Seven Aspects of God-honoring Worship

My Bible doesn't automatically open to Leviticus like it does Hebrews.

I suppose yours doesn't either. In fact, I was curious, so I checked sermon audio, and there are hundreds of sermons that have been preached from the Beacon pulpit. And in all that archive, there are only two times that a sermon has been brought from the book of Leviticus. I brought one, and Pastor Barkman brought the other.

So this is rare territory for us. But I've been reading, and I thought this would be appropriate for our purposes tonight around the Lord's Table. You're familiar, I think, most of you, with the statement I think made famous by St. Augustine when he said, the new is in the old concealed, the old is in the new revealed. And he's making reference there with old and new as two testaments. The New Testament is in the old concealed, the old is in the new revealed. Perhaps you've heard that and wondered what exactly that means.

Well, let me try and bring a little clarification here. In the Old Testament, the New Testament is concealed. It's acknowledging the nature of revelation, that it is progressive. We have the revelation of God, and there are times in the Old Testament that it is a bit obscure.

There are shadows, there are pictures. But as we move through the scriptures, and particularly get into the New Testament, what was obscure and hard to understand becomes clear and clear. The Old Testament, in the Old Testament, the new is concealed. This implies that within the Old Testament scriptures, there are hidden foreshadowings, principles, prophecies, and events that find their fulfillment in the New Testament. That is, these concealed elements point forward to the coming of Christ and His redemptive work. I think it's a wonderful approach to the scriptures, regardless of whether we're reading in the Old or the New Testament, that we read our Bible redemptively and Christologically. That is, looking for Christ. Now obviously, He's more conspicuous in the New Testament. But when God gives you eyes and a purpose and a directive to be looking for Christ in the Old Testament, it's amazing how many times you see references to Him.

So it's just a good principle to keep in mind. Read the Bible. Read it holistically, that it is a cohesive unit. Read it Christologically.

Read it redemptively. In the New Testament, the Old Testament is revealed. The New Testament sheds light on the mysteries of the Old. It unveils the deeper significance of Old Testament figures and rituals and prophecies. And through Christ, the fullness of God's plan becomes clear. So this reminds us that both Testaments are interconnected, forming a cohesive narrative of God's love and His grace and His purpose to redeem fallen humanity. I thought about the call upon a preacher to preach the whole counsel of God. How do we reconcile that when there are large portions of the Scriptures that we don't preach from?

As I've said in the history of the Church, archived are two messages that have been preached from Leviticus. So how is that being faithful to preach the whole counsel of God? Well, again, understanding what it is that I'm setting here before you, that the New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed, that the Old Testament is shadows and pictures, there's obscure language. Well, we're not going to spend our time with shadows when we have the reality in the New Testament, which is Christ. So when we're preaching Christ and in reference to the Old Testament types, we are being faithful to the whole counsel of God. So do you understand what I'm saying? You don't have to preach verse by verse, line by line through the book of Leviticus to be faithful to preaching the whole counsel of God.

We're preaching the whole counsel of God when we're preaching Christ from the Scriptures and making reference to those types that find their fulfillment in the Bible. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1 says, For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come. So I had a shadow following me around yesterday.

He's three and a half years old and we had the delight of having him over the weekend. And I mean, I had to really watch where I was putting one foot in front of the other because he's right there. He not only is my shadow, but he's in front of me. And it was just a reminder that I'm not preoccupied with a shadow if I see a shadow because the shadow is reminding me of the reality. I'm going to be consumed with the reality.

You understand. So tonight, from Leviticus chapter 1, I want to bring a message to you on seven aspects of God honoring worship. Seven aspects of God honoring worship. So let me just say a few things about Leviticus as a whole before we begin to look at the particulars of chapter 1. The book of Leviticus is about holiness.

That is, about being separated from the world and separated unto God. It is about God's holiness and the holiness that he expects from his people. God spells out his expectations for his people and for his priests here in the book of Leviticus. Someone has succinctly said, and I like this, that you could sum up the book of Leviticus with God's repeated command, Be ye holy, for I am holy. This opening chapter of the book of Leviticus discusses in detail one of the five basic offerings that are prescribed by God in the worship of the old covenant saints. If your Bible has headings, look with me at chapter 1 verse 1 at the very beginning. My Bible has this heading, The Burnt Offering. The heading ahead of chapter 2, The Grain Offering. The heading in front of chapter 3, The Peace Offering. Chapter 4, The Sin Offering. Chapter 5, The Trespass Offering, or some Bibles may refer to that as the Guilt Offering. So here are five basic offerings that were prescribed by God for the people of God in that old covenant context.

