Whose Image Is This? [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 22:15–22]

Whose glory and authority should we honor? Matthew 22:15–22 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should honor all glory and authority, and therefore especially Christ’s glory and authority as God Himself. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) The devotional explores the Pharisees' attempt to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar, revealing a deeper theological challenge regarding allegiance and identity. Jesus, recognizing their hypocrisy, redirects the inquiry, asserting that while earthly authorities like Caesar deserve what is due them, ultimate devotion belongs to God, Who communicates Himself supremely in Jesus Christ. The message transcends a simple political answer, urging listeners to consider their own creation in God's image, to heed God's inscription through Scripture, and ultimately to worship and obey Jesus as the definitive revelation of God Himself.

YHWH, Who Came Near to Save [2025.01.26 Morning Sermon in Matthew

The Son came near, as the God-Man, to save us.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

God Came Near to Save Us [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 14:22–36]

How does Jesus show Himself to be our God and Savior? Matthew 14:22–36 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fifteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus displays and declares Himself as God in the flesh, Who joins Himself to us to us to save us. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Freed from Fear by What We See [Family Worship lesson in 1John 4:12–20]

What can we see, that will give us boldness for the judgment? 1John 4:12–20 prepares us for the second serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we can see one another, and the perfecting of God’s own love in our loving one another, which is the work of His Spirit, Whom He has given with His Son.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Who Is Jesus, and Why Did He Come? [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 8:23–34]

Who is Jesus? Matthew 8:23–34 prepares us for the morning sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these twelve verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus is God, the Lord over all.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Understanding the Greatness of Christ's Humiliation [Westminster Shorter Catechism 27—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Westminster Shorter Catechism question 27—especially explaining how Christ was both infinitely humiliated to become a man and greatly humiliated even as a man.

Q27. Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? Christ’s humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

True Life, Fellowship, and Joy [Family Worship lesson in 1John 1:1–4]

Why must we have a proper Christology? 1John 1:1–4 prepares us for the second serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we must believe the right things about Jesus, because we cannot have life, fellowship, and joy in a figment of our imagination.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

How God the Son Became the God-Man [Westminster Shorter Catechism 22—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Westminster Shorter Catechism question 22—especially explaining how God the Son became the God-Man.

Q22. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to Himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Only the God-Man Can Redeem [Westminster Shorter Catechism 21—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Westminster Shorter Catechism question 21—especially explaining how only the God-Man can redeem.

Q21. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect? The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Christ Is the Point of All Prophecy and History [2023.09.17 Morning Sermon in Matthew 2:12–23]

Electing love sent Jesus to save us by being the opposite of what we are, bringing the opposite of what we deserve, and bearing the opposite of what He deserves.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

God With Us to Save Us [2023.09.03 Morning Sermon in Matthew 1:18–25]

In order for Jesus to save His people from His sins, He had to be a perfectly righteous man and a divine Person.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

The God Who Selects Families for His Children [2023.09.02 Pastoral Letter and Hopewell Herald]

Hopewell Herald – September 2, 2023

Dear Congregation,

By God’s help we hope to hear from Matthew 1:18–25 about the way God brought His only-begotten Son into the world. The family by which Christ came was vital to His mission in this world.

Then, as I sat down to write the weekly letter, we received the blessed news of another covenant child brought into the world. The Lord chose for him a family where he would worship the Lord day by day in the home and week by week in the assembly. A household that is part of Christ’s church, so that already he bears the title “saint.” A household where, his whole childhood long (not just until he professes faith), he will be called to repentance and faith in dependence upon the Spirit Who gives repentance and faith.

What a God-appointed blessing is a holy household! Its members are marked off by the sign of Christ’s heaven-and-earth authority to give life and godliness in Himself by His Spirit. And its weeks are marked off by a day that is a “holy convocation” (a consecrated calling together) in which we gather to the God of grace in worship that He has comprised of the means of His grace.

Whether yours is a household of one or a household of twenty, I pray that your household is such a household. And that your day tomorrow will be such a day.

Truly, worship is due to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Who is such a God as has given us such a salvation!

