"The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood."
|
posted Dec 26, 2010 5:11 PM by Ray Nearhood
1. Responsive Reading: PSALM 30
I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to
the pit.
Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in
my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
By your favor, O LORD,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To you, O LORD, I
cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
"What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
O LORD, be my helper!“
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
2. SONG – To God be the Glory
3. AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – London Baptist Confession
(1689) Ch.3, para 1 (ALL)
4. CONFIRMATION OF DOCTRINE – Catechism Question
How can we know the Word of God?
We are commanded to hear, read and search the Scriptures
(1 Pet. 2:2; Rv. 3:22; Mt. 21:42; 22:29; 2 Tim. 3:14-17)
How do we know this to be true?
Because 1 Peter 2:2 teaches this, saying:
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you
may grow up into salvation.”
5. Memory Passage - Psalm 121:5-6
6. SONG – Gloria Patri
7. CONFESSION
and RENEWAL IN CHRIST
It is written: “There
is none righteous,
no not one.” (Romans 3:10)
“For all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Recognizing that we are sinners and all deserve the wrath of
God, let’s humbly confess our sins to our heavenly Father saying:
ALL: O most
merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly confess our sins and
beg for Your mercy.
We have not loved You with all of our heart and we have not loved our
neighbor as ourselves.
We have not always done justly, nor always loved mercy, nor walked humbly
with You, our God
According to Your great and tender mercies, blot out our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within us through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(confess silently our sins)
Now, lift your heads and hear the promise of God to all who
repent of their sins and trust in Christ:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you
have been healed.
(1 Peter 2:24)
Therefore, hear the word of God which declares that
you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of
flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before him
(Colossians 1:21-22)
And rejoice in Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom you are
declared righteous!
ALL: Amen
8. SONG – Doxology
9. INTERCESSION
and THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Praying - For the lost; For the Church; For missionaries;
For the country; For our church family; For our family)
Our Lord, teach us to pray as you did, saying:
ALL: "Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen
10. SCRIPTURE READING and SHORT DISCUSSION
Acts 1:1-11
11. CLOSING SONG –Romans 11 Doxology |
posted Dec 25, 2010 11:21 AM by Ray Nearhood
[
updated Dec 25, 2010 11:31 AM
]
1. Responsive Reading: Psalm 72: 1, 8-15
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth!
May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
For he delivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
Long may he live;
may gold of Sheba be given to him!
2. Responsive Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.
3. Read and Short
Discussion: Matthew 2:1-12
4. Sing: Joy to
the World
5. Sing: O Come,
All Ye Faithful
6. Responsive Reading: Micah 5:1-5a
Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in
the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be their peace.
7. Responsive Reading: Ezekial
34:20-24
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I
myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you
push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your
horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my
flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and
sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I,
the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among
them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.
8. Read and Short Discussion: Luke 2:8-21
9. Sing: Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel
10. Sing: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing |
posted Dec 24, 2010 11:12 AM by Ray Nearhood
At church for Christmas Eve. |
posted Dec 23, 2010 6:12 PM by Ray Nearhood
I messed up and forgot to upload Tuesday and Wednesday. I change a powerpoint each day and do not save every day, so, those are lost forever. :-(
1. ISAIAH 9:1-7
But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.
In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and
the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way
of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
You have multiplied
the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of
the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of
his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
2. SONG – Oh Come, All Ye Faithful
3. AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – Nicene Creed (ALL)
4. CONFIRMATION OF DOCTRINE – Catechism Question
How does the Holy Spirit bring us to salvation?
He uses the Bible, which is the Word of God.
(1 Thes. 1:5, 6; 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:22, 23)
How do we know this to be true?
ALL: Because 1 Thessalonians 2:13
teaches this, saying:
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you
received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted
it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of
God, which is at work in you believers.”
5. Memory Passage - Psalm 121:5-6 The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
6. SONG – Gloria Patri
7. CONFESSION
and RENEWAL IN CHRIST
It is written: “There
is none righteous,
no not one.” (Romans 3:10)
“For all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Recognizing that we are sinners and all deserve the wrath of
God, let’s humbly confess our sins to our heavenly Father saying:
ALL: O most
merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly confess our sins and
beg for Your mercy.
