Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
1 John 2: 1-2
2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
Our crucified Lord is pleading for us in the presence of the Father at the throne of grace. His atoning sacrifice we may plead for our pardon, our justification, and our sanctification. The Lamb slain is our only hope. Our faith looks up to Him, grasps Him as the One who can save to the uttermost, and the fragrance of the all-sufficient offering is accepted of the Father. Unto Christ is committed all power in heaven and in earth, and all things are possible to him that believeth. Christ’s glory is concerned in our success. He has a common interest in all humanity. He is our sympathizing Saviour (Letter 33, 1895). {7BC 948.3}
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3: 16-17. Christ Jesus gave His life for us that we may have eternal life. He did this not only for you and me but also for the whole world. There is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for his brother. Christ Jesus is our big brother who intercedes on our behalf. He takes all our sin upon Himself and is the propitiation for our sins. Christ Jesus is our advocate with the Father. He presents us faultless before the Father. Christ never sinned and any righteousness in us is of God. It is written through the disciple John that we are to refrain from sin, as with every sin we wound Jesus afresh. Go to the foot of the throne, confess and repent of your sins. Jesus will not condemn you for it, believe on the Lord and ye shall be saved, you and your household. Pray for justification. Pray for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Trust and believe on the Lord. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Live a life worthy of sanctification. Remember always look to the one who can save, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
We come into Your presence in thanksgiving and praise. We are so blessed to have You as our advocate before the Father. We are sinners by nature, as Satan himself imputed our sinful human nature and tendencies to us. Through his temptations, man inherited his sinful tendencies from our parents in the Garden of Eden. We live in a world surrounded by sin and immorality. We go to battle every day against the enemy. However, we have You on our side. With you on our side, who can be against us. We thank You for healing us of our sinful propensities and giving us Your righteousness. For giving us Your peace as only You can give. For giving us the bread of life as our instruction manual to living a Holy life. For bearing our sins and blotting out our sins. For writing our names in the book of life. For giving us the victory over sin. For being our savior, redeemer, healer, rejoicer, advocate and vindicator. For being our friend. We pray for our pardon, our justification, and our sanctification. We are sorry we ever sinned against You and humbly repent of our sins and pray for Your forgiveness. It is written that if we confess our sins You are faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We claim this promise today. We pray that You deliver us from evil. By Your strength, we will pick up and carry our cross daily as we fight off the adversary. We trust and believe on You. Save us we pray, our household and us. We pray for Your sanctification that we may live with You in heaven and have everlasting life. Praise be to You and glory in Your name. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
