Guide for the Preparation for Worship on 1 December 2019 Sunday, Nov 24 2019

1 December 2019

Call to Worship: Psalm 105:1-3

Opening Hymn: 288 “We Come, O Christ, to You”

Confession of Sin

O great and everlasting God, Who dwells in unapproachable light, Who searches and knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart; We confess that we have not loved You with all our heart, nor with all our soul, nor with all our mind, nor with all our strength; Nor our neighbors as ourselves.  We have loved what we ought not to have loved; We have coveted what is not ours; We have not been content with Your provisions for us.  We have complained in our hearts about our family, about our friends, about our health, about our occupations, about Your church, and about our trials.  We have sought our security in those things which perish, rather than in You, the Everlasting God.  Chasten, cleanse, and forgive us, through Jesus Christ, who is able for all time to save us who approach You through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for us.  Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon: Romans 5:1-2

Hymn of Preparation: 434 “A Debtor to Mercy Alone”

Old Covenant Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9

New Covenant Reading: John 11:17-44

Sermon: To Live is Christ

Hymn of Response: 330 “Who Is This, So Weak and Helpless”

Confession of Faith: Q/A 1 Heidelberg Catechism (p. 872)

Doxology (Hymn 568)

Closing Hymn:  277 “Before the Throne of God Above”

PM Worship

OT: Psalm 42:1-5

NT: Revelation 21:1-8

The City that is to Come

Shorter Catechism Q/A # 12

Q. What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?
A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.

Suggested Preparations

Monday (11/25) Read and discuss John 11:17-27.  This is a beautiful and stunning passage. Jesus reveals to Martha that the resurrection is not only an event it is a person. Jesus says: “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” But what exactly does it mean for Jesus to be the resurrection? One way to get out this is to think about Christ’s own resurrection from the dead. Why didn’t Jesus remain dead after He died? There are several good answers to this question, but allow me to highlight just one: The letter to the Hebrews points out that Jesus became our Great High Priest, not on the basis of his ancestry, but because He intrinsically had an indestructible life. That is, Jesus was not only truly man He was also truly God. Peter also proclaims this truth at Pentecost where he tells the crowd that:

God raised [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Once we realize that Jesus is truly God that makes complete sense. God cannot be destroyed. God cannot be conquered by death. But here is the astonishing thing that Jesus is telling Martha: Jesus is telling Martha that this isn’t just true about Him. Because Jesus came to identify with His people, it is true of every person who places his or her trust in Him. When, by God’s grace, you place your trust in Jesus Christ – you are vitally and permanently united with Jesus, … so that His life becomes your life. Just as it was not possible for death to hold Jesus – it is now no longer possible for death to maintain its grip upon you. Think about it this way. If Jesus holds you in His hands, and death holds you in its hands, it is death whose grip must be broken … for Jesus will never let you go. Read or sing Hymn 288 “We Come, O Christ, to You” Prayer: Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong.

Tuesday (11/26) Read and discuss Romans 16:17-20. In verse 20, Paul is obviously and powerfully pointing us back to Genesis 3:15. There, the gospel is proclaimed for the very first time, and intriguingly – it is proclaimed by the LORD and it is proclaimed to Satan:

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

                        and between your offspring and her offspring;

            he shall crush your head,

                        and you shall bruise his heel.

Because Genesis 3 is so clearly talking about Christ crushing Satan’s head – many commentators assume that Paul is talking about the Second Coming of Christ – when the LORD will consummate history and cast Satan into the Lake of Fire. But that is not what Paul is saying. Rather, he is telling the Romans something that should give us great confidence as we go out and engage in the Great Commission:

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Under whose feet? Paul is clear: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” We have already seen a preview of this when Jesus sent out His disciples during our Lord’s earthly ministry. For example, in Luke chapter 10 we are told:

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”

How did Jesus respond?

[Jesus] said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

That is, as the Disciples ministered Christ’s word in Christ’s name – Jesus interpreted the consequences of that ministry in terms of His own victory over Satan. Satan had convinced Eve to trust his words rather than the word of God. Paul is voicing confidence that the opposite will take place in Rome. As the saints in Rome cling to Christ and proclaim the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit – God Himself will use this handful of Christians in the capital of the Roman Empire to trample Satan under their feet. The same is true for us today. The LORD isn’t calling us to be Alert and Holy in the spiritual equivalent of the Alamo – where we can all valiantly give our lives for a lost cause as Satan and his followers overwhelm the Church. Jesus is calling us to be alert and holy in a great battle that the Church cannot possibly lose. Read or Sing Hymn 434 “A Debtor to Mercy Alone” Prayer: Give thanks that Christ’s Kingdom cannot fail.

