Worship Preparation Guide for Sunday, May 10

This Sunday we will begin our study in the final chapter of John.  Jesus wants his disciples to know with certainty that he is alive – raised from the dead, so he repeatedly appears to them with convincing proof.  He also wants them to understand the significance of his resurrection, what it means to them personally and what it means for the mission he has given them.  This, I believe, is why the Holy Spirit led John to write chapter twenty-one.  This P.S. to John’s gospel is written for Peter’s sake and ours.  This epilogue drives home the truth we have seen throughout the Gospel of John as to who Jesus is, the message he has proclaimed, and some of the profound implications for Peter, the other disciples, and for you and me.  

Sometime between the day of Jesus resurrection and his final ascension we hear Peter say, “I am going fishing”.  Was Peter waiting on Jesus or running away?  (vv1-3)  There is no consensus among commentators on what it means that Peter and these other disciples are back on the lake fishing.  Jesus told them to wait in Galilee (Matt 28:7, Mk 16:7), and that is where we find them.  Was Peter feeling guilty and running away?  Was he working through personal questions by ‘getting away’?  Did he realize that while waiting on Jesus he still had a family to feed, so as a professional fisherman he went back to work?

After a long night of fishing daybreak comes with an unknown man on the shore asking the question that calls attention to their bleak reality, “lads, you have nothing to eat do you?”  Both the man on the shore and the men in the boat know the answer: “that night they caught nothing.”  It's interesting that these men are professional fisherman, yet according to the Gospels they can’t catch fish without Jesus helping them.  

I believe there is a good reason why their nets were empty all night.  F.B. Meyer put it this way: “But what good can failure do? It may shut up the path which you are pursuing too eagerly.  It may put you out of heart with things that are seen and temporal, and give you an appetite for things unseen and eternal.  It may teach you your own helplessness, and turn you to trust more implicitly in the provision of Christ.”  (F.B Meyer, Gospel of John, p. 369)

While we don’t know for certain Peter’s motivation for returning to the fishing boat that night, this much is clear in these verses; these disciples “are coming to grips with the resurrection, but still have not learned the profound truth that apart from Christ they can do nothing (Jn 15:5).” (DA Carson)  

The profound truth that we can do nothing apart from Christ is an absolutely necessary truth for us to learn.  In every aspect of our lives, in our homes, in our parenting, in our vocations, in our retirement, in our studies at school, apart from Christ we can do nothing. 

This is also true of our worship.  Earlier in John we heard Jesus say these words: “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:21-24).

Our corporate worship at Westwood includes prayer, praise and proclamation.  Apart from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit all of these will be merely words, songs and religious routines.  True worship is characterized by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. 

As you prepare for worship pray for the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our service and pray for this in your own heart. 

Here’s one final thought concerning this Sunday’s service.  After a hard night’s work of fishing and a miraculous early morning catch the disciples came ashore to what must have been an amazing and comforting sight to see.  There before them was Jesus preparing breakfast; a bed of coals, bread and fish.  Here is Jesus, once again revealing himself raised from the dead, demonstrating his power, providing for their needs and serving them in love. 

We will gather at the table this Sunday and celebrate the Lord’s supper.  Again we will be reminded of and proclaim through our participation the life, death, resurrection, and continued life, love and service of our Lord to his church.   Pray for God to prepare us, his children, to share in this feast of love and grace.

I look forward to sharing it with you.