Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 7 March, 2021
“O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness:
fear before him, all the earth” (Ps. 96:9)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
No Killing! [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:3-26
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 40
I. The Wrong Understandings of Killing
II. The Manifold Ways of Killing
III. The Evil Motives of Killing
Psalms: 61:1-4, 7-8; 62:1-6
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Scripture Reading: I Peter 1:1-21
Text: I Peter 1:5
I. Unto What?
II. By What?
III. Through What?
Psalms: 125:1-5; 73:23-28
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: www.cprc.co.uk/live-streaming
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
Prof. Herman Hanko on I Peter 1:5: “The pilgrim is also a warrior, and Scripture often uses the figure of a soldier to describe the life of the child of God in the midst of the world. We need only think of Ephesians 6:10-17, where Paul admonishes the people of God to arm themselves with the armor of God. Also in 2 Timothy 2:3, Paul tells Timothy that he must learn to endure hardship like any other soldier. The Christian pilgrim must carry a staff and a sword. The enemy seeks his destruction and there are many battles to fight along the way to glory. Although he and his fellow pilgrim soldiers are very weak because of their sinful flesh and are far outnumbered by their enemies, nevertheless the outcome of the battle is certain. It does not depend upon the strength of the people of God or upon their skill with the weapons of war. They are guarded in the battle by the best defense that one could imagine: the power of God” (A Pilgrim’s Manual, pp. 23-24).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
The Standard Bearer is on the back table for subscribers. A letter from Rev. McGeown is on the table as well.
Tuesday Bible study at 11 AM will meet in the auditorium to consider more on assurance as of the essence of faith.
Belgic Confession Class will meet and be streamed live this Wednesday at 7:45 PM to consider the “last days” in Micah in connection with Article 37.
Saturday night Bible study will meet on-line this week at 8 PM to discuss Hebrews 6:13-7:3.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. R. Kleyn is entitled, “Jesus Demonstrates His Authority” (Mark 1:21-28).
Offerings: General Fund: £811.76. Donations: £100 (Malaysia), £200 (England), $1,064.79 (Hudsonville PRC), $200 (Missouri, USA).
The Lord’s Supper dates this year are the last Lord’s days in the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th month (as usual), namely 28 March, 27 June, 26 September and 26 December.
Translation Addition: 1 Russian.
Rev. McGeown’s USA non-immigrant visa appointment (R-1 “Religious Worker”) that had been scheduled for 8 March has now been officially cancelled. He has a new appointment in Dublin for 27 July (a two week improvement on another appointment scheduled in London on 11 August). Rev. and Larisa McGeown are also waiting for an immigrant visa appointment (I-130 “Petition for Alien Relative”) but they have no control in arranging that. The National Visa Centre will work with the US Embassy/Consulate General in Dublin to schedule that interview.
PRC News: Wingham PRC (Ontario) called Rev. Smidstra (Holland, MI). Rev. Guichelaar (Randolph, WI) declined the call to Kalamazoo PRC.
Waiting for the Son of God
(an excerpt from the Standard Bearer, vol. 16, issue 17, by Herman Hoeksema)
“And to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (I Thess. 1:10)
A living hope and a sanctified walk! Always these two accompany each other. Inseparably they are knit together, intertwined; essentially they are one.
Without the one the other cannot be. Reciprocally they motivate each other. Each is the other’s stimulant. Where the one fades the other pines. Where the one flourishes the other is strong.
Be the friend of God in Christ, keep your garments clean, fight the good fight of faith in the midst of the world, deny yourselves and consider it grace in the cause of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer with him—and your attitude will be that of the living hope, to which you look for the Son of God from heaven, assured, longing, waiting. And, on the other hand, look for the Saviour from heaven, with steadfast longing and patient waiting, and the longing and urge to be like Him at His coming will be a strong incentive to keep yourselves pure and strive to keep His commandments.
Be the friend of the world in much of your actual life, seek the things that are below, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, refuse to suffer with Christ and carefully avoid the cross—and hope will pine away, there is no Christian joy in your heart and no song of glad expectation on your lips. Or, again, let hope be weak and wavering, the flame of hope’s yearning be quenched, the strong assurance of hope lacking in your soul—and gone is the power to be patient in tribulation and to endure even unto the end.
