Old Testament Reading: Psalm 141 “A PSALM OF DAVID. O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is cont ..read more

What is prayer? (see Baptist Catechism 105) Those who love God will pray. Discuss.  Jesus prayed. Why did he need to given that he is the Son of God? How is the Lord’s Prayer to be used? Is it merely to be recited? How does the Lord’s Prayer in Luke differ from the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew?  What does it mean to address God as Father? Why is this significant? What sorts of things should we pray for under each petition of the Lord’s Prayer? Baptist Catechism 107-114 might help ..read more

Sin always has reference to God’s law. Why is this an important truth? What does it mean to fail to conform to God’s law? (Sins of omission) What does it mean to transgress God’s law? (Sins of commission) Why is it important to have a proper definition of sin? What does this have to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ ..read more

Baptist Catechism 17 Q. 17. What is sin? A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. (1 John 3:4; Rom. 5:13) ***** Introduction I should remind you of what the last question and answer said, for this one builds upon the last one.  Question 16 asks, “Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?” Answer: “Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.” We discussed the meaning of this Q&A last Sunday. Here I want you to remember that our fir ..read more

What does the story about Mary and her sister Martha have to do with the first and second greatest commandments mentioned in Luke 10:27? Compare and contrast Mary (in Luke 10:39)  with the lawyer (in Luke 10:25). What is similar about them? What is different? All who love God truly must sit at the feet of Jesus to receive, believe, and obey his word. This is a bold statement. Why is it true now that the Christ has come? Related to this, we know that the lawyer did not keep the second greatest commandment. Did he keep the first? Why or why not?     Why does Jesus say t ..read more

Q. 16. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created? A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. (Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 5:12) ***** Introduction I would like you to listen again to question 16 of our catechism. “Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?” Adam and Eve are called “our first parents” because the whole human race descended from them.  The word “estate”, in Baptist Catechism question 16 is very important. We don’t use tha ..read more

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 6:1–9  “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promis ..read more

In the previous sermon and this one, I mentioned three uses of God’s law. The first use of God’s moral law is to restrain evil in the world generally by God’s common grace. Here we may compare the law to a curb or guardrail. What are the other two uses of the law? To what can we compare these? In Luke 10:25-37, how did Christ use the law as a disciplinarian or mirror to show the lawyer his sin?  How is the law used as a light to our feet or as a guide in this same passage? The law commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Who is our neighbor? What does it mean to love our neighbor ..read more

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 119:1–16  “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! How can a young man keep his ..read more

WEEKLY READINGS SUNDAY > Lev 20, Ps 25, Eccles 3, 1 Tim 5 MONDAY > Lev 21, Ps 26–27, Eccles 4, 1 Tim 6 TUESDAY > Lev 22, Ps 28–29, Eccles 5, 2 Tim 1 WEDNESDAY > Lev 23, Ps 30, Eccles 6, 2 Tim 2 THURSDAY > Lev 24, Ps 31, Eccles 7, 2 Tim 3 FRIDAY > Lev 25, Ps 32, Eccles 8, 2 Tim 4 SATURDAY > Lev 26, Ps 33, Eccles 9, Titus 1 MEMORY VERSE(S) “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3, ESV). CATECHISM QUESTION(S) Baptist Catechism #14: Q. Wha ..read more