, prior to Judas’ betrayal, prior to Peter’s denial, prior to his mock trial by the leaders of Israel, prior to his suffering and crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, Jesus prays for you and me. What does Jesus pray for you and me? He prays, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (21). He prays for a unity of the church that testifies to the unity of the Trinity.
Tag Archives: spirit and truth
The Blessing of Corporate Worship
While we are still assessing the worldwide issues that came out of the pandemic, for Christians, surely, we can agree that one of the key lessons learned was the value of corporate worship on the Lord’s Day. Perhaps we got a taste of what our brothers and sisters face in countries where they are not free to assemble in worship or even persecuted for it. How easy it is to take in-person, assembled worship for granted. You may remember, like me, the anticipation and excitement of returning to corporate worship with grateful hearts to praise the Lord together. Now, I want you to think back to that moment, and capture that in your memory, if you can. Because, that experience captures the essence of this psalm. Or, borrowing from this psalm, we could say that we were blessed to bless the Lord.
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 