At my Installation service, I used a passage from Isaiah as one of the Scripture readings. The passage is from Isaiahs call narrative, which is the description of his calling into ministry. I really love this passage, and for that reason, I think that it has a defining role in my life and I hope in my ministry, and I think that it might provide some insights for us as I begin my ministry with you.

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!" (Isaiah 6:1-8)


I find this passage to be very powerful and very meaningful for several reasons.
1. The passage begins with a declaration of who and what God is. God is depicted as the Lord Almighty; holy, awesome and glorious, and he is depicted in terms of respect, reverence and awe. He is the great and mighty ruler of the universe and creator of all that exists. God is seen for who God is and it is a wonderful vision of the glory of God. Even the heavenly beings are no comparison to God; they attend God and cover their faces in the presence of Gods holiness.
It is very important that we as human beings have some glimmer of an understanding of who God is. It is important that we know who the God is that we are in relationship with, and a realization of who and what God is, is central to how we think about, treat and respect God. This vision of Isaiahs gives us a very high and powerful vision of the God that we serve and for this reason I love this passage.
2. The glory, majesty and awesomeness of God lead us to worship. Once God is recognized for who and what God really is, it can do nothing else than lead us into worship. God and Gods presence, demand reverence and worship. This is why we gather together each week to worship. We gather to worship God, because God is deserving of worship. God and Gods presence demand our worship and our worship should be worthy of the God to whom it is given. This is why I take worship so seriously and why I will ask this church to take its worship so seriously. It is not a game that we are playing, we are not gathering to just fellowship and sing a few songs, we are not gathering so that we can feel better about ourselves, and we are not gathering to primarily get something for ourselves. We are gathering, when we worship, to give glory, praise and honor to God.
3. A recognition of who and what God really is will cause us to very quickly recognize what we are in relationship to God, small and sinful. Another key element of our lives of faith is recognizing who we are in comparison to God. Anyone who reads this vision of God should quickly see that we are nothing in comparison to God. God is almighty, glorious, and holy while we are finite, human and sinful. There is no comparison between us and God, and all of our pride and abilities soon pale in comparison to God. This passage is always a good dose of realization and humility for me, and that is something that we continually need in our lives of faith. If we were gods, we would not need God, and it is precisely the realization that we are not gods, that will draw us to God, as the creator and ruler of the universe. It is our pride and arrogance as human beings that lead us away from God and into sin, and it is only our recognition of God and who God is that can show us our sin and lead us into repentance.
4. Our recognition of who we are in relation to God and our sinfulness moves God to forgiveness, reconciliation and love. As I just said, it is our recognition of ourselves and of our sinfulness in relation to God that draws us to God because our sin is against God, and therefore, only God can forgive us. It is God who reaches out to us with love, forgiveness and reconciliation. God cleanses Isaiah from his uncleanness in this passage and God working through Jesus Christ has provided for our cleansing as well. But, we must still go to God in humility, faith and repentance for the cleansing work of Christ to be activated in our lives.
5. This prepares us to be commissioned by God for Gods service in the fulfillment of Gods mission and prepares us to submit to God and serve. God gifts and calls all of his people to serve, but I believe that we must first go through the steps above before we truly serve God for the right reasons and out of the right frame of mind. Our service of God should not be driven out of a sense of what it can get for us, but rather out of a sense of who God is and what God has done for us. We serve not to receive, but as a way of glorifying God and in return for Gods great gifts to us.