We are only going to concentrate on chapter 1, which is The Burnt Offering. From this instruction, we are going to see seven aspects of God-honoring worship. So let's begin by enumerating these. Number 1, God-honoring worship is prescribed worship. It is prescribed worship. As I read this chapter in your hearing, I don't know what stood out to you, whether it was the repetition, was it the detailed instruction, was it the exactness of what is being prescribed on the north side, on the east side. They're to do this, they're to clean the animal, wash it in water, they're to remove the entrails, they're to lay it in order on the altar.

All these instructions. This is prescribed worship. God is prescribing in detail with significant specificity the way in which he wants to be worshipped.

And as you read that, you say, well, man, that seems awful, cumbersome, awful, an awful lot of detail. Well, isn't it God's prerogative to tell us how he wants to be worshipped? He didn't leave it to us. He didn't tell us, well, however you'd like to worship me, it'll be acceptable, no. It's not up for the worshippers or even the priests to decide and to determine what is acceptable worship and what is not.

God is very specific in instructing both the worshipper and the priest how he is to be worshipped in these offerings. John chapter 4, you remember that encounter that Jesus had with the woman at the well. And he said to her in verse 23 and 24, but the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. You don't often find language in your Bible where God is described as seeking something from men. But Jesus is saying that the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is seeking worshippers, those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, those who will worship him according to the prescribed way in which he has given instruction. I think most of you, maybe not all of you, have heard of the regulative principle of worship.

Let me describe this to you and help you to understand because that's what we're seeing here in chapter 1. God is regulating, God is being very specific about how worship is to be conducted. And here's a definition of the regulative principle of worship. It is the assertion that we must worship God in the way that he has revealed himself and in the way he has commanded us to worship him in his word. You say, well that's pretty straightforward.

Yes, it's straightforward, but it is so seldomly acknowledged and submitted to. There's so many worship styles. But if we were to confine ourselves to how God has revealed himself in the scriptures and what God has said about how he is to be worshipped, it would do away with an awful lot of, maybe for lack of a better word, nonsense that is purported to be worship when it truly is nothing but entertainment. This principle, the regulative principle, is built upon five biblical commands. And let me give them to you, and as you hear these commands, so the regulative principle of worship is rooted and grounded in the instruction of God's word. And as I give you these five commands from scripture, notice that there is an awful lot of room for interpretation.

Lots of questions are going to come to your mind when you hear these commands. You say, well what does that mean? Does that mean this?

Does it mean that? Five biblical commands. Number one. Worshiping God is to be done in ways that edify the local church. Worship of God is to be done in ways that edify the local church.

Number two. It's to be done in a proper and orderly manner. Three times in chapter one, you see reference to, I'll just draw your attention to the one place, verse eight. Then the priests, Aaron's son, shall lay the parts, the head and the fat, in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. So apparently there was a proper order, a proper way of doing this, as opposed to a wrong way of doing this. And we don't know what the specifics are, but the priests evidently did. And three times in the reference to the offering of sacrifice, that reference is made in a proper and orderly manner. And you say, well, there's an awful lot of room for interpretation.

Yeah, I already told you that. Number three. Worship of God is to be done in spirit and in truth. Number four. Worship of God is to be in reverence.

And number five. God is to be worshiped in awe. Now, again, there's lots of room for interpretation, but if we just had those guardrails and those parameters, it would safeguard from a lot of error in our day, I believe. Now, there's a lot more that could be said about the regulative principle.

There have been churches that have divided over the whole issue. So that's just a brief introduction to the regulative principle. But all under the guise of, the first aspect of God-honoring worship is that it is prescribed. God prescribes the way in which he is to be worshiped. And we see that very clearly here with the language, the specificity, the details that he gives here in chapter one.

And you'll see that. You would see this in each of the chapters that are describing the other four offerings. The second aspect of God-honoring worship is that it is participatory. Participatory. It's not that the worshiper is passive.

It's not that he is totally dependent upon the priest. You notice the language. And again, there's no introduction. You begin to read Leviticus chapter one in verse one.

And what do you find? Verse one, Now the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, verse two, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When any of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock, of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a meal without blemish. He shall offer it on his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

He's not completely dependent upon the priest. He's to bring the sacrifice. He's to, you know, as I'm reading here, I guess I've always thought that in this old Levitical priesthood that it was the worshiper that would bring the sacrifice, whatever it was, and it was the priest who would slay the animal and draw the blood.

