Two weeks ago we began our study of John 17 where Jesus prays for himself and his people. As we learned initially, Jesus prays as our covenant head (paterfamilias) who takes responsibility for us and for our salvation. Even as he prays for his glorification, he prays for ours because we travel with him, permanently united to him by grace. But as he continues, his prayer shifts more directly to his family. Jesus asks the Father to glorify him, so that in turn, he may glorify the Father. But how will he glorify the Father? His prayer reveals that God is glorified through his family.

In essence, Jesus was sent to call God’s family out of the world and present them to the Father as reconciled children. So, he prays for his immediate family, the disciples, and then his extended family, all who will believe. He prays that his family will be preserved against the evil one because they will remain in the world in which Satan operates. He prays for our holiness in life and our participation in his mission of extending the rights of family to others. He prays for our unity together as a testimony to the nature of God but also for the completion Christ’s mission. All of this, he prays, so that the day will come when the entire family is presented to the Father in her glorified state.

Jesus’ prayer reveals God’s eternal plan to glorify the Son by making him the “firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:30). It also reveals God’s eternal plan to redeem his people from the world. Join me Sunday as we worship our covenant head and rejoice in his gracious care.

God is naming us as his own in Christ Jesus and holding us up to the world around us as “a people whom the Lord has blessed” - a planting of the Lord - oaks of righteous so that those who see us might be attracted to God’s saving grace and the promise of abundant life. Just as the people in Isaiah’s time responded with praise and thanksgiving, we too are called to praise the Lord for his righteousness, to name him as our legitimate and trustworthy Savior. We are called to rejoice in the Lord. Let's lift our voices and hearts together this Sunday in praise of the Anointed One - Christ Jesus our Lord!

Sunday, we’ll go back to the gospel of John and begin our study of John 17, what is commonly called Jesus’ “high priestly” prayer. This beautiful conversation is unlike anything in the Scriptures, as the Son of God in flesh speaks to his Father about us. The prayer has three movements, but it is one prayer. It begins with Jesus talking about his return to the Father and receiving the glory that is rightfully his. He moves then to pray for the disciples specifically, and then to all who come to faith through their ministry.

While the prayer has three movements, it is still one prayer. It begins with the glorification of Jesus and ends with our participation in that glory. When Jesus prays for his glorification, he certainly deserves to be glorified, but he’s quick to explain his request is intended for the Father to be glorified. Jesus’ desire for glorification is not for himself. Then he ends the prayer, asking for his followers to see, and by implication, experience his glory. His glorification is the basis of our glorification.

While Jesus isn’t giving us a prayer to model, like Matthew 6:7, he is revealing his relationship to the Father and our relationship to God through him. As you prepare for worship, invest a moment to read John 17.

Sunday we began a short series to consider how the Apostle Paul presents the nature and function of the church in Ephesians 4. Christ has created a “new man” that transcends tribal communities. With Christ as our head and reason for togetherness, we are family and maintain our unity by walking in humility with one another. This is the nature of the church: one body in Christ!

But how does this organism function? First, when Christ ascended, he gave us gifts that we use to grow up into him. The gifts of Christ are diverse but together manifest his glory. Some members are given gifts to equip others, but all are given gifts to build the church. We organize around those gifts and priorities so that God’s people are built up. But notice Paul’s insistence that the church grows when each member is active in the process. Each of us has an important role to play.

Second, we maintain our unity as we walk humbly together in the realities of grace, so that we can have a loving community that builds itself up by “speaking the truth.” The church is supposed to be a “safe space.” But don’t assume that means nothing offensive or confrontational is ever said. No, the safety comes from the cross of Christ that frees us from condemnation and shame. When people lovingly speak into our lives, we respond in humility, listening to what the Spirit is saying to us. The safety of the church is found in the grace of God not the absence of illuminating truth. If you have a record to protect, or an identity that you cling to, a faithful church isn’t a safe space. The safety of the space is dependent on the humility of the individual.

Join us Sunday as we ask the Lord to help us live in the safety of the gospel, so that its “safe to speak” at church.

East Cobb Presbyterian exists to glorify God by creating, maintaining, and extending gospel community so that together we can experience and express the reconciling love and renewing grace of the gospel. As a leadership team, we are organizing to accomplish this vision and we’d like to share with you how we’re doing that. To center us biblically, we’ll spend the next two weeks in Ephesians 4:1-16. Here the Apostle Paul speaks to the nature and function of the church.

This week we’ll consider the nature of the church as the body of Christ, united by grace through faith. While ethnically and generationally diverse, the body is united under our Lord Jesus, pictured as the head of the church. The unity that we have in Christ is something we are instructed to “maintain.” This tells us that our unity in Christ isn’t the issue, but the maintenance of it often requires more effort than we give it.

Our goal is to exist as the body of Christ, united by grace, maintaining that unity, so that we can function together in the graces that we’ve received. This week we’ll consider what’s required to maintain that unity, and next week, what that function looks like. Pastorally, we’re asking God to make a community where it’s “safe to speak.”