Wednesday (11/27) Read and discuss Isaiah 25:6-9.  Alec Motyer writes:

Reading and rereading Isaiah 25:6-9 it is impressed on us that this is one of the Bible’s high spots: ultimate, eternal reality, is a banquet, with no expense spared, every provision made and, lest there should be anything to mar our enjoyment of it, every tear dried. And this is no mere flight of prophetic fancy or some ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ pie in the sky. It is confirmed by Jesus and reiterated by one who was, so to speak, allowed to be there, the seer John caught up to heaven and shown its delights. Isaiah gives us three aspects of the heavenly banquet to ponder: first, it is characteristic of our God to have such an end in view, to bring us to the enjoyment of it, and to spread all of his heavenly riches out for our participation – ‘This is our God’ (v. 9a). Secondly, this is what salvation is. Eternal bounty, the pure hilarious joy of the Lamb’s wedding breakfast, ‘the shout of them that triumph, the song of them that feast.’ ‘We exult in his salvation’ (v. 9). Thirdly, it is a matter of confident and patient expectancy, a call to the upward and onward gaze, the eye trained on the skies for outcome.

Prayer: Please lift up those in our congregation who are suffering with health challenges.

Thursday (11/28) Read and discuss Psalm 42:1-11. Cultures are different. It is often said that the French think every solution has a problem while Americans think that every problem has a solution. This has led to Americans being more prosperous than the French. It has also led to us being more stressed. Regretfully, the American “can do” attitude can sometimes cause spiritual problems. For example, if you tell your friends that you are spiritually dry you are likely to receive a list of things to do: Are you reading your Bible regularly? Do you have any sins you need to repent of (A good answer is: “Yes, all of them!”)? Are you maintaining a disciplined quiet time? Etc. … Now, sometimes, these are the right questions to ask ourselves. In fact, some of the psalms give examples of people experiencing spiritual depression precisely because they have unrelieved guilt. Yet, that is not the only time when believers can experience spiritual dryness. You will notice that there is no indication in this psalm that the psalmist is doing anything but walking faithfully with God. Nor is there a lack of faith on the psalmist’s part. He is simply expressing the emotionally reality of not feeling the presence of God during a time of great suffering.  This is a powerful emotion which the psalm compares to a parched deer longing to have its thirst quenched. He declares that his tears have been his food day and night. All the while the psalmist is being mocked for putting his faith in the living God. The central thrust of this psalm is that there is no sense in seeking to have that thirst quenched or that pain relieved anywhere else. For Christ alone will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Living in a radically fallen world we ought to expect such times of pain and struggle. Don’t add to that trouble the guilt of feeling that if you were truly spiritual you would always walk around with a Wal-Mart smiley face. Instead we should face reality and remind ourselves, as does the psalmist, to hope in the LORD. Read or Sing Hymn 330 “Who Is This, So Weak and Helpless” Prayer: Give thanks for having the Word of God in our own language.

Friday (11/29) Read and discuss Revelation 21:1-8. The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city. That may come as a bit of a surprise to those of us who think that paradise restored might be something like a beach in Hawaii. So is Tim Keller right when he says, “If you don’t like cities you are not going to like the new heavens and the new earth”? Well, not exactly. What cities provide is an opportunity for large numbers of people to easily interact with one another for good or for ill. On the positive side, the degree of interaction and specialization that cities provide promotes economic growth through trade, exceptional educational opportunities, and generally the highest forms of a civilization’s culture. On the downside, social deviants who are shamed into behaving better in small towns are able to find peer groups in large cities that will affirm their perversions as though they were good. So, large modern cities like New York and London produce the extremes of human culture. On the one hand there is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, financial and business centers, and world class universities. On the other hand, there are gangs, slums, homeless people, and every manner of perversion imaginable. But what if all the negative things were to be taken away and we were left with only the upside of cities? That is what God is promising to do in this passage:

And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. … He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. … To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Yet, the most important thing about this city will not be its beauty or even that all its citizens will be entirely free from sin. The most important thing about the New Jerusalem is that God Himself will dwell there with His people:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. … The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Read or sing Hymn 277 “Before the Throne of God Above” Prayer: Please lift up our brothers and sisters at Amoskeag Presbyterian Church in Manchester.

Saturday (11/30) Read and discuss John 11:28-44. In verse 33 we are told that Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. What does it mean that Jesus was “deeply moved in his spirit?” For some reason, most English translations leave this rather vague. We could easily imagine that Jesus was deeply moved, perhaps, with deep compassion for Mary, Martha, and even for the crowd. But that is not what this expression means. The Greek word is never used of compassion. In extra-biblical Greek, the term is used to describe the snorting of horses who are preparing for battle. When it is applied “to human beings, it [always] suggests anger or outrage.” … Jesus is seriously angry, but the question is … “Angry at what?” Nobody can explain this any better than the great Princeton scholar, B.B. Warfield. Warfield writes:

It is death that is the object of [Christ’s] wrath, and behind death him who has the power of death, and whom He has come into the world to destroy. Tears of sympathy may fill His eyes, but this is incidental. His soul is held by rage: and He advances to the tomb, in Calvin’s words … “‘as a champion who prepares for conflict.’ The raising of Lazarus thus becomes, not an isolated marvel, but … a decisive instance and open symbol of Jesus’ conquest of death and hell. What John does for us in this particular statement is to uncover to us the heart of Jesus, as He wins for us our salvation. Not in cold unconcern, but in flaming wrath against the foe, Jesus smites [death] on our behalf.”