But notice the language here. Verse four again, Then he, that is, the worshiper shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him, that is the worshiper. Verse five, He shall kill the bull before the Lord and the priest. Aaron's sons shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. That certainly sounds to me like the one bringing the offering is the one who slays the animal, that it isn't the priest.

You see the same language with the second, and then the third it seems, well, the third there in verse 14. And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the Lord is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtle doves or young pigeons. The priest shall bring it to the altar, ring off its head.

That's a little colorful, isn't it? Sorry, just the way God's given us his word. So it seems like the priest is the one who takes the life of the dove and the pigeon. But my whole point here is that God honoring worship is participatory. The language communicates that the worshiper is engaged in bringing the offering. He's not passive, he does not simply let the priest do all the aspects of the ritual.

He's engaged, he's involved, he is an active participant. You know, when you're talking to people of other religions that are heavily dependent upon a mediator between them and God, if you confine yourself to the New Testament, it doesn't make any sense to you. You know what the Bible says, there's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, that settles it for us. But when you go back and you begin to understand the old Levitical priesthood, you begin to see the role of the priest. The worshiper comes and he offers his sacrifice through a mediator. And you can see why Roman Catholics are so hung up on the role of a priest.

Did you understand? I think it's created some sympathy in my mind because for a long time I just thought, well, this one verse settles it in the New Testament. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. But if you're aware of the Old Testament system and how significant a role the priest played in mediating for the worshiper, you can see why people can get confused and mixed up. So we are considering seven aspects of God-honoring worship from Leviticus chapter 1. Number one, it is prescribed worship. Number two, it is participatory worship. Number three, it is non-discriminatory worship. Non-discriminatory worship.

And you say, well, where are you getting that? Well, did you notice that there are various animals that are being spoken to here in chapter 1? Verses 2 through 3 is talking about from the herd. Perhaps your Bible, the New King James, doesn't make reference, but some of your translations would speak of a bull being offered. Verses 1 and verse 10, if his offering is of the flocks, of the sheep, of the goats, so there is a sheep, a lamb, a goat. And then there in verse 14, of doves and of pigeons.

So we wonder, well, why different animals? Well, the reason for different types of animals being able to be used during this offering is because they represent different classes of people. It is the wealthy that can afford and are prescribed to bring a bull.

Those who are not wealthy but not poor can bring a sheep or a lamb or a goat, but those who are more of a peasant in society, of the poor, can bring a dove or a pigeon. So what I'm saying is that God-honoring worship is nondiscriminatory. You don't have to reach a certain social class or economic level in order to be an acceptable worshiper of God. God makes provision for all kinds of people regardless of who you are and where you are economically. That's good news, isn't it?

Rich or poor or in between. God has prescribed a way for you to worship Him in this context, acceptably. I don't think I'll say any more on that.

I could, but I think I need to be moving on. So we're looking at seven aspects of God-honoring worship. Number one, prescribed worship. It's number two, participatory worship. It's number three, nondiscriminatory worship. Number four, it's mediated worship. It's mediated worship. Now, when we talked about participatory aspect of it, the emphasis was on the person who is the worshiper, the one bringing the offering.

But there is a mediator, there is a priest that's involved, and he has his part in this system. You know, when we think of the word offering, its epistemology, its meaning at root is to draw near. It is the prescribed way that God has given for sinners to draw near to Him, Him who is holy.

We are sinners. God has prescribed a way for us to draw near to Him, and here it is in this old covenant system. They were to come and bring their offering. And did you notice, as he brought his offering in verse four, then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering.

Well, what's going on there? What is being conveyed there? Is that a way of saying, well, this is my sacrifice, I've got my hand on it, I'm passing it on to you?

No, that's not what's going on at all. It's the idea of substitution. Notice the rest of the verse. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. I don't know whether you picked up on it, but we sang about this very concept. We sang, not all the blood of beasts. Verse three, listen to this. My faith would lay her hand on that dear head of thine. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith, we are reaching out and we are laying our hand on Jesus.

For what purpose? Acknowledging this transfer, this doctrine of substitution that's critical to our understanding of what God has done for us in Christ. Our sin is being transferred to the Lord Jesus Christ, and His righteousness is being transferred to us, and therefore we gain acceptance before God. God-honoring worship is mediatory worship. It's to be understood through a mediator, through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's how we draw near. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father except by me. You can't get to the Father apart from Jesus Christ. So this is beautiful imagery. We sing, so many of our hymns carry this nuance of substitution, of transfer, of our guilt, our sin to the sinless one.

Did you notice the instruction? What kind of an offering are they to bring? They're to bring a male offering. They're to bring one without blemish.

