5 June 2022
Call to Worship: Psalm 105:1-3
Opening Psalm: Psalm 98C “Sing a New Song to Jehovah”
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 1:16-17
Hymn of Preparation: 277 “Before the Throne of God Above”
Old Covenant Reading: Psalm 37:34-40
New Covenant Reading: 2 Timothy 4:9-22
Sermon: The Lord Stood by Me
Hymn of Response: 231 “Whate’re My God Ordains is Right”
Confession of Faith: Apostles Creed (p. 851)
Doxology (Hymn 568)
Closing Hymn: 351 “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”
Evening Service
Hymns: 46A, 115A, 256
OT: Psalm 115
NT: Revelation 5:6-14
Sermon: Glorify, Trust, Bless
Suggested Preparation
________________________________________
Monday (5/30) read and discuss 2 Timothy 4:9-22
2 Timothy 4:9–22 (ESV)
9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. 22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
William Mounce writes:
Even though Paul was deserted at his hearing (v. 16), he was not alone for the Lord Jesus was by his side. Paul’s ministry has come full circle. According to the account in Acts, Jesus told his disciples that they would be witnesses “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). After Paul was blinded on the Damascus road, Acts reports that the risen Jesus told Ananias that Paul “is a chosen vessel for me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Paul testifies that God considered him to be faithful as evidenced by appointing him to service (1 Tim 1:12) as a herald to the Gentiles…. Acts relates that the risen Jesus had already told Paul that he would keep him safe until he preached the gospel in Rome (Acts 23:11), and Paul confirms that he believed that God would keep him safe, to the point of being willing to suffer for the gospel (2 Tim 1:12). Paul now stands at the end of his life and ministry, having seen God’s faithfulness to his promise and remained faithful to his call (1 Tim 1:12). Although friends and enemies alike have deserted him, he is not alone. God is faithful. His ministry of proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles is now complete.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 29. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.
_____________________________________
Tuesday (5/31) read and discuss James 2:1-13
James 2:1–13 (ESV)
1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
John Calvin writes:
For whosoever shall keep the whole law. What alone he means is, that God will not be honoured with exceptions, nor will he allow us to cut off from his law what is less pleasing to us. At the first view, this sentence seems hard to some, as though the Apostle countenanced the paradox of the Stoics, which makes all sins equal, and as though he asserted that he who offends in one thing ought to be punished equally with him whose whole life has been sinful and wicked. But it is evident from the context that no such thing entered into his mind.
For we must always observe the reason why anything is said. He denies that our neighbours are loved, when a part only of them is through ambition chosen, and the rest neglected. This he proves, because it is no obedience to God, when it is not rendered equally according to his command. Then as the rule of God is plain and complete or perfect, so we ought to regard completeness; so that none of us should presumptuously separate what he has joined together. Let there be, therefore, a uniformity, if we desire rightly to obey God. As, for instance, were a judge to punish ten thefts, and leave one man unpunished, he would betray the obliquity of his mind, for he would thus shew himself indignant against men rather than against crimes; because what he condemns in one he absolves in another.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 30. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.
_______________________________________
Wednesday (6/1) read and discuss Psalm 37:34-40
Psalm 37:34–40 (ESV)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Mark Futato writes:
The Suffering of the Righteous. The righteous… are referred to nine times in the psalm. Though referred to fewer times than the wicked, the righteous are the focus of the psalm, for the psalm’s purpose is to teach the righteous how to live in the face of the present prosperity of the wicked and their own suffering.
The righteous may suffer in the short run. Why would righteous people need to be exhorted to stop their anger and turn from their rage? Perhaps it is because they are suffering as a result of the “wicked schemes” of others (37:7). Or perhaps it is because their innocence is not seen at the present and the cause for which they stand is being maligned. Maybe it is because of the plots and the snarlings of the wicked who are attacking them ferociously. Maybe it is because they find themselves stumbling. Maybe they are the objects of great suspicion when there is no cause for such. Some of the preceding psalms have offered other potential reasons as to why the righteous might be angry. Perhaps they are angry because Psalm 1 seems to describe a life they are not experiencing: “They prosper in all they do.”