Prayer: Please lift up tomorrow’s morning and evening worship services.

Leave a Response »

 

Guide for the Preparation for Worship on 24 November 2019 Sunday, Nov 17 2019

24 November 2019

Call to Worship: Psalm 98:1-3

Opening Hymn: Psalm 1A “That Man is Blest”

Confession of Sin

Most holy and merciful Father; We acknowledge and confess before You; Our sinful nature prone to evil and slothful in good;  And all our shortcomings and offenses.  You alone know how often we have sinned; In wandering from Your ways; In wasting Your gifts;  In forgetting Your love.  But You, O Lord, have pity upon us; Who are ashamed and sorry for all wherein we have displeased You.  Teach us to hate our errors; Cleanse us from our secret faults; And forgive our sins for the sake of Your dear Son.  And O most holy and loving Father; Help us we beseech You; To live in Your light and walk in Your ways; According to the commandments of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon: Luke 1:76-79

Hymn of Preparation: Psalm 23A “The Lord’s My Shepherd”

Old Covenant Reading: Genesis 3:1-15

New Covenant Reading: Romans 16:17-20

Sermon: Heresy and Hope

Hymn of Response: Psalm 22B “All You That Fear Jehovah’s Name”

Confession of Faith: Ten Commandments

Doxology (Hymn 568)

Closing Hymn: 417 “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun”

PM Worship

OT: Deuteronomy 7:6-11

NT: Ephesians 1:1-6

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Shorter Catechism Q/A # 11

Q. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Suggested Preparations

Monday (11/18) Read and discuss Romans 16:17-20. Michael Bird writes:

I don’t know if you remember the detective show Colombo, where Detective Columbo (i.e., Peter Falk) was known for making penetrating observations about a crime scene and poking holes in a criminal’s story. Every episode Columbo would interview a suspect and just when the suspect’s alibi seemed to check out, Columbo would pause and say, “Oh year, just one more thing …” and then ask a question that completely unraveled the suspect’s entire story. Here, Paul pulls a Columbo by adding just one more thing that provides some insight into the Roman situation. The one thing is that Paul wants them to be wary of false teachers entering their ranks and promulgating a false gospel. I like how Eugene Peterson paraphrases vv. 17-19: “One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide birth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.”

In my experience of churches in the UK, USA, and Australia, most evangelical churches do not get easily fooled by big and obvious heresies like denying the deity of Christ or denying the humanity of Jesus. More often than not, the danger is teaching that is vague and mushy, watered down, without substance, and has the theological depth of a car park puddle. You end up with a sermon diet that has the spiritual nutrition value equivalent to living exclusively on McNuggets.

On other occasions the danger is trendiness, wanting to be liked and loved by the masses, to be spoken of positively in the media, which puts pressure on pastors as much as parishioners to downplay certain aspects of the faith like sin, atonement, judgment, and hell. Here preaching becomes akin to pandering at the pool of popularity. … Here’s my point. False teaching starts as shallow, tries to be trendy, and pursues innovation without boundaries, and before you know it, you’re standing in a church where the Nicene Creed is either mocked or meaningless. That’s what happened in many mainline churches, when the leadership – who should have known better – let in wolves among the flock.

Read or sing Psalm 1A “That Man is Blest” Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to grant you doctrinal discernment and for the Lord of the Church to protect MVPC from false teaching.

Tuesday (11/19) Read and discuss Hebrews 9:1-10. Planned obsolescence can be an unsavory description. The idea developed in the 1920s when mass manufacturers realized they could create repeat sales through product cycle upgrades.  Consumers usually go along with this system, but sometimes chaff at the idea of having to replace a perfectly good product with a new one because the old one is no longer compatible with other technologies or because it can no longer be serviced.  Nevertheless, we should realize planned obsolescence lies at the very heart of the Mosaic covenant. It was never designed to bring people to the ultimate Promised Land but was preparatory until the time when Christ would come. The very rituals that the priests were to undertake in the Tabernacle and then the Temple were designed to point to their own temporary and typological nature. For even the priests didn’t have regular access into God’s presence. Only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies and even then he could enter only once per year. Hebrews tells us that “the Holy Spirit indicting (was) this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the firs tabernacle was still standing.” Furthermore, the constant offering of sacrifices revealed that none of them had actually made anyone perfect before God. But Christ, having offered up Himself once and for all, has sat down at the right hand of God.  His work of atonement is finished and it does entirely wash away the sins of everyone who trusts in Him.  Therefore, every single believer now has immediate access to the throne of grace.  Consider what an extraordinary privilege this is – then take advantage of this access which was Jesus purchased for you with His own blood. Read or Sing Psalm 23A “The Lord’s My Shepherd” Prayer: Please lift up our brothers and sisters in the troubled nation of Eritrea (You may recall, that our missionaries in Eritrea were imprisoned and then expelled from the country several years ago. Our brothers and sisters in this country have been living with great hardship ever since).

