2024.09.14 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 11:25–27

Read Matthew 11:25–27

Questions from the Scripture text: How is the timing of Matthew 11:25-30 related to that of Matthew 11:21-24? To Whom does Jesus address His response about the unbelief of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum (Matthew 11:25)? In what way does He address Him? For what does He at first thank Him? For what does He secondly thank Him? For what does He praise the Father in Matthew 11:26? What does Jesus have (Matthew 11:27)? From Whom did He receive them? Who knows the Son? Who else? Who knows the Father? Who else? 

How is God glorified? Matthew 11:25–27 looks forward to the morning sermon in public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God is glorified both in hardening the reprobate and especially in saving the elect.  

Praising God for wrath and reprobation. When Jesus addresses Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum about their unbelief, He cries out their woe. But then, He turns and gives what may seem at first an odd response to us: He thanks God for hiding these things from the wise and the prudent. 

This tells us a couple very important things about the unbelief of the unconverted. First, God is sovereign over it. We have fallen into ignorance through our sin in Adam, but as God is sovereign over everything, He has “hidden these things” from the unbeliever. 

Second, God is righteous and good in hiding it from them. Jesus thanks Him for doing this, and so will we, as we become conformed to the mind of Christ. Revelation 19:1–5 teaches us that we will praise God for the greatness, justness, and completeness of His wrath. 

An impoverished church that has ceased to sing the Psalms does not grapple well with the holiness and wrath of God. But if we are to think and praise like Jesus does, this will be our response to the judgment of God. A proper doctrine of God’s holiness and justice thanks Him for hiding life from humanity that is wise in its own eyes.

Praising God for sovereign mercy. The babies in Matthew 11:25 are not less sinful than “the wise and prudent” from whom salvation has been hidden. But they are less capable. God’s saving them is over-against both their just desserts and their utter inability. In fact, for His own glory, God especially saves those who seem least savable (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18–31). A big part of Jesus’s praise of His Father here is that He has saved according to His mere good pleasure (Matthew 11:26).

The Father’s pleasure in all things: glorifying the Son, with Himself, and in the church. What has seemed most “good” in the Father’s sight is to deliver all things into His Son’s hands. For, He alone truly knows His Son. He is God, together with His Son and His Spirit, from all eternity. He knows His Son’s worthiness. And He gives His Son that of which the Son is worthy: Himself. 

But there is a marvelous glory at the end of Matthew 11:27. The Son is not only worthy of knowing the Father for Himself, but even of revealing His Father to sinners whom He saves! The Father glorifies His Son by displaying Him as glorious enough to save!

We, too, ought to praise the Father and the Son (and the Spirit) for glorifying Himself not only in holy justice but also in sovereign mercy—and for doing so by bringing us into such a fellowship with God, of which only God Himself is worthy!

At what times/occasions do you meditate upon the holiness of God, the sovereignty of grace, the worthiness of the Son, and that fellowship of the Godhead into which believers are brought? What difference are these things making in how you think and feel and act throughout your life?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we thank You and praise You for the holiness and justice in which You hide salvation from self-righteous humanity. And we thank You and praise You all the more for saving us, who are but babies. We thank You and praise You for glorifying Yourself in Your Son by bringing us into Your own fellowship in Him, by Your Spirit. Grant that our lives would be full of thanksgiving and praise to You, in fellowship with You, in Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP73C “Yet Constantly I Am with You” or TPH73C “In Sweet Communion, Lord with Thee”

Ordinary Faithfulness by Glorious Grace [Family Worship lesson in Numbers 21:10–20]

How should we respond to ordinary faithfulness in believers’ lives? Numbers 21:10–20 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eleven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that ordinary faithfulness is produced by extraordinary grace, for which we must sing God’s praise.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.09.13 Hopewell @Home ▫ Numbers 21:10–20

Read Numbers 21:10–20

Questions from the Scripture text: Where did the children of Israel go in Numbers 21:10? And where in Numbers 21:11? And where in Numbers 21:12? And where in Numbers 21:13? Between which two nations did this bring them? In what non-Bible book are these places identified (Numbers 21:14-15)? Where do they go in Numbers 21:16? Who speaks to whom there? What does He say to do? What does He say that He will do? How does Israel respond to this (Numbers 21:17, cf. Exodus 15:1)? Where do they go in Numbers 21:18? And what two places in Numbers 21:19? And where in Numbers 21:20? What can they do to the wilderness from there?

