Call to Worship, November 16, 2014
We worship our God who blessed us with the heavenly blessing of union with Christ. We are actually in Christ; by God’s will through redemption, with an inheritance by adoption, joining in the summation of all things in Christ and our hope is in Him to the praise of His glory. Our union in Christ is real, therefore it is not mystical, although it may be mysterious to some degree. The reality of our union with Christ comes forth in the aforementioned benefits established by Paul in Ephesians Ch. 1. The testimonies and commands of God tell us of our sinfulness and our need for a Savior and Lord. His commandments save us (Psalm 71:3) by His promises fulfilled through His Son, applied by the Spirit. The person and work of Jesus exposes the reality of our union with Him. He fulfilled God’s commands and redeemed us by the shedding of His blood. Our works will not save us. We cannot fulfill and live the precepts of God perfectly. Yet, the Lord Jesus can and He did live out the commandments on our behalf. Thankfully, we possess union in Christ to fulfill our heavenward calling in Christ Jesus. Our union in Him allows us to have citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
Gadsby Hymnal # 405 L.M. J. Kent
Exulting in Eternal Union with Jesus. John 17. 21-23
1 ’Twixt Jesus and the chosen race,
Subsists a bond of sovereign grace,
That hell, with its infernal train,
Shall ne’er dissolve nor rend in twain!
2 This sacred bond shall never break,
Though earth should to her centre shake;
Rest, doubting saint, assured of this,
For God has pledged his holiness.