You say, well, how could any animal be without blemish? Well, you don't bring an inferior one. You don't bring one that's weak.

You don't bring one that's lame. You bring the best you've got, one without blemish, because we're talking again about typology, type and anti-type. So this unblemished sacrifice that was prescribed by God to be brought in worship of him is the anti-type is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God without spot, without blemish. Mediated worship. And again, seven aspects of God-honoring worship. It is prescribed worship. It is participatory worship.

It is non-discriminatory worship. It is mediated through the priest, the priestly office, and the duty of the priest. You say, well, how serious is God about this?

He's prescribed this, but how serious does he take this? Well, some of you, most of you are familiar with the content of Leviticus chapter 10. There's these detailed instructions, and after God gives these instructions, at the heading of my Bible, chapter 9 says, the priestly ministry begins. So God gives the instructions, detailed instructions, very specific instructions, prescribed worship, the priestly ministry begins. Chapter 10, the profane fire of Nadab and Abihu.

Just the opening verses of chapter 10. Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. Why was it profane? Because it was not prescribed. They brought strange fire.

How serious was that? Verse 3, and Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord spoke, saying to those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy and before all the people I must be glorified. Verse 2 says, so fire went out from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord. God killed them. That's how serious God takes the worship that he prescribes.

And then he gives this principle. I hope you're not, I don't think superstitious is the right word, hope you're not disinclined to mark your Bible. People are like, whoa, this is God's holy book, I'm not touching it, I'm not writing in my Bible. Well, we're not worshipping the Bible. This is God's revelation.

If you're going to underline a verse in Leviticus, I would underline verse 3 or put some asterisk or some mark there to draw your attention to it, because this is how serious this is. This is the heart of God. To those who come near me, God says. Notice there are two musts here. I must be regarded as holy. I must. No equivocation on that.

No wiggle room on that. God must be regarded as holy and before all the people I must be glorified. Well, that's serious stuff, isn't it? That's the reason why Nadab and Abayu lost their life.

They thought this was a good idea. Well, let's take fire into it. God hasn't prescribed that. So, aspect number 5. God-honoring worship is acceptable worship. What language do we see in chapter 1 that speaks to this aspect of God-honoring worship? You know there are three different aspects of chapter 1.

Instructions for different people who fall into the different categories of wealthy or middle of the road or poor. And in each one of these offerings that are prescribed, notice what is said at the end of each section. Verse 9. But he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water, and the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, and then this phrase, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

Verse 13. This is the second type of sacrifice. But he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water, then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, what again, a sweet aroma to the Lord. And then again in verse 17 with the pigeons and the doves.

Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, and again, a sweet aroma to the Lord. What do we make of that repeated phrase, the sweet aroma to the Lord? I'm drawing our attention to this aspect of God-honoring worship, that it must be acceptable worship.

God prescribed it, they followed the prescription, they offered the sacrifice, and the language there is that it was a sweet smelling savor unto the Lord. Now, the scriptures speak of God in anthropomorphic language. Most of you know what that means, but for those of you that that's a new idea to you, God is a spirit.

He doesn't have eyes, he doesn't have hands, he doesn't have feet, he doesn't have the capacity to smell. So for the offering to be a sweet, pleasant aroma to God, what is being conveyed here? It's anthropomorphic language, it's using language that we can relate to, to help us understand that God was pleased, God was accepting the sacrifice that was offered.

You say, well, how significant is that? Well, it's very significant when we think about what is said about Christ. Listen to this in Ephesians 5, verse 1 says, therefore be imitators of God as dear children, verse 2, and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.

Again, type and anti-type. This was God's prescribed way of securing the forgiveness of sins for sinners with Christ coming and offering himself, and when Christ offered that sacrifice, it was an aroma to God, it was pleasing to him, it was acceptable to him. So God-honoring worship is acceptable worship. Number 6, God-honoring worship for the worshippers of Leviticus chapter 1, it is foreshadowed worship. Foreshadowed worship. They did this in obedience as God has prescribed it, but there was a sense in which they understood to some degree that what they were doing was foreshadowing provision God would make that was more permanent. The writer of Hebrews draws this contrast between the old Levitical priests offering the same sacrifices year after year after year. They never sat down, their work was never done, versus Christ who came and not only offered a sacrifice, but offered himself as the sacrifice and once for all time, never to be repeated. And when he offered himself, he sat down at the right hand of God. His work was done in that sense. For the worshipper in the old covenant Levitical system, it was foreshadowed worship.

