Christian devotion: Crown Prince - Hebrews 5:5

Hebrews 5:5    So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 

The main purpose of a priest is to make prayers before God on behalf of the people. Mostly all religions appoint holy men and women to intercede between their deity and the community at large. Festivals and feasts, holy days and religious celebrations from all over the world have this in common: at the center of the event, prayers are made to God, as well as petitions, confessions, and thanksgivings.

As Presbyterians, we practice the priesthood of all believers which is why we make our prayers of intercession and confession together in church. The only High Priest that we recognize is Jesus Himself and so we offer our prayers in Christ’s Name. Some people say that we miss out the ‘middlemen,’ but that’s not really what we do. Our prayers are always sacred and so we make them sincerely to Jesus, in the confidence and knowledge that He is always in the presence of God, His Father.

When Jesus left Heaven to come to Earth, He did not feel entitled to His appointment as the Chosen One. He still had to be given that High Office directly from God. This is why we read several times in the Gospels about God declaring and proclaiming that Christ is His Son. It is not just a public statement made in the presence of the disciples and other witnesses, it is a genuine calling from God to Jesus. It is the act of a High King conferring the title of Crown Prince on his son; it is the divine deed of the Creator bestowing the highest honor upon His child.

Today, we will all say prayers. We will make confessions about our mistakes, as well as intercessions about our circumstances. Whatever the case, and whenever we pray, we all need to remember this: our prayers are made to Christ and we send them to Him because He can then take them on our behalf and bring them before God. This is what our High Priest does; this is Christ’s duty as the Crown Prince of all Creation.

Questions for personal reflection

What am I praying for today? Am I truly giving my prayers to Christ?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we worship You as our High Priest and Heavenly King. We praise You as the Crown Prince of all Creation and the Lord of all our lives. Thank You for receiving our prayers, as well as for interceding each day on our behalf. May we serve, glorify, and honor You forever. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask a question or make a comment about today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Holy Week drawings. It’s called “Tormented Sky,’ which depicts Christ in silhouette carrying His Cross to Calvary. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/13367529973_4ea429584b_b.jpg

4 Minute devotions: Questions

1 Peter 5:1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:

I’m at a Presbyterian Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina which I thought was going to be quite beneficial. Instead I’m confused and bewildered because of the stories that some pastors and elders are telling. Some pastors have been sent letters from their presbyteries to read to their sessions informing them that any talk of schism or separation will be severely dealt with. Others are worrying about the future of their congregations and, because they are small, they cannot voice protests about what the General Assembly decided at San Jose this year, for fear of being threatened with censure and closure by their Presbytery.

I don’t know whether to be angry or sad. We have both religious freedom and freedom of speech in this country, so voices of dissent should be allowed. I might not agree with what some of these churches have to say, but I will defend their right to voice their views. Any Presbytery that is forcing its congregations to be silenced is reacting badly to the current crisis in the church. We need to speak more about the issues, not muzzle people. We need more time for dialogue, not censorship.

What worries me about the whole issue is this: our church at Erin is growing and we’re getting ready to expand our staff and perhaps extensively renovate and expand our building. If we ever find ourselves out of step with Presbytery and seek to go our own way, will we have to buy back the building that we have just renovated?

My head is spinning and whatever inspiration I came for has just flown out of the window. If the PCUSA is heading for a schism and the authorities clamp down on free speech, then what’s the point of it all? We are Presbyterians by choice which means that all our elders are equal throughout the church. We don’t have a hierarchy; we’re supposed to be connectional and treated with equity.

My hope and prayer is for real leadership to arise in our denomination, where room can be made for all our churches and people. Our new moderator, Bruce Reyes-Chow, is trying hard to be a bridge between all the groups. I just hope that the ecclesiastical hawks and church lawyers don’t get in the way. And personally, I want to see the Presbyterian Church resurrected and transformed, not just preserved and reformed.

Perhaps things will get better tomorrow. I was just taken by surprise by the amount of trepidation and anxiety other pastors and elders have at this conference.

Prayer: Father God, please bless the PCUSA with discernment and discipleship, charity and unity, fellowship and faith. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen

Non-Believers Should Not Receive a Christian funeral, says Church of Scotland Minister

A LEADING Kirk minister has said conducting funerals for non-believers is a time-wasting burden on the church and that non-religious services should be provided by the state.

Rev Johnston McKay, BBC Scotland's former editor of religious broadcasting, said ministers were conducting more than 70 funerals a year and at many of them there was "no interest whatsoever" in the Christian faith.

McKay said one funeral he conducted was marred by constant noise from the congregation, one of whom shouted a stream of swear words before rushing behind the curtain with the coffin.The minister, writing in the Church of Scotland magazine Life and Work, said state-run funerals would be welcomed by many mourners, who feel their presence in church is "at best inappropriate and at worst hypocritical".

