God’s name honoured | Vision & Mission
Over the next few weeks I’m going to use this time to reflect on our vision & mission. It is available printed at church and on our website, and fits on one side of A4 with relevant Bible verses on the back.
Our vision statement is – We long to see: God’s name honoured, His kingdom come, Lives transformed.
Today I am focusing on ‘God’s name honoured’ – what does that mean? Let me read the Bible verses we put with that phrase:
Psalm 29.2: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name.
Jeremiah 3.17: At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honour the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
Matthew 6.9-10: [Jesus said,] ‘This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… on earth as it is in heaven.’
These verses suggest three things about honouring God’s name.
First, we honour God because he deserves it! God is Almighty and powerful, the Creator and sustainer of all. But he isn’t a distant deity, watching us from afar – he sent Jesus his Son to live among us, as one of us, to do what we could not, stepping down from the highest place to plumb the lowest depths. He lavishes his love upon us, his enemies, so we might become his children. He lives among us now by his Spirit, empowering and equipping us, transforming and renewing us. How could he not deserve all the glory and praise we can manage?
Second, honouring God means joining in with cosmic worship. A few times in the Bible the veil is lifted and we are given a glimpse of God’s throne room. We see all manner of beings bowing down and worshipping God in song, prayer, praise and worship: angels, elders, living creatures. In Revelation 7 John sees great multitude that no one could count’ praising God for his salvation. That multitude is the worldwide, universal Church from across the ages; honouring God means joining in and taking our place in that cosmic worship.
Third, honouring God means treating him as God. Preachers like to use phrases like Jesus is Lord of all or not at all’ and that captures what Jeremiah is getting at when he links worshipping God with our lifestyle.  We can speak words honouring and praising God, but if we don’t listen to what he says in Scripture, if we insist on following our stubborn and evil hearts instead of learning to live his way, then our praise is hollow. Honouring God means treating him as our Lord; not as a friend offering some good advice on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis!
We honour God because he deserves it; honouring God means joining in with cosmic worship and making Jesus Lord in every area of our life.
How can you honour God in your life this week? In praise? In your day-to-day behaviour and attitude?
Each week I will end these reflections with a prayer written to reflect our vision and mission – it is also on our website:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
thank you that because of your great love
we can be called children of God.
Help us to make new disciples of Jesus:
sharing and showing his way, truth and life.
Teach us to grow as his disciples:
faithful to your Word and full of your Spirit.
Send us out into the world as his disciples:
worshipping you with our whole lives.
Pour out your Spirit upon us:
fill us and make us new day by day,
that we might bring you glory and praise.
Amen.