Again, the types and the anti-types. Christ is the reality that the shadow was pointing towards. And again, how could the bloody sacrifices offered here be a sweet aroma? I don't particularly like the smell of flesh burning.

So in what sense is this a sweet aroma? Again, it points to the foreshadowing of the toning sacrifice of Christ for his people. That's what is acceptable to God. That's what is pleasing to God. And these sacrifices that were offered in the Levitical priesthood, they were acceptable to God because that is what he prescribed for them in that old covenant era. But for us as new covenant believers, our worship is God-honoring when it is Christ-exalting and focused on Christ. That's when our worship is acceptable to God.

And God has given us this means. He's given us this way of remembering him. There are other ways we might remember Christ, but not to the exclusion of this. This is the ordinance that God has given the church, that we remember Christ in this way.

You say, well, how serious is it? Well, I have a hard time drawing too many distinctions between how serious God took it in Leviticus and how he would take it in our day. Now, unfortunately, we had a season in the church that our attendance would be down on a Sunday night communion service. The people who were regular attenders would abstain from being here because it was the Lord's table service. Now, there can be various reasons for that, but after you see this pattern, you begin to observe who it is that abstains from being here on a Lord's table service. And you realize, okay, they're non-members. So for them to attend a Lord's table service and honor the parameters that we've set for participation around the Lord's table, they're not to partake because they're not a member in good standing of a local church, and their non-participation becomes very conspicuous. Okay, I get that a little bit, but if I'm conspicuously abstaining from participating at the table, it ought to be a provocation for me to be asking the question, why don't I qualify myself so I can participate?

Right? Begs that question, doesn't it? Is it because I'm not a believer? Is it because of some other reason? No, this is the means that God has given, the ordinance that He has given with this specific instruction tied to it. You do this in remembrance of Him. We don't want to miss that. That's why we do this. He's commanded it, and He's commanded it for a reason. The seventh aspect of God-honoring worship is an obvious one, I think, that it is costly. God-honoring worship is costly. It's going to cost us to bring God-honoring worship. For those old covenant worshipers who brought the burnt offering in obedience to God's prescribed prescription, and how they were to worship, to kill a bull, to kill a sheep, a goat, whatever it was, was costing you something.

Not to mention that it's an interruption in the normal affairs of life. You've got to give yourself to this. There's preparation to be made, and all the rest. What about you and me? We don't bring animal sacrifice. What cost is there for you and me? Paul says in Romans chapter 12 that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable act of worship. That sounds like it's costly, but when we're talking cost, we're talking about that in two realms. We're talking about the cost to the worshiper, but what about this aspect of God-honoring worship is costly? What did it cost God to make it possible for you and I to be a worshiper when you and I were haters of God?

Listen to some scripture from Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 8. I love the way the writer makes arguments. He's talking about the Melchizedek priesthood. You're following along and you're scratching your head. What is he trying to say?

What's the nuance here? He gets to chapter 8 and he says, now this is the main point of the things that we are saying. When you see someone writing that, you go, okay, this is the main point. I'm going to sit up and pay attention. Now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens.

Wow. Contrast that with the Levitical priest who was earthly, whose time of service was limited. He would die.

Someone would take his place. No, this priest is the great high priest. He has fulfilled his function, his role, and he has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. A minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected and not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer.

For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly thing. So Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry in as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises, and then he begins to unfold the blessings of the new covenant to us.

And I have just a few minutes. Let me also draw your attention to Hebrews chapter 10, beginning at verse 1. For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, they can never, with these same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered, for the worshippers once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

And then down to verse 11. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, capital M, the God-man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till his enemies are made his footstool, for by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

And then we're talking about costly. God-honoring worship is costly, knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. It cost God the death of His Son to redeem us, to reconcile us, to make us right with Him. So here in Leviticus chapter 1 is a picture of God-honoring worship. It is prescribed worship. It is participatory worship. It is non-discriminatory worship. It is mediated through a priest, and for us, mediated through our great high priest. It is acceptable worship.

It is foreshadowed. That is, it is Christ-centered, Christ-honoring, and Christ-exalting, and it is costly. May these thoughts and deliberations help us as we gather around the Lord's table here in a few moments.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for your Word, all of it. It's all inspired by you, given to us for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be thoroughly equipped unto every good work, cause Christ to be exalted in our thinking this evening as we've thought about your prescribed ways of worship. Thank you for him. Thank you that he is the one mediator that you have provided for sinners, that his sacrifice is sufficient to secure our forgiveness and to secure our participation around this table. Bless us, Father, as we gather around the table, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.