Wednesday (11/20) Read and discuss Genesis 3:1-15. According to verse 6, what did Eve think regarding the desirability of the forbidden fruit before she ate it?  Verse 6 reads: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took …” Even though she clearly knew that the LORD had commanded her and her husband not to eat this fruit, she took and she ate. What must Eve have thought about God in order to choose following Satan and/or her own perceptions over God’s clear word? Obviously, she thought that the LORD, the LORD who had both created them and literally given them a paradise to live in, was somehow holding out on her. It can be helpful for us to realize that all sin involves not simply a desire for forbidden pleasures – but a faulty view of God.  According to verses 8-10, what actually happened to Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit?  Compare this to Eve’s evaluation of eating the fruit in verse 6.  Obviously, things didn’t turn out the way she hoped. Sometimes we need to put things in terms that even a small child can understand – so that we can understand them as well: Satan is a liar and so is the world.  Neither Satan nor the world delivers on their promises, but the LORD is always faithful. So, when being tempted, don’t be afraid to remind yourself that Satan and the world are liars. Remarkably, the LORD responds to this rebellion not only with judgment but also with grace.  Rather than wiping mankind from the face of the earth, He makes provision for our redemption (This is all according to His plan which He had from before the foundation of earth. God was not surprised by mankind’s sin.).  Genesis 3:15 has often been called the proto-euangelion (“first gospel”) because it tells us of God’s commitment to crush Satan and his work through the seed of the woman – Christ.  Prayer: Pray that God would open your eyes more fully to the wonder of who He is that you would be able to meet temptations this week with the reality that God’s promises are so much better than Satan and the world’s promises – and that God is actually faithful to bring all of His promises to pass.

Thursday (11/21) Read and discuss Deuteronomy 7:6-11. Paul Gilchrist writes:

Israel’s special status is by virtue of election – chosen by God, not because of any inherent greatness but solely because of God’s love and the oath bound promise made to Abraham. God’s sovereignty is also expressed in his faithfulness (v. 9) whereby He keeps His “covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.” Love is the epoxy that binds people and God together. Note the amazing grace of God expressed in the Decalogue where the thousand generations to whom God’s covenant love is applied is placed in contrast to God’s punishing the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him. Such a high calling is often accompanied by pried and boastfulness (problems which Moses deals with in chaps. 8-10). Israel is not to presume on God’s covenant love and grace, for carelessness only leads to destruction as a further exhibit of God’s justice.

Read or Sing Psalm 22B “All You That Fear Jehovah’s Name” Prayer: Ask the LORD to send visitors to the church who would be blessed by uniting with our congregation and whose gifts would build up our church.

Friday (11/22) Read and discuss Ephesians 1:1-6. Clinton Arnold writes:

This passage makes clear that God sovereignly chose us before He made the heavens and the earth. The two parallel sections strongly emphasize God’s initiative, decision, and choice in our salvation. The motivation for the election is His love, the basis is expressed as His “good pleasure” (v. 5) and “the counsel of His well,” (v. 11) and the purpose is that we would be a people “to Himself” (v. 5). It is conspicuous that Paul never says that we chose God or that the basis of election is rooted in God’s choice of those who would believe in Him. It is difficult to find within this text any notion of God foreseeing those who would exercise faith. “Hearing” and “believing” are expressed in the application section of this text (1:13-14), but as subsequent to God’s electing and predestining.

Why has God revealed His teaching about election in this passage? He wants to encourage our hearts by helping us see not only God’s sovereignty, but also His extraordinary love for us. As it did for Paul, these truths should lead us to praise God and thank Him for His indescribable kindness to us in pouring out His grace.

Read or sing Hymn 417 “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun” Prayer: Please lift up our brothers and sisters at Jaffrey OPC in Jaffrey, NH and ask that the LORD would give them a zeal for reaching their neighbors with the gospel.

Saturday (11/23) Read and discuss Romans 16:17-20. N.T. Wright comments:

[Paul] wants the church to grow up and learn how to understand, in love and good sense, that there is an ever-present danger of false teaching in the church. Coupled with this there is, of course, an ever-present danger that people will imagine false teaching where there is none, or will label as ‘false teaching’ something which just happens not to coincide with the particular way they are used to hearing things said. Recognizing these wrinkles and possibilities is part of learning to be both wise and innocent. But noting the dangers of wrong analysis doesn’t mean that there isn’t such a things as false teaching. There is, and it matters.

The trouble is, of course, that false teachers seldom give themselves away easily. What they say sounds clear, convincing and attractive – as does a great deal of good and wholesome teaching. Many Christians, for good reasons, like to believe what they are taught and to take it on board with humility and trust, and so are easy prey for those who have subtly different ideas and a clever way of putting them across. But Paul sees that the church is caught in the crossfire of spiritual warfare. It isn’t a matter of simply getting one’s doctrine correct out of a sense of intellectual pride. There is a battle raging for the redemption and renewal of the world and of individual people, and the church is up against the powers of darkness. Paul doesn’t spell this out in detail here the way he does in Ephesians 6:11-20, but verse 20 indicates surely enough that this is how he sees things. What they need is both the assurance that victory will be theirs and the promise and prayer of fresh grace to be with them in every need.