Join us Sunday as we worship the Lord and unite ourselves together as the body.

Sunday, we considered the reasons why the world seeks to overcome the church. It is the nature of the world to reject the message of sin and the ministry of grace. It reacts to the fruit we bear as the Vine’s work. The Spirit of God in us changes the conversation to sin, righteousness, and judgment. The very love we extend to the world, removes the pretenses of righteousness the world would erect. All of this is an act of mercy that calls the world to repentance and faith.

As we move through the text, like the disciples we might experience fear and sorrow, as Jesus says, “sorrow has filled your heart,” (16:6). Our unrest is relieved when we hear Jesus remind us that we are not alone. Our sorrow will break forth into joy at the ministry of Christ on our behalf. His resurrection and ascension results in his faithful ministry for us before the Father. We have none other than the risen Christ ministering his redemption to us and supplying all that we need for life and godliness in the world today.

Not only does Jesus ascend to minister for us, providing all we need, but he sends the Spirit to minister to us, teaching us, leading us, supplying all the graces of the Vine to bring a life of fruitfulness to the branches that abide in him. Jesus says the Spirit will take what he receives from Christ and minister it to us as a direct line of grace from the Vine.

With Christ and the Spirit, we have everything we need for life in the world. Join us Sunday to consider Jesus’ teaching.

Sunday we considered Jesus’ calibration of the disciples’ expectations. Those who follow Christ will bear fruit and will experience tribulation. The world will push back on the church, casting them out of the synagogues and even taking their lives. But why? If the followers of Christ are bearing fruit, like love for God and others, why is the world so offended and antagonistic?

Jesus tells us why when he says, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin,” 15:22. He continues, teaching about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, saying, “when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged,” 16:8-11.

Under the leadership and power of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s disciples will “bear witness” of Christ to the world. That witness, as loving as it might be, will confront the world with their need for salvation. Our love will call the world to repent and believe. This might explain why the church is more and more irrelevant in the world; maybe we’ve lost our purpose. Join us Sunday as we consider this text and teaching from Jesus

Sunday we enter the last discourse of Jesus before his betrayal and crucifixion. It is a warning to the disciples that the world will not receive them. Their ministry for Christ will not be welcomed because those who do not believe will not merely reject their message and work, but it will oppose it. In fact, the world will believe they are serving God by opposing them. This religious zealotry will cost the disciples, some will lose their lives.

This warning is given so that the disciples can calibrate their expectations for the work they will engage in. Those who serve Jesus faithfully will not be the celebrated heroes of the culture. Rather, they will be the celebrated martyrs for Christ. Jesus accompanies this calibration with hope in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will not only equip them for the work, but he will engage the world with truth in such a way as to bring conviction.

In all the trouble that the disciples, and by extension the church, will face, Jesus ends with powerful words, “I have said these to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33). We don’t go looking for trouble, but as the Spirit brings conviction to the world, we anticipate being despised. But Christ has overcome and the day will come, when every knee will bow. So as you come to worship, join together in praise the One who has overcome for us.

Sunday, we considered the metaphor Jesus employs of the “vine and branches.” While our Lord is returning to his Father, his ministry continues within us through the presence of his Spirit. Jesus calls us to abide in him and remain in his love, but how do we abide? Jesus draws a direct connection between “keeping his commandments” and “abiding in his love.” That pattern is modeled for us by Jesus himself, saying, “Just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” But what is Jesus telling us? Is he saying that obedience is how we prove our love for God? Is God looking for us to prove our love? Is he telling us that love is the fundamental driver for obedience? If we disobey, do we lose or leave the love of God?

As a reader and follower, “commandments” frame our relationship with Jesus as our Lord and master. Is that how we abide in Jesus? Do we relate to him as our “master”? Jesus challenges that assumption and re-frames our relationship with the idea of “friends.” He says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants (slaves).” So how do we relate to Jesus? He is our Lord and we his servants, but how does this new dimension of friendship change the relationship? Remember, Jesus wants us to abide so that we can experience the joyful and fruitful life of obedience, service, and love.

Join us Sunday as this humble Lord draws us to himself in grace. Let’s consider this relationship and its implications.

Sunday we’re going to move back into the flow of John’s gospel. Remember, Jesus has been explaining his departure as he returns to his Father. His departure will mean the unique ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church. The Passover meal having ended, Jesus leads his disciples to a new location.  As he walks the path to the garden of Gethsemane along the Kidron Valley, he draws a connection between the grape vines that lined the countryside and his relationship to the disciples.

This metaphor is certainly a beautiful illustration of Jesus’ continuing ministry, through his indwelling Spirit, but we need to be careful how we interpret it. It’s not a one for one illustration. There are points of comparison in the metaphor and there are elements that don’t connect. Jesus communicates the main point when he says, “without me, you can do nothing.” The converse is also true, with me you can have a joyful, fruitful life that glorifies the Father because Jesus will remain with and continue to develop us as we abide in him.

Join us Sunday and let’s consider this continuing relationship and how it produces joyful, fruitful lives of obedience, service, and love.