Looking forward to gathering to Him together,

Pastor

Audio lessons to help you prepare for the Lord’s Day:

▪Theology Simply Explained — WSC102, The Kingdom of Grace and Glory 
▪Psalm 100, “Praising Our Own God with Joy” 
▪Isaiah 19–20, “God Humbles & Heals Even Egyptians” 
▪Titus 1:8–9, “Teaching-Sanctified Teachers of the Word” 
▪Matthew 1:18–25, “God With Us to Save Us” 
▪Leviticus 8, “Filling the Priest's Hand”

LORD'S DAY – September 3, 2023 

9:50 a.m. Breakfast Line Opens

10 a.m. Sabbath School
This week, we will continue our study in the Biblical Theology of the Diaconate, the church in the post-apostolic age.

11 a.m. Public Worship

▫Children’s Catechism for September 3
Q56. What is it to repent? To be sorry for sin, and to hate and forsake it because it is displeasing to God.

▫Shorter Catechism for September 3
Q102. What do we pray for in the second petition? In the second petition, which is, Thy kingdom come, we pray that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.
[WSC 102 Simply Explained: “The Kingdom of Grace and Glory”]

Songs for September 3 morning service: 
▫TPH100B “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” [mp3]
▫ARP94B “Who for Me Withstands the Wicked” [mp3]
▫ARP24 “The Earth and the Riches” [mp3]

Scripture Text for first portion of worship service
Psalm 100

Scripture Readings and basis for confession of sin and petition for help
Isaiah 19–20 
Titus 1:8–9

Sermon Scripture text and topic
We will be hearing a sermon from Matthew 1:18–25 on “God With Us to Save Us”

Lord’s Supper! (Please see the section at the end of the Worship Booklet on how rightly to prepare for and take it).

1 p.m. Coffee Fellowship and Catechism Class

1:30 p.m. Fellowship Lunch
▫Memory Verse for September 3, Matthew 1:21, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

3:00 p.m Evening Praise and Preaching
We will be hearing a sermon from Leviticus 8 on “Gratitude for the Keeping Open of the Way to God”

The God Who Speaks to Bring Us Near [Family Worship lesson in Leviticus 1:1–2]

How can the dwelling place of God be a tent of meeting, if man cannot enter it? Leviticus 1:1–2 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God speaks in order to bring us near. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Glory Dwelling in the Midst of God's People [Family Worship lesson in Exodus 40:34–38]

What does the Lord do when the tabernacle is finally set up? Exodus 40:34–38 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that without compromising His glory, the Lord dwells with His people, leads His people, and protects His people.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

The Great Truth That the Church Guards: Christ Himself [Family Worship lesson in 1Timothy 3:16]

What truth is the church especially to maintain? 1Timothy 3:16 looks forward to the second reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In this verse of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the church is especially to maintain the truth about Jesus.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Apostolic Preaching (2): Jesus Affirms Salvation by His Resurrection and Applies Salvation by Preaching and Faith

Apostolic preaching of the gospel announces Jesus as the fulfillment of all God's promises of salvation and forgiveness of sins—accomplishing it by dying and rising again, and applying it by making His gospel preached and believed.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

Jesus: the God Who Is the Protection and Prosperity of His People [Family Worship lesson in Psalm 68:1–18]

How great is the church’s help and defense? Psalm 68:1–18 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eighteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Israel’s greatness is not in herself but in her King.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Jesus Affirms His Salvation by Resurrection and Applies It by Preaching and Faith [Family Worship lesson in Acts 13:13–41]

What was apostolic preaching like? Acts 13:13–41 looks forward to the morning sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twenty-nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that apostolic preaching of the gospel announces that the Old Testament promises of salvation have been fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus, Who was shown to be the God-Man by the resurrection, and through Whom we can have forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of God. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Jesus Christ, the King: the Blessed God in Whom There Is Inexhaustible Goodness for Those Who Have None from Themselves [Family Worship lesson in 1Timothy 1:12–17]

Why does Christ save and use sinners? 1Timothy 1:12–17 looks forward to the second serial reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the glorious God saves and uses sinners precisely to show that His alone is all the glory and goodness.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

How the Lord Jesus Apprehends Rebellious Sinners to Make Them into Saved Subjects (Family Worship lesson in Acts 9:1–5)

How does the Lord save even a zealous persecutor of the church? Acts 9:1-5 looks forward to the morning sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus saves sinners by ordering their lives, proclaiming Himself to them, and subjugating them.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)