Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Sunday is FAMILY WORSHIP and unless your kids are very little (three years and younger) they’ll be in the Worship Center. Sunday is also Father’s Day! How thankful we are for our dads and the men who have invested in us. Please come at 10:00 AM so your kids can make a special gift for their dads.
Our Psalm for Sunday involves a clash of kings. Psalm 2 is breathtaking, mysterious, challenging and comforting.
I’m looking forward to worshipping with you.
For Christ the Lord,
Darren
P.S. Because we’ll have kids with us on Sunday (a great honor because the kingdom is for kids), here’s a story for the young person in your life.
Hey Kids!
A few weeks back I had heard the Burger King advertising song, with the tag line, “You rule!” The song goes like this:
Whopper, Whopper, Whopper, Whopper
Junior, Double, Triple Whopper
Flame-grilled taste with perfect toppers
I rule this day.
Lettuce, mayo, pickle, ketchup
It’s okay if I don’t want that
Impossible or bacon Whopper
I rule this day.
At BK, have it your way, YOU RULE!
I’ve had kings on my mind because Psalm 2 – our Psalm for Sunday – features a clash of kings. So, I thought that I’d do a little research on this advertising campaign. Here’s what I learned: Since 2022, Burger King has had a marketing campaign to celebrate individual choice and burger customization so that customers (or “guests” as they prefer) can feel like the “rulers” of their own experience.
Then I read that employees are REQUIRED to say to every guest, at the end of the transaction, “YOU RULE!” How about that?! And – catch this – every employee must offer each customer a cardboard Burger King crown. The idea is to give customers “permission to feel like winners.”
Well, two weeks ago I happened to pass by the Burger King on Bolinger Road on my way to Valley Church, and I thought, “Let’s test this out.”
So, I walked in at 7:30 AM and the place was empty. I placed my order with a friendly young guy named “Sergio.” I handed him my money, and he gave me the coffee, but NOTHING MORE. In other words, No “YOU RULE!” I was a little disappointed to not have my kingship affirmed.
As I turned away, I looked at him and said, “No, ‘You Rule!’” And he cracked up and said this, “Not in the morning!”
And I said, “So, Burger King customers only rule in the afternoon and evening?” And he laughed again.
Then I DID get the ROYAL TREATMENT that the company promises. See, not only did he give me a crown, but he also fitted it for my head. I did feel special, like a winner, like a king!
Then, in a surprising twist, Sergio got a big smile on his face and made a crown for HIMSELF! Here we are, “The Twin Kings of the Bolinger Road Burger King.”
But then I thought, “Wait a minute, Sergio, I’M the REAL KING around here, right? Don’t I rule? We can’t have two kings, can we?”
Here’s the point of my story: We humans want to be kings. We want to be our own rulers and bosses. But this is foolish. We are CREATURES made to serve our CREATOR and KING who made us and has the right to rule over us. As we’ll see in Psalm 2, the little kings in David’s day didn’t want to serve Yahweh’s anointed king. They stamped around and plotted against Yahweh and David. But God gave them both a warning and an invitation: “Be sensible and serve my King. If you do, you’ll find unimaginable blessing.”
Many of us have already believed in the Jesus the King who was prophesied to come in Psalm 2. This special Son of God, died, rose, and ascended to the Father’s right hand where he is presently reigning. And in a shocking SURPRISE, the Bible says that those who submit to him will end up ruling with him when he returns. So, HE RULES, but in the end, we believers will too. We’ll be reigning under him, for sure, but somehow sharing his rule. How about that?!
Here’s a verse to think about: “ . . . much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” — Rom. 5:17.
Finally, please don’t forget to show your dad, grandfather and other important men in your life a LOT of LOVE and appreciation on Sunday, which is Father’s Day!
For the King,
Darren