McKay, a minister for 40 years and clerk to the Presbytery of Ardrossan, stressed he would not refuse to conduct a funeral service for a non-believer, but his comments drew criticism from fellow clerics who pointed out it was "not for human beings to decide who is worthy of God's grace".

As the recognized national church, the Church of Scotland routinely conducts parish funerals for all, regardless of their religious beliefs.

Read the rest of the story here

Erin Church devotions: Nov 1 - Every Christian is a Saint Today

Acts 26:17, 18 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Today is All Saints’ Day in the Christian Calendar. We don’t usually celebrate it as Presbyterians, but Roman Catholics are required to go to mass today, for this is what’s called a Feast of Obligation. To them, it’s one of the holiest days in the year. There are more than 365 saints in the Roman Catholic Church, so a special day was set aside to commemorate and celebrate all the saints who ever lived on earth. It’s a day to give thanks to God for the past witnesses of church leaders and holy people. It’s also a day to make special prayers to your favorite saint from the past, in the hope that he or she will intercede on your behalf.

But Presbyterians don’t celebrate this day because we don’t believe in the veneration of saints. Instead, we believe in the sanctifying (making of saints) of the people of God through the conversion of our souls and the forgiveness of our sins. That's the process that the apostle Paul is expressing here. He’s talking about the saintliness of ordinary people through the extraordinary holiness of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, for Presbyterians to celebrate All Saints Day, we should remember the people who have made a positive impact in our lives with regard to the faith that we carry in our hearts and minds. We should give thanks for the Sunday school teachers and pulpit preachers who have helped us to become Christians. We should honor those who work hard for our local congregations in our ministry and mission programs. We should remember those who work in foreign lands bringing the Gospel to millions of people throughout the earth. And we should also remember our own service to the Lord in our congregations and communities.

So let this day be sanctified in all of our hearts. Let it be an occasion to be grateful for the saints in each of our lives who bring us closer to the Lord. And let’s also look for positive opportunities to be Christ’s sanctified servants to all whom we meet and encounter today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for this special day and for all the saints who are working for Your Kingdom here on earth. Thank You for their focus and faith, their devotion and dedication, their example and encouragement. Bless and sanctify all of us, so that we may faithfully and effectively carry on Your ministry and mission to our community and world. In your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin Church Devotional - Jesus is Lord - or how being PC ain't being PCUSA

Audio version here

Psalm 69:13 But I pray to You, O LORD, in the time of Your favor; in Your great love, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation. (NIV)

There’s a debate taking place across the Presbyterian Church as to whether or not it is still appropriate to call Jesus “Lord.” The argument goes like this: we are no longer part of a medieval feudal system or a society that depends upon slavery. Terms like “Lord”, “Master” and “King” denigrate people around the world by making them feel subservient and worthless. Instead of being made to feel inferior, we need to know that we are special, chosen, and favored by God, therefore terms like Creator, Friend, and Encourager should be used when we refer to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, we want God to be shaped and molded, created and contained by our descriptions; we want to be treated as equals and not as servants.

At the recent meeting of Mission Presbytery in Texas, a commissioner complained that the use of the word “Lord” should be outlawed across the church because it reeks of Western imperialism. “After all,” the commissioner concluded, “Jesus never used the term to describe Himself.”

This is where Biblical ignorance rears its ugly head: the speaker obviously hadn’t read the following verse:
"You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am." John 13:13

Fortunately, someone was there to remind everyone of that verse. An Hispanic pastor also stood up to say that for some Hispanic communities in South America, the Lordship of Christ is a life or death issue, especially in areas where drug barons or military juntas wickedly rule the community. Christians, who firmly believe in the Lordship of Christ, do everything in their power to confront evil in their community, even if it costs them their lives. And the same could be said for Christians in China, Myanmar, the Middle East, and Africa.

We Western Christians have become so obsessed with political correctness that we have forgotten what it means to pledge our allegiance to Christ. We are creatures of God, called to be servants of the Kingdom and slaves to the Gospel. We are all unworthy, and none of us can claim equality to Christ or God. If the Presbyterian Church keeps following this blind alley, then we’ll end up falling into the pits of despair and desperation. We’ll do anything to woo the world, instead of being wedded to Christ. We’ll sell our souls to the loudest lobbyists, instead of giving our lives to our Lord.

I, for one, am not willing to surrender anymore, or to follow the maddening crowd. Jesus is my Lord. I am only His servant.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach us why we must become subservient to Your ways and words. Release us from our arrogance and sinful pride. Help us to accept our role as servants in Your Kingdom. Give us the courage to stand up against those who would tear You down. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.