Sunday, May 10, 2020

Seated with Christ in Heaven (2020.05.09 Pastoral Letter and Hopewell Herald)


Hopewell Herald – May 9, 2020

Dear Congregation,

What a joy it will be to have the afternoon exhortation together again. We’ve been missing out on some glorious passages in Ephesians.

In the tomorrow’s passage (2:1–7), we learn of God’s seating us in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus in order to make the highest and greatest possible display of His love, mercy, grace, and kindness.

When Jesus sat down, enthroned in the highest heaven, He did so in union with us, as our risen and ascended Mediator.

This is a truth and reality so high that we have difficulty apprehending it. But, every week in the public worship, if we don’t forsake our assembling ourselves together as a congregation, we participate in the assembly in glory from our worship on earth (Heb 10:25; 12:18–24), and the Lord Jesus addresses our assembly on earth from His place in glory (Heb 2:8–4:13; 12:25–29).

O that the Lord would stir up and strengthen our faith to perceive heavenly things, that as we grow in perceiving His mercy toward us, we would be unto the praise of His glorious grace!

The Lord so bless us and glorify Himself in us tomorrow, morning and evening,

Pastor


LORD'S DAY – May 10, 2020

9:50 a.m. Breakfast Line Opens (feel free to bring your own, separate food if preferred)
10 a.m. Bible Class
We are studying the ARP’s confessed theology from Scripture. We’ll continue studying Effectual Calling (the immediate source in the application of redemption to believers) and Election (the ultimate source in the application of redemption to believers).

11 a.m. Public Worship
Children’s Catechism for May 10
Q28. What is sin? A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.

Shorter Catechism for May 10
Q36. What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification? A. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification, are, assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.

Psalms and Hymns
TPH358 “Sing, Choirs of New Jerusalem”   
ARP78B “O Come, My People, to My Law” 
TPH73C “In Sweet Communion, Lord, with Thee”

Scripture Text for first portion of worship service

Scripture Readings
Old Testament – 1Samuel 6:13–7:1
Epistle – Ephesians 2:1–7
Gospel – Luke 5:12–16

Sermon Scripture text and topic
We will be hearing from Genesis 25:27–34 about how the eternal perspective of hoping in Christ to solve the death problem enables us to live for something more than the pleasure of the moment.

12:45 p.m. Coffee Fellowship and Catechism Class

1 p.m. Fellowship Lunch & Open Mic Time
There will be plenty for everyone, but as with breakfast, those who are uncomfortable eating from the line are encouraged to bring their own food that they keep separate. We’ve got a bunch of birthday and anniversary singing to catch up on at the start of open mic time, but we’ll just do this week’s verse: (Genesis 25:34) And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

2:30 p.m Psalm/hymn Sing

3:30 p.m. P.M. exhortation from Ephesians 2:1–7

After Party at ???? (No open invitations to congregation yet at time of writing)

Hopewell this Month

Hopewell’s Presbytery Prayer Focus for May:
Pressly-Memorial ARP in Red Level, AL

May Psalm of the Month
ARP78B O Come, My People, to My Law

Upcoming Events
•May 13, Prayer Meeting, 6:30p.m.
•CONGREGATIONAL Breakfast, May 16, 6:30a.m. With the Men’s Breakfast scheduled to resume for the 16th, the Session invites the ladies to join the men this month for a congregational breakfast on the 16th, followed by a workday with the 23rd as an overflow day in case the work is not completed on the first Saturday.
•October 2-4, HARPC 200th Anniversary Celebration


Congregational Prayer Requests (new/updates in bold)
▪ 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 against the backdrop of SARS-CoV-2 and its accompanying panic, especially joining the rest of the ARP at 9a.m. central every day
▪ 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 and her heart issues
▪ 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
▪ 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 her family’s grieving over her brother, who passed away Monday. Pray for grace for A in opportunities to share the gospel
▪ 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; and friend Michael Duval and his recovery from knee surgery
▪ 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; and for her dad who is not doing well and his wife Jolene, who is receiving radiation to treat a spot on her brain.
▪ 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 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; and for the whole family, and especially his mother, as they grieve the passing away of his father
▪ Pray with S&V Y for his parents and siblings as they deal with his father’s declining health and his mothers dementia
Please pray with Pressly Memorial ARP in Red Level, AL, throughout the month of May
▪ 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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