We have not loved You with all of our heart and we have not loved our
neighbor as ourselves.
We have not always done justly, nor always loved mercy, nor walked humbly
with You, our God
According to Your great and tender mercies, blot out our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within us through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(confess silently our sins)
Now, lift your heads and hear the promise of God to all who
repent of their sins and trust in Christ:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you
have been healed.
(1 Peter 2:24)
Therefore, hear the word of God which declares that
you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing
evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his
death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach
before him
(Colossians 1:21-22)
And rejoice in Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom you are
declared righteous!
ALL: Amen
8. SONG – Doxology
9. INTERCESSION
and THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Praying - For the lost; For the Church; For missionaries;
For the country; For our church family; For our family)
Our Lord, teach us to pray as you did, saying:
ALL: "Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen
10. SCRIPTURE READING and SHORT DISCUSSION
Luke 2:1-6
11. CLOSING SONG – O Come, O Come Emmanuel |
posted Dec 20, 2010 5:07 PM by Ray Nearhood
1. Isaiah 52:1-10
Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
For thus says the
LORD: "You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed
without money."
For thus says the Lord GOD: "My people went down at the first into
Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.
Now therefore what have I here," declares the LORD,
"seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers
wail," declares the LORD, "and continually all the day my name
is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in
that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I."
How beautiful upon
the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
the return of the LORD to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
2. SONG – Joy to the World!
3. AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – Apostles’ Creed (ALL)
4. CONFIRMATION OF DOCTRINE – Catechism Question
How does the Holy Spirit bring us to salvation?
He uses the Bible, which is the Word of God.
(1 Thes. 1:5, 6; 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:22, 23)
How do we know this to be true?
ALL: Because 1 Thessalonians 2:13
teaches this, saying:
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you
received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted
it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of
God, which is at work in you believers.”
5. MEMORY PASSAGE - Psalm 121:5-6
6. SONG – Gloria Patri
7. CONFESSION
and RENEWAL IN CHRIST
It is written: “There
is none righteous,
no not one.” (Romans 3:10)
“For all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Recognizing that we are sinners and all deserve the wrath of
God, let’s humbly confess our sins to our heavenly Father saying:
ALL: O most
merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly confess our sins and
beg for Your mercy.
We have not loved You with all of our heart and we have not loved our
neighbor as ourselves.
We have not always done justly, nor always loved mercy, nor walked humbly
with You, our God
According to Your great and tender mercies, blot out our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within us through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(confess silently our sins)
Now, lift your heads and hear the promise of God to all who
repent of their sins and trust in Christ:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you
have been healed.
(1 Peter 2:24)
Therefore, hear the word of God which declares that
you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of
flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before him
(Colossians 1:21-22)
And rejoice in Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom you are
declared righteous!
ALL: Amen
8. SONG – Doxology
9. INTERCESSION
and THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Praying - For the lost; For the Church; For missionaries;
For the country; For our church family; For our family)
Our Lord, teach us to pray as you did, saying:
ALL: "Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen
10. SCRIPTURE READING and SHORT DISCUSSION
Luke 1:39-56
11. CLOSING SONG – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing |
posted Dec 20, 2010 11:13 AM by Ray Nearhood
1. PSALM 23 – A Psalm of David
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
2. SONG – O Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – Apostles’ Creed (ALL)
4. CONFIRMATION OF DOCTRINE – Catechism Question
How does the Holy Spirit bring us to salvation?
He uses the Bible, which is the Word of God.
(1 Thes. 1:5, 6; 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:22, 23)
How do we know this to be true?
ALL: Because 1 Thessalonians 2:13
teaches this, saying:
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you
received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted
it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of
God, which is at work in you believers.”
5. Memory Passage - Psalm 121:3-4
6. SONG – Gloria Patri
7. CONFESSION
and RENEWAL IN CHRIST
It is written: “There
is none righteous,
no not one.” (Romans 3:10)
“For all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Recognizing that we are sinners and all deserve the wrath of
God, let’s humbly confess our sins to our heavenly Father saying:
ALL: O most
merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly confess our sins and
beg for Your mercy.
