Morning Worship
Call to Worship: Psalm 98:1-3
Opening Hymn: 224 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
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: Isaiah 55:7-9
Psalm of Preparation: Psalm 119K “MY Soul for Your Salvation Yearns”
Old Covenant Reading: Isaiah 46:1-13
New Covenant Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:13-18
Sermon: Perseverance in Doing Good
Psalm of Response: Psalm 42B “As Pants the Deer for Flowing Streams”
Confession of Faith: Q/A 1 Heidelberg Catechism (p. 872)
Doxology (Hymn 568)
Closing Psalm: Psalm 93 “The LORD Reigns Over All”
Evening Worship
OT: Psalm 93:1-5
NT: 1 Timothy 1:15-17
Glorify the King
Suggested Preparations
Monday (7/19) Read and discuss 2 Thessalonians 3:13-18.
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (ESV)
Paul writes with astonishing authority. In verse 6, he speaks of commanding the Thessalonians. In today’s passage he writes, “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him.” John Stott comments:
Nobody in the church today has this kind of authority or dares t use this kind of language. True, infallibility is still claimed by and for the Pope when he is speaking ex cathedra and (since Vatican II) in association with the college of Roman Catholic bishops. Yet, politely though firmly, we must reject this pretension. … At the other end of the theological spectrum there are some very authoritarian leaders of the charismatic and house church movements, who claim to be ‘apostles’ and who in the exercise of their so-called ‘shepherding’ ministry, lay down the law and require obedience. But we must emphatically reject their pretensions too. There is nobody in the church who has an authority which even remotely resembles that of the apostles of Christ; nor has there been since the last apostle died.
This fact was clearly recognized in the immediate post-apostolic church. The church leaders of those days knew that the apostles had no successors, and that they lacked their authority. Take Ignatius as an example. He was Bishop of Syrian Antioch at the beginning of the second century, and was condemned to die in Rome for his Christian faith. On his way there he wrote seven letters, in which his high view of the episcopate is evident. Yet in his letter to the Romans he wrote: ‘I do not give you orders like Peter and Paul. They were apostle; I am a convict.’ He was a bishop. But he was not an apostle, and he lacked an apostle’s authority to issue commands.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 86. What is faith in Jesus Christ?
A. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
Tuesday (7/20) Read and discuss 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12.
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (ESV)
James Grant writes:
[In this passage, Paul gives] a straightforward command: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” We have already seen how Paul was drawing this command from the creation story in Genesis and was instructing this church about the broader concern of vocation and life. This particular command became very important in the history of the church regarding work. An early church document called the Apostolic Constitutions (ca. A.D. 375) used this verse as a ground for instruction regarding the requirement to work for a living. It also provided instruction for ministers concerning how they should help those in need, as well as dealing with the “disorderly” who should not receive help from the church.
After the Protestant Reformation, the concept of one’s vocation was revitalized by Martin Luther, who argued that all work and vocation was glorifying to God, not just the role of the minister. Luther also argued that work is not just about what you do but about what God does through you in your calling. Luther believed that the world is God’s good creation, and our calling and vocation is to serve Christ in our particularly state of life and to watch God work through us for the good of others.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?
A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.
Wednesday (7/21) Read and discuss Isaiah 46:1-13.
Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
“Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
“Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.” (ESV)
R. Reed Lessing writes:
Yahweh will exile Israel because the people bowed down to other gods. But he will not leave them there. He will enlist Cyrus and the Suffering Servant to reassemble them (43:5-6). Yahweh loves them; his people are valuable in his eyes and precious. But Israelites remain blind and deaf (43:8), just like the gods they worship. To bring them out of darkness and into new life, Yahweh plans a new exodus. Then his people will all witness to him by singing his praises. Right? Wrong! The exiles are still rebellious and just like Jacob, self-willed, self-centered, and self-satisfied. How did they get so far away from their God, who is willing to let bygones be bygones? Babylonian idols captivated their hearts. The history of Israel is the story of the nation’s ongoing conflict between the God who creates, orders, delivers, and protects by his word, and the various idols shaped by human hands.
Moses wrote that in the beginning, God made the first people in his own image and likeness. We were designed to reflect our Creator. Nevertheless, since the fall, our sinful nature impels us to construct and worship idols. Only by God’s redeeming grace can we once again begin to reflect the Creator; otherwise we reflect something within his creation. “We resemble what we revere, either for ruin or restoration (Greg Beale).”
MEMORY WORK
Q. 88. What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.
Thursday (7/22) Read and discuss Psalm 93:1-5.
The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty!
Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, forevermore. (ESV)
James Mays writes:
Psalm 93 declares its theme at its beginning. It is praise that portrays and proclaims the reign of the LORD. “The LORD reigns.” This Psalm gives those who sing it a way to imagine the kingship of God and to understand its meaning.
The lines of the hymn evoke for the imagination a word picture of the One who cannot be represented by images. This king is clothed, not with garments, but with majesty and power; His attributes are for Him what splendid royal robes are for an earthly king. His reign is not measured in years but spans all of time. “You are from everlasting,” says the psalm; a time cannot be thought when the King was not and His government not in control. His place is “on high,” in the heights of heaven above and beyond all place as human beings know space. His house expresses in its architecture the very quality of divine holiness. The hymn portrays “what eye hath not seen.” The features are part visual and part conceptual; the two merge in poetry that both conceal and reveal what the mind cannot know directly – the divine sovereignty.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 89. How is the word made effectual to salvation?
A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.
Friday (7/23) Read and discuss 1 Timothy 1:15-17.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
John Piper comments:
1 Timothy 15 is a great summary statement of Christmas good news: “The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” His humble birth, obedient life, substitutionary death, and powerful resurrection covers the sins of his people and saves us from the loss of any good and precious thing and from the bondage of any evil and undesirable thing.
And notice the context of this great saying. It’s Paul’s own personal testimony of how he had been changed. Verse 13: “I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted Christ.” Why did Christ choose the chief persecutor of the church to become the chief missionary of the church? The answer to that question is given very clearly in verse 16: he did it so that this morning you would grasp the message of Christmas—that no one who trusts Christ is beyond the reach of change. “I received mercy for this reason, that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” Christ picked the chief of sinners to demonstrate to you today what his mercy and power can do in your life. Don’t belittle the mercy of God by saying that you cannot be changed!
When Paul calls the power of Christ which changed him from great sinner to great apostle—when he calls this power “mercy,” he exalts not himself but the Savior. The Christmas gift of change is always a gift, and never a wage. It can never be boasted in. It can be sought after the way a helpless, hungry man seeks food; and it can be accepted by faith. But it can never be earned. And so none of the changes God gives can be the basis of pride. The more like Christ you become, the more you exalt Christ and not yourself
What God did on the first Christmas and what he does in forgiving and changing people today he did and does in utterly free, sovereign mercy, so that all his people will end the paragraphs of their lives with the words like verse 17: “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” We are not saved from sin and changed into righteousness for the sake of pride but for the sake of praise. And when God’s work on us is done and we stand perfected before Christ in the last day, we will not exult in our worth but will sing with millions of angels: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and honor and glory and blessing.” Praise to you, O Lord. Amen.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 90. How is the word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?
A. That the word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation and prayer; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.
Saturday (7/24) Read and discuss 2 Thessalonians 3:13-18.
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (ESV)
John Byron writes:
The letter closes the way it opened. In 1:2 Paul wishes them “grace and peace” and then goes on to comfort them in a situation that is less than peaceful. The Thessalonians were in need of a variety of kinds of peace. They could function together and not be an unnecessary burden to one another. But they needed peace externally. The pressures of persecution and those troubling them were something they needed relief from too. As we noted in the first chapter, this is a community in desperate need of peace – peace from their enemies and peace of mind.
The wording of Paul’s prayer here captures the essence of shalom, the Hebrew word for peace. He prays that they will have “peace at all times and in every way.” The Hebrew concept of shalom is more than just the absence of war or conflict; it reflects a state of well-being. …
One point that is somewhat unusual here is the way Paul writes “the Lord of peace.” His more common expression is the “God of peace,” one he used when praying for the Thessalonians at the end of his first letter. As we noted in Paul’s first letter when Paul uses the appellation “Lord,” he is referring to Jesus rather than God the Father. So here in 2 Thessalonians Paul is calling Jesus the “Lord of peace” and praying that as the Lord, he will grant them peace. In light of the Christological focus of this letter, it is possible Paul chose to speak of Jesus this way purposely.
Much of the imagery of Jesus in this letter has been less than peaceful. In 1:5-10 he is the one who is revealed in blazing fire with angels to judge the earth. In 2:8 he is the one who destroys the lawless one with the breath of his mouth. While much of the letter focuses on the work of Christ, it has more to say about the way he will treat his enemies than it does about his relationship with the church. The prayer of blessing and peace closes that loop by reminding the Thessalonians that Jesus, along with God the Father, is the source of peace and that all he does is with the goal of bringing them peace.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 91. How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation?
A. The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer them; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them.