Prayer: Please lift up tomorrow’s morning and evening worship services.

Leave a Response »

 

Guide for the Preparation for Worship on 17 November 2019 Sunday, Nov 10 2019

17 November 2019 – The Rev. Gary Moore Preaching

Call to Worship: Psalm 96:1-3

Opening Hymn: 214 “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above”

Confession of Sin      

Almighty God, Who are rich in mercy to all those who call upon You; Hear us as we humbly come to You confessing our sins; And imploring Your mercy and forgiveness.  We have broken Your holy laws by our deeds and by our words; And by the sinful affections of our hearts.  We confess before You our disobedience and ingratitude, our pride and willfulness; And all our failures and shortcomings toward You and toward fellow men.  Have mercy upon us, Most merciful Father; And of Your great goodness grant that we may hereafter serve and please You in newness of life; Through the merit and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon: Isaiah 1:18

Hymn of Preparation: 173 “Almighty God, Your Word is Cast”

Old Covenant Reading: Jonah 3

New Covenant Reading: Luke 8:1-15

Sermon: Sowing the Word

Hymn of Response: 170 “God, in the Gospel of His Son”

Confession of Faith: Nicene Creed (p. 852)

Doxology (Hymn 568)

Diaconal Offering                  

Closing Hymn: 172 “Speak, O LORD”

PM Worship

OT: Psalm 116

NT: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:21

An Eternal Weight of Glory

Shorter Catechism Q/A # 10

Q. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.

Suggested Preparations

Monday (11/11) Read and discuss Luke 8:1-3. Arthur Just writes:

The mention and listing of the women in Jesus’ company is unique to Luke. Jesus included women in His ministry and honored them by making them witnesses of His death and resurrection. In fact, Luke reports here the news that some women put their possessions at the disposal of Jesus and the Twelve (“were serving them” 8:3). Thus they helped make it possible, both financially and logistically, for Jesus to travel with His disciples, teaching and performing miracles. Those named here in Luke 8 appear again prominently as witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection. According to the principle of the scribe his own ministry as one of serving, using the same verbs as used for the women here. God made Eve for Adam as “a helper suitable for him.” That such “help” is not demeaning is shown by God Himself furnishing “help” to people. Now women are facilitating the ministry of the second Adam, and by becoming the “least,” there are among the “greatest.” Of the eight occurrences of “serve” in Luke, the first three of women who serve Jesus: Peter’s mother-in-law, these women, and Martha, who also is the only one in the gospel to provide “service.”

The women’s service is of great import, particularly in the context of the attitude prevailing in Judaism of Jesus’s day regarding the inclusion – or exclusion – of women in religious matters. For example, the Herodian temple in Jerusalem in the NT era had a separate “court of women” outside the “court of Israel,” which was accessible only to Jewish men. “Non-conformist that He was, Jesus refused to permit tradition to make second-class citizens of women, whom he considered His sisters.” In the kingdom He brings, the Spirit is poured out on His male servants and His female servants alike (Acts 2:18) and whoever does the will of God, which is to believe in Him, is His brother and sister and mother (Mk 3:35).

Read or sing Hymn 214 “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above” Prayer: Please lift up Pleasant Mountain Presbyterian Church in Bridgton, ME which is in the process of becoming a particular congregation in the OPC.

Tuesday (11/12) Read and discuss Romans 16:1-16. What is the most valuable thing that you possess? That’s an interesting question: “What is the most valuable thing that you possess?” You might be thinking of your home or your investments for retirement, but interestingly, when disasters like fires and floods strike, the vast majority of people grab onto something personal rather than something of great monetary value. I’m confident that if we could have visited Paul as he finished writing Romans, and if we asked him about the most valuable thing that he possessed at the moment; that Paul would almost certainly have told us that his most important possession was the gospel which had been entrusted to him – and concretely, the most valuable thing that he could hold in his hands was the letter to the Romans which he was about to send on its way. Paul took the thing that was most important to him in the entire world at that moment – his letter to the Romans – and he entrusted it to Phoebe. That is a remarkable testimony to the high esteem in which Paul held her. More broadly, Paul’s commendation of Phoebe along with his commendation of Prisca and Aquila remind us just how important women and laypeople were and are in the life of the church. Let’s bear in mind that less than 3% of our congregation is made up of Ruling Elders. God’s plan for the church is not that they would do all of the work. We are all being called into the great adventure of the Christian life – and we are being called to undertake this adventure … together. Read or Sing Hymn 173 “Almighty God, Your Word is Cast” Prayer: Ask the LORD to show you ways that you can work and serve for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Wednesday (11/13) Read and discuss Jonah 3. It is frequently said that “repentance is a change of mind.” That is true, but it is incomplete. Biblical repentance involves a reorientation of our whole selves, so that we seek going our own way and are turned to God. When the king of Nineveh rises from his throne and puts on sackcloth, he is acknowledging that though he might be the king of Nineveh for a short period of time – he is not the Great King – and so he abases himself before the One who is truly in charge. Rosemary Nixon puts it like this:

