Beautiful Unity in Jesus [Family Worship lesson in Psalm 133]

Why is unity beautiful? Psalm 133 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that true unity is beautiful because it comes from God in Christ and His priesthood. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Urgent: Evaluate and Evade! [2024.07.17 Midweek Sermon in Romans 16:17–20]

Christians must watch out for Satanic ploys to divide us or enable us in sinning.

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

True Unity with the True Church [2024.05.18 Pastoral Letter and Hopewell Herald]

Hopewell Herald – May 18, 2024

Dear Congregation,

Due to the weakness of our faith, we overvalue what we can see. So, we are helped by God’s designed (commanded!) simplicity for worship under the administration of Christ (New Testament worship). In the administration under Christ, we have Him Himself incarnate, Him Himself dead and risen, Him Himself ascended and seated. Thus, the age of earthly and outward divinely-ordained worship helps has given way to the age of heavenly and spiritual worship. Our Great High Priest, Himself, is physically in glory!

How important, then, is desire for Jesus Christ, delight in Jesus Christ, dependence upon Jesus Christ, and devotion to Jesus Christ! Each of these fruits of faith draws the thoughts, affections, and will to Him. By faith, we perceive Him. By faith, we prioritize Him. By faith, we are joined to Him. By faith, we are not merely led by Him, but even worship with Him. By faith, it is He Who worships even through us who are on earth.

In this, we have a great and glorious unity with the perfected souls of the righteous who worship there, in glory, with Him. Their bodies rest in the grave, but their souls have passed through heavens, where our faith also brings us by virtue of our union with Christ. And this great and true unity protects us from doing that which is false in order to have more uniformity with other congregations of the visible church on earth.

However many are the congregations of the visible church that may be doing something that is not commanded by Christ, it is no expression of biblical unity to join them in it. For, if we add to what Scripture has instituted, we depart from that in which Christ Himself is leading us from glory, and we depart from the fellowship of the angels and of the souls of the just made perfect. Such is not Christian unity, however theologically-themed, spiritual affection-inducing, or well-intended. For, however much a manmade addition might add uniformity to the churches on earth, it does so at the prohibitive cost of fracturing their unity with the church in glory.

Happily, the converse is also true. When we worship only in the way that Christ has commanded, and embrace simplicity on earth, addressing the senses only with that which Christ has instituted to address our senses, we are led by Him from glory. In such worship, we join the angels. In such worship, we are one with the souls of the just made perfect. In such worship, we draw near, in living and real truth, to God our Father. In such worship, we come through Christ our Mediator, Whose physical flesh and blood are truly in glory, speaking more excellent things, more excellently, than the blood of Abel. Does true, simple, biblical worship splinter us off from a large majority of the visible church? In seasons of spiritual and theological famine, it will do so more. In seasons of revival and reformation, it will do so less. But, always, some loss of uniformity with the churches on earth is a small price to pay for unity with the church in glory.

Again, the key is Christ Himself. Desire for Christ. Delight in Christ. Dependence upon Christ. Devotion to Christ. An increasing measure of each of these makes His simple, spiritual worship more perceptible and palatable. But He has designed for us a virtuous cycle here. For, He uses this very worship to increase our faith. He uses this very worship to increase our desire for Him. He uses this very worship to increase our delight in Him. He uses this very worship to increase our depending upon Him. He uses this very worship to increase our devotion to Him.

If we are in a low spiritual condition, where our faith perceives so little of Him that simple, biblical worship leaves us cold and dead—so that we think we would benefit from what man has added to His worship, or that we would prefer what joins us to other churches on earth rather than what has been instituted by Christ Himself—the remedy is near to hand. The remedy is Him Himself, by His gracious working, using His prescribed means, in His prescribed worship!

May the Spirit stir up our faith in the Son, preparing us for that worship by which He increases our faith in the Son!

Looking forward to His ministry among us in the worship of God,

Pastor

Conformed to Christ in Praise-Borne Love [Family Worship lesson in Romans 15:1–7]

For what sort of uniformity should believers immediately strive? Romans 15:1–7 prepares us for the sermon in the midweek prayer meeting. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that believers should immediately strive for the uniformity of conformity to Christ in praise and love. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

God's Gracious Invitation and Man's Grievous Innovation [Family Worship lesson in Isaiah 41:1–7]

What are we to think when great powers arise? Isaiah 41:1–7 prepares us for the first serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we must remember that the Lord is sovereign over all and praise Him Who is our hope. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Blessing One Another in and by the Blessedness of the Triune God [Family Worship lesson in 2Corinthians 13:11–14]

Where do believers learn to bless one another? 2Corinthians 13:11–14 looks forward to the p.m. sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In this verse of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the people of God learn to bless one another from the God Who blesses them with the blessing that is in Himself. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

How Christ's Spirit Grew the Churches [2022.11.20 Morning sermon in Acts 15:36–16:5]

The Spirit grew the church by follow-up ministry, fallible men, future ministers, and faithful maintenance of doctrine and practice.