We have not loved You with all of our heart and we have not loved our
neighbor as ourselves.
We have not always done justly, nor always loved mercy, nor walked humbly
with You, our God
According to Your great and tender mercies, blot out our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within us through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(confess silently our sins)
Now, lift your heads and hear the promise of God to all who
repent of their sins and trust in Christ:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you
have been healed.
(1 Peter 2:24)
Therefore, hear the word of God which declares that
you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of
flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before him
(Colossians 1:21-22)
And rejoice in Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom you are
declared righteous!
ALL: Amen
8. SONG – Doxology
9. INTERCESSION
and THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Praying - For the lost; For the Church; For missionaries;
For the country; For our church family; For our family)
Our Lord, teach us to pray as you did, saying:
ALL: "Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen
10. SCRIPTURE READING and SHORT DISCUSSION
Luke 1:39-56
11. CLOSING SONG – FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN |
posted Dec 17, 2010 7:24 PM by Ray Nearhood
So, now that I've returned from the Senior Leaders Course, we have restarted our Daily Family Worship. In my absence I've decided on, and made, a few changes. If anyone has followed this, you may have noticed that it has been a very long time since I've posted here. Well, this is not for lack of actually conducting our family worship. The reason is because the time that it took to write out a study and type out what I had put together was too time constraining. Further, even writing the the long studies was often too hard to do given the amount of time I had to actually write. What ended up happening more often than not was that we would come together as a family, pray, read a passage of Scripture, do a memory verse, and maybe sing a song. Too often there was no order to the get together.
Well, I was blessed during my stay in Arizona to find a small, traditional, PCA congregation. I worshiped with them every Sunday for seven weeks. While there I had an idea that would fix our family worship - ensuring that it was more regular and more orderly. I decided to use the basic liturgical formula that the church used in our daily worship. As a result we will be able to read the Word together (instead of being read to), we will have better directed prayer, and we will be able to tie in the story of redemption with the Scripture. We accomplish this with responsive reading of Scripture, shared prayer, and a reading of Scripture with a short, unscripted discussion.
Starting today I will post each day's worship under the title of the day we conduct it.
1. PSALM 24 – A Psalm of David
ME: The earth is the
LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
THE FAMILY: Who
shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the LORD
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory!
2. SONG – O Come, O come Emmanuel
3. AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – Apostles’ Creed (ALL)
4. CONFIRMATION OF DOCTRINE – Catechism Question
How does the Holy Spirit bring us to salvation?
He uses the Bible, which is the Word of God. (1 Thes. 1:5, 6; 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:22, 23)
How do we know this to be true?
ALL: Because 1 Thessalonians 2:13
teaches this, saying:
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you
received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted
it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which
is at work in you believers.”
5. SONG – Gloria Patri
6. CONFESSION and RENEWAL IN CHRIST
It is written: “There
is none righteous,
no not one.” (Romans 3:10)
“For all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Recognizing that we are sinners and all deserve the wrath of
God, let’s humbly confess our sins to our heavenly Father saying:
ALL: O most
merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly confess our sins and
beg for Your mercy.
We have not loved You with all of our heart and we have not loved our
neighbor as ourselves.
We have not always done justly, nor always loved mercy, nor walked humbly
with You, our God
According to Your great and tender mercies, blot out our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within us through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(confess silently our sins)
Now, lift your heads and hear the promise of God to all who
repent of their sins and trust in Christ:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you
have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
Therefore, hear the word of God which declares that
you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh
by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above
reproach before him (Colossians 1:21-22)
And rejoice in Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom you are
declared righteous!
