Worship Real Sermon Notes 3.31.25
"What if there was a place so safe that the worst of me could be known, and I would discover that I would not be loved less, but more in the telling of it?"
“We say we believe in grace, but confession is how we actually trust what we already believe in. The very parts of our stories we most want to edit, or erase altogether, become the very parts of our stories we’d never take back and never stop telling. That’s the kind of author God is.”
Calibrate & Claim
“Confession is two parts: searching and naming. Searching is God’s part; naming is ours.”
1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Let God initiate Emotional Calibration through Holy Spirit revelation.
We are not confessing for God We are confessing with God
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
“The Greek word translated in the NIV as “empathize” is the compound word sympatheo. It is a combination of the Greek word pascho, meaning “to suffer” and the prefix sun (“with”), much like we used the prefix co- in English.”
Claim
“If we disown responsibility for our behavior, we are out of control, or powerless [to change].”
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Our intuitive assumption is that we are closest to God when things are going well. Jesus is by my side, present and helping, when I’m living wisely and virtuously, keeping in step with his mission in me and in the world. The author of Hebrews says the exact opposite. Jesus is nearest to us in “our weaknesses,” not our strengths.
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Real, authentic worship through confession reveals our true selves to be transformed by His glory
Calibrate
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You know me better than I know myself. You love me more than I can comprehend.
Jesus, you are my high priest. You sit at the right hand of the throne of God and you have made your dwelling place in this sinner's heart.
I ask that you join me in my sufferings. You have been tempted in every way as I have been and yet you are without sin.
Jesus I do not want to do life without you. Abide in me and lead me to abide in you.
In light of your mercy towards me, I bring myself to you.
Search me, God, and know my heart; know my every thought. Reveal to me every hidden and offensive way in me.
I want to see my life through your eyes.
Claim
Pause. Wait for Jesus to search and pay attention to what may come up. As things come to mind, name them and bring them to the light them.
Jesus, I claim my inheritance found in you. I claim my righteousness given by you.
I am your child. Return me to your heart and lead me in the way everlasting.