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 the…
I. God requires us to live as we ought. A. In harmony. B. In humility. Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5 II. This prepares us to adorn the gospel with our deeds. A. Adorn it with sober obedience. B. Adorn it with attractive speech. C. Adorn it with joy-filled perseverance. Scripture:…
Introduction: This Lord’s Day we will observe both ordinances that Jesus gave to the church by which to remember him: the Lord’s Table and baptism. Our Lord’s Table observance will focus on themes contained in the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, themes that clearly explain the truth of the gospel: Heidelberg Catechism…
This Lord’s Day is Reformation Sunday, a day that remembers the hard-fought gains achieved by men such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and a host of others. All Protestant churches—even those that are not technically Reformed—owe a debt to these men who suffered, and sometimes laid down their lives, to purify the doctrine…
Luke 22:14-23 contains an account of the Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before he died. Though it was a meal designed to remember God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery, Jesus used it as an analogy of the deliverance from sin he would secure on the cross. Thus, it marked a…
This Lord’s Day we will observe the Lord’s Table by rehearsing the story line of the Bible. The story begins with God’s purpose in Creation. This sets the overarching theme of the Bible: the glory of God. However, soon afterward came the Fall, when we rebelled and marred the glory of God seen in his…
I. People instinctively assign value based on perceived worthiness. 15 II. But Jesus values the weak and the helpless. 16 III. The kingdom belongs to those who come to Him as weak and helpless. 17
This Lord’s Day we will observe the Lord’s Table. The service will focus on John 16:7-15. On the night before Jesus died, he promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to the apostles after completing his own mission. The text explains the Spirit’s mission: its basis (the completed work of Christ), its task (calling…
What a wonderful word is this term, ‘confess.’ In John’s language the idea meant, “to say the same thing.” Confession means that we acknowledge our sin and lay it before God—but more than that; it means to side with God against our sin. “I speak with God in condemnation of this action or attitude or…