How should we respond to ordinary faithfulness in believers’ lives? Numbers 21:10–20 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eleven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that ordinary faithfulness is produced by extraordinary grace, for which we must sing God’s praise.

Extraordinary greatness of ordinary grace, Numbers 21:10-13, Numbers 21:18-20. If we have not felt the theological and spiritual dynamics of Numbers, we will miss how wonderful are Numbers 21:10-13. Four stops! And then another in Numbers 21:16, and four more in Numbers 21:18-20. That’s nine stops… without a judgment provoking incident of grumbling or rebellion. 

By now, we see what a miracle that is for the visible church. We have seen what their character was, despite seeing the wonderful works of God and despite having the wonderfully displayed and communicated presence of God. What no external pressure could produce, the inward work of the grace of God was accomplishing. It is a great mercy of God when we, or our families, or our congregations can just be boringly faithful and peaceful. It is almighty grace that upholds us in faithful plodding. 

The historicity of God’s work, Numbers 21:14-15. There is nothing that is more important to Christianity than that Jesus actually lived and died and rose again. We rejoice that other books outside of the Bible (though not nearly as well attested or maintained as the Bible itself) witness to the historical factuality of what we read in Scripture. There was even such a book at the time that Moses wrote Numbers 21, and the Spirit thought that it was important to bring to believers’ attention that their religion is true. 

The God of the Bible is the true and living God. He is our Creator, and He has genuinely worked His redemption in time. When He brings you to faith, He doesn’t just convince you of ideas. He brings you into a genuine, living union with the second Person of the Godhead. He indwells you with the third Person of the godhead. He is the same God with you that He was with His people throughout the ages, that He has been to the church under Christ for the past two thousand years, that He will be for unending ages in the next world. 

Rejoicing over God’s mighty, faithful work, Numbers 21:16-18. The place to which they come is literally called “well” (“Beer” is Hebrew for “well”). Leaders from nations might have dug it (Numbers 21:18), but it was YHWH Who gave them water (Numbers 21:16). The command to gather the people recalls Numbers 20:8, Numbers 20:10. And the people respond to God’s display of God’s grace in the same way that they had done when He saved them and defeated Egypt at the Red Sea (cf. Exodus 14:30–15:1). How foolish their previous complaining had been! God would not let them die of thirst, when He had promised to bring them into the land. God gives His people to sing His mighty deeds, that they would remember His faithfulness and power, so that they would set their hope in God, and not forget His works, but keep His commandments (cf. Psalm 78:7). For this reason, God has given to each heart, each home, and each church to have singing His songs as a core part of their life. 

What ordinary faithfulness in your life has displayed God’s extraordinary grace to you? What place does singing God’s own songs have in your daily life? In your family life? In your congregational life?

Sample prayer:  Lord, left to ourselves, we would never be faithful, never grow, never even plod along in our walk with You. But by Your almighty grace, You have made us to walk by faith. Grant that the songs of Your Word would be the songs of our hearts, our homes, our churches, and our lives, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH449 “As When the Prophet Moses Raised”

The Path and Pleasure that Divert from Death [2024.09.11 Midweek Sermon in Proverbs 2:10–22]

Apply your heart to wisdom, and come into the path and pleasure that God will use to deliver you from death

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

Willing to Suffer for the God We Know [Family Worship lesson in 3John v9–12]

What do believers need if they are to be godly? 3John v9–12 looks forward to the second serial reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that believers need awareness of who is a spiritual or theological threat, and of who is properly qualified and ordained, as part of God’s means in making them godly. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.09.12 Hopewell @Home ▫ 3 John 9–12

Read 3 John 9–12

Questions from the Scripture text: To whom else has John written about hosting the missionary brethren (3 John 9)? But who has the preeminence among them? And what is his attitude about that? How did he respond to the request for hospitality? Where might John go (3 John 10)? What will he do if he goes there? How does John describe Dioterphes’s deeds? How does he describe his speech? What does he do to the brethren? What does he do to church members who do differently? What is Gaius in danger of imitating (3 John 11)? What do Diotrophes’s actions show about him? Who has what (3 John 12)? From whom? And from what? And also from whom? What does Gaius know about this last testimony?