There is something deliberately dramatic about the [the words of verse 6]. They are vividly pictorial. There is a beautiful symmetry in the way the actions of the king are set out. The action begins with him rising from his throne and ends with him sitting in ashes. Between these two resting places he has taken off his royal robe and covered, or ‘hidden,’ himself in sackcloth. Not even David’s repentance, after he had heard the words of Nathan the prophet, is so lucidly portrayed. In that story it is only after King David has been told that his child is dead that we are told, “Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. The story of Ahab shows he king adopting a similar response on hearing the words of the prophet Elijah: ‘he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.’ God’s response to Ahab was to delay judgment.

The response of these kings to the words of the prophets was unusual. Perhaps more common was the response of Jehoiakim, king in Jerusalem. On hearing the words of the prophet Jeremiah read to him by the scribe, ‘the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them into the fire. … Yet neither the king, nor any of his servants who heard all these words, was afraid, nor did they rend their garments.’ Such brazen hostility towards God was all the more shocking coming from a descendant of David and a king of Jerusalem.

The pagan king of Nineveh, however, knew that fasting and the usual outward signs of repentance alone were insufficient. He added a totally new dimension to them by urging on the people the idea that the pattern of evil and violence had to be broken: ‘let every one turn from his evil way and from … violence’ (v. 8). It is not said of the men of Nineveh, “And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting,” but “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way.”

Prayer: Please lift up our brothers and sisters at Amoskeag Presbyterian Church in Manchester, NH.

Thursday (11/14) Read and discuss Psalm 116. Alec Motyer writes:

The Bible makes no secret of the fact that life on earth can be a troubled existence, and that life’s troubles are no cause for surprise. James class us to joy in trial because it is God’s plan for our spiritual perfecting. Peter tells us it is nothing strange; it is the way the Master went; shall not the servant tread it still? And what does Psalm 116 teach? A great deal, indeed! The writer can look back over the whole period of the trial and say without hesitation: ‘I believed!’ – a strong, undeveloped statement, a maintained position of faith. Like Jesus, when He asked His awesome question ‘why?’ (Mark 15:34), was careful to preface it with ‘My God, my God,’ a double affirmation of sustained faith. Not a thing we always do! Yet what a lesson to learn! To look into the teeth of the storm and say ‘I believe.’ Come what may, this is not going to knock me off course. Here I stand!

Read or Sing Hymn 170 “God, in the Gospel of His Son” Prayer: Please lift up the Supreme Court of the United States and ask the LORD to grant them wisdom and integrity for their important work.

Friday (11/15) Read and discuss 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:21. Scott Hafemann writes:

Paul’s argument in 5:6-8 reminds us that life in this world is not the end-all and be-all of our existence. As a Christian it sounds silly even to say such a thing, since it is so obvious. But the fac that such a conviction has risen to the level of a truism makes it all the more necessary to reaffirm it. Clichés, though so true they go without saying, are not taken seriously. But Paul’s perspective in this passage, if taken seriously, challenges in no uncertain terms the contemporary cultural preoccupation with the present that pervades and cripples our churches. For in 5:8-9 Paul makes it clear that he Christian’s courage derives from having the right desires for the future, which in turn leads to having the right ambitions in the present. Those who live for the present desire only what this world has to offer. Their ambition is to please themselves within the confines of the narrow pleasures of this world. But those who live for the future with God desire the life promised by God. Their ambition is to please God, since He is their true joy.

Read or sing Hymn 172 “Speak, O LORD” Prayer: Please lift up our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong and in Mainland China.

Saturday (11/16) Read and discuss Luke 8:1-15. Ligon Duncan comments:

How do you hear the Word? Jesus makes it clear in this passage that hearing the Word is not just a matter of plopping down in the seat in the sanctuary and listening. Jesus’ point in this passage is that Satan himself has a real interest in your not listening to the Word of God. Jesus is indicating that for you to hear the Word of God, actually is to engage in a spiritual battle because Satan does not want you to hear the Word of God. Satan, if you’ll remember in this parable, Jesus Himself says, is active in trying to keep people from hearing the Word of God. In some people, he distracts them immediately so that the Word never ever takes root. In others, there’s an initial response of joy, but then in all too brief a time, it’s gone. And still in others there is a response to the truth, but what happens? The cares and the riches and the pleasures of this world choke the Word.

What’s happening there? You are caring more about the things of this life than you care about your eternal well-being. Can you imagine that – caring more about the things that will pass away than your eternal well-being? And Jesus is saying Satan is behind that. It happens all the time. So, when you come to hear the Word of God there is a battle going on. Satan is not wanting you to see your sin.