ALL: Amen
7. SONG – Doxology
8. INTERCESSION and THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Praying - For the lost; For the Church; For missionaries;
For the country; For our church family; For our family)
Our Lord, teach us to pray as you did, saying:
ALL: "Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
For Yours in the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen
9. SCRIPTURE READING and SHORT DISCUSSION
Luke 1:26-38
10. CLOSING SONG – What Child is This
|
posted Aug 25, 2010 2:28 PM by Ray Nearhood
1. Prayer
2. Song: O Worship the King
3. Recite Apostles' Creed
4. Catechism Question: Q. What is a church?
5. Scripture Reading and Familiarity: Psalm 10, Mark 14:66-72
6. Study Scripture: 2 Chronicles 32:24-31
7. Prayer
God, as a righteous judge, deals otherwise with wicked and ungodly men. He awards them blindness and hardness of heart for their sins. He withholds from them the grace which might have enlightened their minds and exercised their hearts, and in some cases recalls the gifts He had bestowed upon them. Also, He sets them in situations which their evil hearts seize upon as opportunities for sin. In other words, He abandons them to their own innate corruptions, to the temptations of the world, and to, the power of Satan, with the consequence that they harden themselves by the use of the very means which God employs for softening the hearts of others.
In our last study we read that God deals mercifully with his people. Today, the confession teaches us that God deals otherwise with the wicked and ungodly. Why? Because, he is a righteous judge.
Let’s look at how that Bible teaches that God deals with the ungodly.
He awards them blindness and hardness of heart for their sins - This hardening is most clearly demonstrated in God's dealing with the Pharaoh during the time of the Plagues just before the Exodus of Israel. Turn to Exodus 8, we'll start with verse 8. OK, now notice that every time that Pharaoh's heart was hardened it was just as God said. Do you remember what we said about the decrees of God? That they will come to pass, because the Lord says so. This is even more solidly demonstrated in the next chapter where we read that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. That is that he kept Pharaoh, who was suffering under the wrath of God, from recognizing that he needed to change his mind.
We also see the spiritual blindness demonstrated in King Sihon, as the Israelites were moving through the wilderness. Go to Deuteronomy 2:26-33. He withholds from them the grace which might have enlightened their minds and exercised their hearts - Now turn to Deuteronomy 29 starting in verse 2. Israel was not enlightened in order to recognize their need for God. He saved them from Egypt, and yet they continually forgot. He promised to save them forever, the Exodus out of Egypt demonstrated that, and yet they could not see that this was going to be fulfilled. Paul reiterates, and drives his point home that they did not recognize the need for the savior, nor did they recognize that the Savior had come. (Romans 11:7-10) additionally Isaiah 6:8-11 and in some cases recalls the gifts He had bestowed upon them – Matthew 13:10-12Also, He sets them in situations which their evil hearts seize upon as opportunities for sin2 Kings 8:7-15In other words, He abandons them to their own innate corruptions, to the temptations of the world, and to, the power of Satan, with the consequence that they harden themselves by the use of the very means which God employs for softening the hearts of others. – Romans 1:18-31, 2Thess 2:9-12, Psalm 81:11-12, 1Pet 2:4-8 destined to stumble, to reject the living stone |
posted Aug 23, 2010 3:29 PM by Ray Nearhood
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updated Aug 23, 2010 5:00 PM
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1. Prayer
2. Song: To God Be the Glory
3. Recite Apostles' Creed
4. Catechism Question: Q. What is a church?
5. Scripture Reading and Familiarity: Psalm 9, Mark 14:66-72
6. Study Scripture: 2 Chronicles 32:24-31
7. Prayer
God, who is most wise, righteous and gracious, frequently allows His own people to fall for a time into a variety of temptations, and to experience the sinfulness of their own hearts. This He does in order to chastise them for sins which they have committed, or to teach them humility by revealing to them the hidden strength of evil and deceitfulness remaining in their hearts. His purpose is also to cause them to realize their need to depend fully and at all times upon Himself, and to help them to guard against sin in the future. In these and other ways His just and holy purposes are worked out, so that all that happens to His elect ones is by His appointment, for His glory, and for their good.
