Hillsdale OPC

1 day ago

Dear Congregation,

Below are the shorter catechism questions we'll use, in reviewing the law of God, along with the prayers of confession and thanksgiving that we'll use in our service on Sunday morning.

In the morning service we'll pick up our Old Testament readings in 1 Kings 10 and look at 1 Peter 3:18-22 for our morning sermon. Don't forget to pray for the Williams and Stockdales as they bring their newborn children for baptism.

In the evening we will look at Isaiah 40:1-11 and 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 as we begin a new series, working through the Heidelberg Catechism. Lord's Day 1 looks at questions 1 and 2:

What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has delivered me from the tyranny of the devil. He also watched over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

How many things must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort? Three: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.

I encourage you to look these over before Sunday, so you can be ready for worship. For children, it can be helpful to go over the prayers in advance and explain simply some words that might be unfamiliar to them.

The Law of God

Which is the fifth commandment?

The fifth commandment is, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

What is required in the fifth commandment?

The fifth commandment requires the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.

What is forbidden in the fifth commandment?

The fifth commandment forbids the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honor and duty which belongs to everyone in their several places and relations.

What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?

The reasons annexed to the fifth commandment, is a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.

Prayer of Confession

Our Father in heaven we come to you as children to a father,
who is ready, willing, and able to help.

We have not loved you with our whole hearts
or our neighbors as ourselves.

We have not given honor to those you have placed over us
and we have been careless in our duties to those you have placed under us.

We confess that we have taken authority without honor,
and have demanded respect without integrity,
and have given obedience only grudgingly.
We have not trusted you:
though your promises are great and precious and never fail,
yet we have only sometimes relied on them,
and in anxiety and fear we have not put our full hope in you.

Forgive us, O LORD, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and continue in us your work of Sanctification
through your Holy Spirit
that we would be renewed and put on the new self
in true righteousness and holiness.
For we come to you in the name of the Perfect Son, Jesus, our Savior,
who taught us to pray,

Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of all glory and grace you graciously feed us,

who have received these gifts,

with the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation.

May we who have received this sacrament,

be strengthened in your service;

we who have sung your praises

tell of your glory and truth;

we who have heard the greatness of your love

see you face to face in your kingdom;

for you have made us your own people

by the death and resurrection of your Son, our Lord

and by the life-giving power of your Spirit. Amen.

Blessings,

Pastor

sDg ...