Why did that woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, and why did these women in verse 2 and 3, follow Jesus? Because they saw their sin and they saw their need and they saw that Jesus had met it. And what does Satan want to make sure you don’t do so that you don’t hear the Word? He doesn’t want you to see your sin. He wants you to come in and listen to a sermon and think about everybody else’s sins. “Boy, they sure did need to hear that message!”…

So how are you hearing the Word of God? Is it changing your life? Is it shown in the way you treat others? Is it shown in the fruit that’s being born in your experience — you love God more, you trust Him more, you want to tell about Him more, you want to live for Him more? Jesus is reminding us my friends that the hearing of the Word of God is a spiritual battle.

Prayer: Please lift up tomorrow’s morning and evening worship services.

Leave a Response »

 

Guide for the Preparation for Worship on 10 November 2019 Sunday, Nov 3 2019

10 November 2019

Call to Worship: Psalm 100:1-5

Opening Hymn: 224 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”

Confession of Sin      

Almighty God, Who are rich in mercy to all those who call upon You; Hear us as we humbly come to You confessing our sins; And imploring Your mercy and forgiveness.  We have broken Your holy laws by our deeds and by our words; And by the sinful affections of our hearts.  We confess before You our disobedience and ingratitude, our pride and willfulness; And all our failures and shortcomings toward You and toward fellow men.  Have mercy upon us, Most merciful Father; And of Your great goodness grant that we may hereafter serve and please You in newness of life; Through the merit and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon: Isaiah 53:4-5

Hymn of Preparation: Psalm 133A “How Excellent a Thing It Is”

Old Covenant Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

New Covenant Reading: Romans 16:1-16

Sermon: Connected

Hymn of Response: 408 “For All the Saints”

Confession of Faith: Apostles Creed (p. 851)

Doxology (Hymn 568)          

Closing Hymn: 409 “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”

PM Worship

OT: 1 Kings 11:26-43

NT: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Israel’s Sin, God’s Faithfulness

Shorter Catechism Q/A # 9

Q. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.

Suggested Preparations

Monday (11/4) Read and discuss Romans 16:1-16. R.C. Sproul writes:

We hear of Priscilla and Aquila in the book of Acts. They ministered with the apostle in Ephesus. Apparently, Priscilla and Aquila had been in Rome and had to flee when Christians were banished by the emperor Claudius. They went from Rome to Ephesus, where they met with the apostle Paul and assisted him in his ministry. We do not have a specific record of the risks they took for the apostle, but from the Acts record of Paul’s sojourn in Ephesus we know the time was a tumultuous one and that his life was in danger more than once.

Paul also sends a greeting to the church that was in their house. In the first-century community there were not only the ekklesia, the churches, but ekklesioh, little churches that met in homes. Those were not representative of today’s so-called house church. Today’s home-church movement generally, though not always, tends toward disenchantment with the organized visible church. There were home churches in the first century because there were no other places to meet. Those with larger homes would open them so people could assemble together for worship and instruction. The family of Priscilla and Aquila did that.

Read or sing Hymn 224 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” Prayer: Give thanks that the LORD has grafted you into a visible local church.

Tuesday (11/5) Read and discuss Romans 15:22-33. Paul had a passionate longing to preach the gospel in Rome and to build up the saints there. For years he had plead with the LORD to send him to the greatest city in the world – the very capital of the Roman Empire – but time and time again – the LORD said “no.” I actually find this wonderfully encouraging. Have you ever had what you thought were good desires and dreams that kept getting thwarted? Of course, you have. If not, you really ought to consider dreaming bigger and bolder dreams for your life. Sometimes those dreams are thwarted through external circumstances – but far worse than that is when our dreams are thwarted by our own stupid choices. As the song puts it “about mistakes, I’ve made a few.” But here is the tremendously good news in verse 22: I am not powerful enough that my mistakes can derail or bring to naught the good that the LORD plans to do through my life – and neither are external circumstances or even enemies. That is worth pausing and thinking about: “You are not powerful enough that your mistakes can derail or bring to naught the good that the LORD plans to do through your life – and neither are external circumstances or even enemies.” Encourage yourself with this truth! Read or Sing Hymn Psalm 133A “How Excellent a Thing It Is” Prayer: Give thanks that nothing in all creation can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wednesday (11/6) Read and discuss Ecclesiastes 4:10-12. James Bollhagen writes:

As the simple pleasures of life are better enjoyed in community, so also the hazards and hardships of life are better handled in the company of other believers. These three verses simply offer examples of coping corporately with life. Falling down, shivering in the cold, and facing hostility are all negatives encountered in the fallen world. But helping another up, keeping warm, and staving off attack are all positive ways of coping with that fallen world.

Herein is a great capsule summary of biblical wisdom, which answers this question: how can the child of God survive each day in a rotten world until God effects his final deliverance? The God behind these scriptural words of wisdom is seen as the Creator who formed Eve as the companion of Adam so that he would not have to face life in the “not good” state of being alone. He is also the Redeemer who sacrificed animals to protect His people from the freezing cold and shame of this world. In the fulness of time, this God sent His Son to offer Himself as the atoning sacrifice that redeems all humanity, trapped in bondage under the condemnation and curse of the Law. Through His son, He has called us into communion with Himself and with each other. The Lord Jesus sent out His disciples not singly, but two by two and promised His abiding presence with them everywhere and always. He added, “Wherever two or three are gathered in My name, them I am in their midst.”