What do believers need if they are to be godly? 3 John 9–12 looks forward to the second serial reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that believers need awareness of who is a spiritual or theological threat, and of who is properly qualified and ordained, as part of God’s means in making them godly.  

Naming names. As John continues urging Gaius to be hospitable to the missionaries that he is sending, he now gives Gaius counsel about how to think and act with respect to his local church. Here, the apostle does something politically incorrect. He names names. He names Diotrephes, the “lead” elder whose love for preeminence has gone hand-in-hand with refusing to welcome John or the missionaries (3 John 9) and with gossiping nonsense against them (3 John 10). 

As those who love first place often do, Diotrephes engaged in identity politics in the church. Not only did he refuse hospitality to John, but also to anyone associated with him, and excommunicating anyone who did give them hospitality! It is important, for the theological and spiritual safety of God’s people, to name the names of those who are theologically and spiritually dangerous.

Whom not to imitate. John now calls Gaius “beloved” again (3 John 11), warning him that there is much more at stake than who will “win” in church politics. Diotrephes “has not seen God.” He doesn’t do good, because he has no birth from God. Charismatic leaders may be inspiring, but their selfishness exposes their true character and serves as a warning not to follow them, not to imitate them. 

Whom to imitate (doctrine of ordination). Rather, the Lord gives us those whom we should imitate. Demetrius (3 John 12) is actually qualified to be an elder. He has a good testimony “from all” (cf. 1 Timothy 3:7). He also has a good testimony “from the truth itself,” meaning that his doctrine is sound according to Scripture, and his character is godly according to Scripture. 

Finally, John and the other elders have borne witness to Demetrius; they have attested to his qualification and his selection by God in the laying on of hands of ordination. Here is one more important reason for us to follow the biblical doctrine of ordination: that we may have elders worthy of imitating.

The Lord protect His church from those who would be closed-hearted toward others and full of gossip and “identity politics.” And the Lord give His church elders who are hospitable, generous, and full of truth and love, so that by their ministry and example, He might sanctify for Himself a people who are hospitable, generous, and full of truth and love.

How are you resisting the desire to have the first place among others? In what ways are elders sometimes selected in the churches? Whom do you know that are qualified and ordained according to 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9? What are you doing to be hospitable to them and imitate them?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for those ministers who are careful enough of souls to name names about those who are spiritually and theologically dangerous. Forgive us for not being so careful of our own souls. And forgive us for when we like to have the first place, and when we gossip nonsense against others. Thank You for those elders who are properly qualified and ordained. Forgive us for not receiving Your testimony about them or imitating them in their godliness. Grant that our conduct would show that we are born of God, we ask through Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent Who Will Reside?” or TPH406 “Jesus, with Thy Church Abide”

2024.09.11 Midweek Meeting Livestream (live at 6:30p)

Click below for the:

September 11 Prayer Meeting

Proverbs 2:10–22 Sermon Outline

We urge you to assemble physically, if possible, with a true congregation of Christ's church. For those of our own congregation who may be providentially hindered, we are grateful to be able to provide this service.

Each week we LIVESTREAM the Lord's Day (Sabbath School, Morning Public Worship, and p.m. Singing and Sermon) and Midweek Meeting (sermon and prayer). For notifications when Hopewell is streaming live, install the CHURCHONE APP on your [Apple], [Android], or [Kindle] device, and enter hopewellarp for your broadcaster

Turn Away from Yourself to Christ for Life! [2024.09.08 Evening Sermon in Numbers 21:4–9]

Because there is nothing good in ourselves, we must be born again, and God has raised up His Son so that those dying of their own wickedness may turn away from themselves, to look to Him instead, and live!

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

Fatal Playing at Religion [2024.09.15 Morning Sermon in Matthew 11:16–14]

Playing at "Christianity" is childish, arrogant, and wicked unbelief. But grace can make us humble, submissive children.

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

Moral and Ceremonial Law in the Covenant of Grace [2024.09.08 Sabbath School in WCF 19.2–3—Hopewell 101]

We continue to study the Scriptures behind the sound and sweet doctrine of our church's Confession of Faith. This week, we learned, from WCF 19.2–3, about how the moral law has a special place in the covenant of grace, and therefore the Christian life; but that the ceremonial law was given for other prophethood, priesthood, and kingship, and has been abrogated under Christ.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)