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

Keeping the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace [2022.11.13 Morning sermon in Acts 15:23–35]

The Spirit, Who gives to His church peace in Christ, works it by Scripture truth, providential care in the church, and gracious work in believers' hearts, lives, and relationships.

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

Treasuring One Another As the Lord’s Treasure (2021.07.11 Evening Sermon in Philippians 4:2–3)

When relationships break down in the church, we must urge and help one another to have the same mind—the mind of Christ in which we treasure one another as the Lord's treasure.[clicking the stream title will take you through to a page at which you can download the audio/pdf]

What Being Like-Minded to Christ Looks Like (2021.04.04 Evening Sermon in Philippians 2:5–8)

Truly Christian like-mindedness is not merely like-mindedness to one another but to Christ, and produces a willingness to take a low position and to suffer and even die for God's glory and others' good.

Pleasing Christ (and Godly Pastors) through Grace-Produced Unity

¹ Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ² fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. ³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Conduct Worthy of the Gospel: Standing Unitedly, Fearlessly, Thankfully (2021.03.21 Evening Sermon in Philippians 1:27–30)

Stand fast unitedly in doctrine and practice. Stand fearlessly, showing your enemies' destruction but your salvation. Stand thankfully, for the gifts both of faith and of suffering for Jesus's Name.

Conduct Worthy of the Gospel: Standing Unitedly, Fearlessly, Thankfully (Family Worship in Philippians 1:27–30)

How can the Philippians gladden on another and their beloved apostle? Pastor leads his family in today’s “Hopewell @Home” passage. Philippians 1:27–30 prepares us for the afternoon exhortation on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, we learn that believers rejoice to see and hear of one another conducting themselves worthily of the gospel: standing unitedly, fearlessly, and thankfully.

The Proper Manner of Church Members (Family Worship lesson in Ephesians 4:1–7)

Pastor teaches his family today's Hopewell @Home lesson in Ephesians 4:1–7. Though believers may have different particular callings in life, they each have the glorious calling to be a member of the body of Christ. Recognizing the great glory of what we have in common produces a humble and forgiving manner of conduct with one another.

2020.06.07 Evening Sermon—Ephesians 2:19–22, "How Near Christ Brings Us to One Another and to God"

Christ brings us near to one another as fellow citizens, family members, and building blocks; and, near to God as those built upon the foundation whose cornerstone is Christ, for a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. [PDF] [MP3]

An audio lesson for today's Hopewell @Home to help you lead your own family in worship from Ephesians 2:19–22. In Christ, God makes us as close as fellow citizens in a strange land, closer as members of the same family, closest as a building that is fit together and grown together in Christ—a dwelling place for God Himself

Reformation: the True Unity-Project (2019.05.31 Hopewell Herald Pastoral Letter)

Dear Congregation,

In Genesis 11:1-9, we saw that man’s plan was to be united in our own way, in one another’s presence, for our own praise. God broke that up, but not because He did not intend for us to be united.

At Pentecost, people of many different tongues heard preached, in their own language, the gospel of Jesus Christ. This continued to be a sign of the authentic preaching of the gospel until the John 16:12-15 promise was completed. And to this day, the Scriptures continue to be translated into every tongue on earth.

This is one reason that Bible translation was a direct outcome and primary focus of the Reformation. The Reformation was a unity project. Man-made religion had allowed for the illusion of unity, but it had fractured the church from the Lord, and any common ground came at the expense of having forged a unity that God hates. And so the Lord had judged that “church” with centuries of bitter rivalry, murder, and slavery to the most heinous sins.

When, in His mercy, the Spirit of God brought about the great Reformation of the 16^th century, the most important unity enjoyed a restoration: the unity between Christ and His church. And this unity was something that God blessed so that, even across denominations and language barriers, the more believers aimed at being thoroughly biblical in every way, the more they were genuinely united with one another.

Today, we live in an age of fracture that urgently calls for a new commitment to the true unity of biblical Reformation. And, we have another heavenly opportunity to enjoy that unity on the coming Lord’s Day. For, it is then that congregations of nearly every tongue on earth will be worshiping with the same Scriptures to read and sing and pray and hear preached, enjoying the same sacraments as instituted and directed by the same Lord.

In fact, from all over the earth, those who worship as prescribed in Scriptures will be meeting at the heavenly Zion, with the angels in festal gathering, and the souls of the just made perfect—yea even with our Mediator whose blood, from the throne, speaks better than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:18-24)!

This is the true and great unity. OF COURSE the Nimrod-led, worldwide consortium could not actually build a tower whose top was in the heavens. But, we have a High Priest who has passed through the heavens (Hebrews 4:14-16). And He has sprinkled us clean with His blood for access and opened a new and living way for us to get through the veil—even that way which is His own flesh (Hebrews 10:19-22).

In the weekly Lord’s Day assemblies, there is a unity of heaven and earth that bridges all divisions of tongues. And if we value Christ, and His flesh and blood, in a biblical way, then we will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:23-25).

Isn’t it wonderful? The Lord’s Day assembly offers a unique opportunity to be united with the congregation in Heaven—while worshiping in 21^st century American English!

Looking forward to enjoying this unity with you,

Pastor