The tears produced by the cares of this world and the tears produced by the knowledge that God cares about this world always seem to be mingled together. Whether married, single, or even banished to an island (as was the apostle john), no believer in Jesus Christ is ever alone; the LORD is his constant companion to raise him up when he falls, to warm him from the cold of this world’s night, and to protect him from the attacks of the devil and the world in order to give him the ultimate victory. Thus, Eccl 4:10-12 is not simply about the human advantages of companionship and marriage, but it also is a passage that in its deepest sense teaches the eternal benefit of communion with Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Pray for the young people in our congregation that they would develop godly friendships.

Thursday (11/7) Read and discuss 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. The early church fathers frequently used a striking image for the Church by comparing it to Noah’s Ark. There is much to be said in favor of this image. One wit has suggested that, like the Ark, if it wasn’t for the storm raging outside none of us could stand the smell on the inside. Thankfully, that is not the universal experience of Christians. The reason why the Ark imagery can be so helpfully is because when the LORD saves people He grafts them into His family. In spite of contemporary Western attitudes the time honored saying is clearly Biblical: “Ordinarily there is no salvation outside of the Church.” Nevertheless, all images are subject to abuse. The comparison of the Church to Noah’s Ark is helpful for directing people toward joining the Church but is perverted if we come to imagine that this means everyone within the Church is in fact saved.  Instead of such a scheme teaching salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, it teaches that salvation is by formal church membership.  This view has returned time and again to plague Christ’s Church. In the Middle Ages this view spawned the idea of implicit faith. Where the priests and well educated might be expected to have a personal faith in Jesus the laity could be saved without personally having faith in God or an understanding of what He had done in sending His Son simply be being church members and thereby sharing in the faith of the whole Church.  Obviously such a view is not taught in the Bible. Amazingly, a variant of this view has broken out in North America in the 21^st century amongst some who are on the fringes of Reformed Christianity. This variant wants to insist on the objectivity of membership within the covenant community. Some of these men are simply recovering a high view of the Church while others seem to be downplaying the need for individual regeneration and explicit personal faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul’s answer to this view is uncompromising. In effect he asks: “Have you never read your Bibles?” Virtually every adult who the LORD delivered from Egypt died in the wilderness due to their unbelief. Furthermore, most of Israel’s history from the time of Joshua to the time of the Babylonian exile was marked out by immorality and idolatry.  Privilege meant responsibility it did not guarantee salvation. “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” Let us heed this example and cling to Christ out of genuine confidence in Him. Read or Sing Hymn 408 “For All the Saints” Prayer: Ask that the LORD would grant you, along with your brothers and sisters at MVOPC, the courage to walk in the light and to stand for the light.

Friday (11/8) Read and discuss 1 Kings 11:26-43. Walter Maier comments:

David is mentioned seven times in Ahijah’s speech (does seven here have symbolic significance?). The phrase “for the sake of my servant David” occurs in the first and second portions of the speech, and the concept “obedient as David” is reflected in the first and third portions. All of this emphasized both God’s covenant with David and what that covenant meant and David’s exemplary faithfulness to and zeal for Yahweh. The encouragement rang out clearly to Jeroboam: be as David was, a man loyal to the LORD and Mosaic covenant. If Jeroboam would be as obedient as David, Yahweh would be “with” Jeroboam, as He was with David, and He would build for Jeroboam a lasting house, as He promised David. As noted above, however, a crucial difference regarding the matter of an enduring dynasty was that God’s promise to Jeroboam was conditional, whereas the promise to David was not.

The repetition of the concept “obedient as David” allows for a striking contrast. Solomon was not obedient as David was, which called forth God’s righteous judgment. But if Jeroboam would be as obedient as David was, he would experience Yahweh’s tremendous blessing.

Read or sing Hymn 409 “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” Prayer: Please pray for our brothers and sisters at the Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod.

Saturday (11/9) Read and discuss Romans 16:1-16. Michael Middendorf writes:

Those wishing to plumb the depths of Paul’s theology can find no better place to do so than the first fifteen chapters of Romans. But what of romans 16? It seems like just a list of names. Paul follows his commendation of Phoebe, likely the courier of the letter, in 16:1-2 with greetings to twenty-six named people in Rome, at times together with their households and those who worship with them. Later, in 16:21-23, eight more people send their greetings to the believers in Rome. While the latter grouping reflects a typical Pauline practice, “in no other letter does Paul even come close to the number of personal greetings he asks to be conveyed in vv. 3-15. The primary explanation resides in the fact that Paul has not yet been to Rome. The vast majority of his hearers have not heard Paul and do not know him personally. Those who are acquainted with him, therefore, serve something like his personal references to the whole community of believers.

Prayer: Please lift up tomorrow’s morning and evening worship services.

Leave a Response »