The righteous will not suffer in the long run. This chord is struck again and again in the psalm. They “will live safely in the land and prosper” (37:3; see also 37:9, 11, 22, 27, 29). They will receive their heart’s desires (37:4). Their innocence will “radiate like the dawn” (37:6). They will receive an eternal reward (37:18). “They will never slip from his path” (37:31). The bottom line is, they have a “wonderful future” ahead of them (37:37). Psalm 1 is true—in the end.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 31. What is effectual calling?
A. Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.
___________________________________
Thursday (6/2) read and discuss Psalm 115
Psalm 115 (ESV)
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; 13 he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. 14 May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! 15 May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 16 The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
Mark Futato writes:
First, the God of the Bible is sovereign, meaning he possesses supreme power. This is the truth affirmed in the statement, “Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes” (115:3). He is in heaven, not limited as those on earth are limited. He does as he wishes, or as Daniel 4:35 says, “He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ ” No one can challenge his right to act as he wishes, and no one can challenge his power to so act, either.
Second, the idols of the nations are powerless in contrast to the sovereign God. They are “merely things of silver and gold” (115:4) with no inherent power. In contrast to the Lord “who made heaven and earth” (115:15) they have been made by human hands. They appear to have all the organs to exercise personal power, but they are powerless to speak, to see, to hear. “The polemic, moreover, believes that the gods represented by the images are as impotent and unreal as their copies” (Mays 1994:367). Peter once said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life” (John 6:68). There are no substitutes for the true and living God.
When we substitute something or someone for the true and living God as the object of our ultimate trust, we become as powerless as the god we have fashioned. “If human work sets the boundaries for the reach of trust, then those who trust are limited to possibilities of their own making and the power of their own potential” (Mays 1994:367). When we trust the unlimited God, then unlimited possibilities, power, and blessing are available for us.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 32. What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life?
A. They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption and sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them.
______________________________________
Friday (6/3) read and discuss Revelation 5:6-14
Revelation 5:6–14 (ESV)
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Gordon Fee writes:
John himself is as plain as can be with this final acclamation. Thus both “to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb”—and now picking up four of the acclamations from the preceding “song”—be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever! It should perhaps be noted at the end, and hopefully not so as to diminish the glory and praise offered Christ as well as to the Father, that these four words, apparently taken at some random from the preceding list, are best understood not individually, but collectively. Their power lies not in their separate meanings, either in Greek or in English translation, but in their collective intensity, and thus their potential to arouse wonder and adoration in the readers themselves. And such readers, of any calendrical age and in every generation, are thus being invited into the praise that is offered to Father and Son together, which seems to be at least part of the intent of John’s own “for ever and ever.” Those who read only and do not worship would seem to have missed the implications of these final words, not to mention would stand aloof from what John would have expected of his first readers.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 33. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
__________________________________
Saturday (6/4) read and discuss 2 Timothy 4:9-22
2 Timothy 4:9–22 (ESV)
9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. 22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
John Calvin writes:
Make haste, to come to me quickly. As he knew that the time of his death was at hand, there were many subjects—I doubt not—on which he wished to have a personal interview with Timothy for the good of the Church; and therefore he does not hesitate to desire him to come from a country beyond the sea. Undoubtedly there must have been no trivial reason why he called him away from a church over which he presided, and at so great a distance. Hence we may infer how highly important are conferences between such persons; for what Timothy had learned in a short space of time would be profitable, for a long period, to all the churches; so that the loss of half a year, or even of a whole year, was trivial compared with the compensation gained. And yet it appears from what follows, that Paul called Timothy with a view to his own individual benefit likewise; although his own personal matters were not preferred by him to the advantage of the Church, but it was because it involved the cause of the gospel, which was common to all believers; for as he defended it from a prison, so he needed the labours of others to aid in that defence.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 34. What is adoption?
A. Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of, the sons of God.