Sunday School Did not meet Worship Online Only Offering $14,765.00 Needed Weekly $7,985.00 May 3, 2020 Report Clarksville Cumberland Presbyterian Church 1410 Golf Club Lane Clarksville, TN 37040 Return Service Requested WORSHIP VOLUNTEERS FOR MAY 10: Liturgist: Rev. Taylor Young Ushers: Acolyte(s): Laney and Brayden Rogers Children’s Message: Rev. Taylor Young CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE—THE OUTWARD DISCIPLINE OF SUBMISSION Submission. I ask that you stop for a moment and check your initial gut reaction to the word. What thought or thoughts immediately come to you? Honestly, I don’t think very much about the word submission and when I do I would describe my reaction as being very “piecemeal” and not consistent in my life. As a spiritual discipline it is not at the top of my list as being one that I have worked at to develop and strengthen in my life. Perhaps, no there is no “perhaps” about it, my reaction is like that because way down deep there’s a part of me that just doesn’t like to sub- mit…submit to anything or anyone; can I get an amen? But our liking or disliking of submission should- n’t nor does it ultimately drive us to develop this spiritual discipline. You see, though it has often been one of the most misunderstood and abused discipline for the Christian life, it truly is one of most needed in our life. In writing this article I turned to the concordance in my Bible and found a number of passages of Scripture that contain the words submit, submission or submissive. These passages of Scripture are important be- cause they give us very prescriptive instructions of how and when to exercise submission. However, the touchstone for the biblical under- standing of submission is found in Mark 8:34, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Again, if we are honest with our- selves, there is a visceral or instinctive reaction for most of to pull back or to rationalize away what Jesus is teaching. We pull back and ration- alize because so often we equate “self-denial” with self-contempt or even self-hatred. I think we also have a real fear of losing our identity if not our reason or purpose in life. But this is an error which must be corrected and can only be correct- ed as we come to understand that it is only in submission to the Lord that we gain both real freedom and our true identity. In Matthew 10:39, Jesus continues to teach us, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Jesus is the most perfect exam- ple of submission, and one of the reasons we struggle so much with this discipline is because we don’t intently look at how Jesus was submis- sive. Jesus’ example and call to follow the way of the cross and to lose one’s life is the basis not only of our submission to God, but also our sub- mission in all human relationships. In Paul’s let- ter to the Philippian church, he grounds the disci- pline of submission in the life of Jesus Christ (Phil 2:4-7). The apostle goes on in his letter to the Ephesian church and writes, “to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21). Now I’d like to tell you a story. Recently, I’ve had a real internal struggle. At first I didn’t clearly understand what the issue was and so after sev- eral weeks I finally spoke with Cheryl about it. At first our discussions were circular and not very profitable because at the end of each discussion I still found myself struggling with the issue, sometimes even more than when we started. Now, just to let you know, the struggle was about something outside of our family. But I also want you to know that after about another week there was a break through, and guess what? I have great peace! It’s like this burden I was carrying around on my shoulders just fell away. Why? Because I was not practicing submission, I was not practicing the cross-life of Jesus, and I real- ized that I needed to lay my burden and bondage down at the cross of Christ. As always there is much more to write about these spiritual disciplines, and I’m not even sure if what I’ve written makes sense let alone is help- ful. But a great quote that summarizes my recent submission and perhaps will aid you too is by the reformer Martin Luther. Dr. Martin shares this with us all, “A Christian is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.” May the Lord give you insight to this quote and to the discipline of submission. Lord Bless, Bro. John All activities in the month of May have been canceled. All Sunday Services will be posted on our website each Sunday by 11:00 a.m. at www.clarksvillecpc.com. For additional updates, please continue to check your email regularly. NEWS FROM CLARKSVILLE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1410 GOLF CLUB LANE CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE 37040 Church Office: 931-648-0817 Email: [email protected] Website: www.clarksvillecpc.com Interim Senior Pastor: John Routzahn May Newsleer