Midweek Message, May 31, 2017

 

O Lord, the king rejoices in your strength.  How great is his joy in
the victories you give.  You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.  You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head (Psalm 21:1 – 3
).

We call this a “Royal Psalm” as it refers to the King of Israel,
presumably King David, but in the life of the Church it, along with
other similar Psalms, came to be seen as a reference to the King of
kings, even Jesus the Christ.  Reading it through this lens makes a
beautiful connection with Jesus.

As you may know, Jesus came to be viewed in the early Church as the fulfillment of three key Old Testament offices:  Prophet, Priest and King. 

Understood properly, this Psalm is also about us – followers of Jesus whom Jesus elevates to – dare we say it – to royal status, but the royalty that embraces service on behalf of others.

Do you perhaps remember that beautiful line from the movie “Cider

House Rules” where Michael Caine, who plays Dr. Wilbur Larch, would say each night as he closed the door on the dorm rooms where the orphan boys slept:  “Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.”  And they began to believe him, and began to live into his belief in them, just as Zacchaeus responded to Jesus’ claim that he was a child of Abraham, and we are invited to be/become children of the King!  Amen.

Cliff

 

CHURCH NEWS:

  • June 11th is “The Source” Sunday. Sign up to serve or provide food for the meal at this homeless center.
  • The Florida Annual Conference (Annual Meeting) is June 10-13 in Orlando. Please pray for the delegates.
  • Sign up NOW for Vacation Bible School being held July 10-14

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