Introduction
Chapter 13 in the Baptist Confession of Faith explains the Bible’s teaching on sanctification or, the Christian’s pursuit of holiness. The confession strongly and correctly makes the point that salvation in Christ always sets in motion the transforming process by which Christians become come more and more holy. The sermon and the service this Lord’s Day will proclaim this truth. They will also emphasize an aspect of sanctification only implied in the confession. Most Christians believe that sanctification is an important personal matter and that it has secondary implications for the people of God (the church). However, the Bible places primary emphasis on the holiness of the people of God which, in turn, has implications for the individual. To get this wrong undermines the purity of the church in coming generations.
The songs selected for the Lord’s Day service emphasize the foundation of our sanctification in the holiness of God and the plan of God to build his church as a holy temple, purified for his service.
PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP
Prelude
Call to Worship: Ephesians 5:15-21
Invocation
PROCLAMATION
Hymn 3 Holy, Holy, Holy
Note: This Triune God who saved us possesses intrinsic perfection, and thus deserves exclusive worship and praise. “Only thou are holy, there is none beside thee.” His holiness if the foundation of the holiness of his people.
Worship through Giving
Congregational Response: 137 When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
Note: When we “survey the wondrous cross,” we have no room for pride. The appropriate response is, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” This attitude undergirds sanctification in the believer’s life. It expresses an appropriate motive for our commitment to corporate giving.
Hymn 225 The Living Stone
Note: God has “ordained to raise” the church, a holy “temple to Jehovah’s praise.” It is raised on the foundation of Jesus and is “composed of all His saints” (or holy ones). In wonder, we sing, “View the vast building, see it rise!” In adoration for Jesus, we declare we “own no Savior but the ‘Living Stone.’”
Scripture Reading Hebrew 12:1-17
Note: The author of Hebrews challenged his readers to follow the faithfulness of others—but especially of Jesus (12:1-2). He calls the believer to submit to the Lord’s Fatherly discipline and help others to do so as well. Two important elements of the passage are: the goal is holiness, and the responsibility for holiness is corporate.
Pastoral Prayer
Hymn 222 (Tune: 220) Church of God, Beloved and Chosen
Notes: The church is created by God and for Christ. It is “beloved and chosen” by Him. He sanctifies us by his Spirit and through his word. He will continue this work until we are “wholly” sanctified and presented to Christ, “spotless, glorious and holy,” as “his chosen bride.”
Message: Holiness: A Family Pursuit
1 Peter 2:4-10
Pastor Steven Thomas
RESPONSE
Hymn 560 Take My Life and Let It Be
Notes: This is a particularly fitting hymn in a service that calls us to holiness. To him we give our time, hands, feet, voice, possessions, mind, will, and heart. All this is summed up in the opening line: “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” Consecration is the act of declaring holy or sacred.
Prayer Response: Jon Lont
Benediction: John Miles