This He does in order to chastise them for sins which they have committed... - 2 Chronicles 32:24-31. King Hezekiah was shown mercy by God and instead of being thankful and worshiping God, he became proud. Because of this, God removed his grace from Hezekiah and his kingdom. Note that the text does not read that God poured his wrath out on the kingdom, but that wrath came upon the kingdom. It is understood then that it came from without or outside the kingdom. The implication is that Hezekiah's pride in dealing with the outside kingdoms did not serve him well, and, until he realized his need for dependency on God, the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem was chastised.
or to teach them humility by revealing to them the hidden strength of evil and deceitfulness remaining in their hearts - 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. No one knows what the "thorn in Paul's flesh" was. There are a few ideas (ideas), but the text appears to indicate that it may have been some recurring sin, or more likely a sin that Paul was tempted towards constantly. This is what the Reformers believed the thorn may have been. The Confessions attest to this, first of all. Calvin wrote:
My opinion is, that under this term is comprehended every kind of temptation, with which Paul was exercised. For flesh here, in my opinion, denotes — not the body, but that part of the soul which has not yet been regenerated. “There was given to me a goad that my flesh might be spurred up by it, for I am not yet so spiritual, as not to be exposed to temptations according to the flesh.”
He calls it farther the messenger of Satan on this ground, that as all temptations are sent by Satan, so, whenever they assail us, they warn us that Satan is at hand. Hence, at every apprehension of temptation, it becomes us to arouse ourselves, and arm ourselves with promptitude for repelling Satan’s assaults. It was most profitable for Paul to think of this, because this consideration did not allow him to exult like a man that was off his guard. For the man, who is as yet beset with dangers, and dreads the enemy, is not prepared to celebrate a triumph. “The Lord, says he, has provided me with an admirable remedy, against being unduly elated; for, while I am employed in taking care that Satan may not take advantage of me, I am kept back from pride.”
His purpose is also to cause them to realize their need to depend fully and at all times upon Himself, and to help them to guard against sin in the future. - God reveals this in a special revelation to Paul - for our benefit. We learn that when we are struggling with temptation, when we feel we must get rid of this sin that we keep wanting to come back to, it is right to ask God to relieve of this struggle. But, if we remain in the struggle it is to gird us in the truth that God's grace is enough. Calvin has a great way of saying that God's grace strengthens us in the weakness of struggling with sin and depending on God (not making ourself strong):
The more deficiency there is in me, so much the more liberally does the Lord, from his strength, supply me with whatever he sees to be needful for me.
In these and other ways His just and holy purposes are worked out, so that all that happens to His elect ones is by His appointment, for His glory, and for their good. - Romans 8:18-30 |
posted Aug 12, 2010 8:14 PM by Ray Nearhood
1. Prayer
2. Song: O Worship the King
3. Recite Apostles' Creed
4. Catechism Question: Q. How does the Holy Spirit bring us to salvation? A. He uses the Bible, which is the Word of God.
5. Scripture Reading and Familiarity: Psalm 8, Matthew 10:26-33
6. Study Scripture: Isaiah 46:8-11 -- There is none like God.
7. Prayer
GOD who, in infinite power and wisdom, has created all things, upholds, directs, controls and governs them, both animate and inanimate, great and small, by a providence supremely wise and holy, and in accordance with His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable decisions of His will. He fulfills the purposes for which He created them, so that His wisdom, power and justice, together with His infinite goodness and mercy, might be praised and glorified.
This paragraph is pretty long and pretty straight forward. However, there is a lot there, so what we will do is treat this paragraph on a point by point basis and we will read through the Scriptures that support it. Here it goes:
1. GOD who, in infinite power and wisdom, has created all things - We aren't really going to spend any time on this point. I hope that you remember that we covered this when we studied Creation in the last chapter of the Confession.
2. upholds, directs, controls and governs them - Job 7:20; Psalm 36:6; Psalm 115:3; Daniel 4:34-35
3. both animate and inanimate, great and small,- Psalm 119:91; Psalm 104:14; Job 38:8-11; Job 38:31-38
4. by a providence supremely wise and holy, and in accordance with His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable decisions of His will. - Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 1:3; Romans 11:29-33
5. He fulfills the purposes for which He created them, so that His wisdom, power and justice, together with His infinite goodness and mercy, might be praised and glorified. - Psalm 135:6; Isaiah 46:10; Isaiah 46:11; Matthew 10:29-31; Romans 11:34-36 |
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