Each week we post an Order of Service for the upcoming Lord’s Day worship service. It gives a preview of the sermon content and explains how each element of the service supports the theme of the message. We carefully select songs for the teaching value of the lyrics (Colossians 3:16). Use the links in each post to preview the lyrics of the songs. Please read Understanding Worship at HBC for an explanation of the contribution made by each element of the service.
Check this page each week.
Introduction Baptists have always insisted the Bible teaches the separation of church and state. By this, they mean that the government cannot interfere with the affairs of the church. That does not mean, however, that they promote anarchy. The 24th chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith explains the biblical view of civil government. It…
Introduction We began a topical series last Lord’s Day evening on the subject of prayer. We showed how prayer is one side of a conversation between at least two parties, me and God. My part of the conversation comes to Him directly in the form of praying, and His part of the conversation comes to…
Introduction The 23rd chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith deals with “Lawful Oaths and Vows.” At first glance, the topic seems to have little current relevance. However, on closer examination, it has profound significance. Jesus even devoted a portion of his famous Sermon on the Mount to this topic, placing it alongside such topics…
Introduction The twenty-second article in the Baptist Confession of Faith is called “Religious Worship.” It strongly states that God prescribes in Scripture the way his people are allowed to worship him and that worship “according to the imaginations and devices of men” is unacceptable. The sermon text demonstrates this truth from the second of the…
Introduction Article twenty-one in the Baptist Confession of Faith addresses the subject of Christian liberty. The gospel sets the believer free from the Law and neither church nor government has the authority to bind the believer to the Law again. This article is a warning against legalism. Unlike the historical setting in which it was…
Introduction The subject of the twentieth chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith is “The Gospel.” Other chapters also address gospel themes such as Christ the Mediator, Justification, Repentance unto Life and Salvation, etc. But the unique emphasis in the current chapter is the relationship between the gospel and special revelation, that is, the Bible.…
Introduction The nineteenth chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith addresses the topic, “The Law of God.” It is a controversial topic that draws out a variety of opinions. Some say that Christians are still bound by the Law of Moses (at least in part) that God gave to Israel. Others argue that since Christ…
Introduction We saw in chapter seventeen of the Baptist Confession of Faith that a persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark of genuine faith. The eighteenth chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith explains a correlative truth, the Christian doctrine of assurance of salvation. Perseverance does not undermine the certainty of our salvation but…
Introduction This Lord’s Day we will observe the ordinances that Jesus bequeathed to the church by which we remember him: the Lord’s Table and baptism. In the 19th century, English minister, J. C. Ryle, wrote a paper explaining the Lord’s Table. In it, he listed four “practical benefits” that believers receive when they participate in…
Introduction Chapter 17 of the Baptist Confession of Faith addresses the subject of “The Perseverance of the Saints.” The Scriptures clearly teach this doctrine, but many misunderstand it. Some even deny it, opting instead for a doctrine called “the preservation of the saints.” But, as the sermon this Lord’s Day will show, these two ideas…