Hopewell Herald – March 27, 2020
This week’s letter is from the Session,
reaffirming the commitment to the public worship of God in keeping the 4th
commandment, while keeping in view the profound
duties of the 6th Commandment, as concisely
summarized from Scripture in WLC 135.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
There seems to be some question as to
how Hopewell will operate during this epidemic. The Session has cancelled all
unnecessary gatherings for several weeks until we can get a handle on how this
virus will run its course. Right now, that means everything outside of Lord’s
Day morning worship is unnecessary. Until we have more information that the
danger is past, we will only be gathering for worship Sunday morning, our
normal 11 am service.
Some might ask why we are gathering at
all if there is a present danger, and for that answer we need to go to
Scripture. The feasts in Leviticus and the Calls to Worship in Psalms all show
that we, as covenant people of God, have a duty to gather and worship our God
and Father, “in His courts” or “before His presence.” Hebrews 10:25 says, “not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one
another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” We have been
given the invaluable gift of being able to draw near to Glory itself and
worship our God in Christ. Why would we want to forsake that?
However, if you are feeling ill, running
a fever, or having respiratory trouble, please stay home! We have the
technology to bring the worship service right into your living room, and there
you can pray, sing, hear the word preached, and worship along with those
gathering at Hopewell. Remember, the same commandment that forbids murder also
commands us to do everything in our power to save and preserve life.
Unnecessarily increasing the risk of exposure runs contrary to that
commandment.
The Session also asks the congregation
to join them in prayer and fasting, mourning and repenting over the sins that
has brought this judgement on the world. We are also looking into social media
where the congregation would be able to connect Wednesday nights and have the
Prayer Meeting, each in our own home.
If there are any questions, please do
not hesitate to call the Pastor or one of the elders.
The Elders
LORD'S DAY – March 29,
2020
A couple times
each day, the audio of the pastor’s family worship is also streamed at that
link, as well as at facebook.com/jnhakim.
The facebook page archives the full audio session, and recordings of just the
teaching times can be found at https://bit.ly/harpcFW
11 a.m. Morning Worship
▫Children’s Catechism for March 29
Q22. What is a covenant? A. An agreement between two or more persons.
Q22. What is a covenant? A. An agreement between two or more persons.
▫Shorter Catechism for March
29
Q30. 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.
Q30. 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.
Hymns and Psalms
Basis of first portion of worship
service
Scripture Readings
Sermon Scripture text and topic
We will be hearing from 1Corinthians 11:17–34 about the Supper that Christ commands
as part of His worship, in which it is Christ who gives Himself to His church,
His covenant people.
No formal/organized gatherings other than
public worship. Heads of households are encouraged to find other ways of
helping their families keep the day.
WLC 118. Why is the charge of keeping
the sabbath more specially directed to governors of families, and other
superiors?
A. The charge of keeping the sabbath is
more specially directed to governors of families, and other superiors, because
they are bound not only to keep it themselves, but to see that it be observed
by all those that are under their charge; and because they are prone ofttimes
to hinder them by employments of their own.
Hopewell this Month
Hopewell’s
Presbytery Prayer Focus for March:
Lincoln
Memorial ARP in Fayetteville, TN
March
Psalm of the Month
ARP100 All Earth, with Joy
Upcoming Events
•March 30, Monthly Session meeting 6p.m.
•October 2-4,
HARPC 200th Anniversary Celebration
Smooth Stones from a
Babbling Brook
(Internet links of the week)
(Internet links of the week)
▪ Worshiping during plague, and the spread of disease, was once
something with which the church was acquainted and more theologically (and
medically, ironically, in some cases) informed. I'd encourage you to read
through this list of doctrinally sound and
spiritually wise statements at ReformedBooksOnline. I'm not a big
fan of Joel McDurmon (he tends to make mistakes like calling George Gillespie a
theonomist, rather than a general equity Westminsterian), but if there's just
too much on that page, you might read through just the briefer selections that he made from
the reformedbooksonline page.
▪ A very good follow-up to this past Lord’s Day’s sermon is this sermon preached on March 18
by Pastor Robert McCurley. It is a word in season, and I urge
you all to listen to it with hearts open unto God and His Word.
▪ Also, though I have linked you to it before, I continue to urge
you to listen to this sermon preached by Sinclair Ferguson, if you haven’t yet.
The Lord’s focus in His works in history is upon His church, and we must heed
His Word if we are to learn from His recent actions and respond rightly to Him.
▪ Dr. Pipa, reflecting upon current events in light of Scripture,
gives us six suggestions for what to do in
times like these when the Lord roars like a lion.
Congregational Prayer Requests
(new/updates in bold)
▪ Pray with the Reformed sidewalk-counseling group @PP in
Nashville for their Wednesday and Friday ministries
▪ Early Rain Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church,
Christians in Nigeria, and other persecuted churches like them; Pastor Wang Yi
in prison.