Inseparable are they: hope and sanctification. Mutually they effect each other. They live together and die together. They flourish together and languish together.
Thus it is in the chapter at the end of which occurs the text of this meditation.
It contains a beautiful testimony concerning the Christian life and walk of the saints in Thessalonica. They had received the Word of the gospel in the midst of much affliction, with joy in the Holy Ghost; and they had become followers of Paul and of the Lord. They had become ensamples to all believers round about, in Macedonia and Achaia. The Word of the Lord sounded out from them, and their faith to God-ward was spread abroad. For, by the power of grace they had been called, and they turned away from idols …
To serve the living and true God. And to wait for his Son from heaven! Always these two: serving the living and true God and waiting for his Son from heaven! It is both or none!
We wait for Him! For the Son of God from heaven. For Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. For Him, who delivered us from the wrath to come.
There, in a few words, you have the entire gospel of our salvation! For, what is the gospel, if it is not God’s message concerning His Son?
Or what is this message of God concerning His Son if it is not, first of all and chiefly, that He is, indeed, the Son of God? He is the Son, not by virtue of any title or honour or grace or glory or power that was bestowed upon Him, but in Himself, eternally, in co-equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit, essentially God, infinite in all His virtues, almighty, all-wise, sovereign, the Lord of all, God adorable above all!
This, indeed, is the heart, the quintessence of the gospel. Deny it, and there is no gospel of salvation possible.
… He, the Son of God, even Jesus! Whom God raised from the dead! He was taken up into the highest heavens! Leaving us the promise that He will come again, with His reward! To give unto every man according as his work shall be!
For Him we wait! We wait!
Assured we are that He will come again!
True, He did not leave us orphans. He did come again. Even as He promised before He ascended up to the Father, so He sent unto us the Comforter, that He may abide with us forever. And in that Spirit, He Himself returned to us!
And, indeed, we know that at the end of our earthly course and battle He will come to us, even through His servant death, and take us to Himself, in the House of many mansions, where He prepared a place for us, that we may also be where He is.
Yet, with all the saints we still wait for another coming.
For, He will come again from heaven! He will appear, not again as the suffering Servant, but in glory, with all the power and might the Father has bestowed on Him, as the Lord of Lord’s and King of kings, the heir of all things! And we expect that in that day He will subject all things unto Himself and make our humiliated body like unto His most glorious body. He will make all things new, and will give into our possession the incorruptible and undefilable inheritance that never fadeth away. He will appear as the Victor over death and hell, as the One Who stood for the cause of God’s covenant in the world, and His cause shall be publicly justified before every creature! And in that day every tongue, in heaven and on earth and in hell, shall forevermore confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!
For that day we wait! We wait for Him, for His coming!
No, this waiting attitude does not imply that while we look for Him we neglect our earthly calling. On the contrary, because we wait for Him it is our earnest desire to be found faithful at His coming. We know that He called us out of darkness into His marvellous light, in order that we might represent the cause of that Son in this world. And we fight the good fight, conscious of the victory in Him. Nor does it imply that we expect Him at any moment. For we know that all things must be ready. And even though we feel assured that the end of all things is near, and though we see that end drawing nearer every day with astounding rapidity in the events of today, we know that the end is not yet. Yet, we wait for the coming of the Son of God from heaven. We expect nothing of this world apart from His coming. All our expectation is concentrated on His coming. Would you like to make this world better, to see the perfect world? Wait for Him! Would you like to be delivered from the body of this death? Wait for Him! Do you suffer and are you killed all the day long, and do you see the cause of the Son of God suffer defeat? Wait for Him! You are in sin, in death? The enemy persecutes? The mighty men of this world rage and rave and appear to have the victory? Wait for Him! He will set all things straight!
We wait!
And this implies, too, that we long for His coming. To be sure, we wait patiently, fully assured that He will come. But this only means that the hope of His coming makes us strong to endure even unto the end, not that we do not earnestly and fervently long for the day of His coming. We wait in earnest expectation! For, in this we groan!
And the Spirit and the Bride say: Come! Yea, come quickly! …
