Happy Servants

The Happy Servant, the blessed servant is the one whom the Lord finds doing his job when he shows up. Isn’t that always the case? When you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, you are happy, your parents are happy, your Lord is happy.

         We are just such happy servants. We are seated at this Table and remembering the Lord’s death until He comes. If He walked in on us right now, what would we do? How would we feel? We would be most glad because He would be most glad.

Here it is, almost 2000 years since His death, and we gather each Lord’s Day to remember Him. But we don’t just remember His death. We receive the life of His body and blood. We are filled with His Holy Spirit so that we can live in Him and He in us. We work out the new life that He has worked into us.

         If the Lord walks in us, what would we do? Well, first of all, I would sit down with you. The Lord Jesus would take over the service and He would serve us bread and wine. This would make us His happy servants. 

Food Prep

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You for sending Him to rule the world. He is raised from the dead. He is now seated at Your right hand and we are seated there with Him, in Your presence. Grant us eyes to see this truth with faith as we are seated at Your Table to partake fully of Your Son, through Your Spirit. We partake of this Easter Feast and trust by faith that You make us strong to serve You as we do so, through Jesus. Amen.

Thanks

Our Lord, out of the abundance of Your grace and mercy, You have provided for our every need. You have provided the food on our tables, the roofs over our heads and the clothes on our backs. We give You thanks and ask that You would continue to provide for us this day and in all days to come, and that we would always respond to You with grateful hearts. Amen.   

Surprised by the Lord

The Lord constantly surprises us by His kindness. He is generous, merciful, quick to forgive and ever gracious. We thank Him for this.

         But there is another way, not so happy, to be surprised by the Lord. A wicked servant presumes upon the Lord. Because Jesus is good and gracious, a wicked heart drifts away from Him, thinking that He will not notice the disloyalty. A little drunkenness here, a little infidelity there, dabbling with the dark arts over here, friendliness with the goth crowd over there and pretty soon, one is lost in a wilderness of high rebellion.

-->

         When Jesus walks in on a such a party, what will the Lord do? Is His grace still full or already fully spent on you? Will you be past finding that place of repentance, though you seek for it with tears? The Lord is gracious but the Bible clearly teaches that at some point He lets the rebellious heart have its way and His coming then is not welcome at all. We are often surprised by His grace. Do not be surprised by His wrath.

Confession

Our Father in Heaven, we confess that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. We have sinned against You in many ways. We drift into sin and justify ourselves. Forgive us, O Lord. Cause us to turn back. Clothe us in Your Son Jesus that we may stand before You, in His name, without fear of condemnation.  Amen.