▪ Alan McClelland and his ministry at
Ft. Rucker
▪ Repentance of the Church and the
Nations, as well as comfort and strength through the advancement of the gospel
in the wake of the tornadoes in Middle Tennessee, and against the backdrop of
SARS-CoV-2 and its accompanying panic
▪ Comfort and provision for the LeeAnn Billings
family as they grieve, especially for new work, as the university just
eliminated her position from the department
▪ Rebecca Sterling’s new shunt and tube
to properly drain brain fluid
▪ Pray for the Jeffers family, whose
granddaughter Isabelle (14) and then her mother Norma both attempted suicide; there’s
a long way to go medically, financially, and especially spiritually for all
involved; please keep praying for them and for Sue’s ministry to them
▪ Pray for Kacey and family, going
through difficult trial
▪ Pray with D&L L for her 85yo
mother, who has a small blockage and needs a procedure for it in the next
couple weeks
▪ Pray with S&D B for Andrew’s medicine
to help his body to stop eliminating his protein
▪ Pray with KC for her acquaintance Linda who doesn’t seem to know the Lord, and just
lost 21 year old son; and, for sister Diane and her husband Frank, who need a
living faith in Christ; and for friend Patty, a believer, that she will
continue to do well after treatment for uterine cancer
▪ Pray with D&M G that her mother
would continue healing well and not smoking; for Sean; for Jeremiah and
Julianna; for Jordan & Atlanta whose twins are due mid-April
▪ Pray with W&C G for her mother’s
health and caregivers; and for spiritual (and total) well-being of son Greg
▪ Pray with J&H H for his father’s cancer and recovery from
open-heart surgeries; and sweetness in his parents’ remaining time together;
for his youngest brother; for sister-in-law’s recovery from cancer treatment
▪ Pray for James Heard to make good
choices and to walk with an serve the Lord in this next phase of his life.
▪ Pray with H&K H for their health (especially
Karen’s back, which keeps getting reinjured, and their schedule which it
affects) and for many of their loved ones; needing Christian fellowship: her
grandmother and father, widow Hope w/4 children, Brown family of 7 (wayward son
Nicholas); needing health: her mom, sister Lisa, Martina, Donna, Joyce; needing
spiritual life: Velvet and Reagan (lost their sister/daughter to a brutal
murder), neighbors Shawn, Merlin, & children; other widows: Libby, Naomi
(w/daughter Stacia), Stephanie (w/many children, were missionaries); friend
Andrea’s New Age friends; Charles & Robert to be able to forgive; friends
w/family problems: Dave, Lee, Melodie, Cole; spiritual growth and wife for
friend Scott; their family’s evangelism, recently firefighter Dalton; Riggs to
grow mighty in the Lord
▪ Pray with R&M J for Meredith,
young daughter of M’s college friend Ashely (and husband Brad), who’s taking
medicine to shrink her brain tumor
▪ Pray with O&A L for her
unbelieving mother w/heart condition, and brother w/lung cancer.
▪ Pray with CM for his sister Ginger,
diagnosed with an aggressive and advanced leukemia, and for Sheriff’s Reserve
James Wilson, and his wife Andra’s cancer
▪ Pray with C&T P for wisdom for
him about what to do with two good career choices, and for the
conversion of her brother Todd
▪ Pray with D&K R for their
family’s growth in godliness, especially dying to self, godly speech, and
Lord’s Day keeping; for Micah, Rachel, and baby girl due in July; and pray for Hannah’s
and Noah Martyn’s thriving and fast recovery; and for local pastor/constable
Darryl Thrasher, who has an aggressive, malignant brain tumor
▪ Pray with GR for friend Abby to come
to faith in Christ
▪ Pray with JeR for believing friend
Jeanette Cary’s CHF, Fibromyalgia, & slow-healing wound
▪ Pray with J&S R for her nephew,
who needs life in Christ; and for her and her family in the loss of her father,
especially spiritual impact on her sisters and nephews; and for her sister
Rebecca’s pregnancy, PRAISE for her successful surgery; and for his parents in coping
with his father’s Parkinson’s; and PRAISE for friends’ baby Arianna successful
kidney surgery
▪ PRAISE with S&V Y for the full
recovery of 12yo Peyton, a relative of theirs from an unbelieving family, who had
leukemia
▪ Please pray with Lincoln Memorial ARP
in Fayetteville, TN, throughout the month of March
▪ Please pray for the TN-AL Presbytery
to be enabled to plant a faithful church with the resources available and
earmarked for that purpose
▪ Please pray for all ARP presbyteries, churches, and agencies
▪ Please pray for our nation, state,
community and all the officials thereof
Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one
special part of religious worship, is by God required of all men: and, that it
may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of his
Spirit, according to his will, with understanding, reverence, humility,
fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and, if vocal, in a known tongue. (WCF
21.3)
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