July 14, 2023
This coming Lord's Day we will celebrate the sacrament of baptism. Leonora McCallister (daughter of Jesse and Joanna McCallister), Edith Welch, Amelia Welch, and William Welch (children of new members Andrew and Joy Welch) will be welcomed into the covenant community at the 8:30 a.m. service, and Penelope Crawford and James Crawford (children of Quinn and Laura Crawford) at the 11:00 service. As you see the waters of baptism poured out upon these children of the covenant, remember your own duty to "improve" (i.e., turn to a profit, use to good effect) your own baptism.
The Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC) #167 helpfully instructs us in this "needful but much neglected duty" that "is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it to others." As the Westminster divines read the Scriptures, in particular the apostle Paul, they saw how God (and the Biblical authors) used the significance of the sacrament of baptism as a means of strengthening the faith of His people. How are we to improve our baptism? In the words of the WLC:
By serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein;
By being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements;
By growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament;
By drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace;
By endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation [i.e., our life] in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ, and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body..
So come to worship this Sunday ready to consider, to be humbled, to be assured, to be strengthened, and to be challenged. Remember God's promises, and the way that baptism seals/confirms/certifies/guarantees those promises to all who believe them in their hearts. Know that as water cleanses the body, so the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of Jesus cleanse our souls. And pray for the parents whose children are being formally set apart to follow Jesus - for they have a weighty burden of prayer, instruction, and discipline upon them. And who is sufficient for parenting? To use Paul's words in a somewhat different direction from how he used them, "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God...[His] grace is sufficient for [us], for [his] power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 3:5; 12:9). Thanks be to God for the gift of children to raise to know the Lord Jesus, and for the sacraments that help to depict visually the grace of the gospel.
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Men, on Mondays this fall (beginning the first Monday of August, 8/7), I'll be leading a men's Bible study of the book of Ecclesiastes from 12:00-1:00. We'll plan to meet in the Parlor, and we'll be using the Lifechange Bible Study guide published by Navpress. The book will cost $5, and we'll have a registration form available soon. Ecclesiastes has always been a difficult book for me to understand, and perhaps it is for you as well. So I'm looking forward to digging in together to deepen our knowledge of God's word and God's world.
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Thank you for your prayers for my preaching at FPC last Sunday morning. The Lord was gracious to me as I preached, and to my listeners as they heard the word preached. If you'd like to hear the sermon you can listen to it here. It's a variation of a sermon I preached at POPC back in 2019 on 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, "Why Do Bad Things Happen to God's People?" It's a question we've all asked before, and Paul's answers in the opening of his second letter to the Corinthians are some of the most helpful in the Bible.
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Finally, as RTS has opened the doors of its new location on Meadowbrook Drive (just behind First Commercial Bank on the Frontage Road), the Bookstore is hosting monthly book discussions on various books. The first one was from 5:30-6:30 on June 30, so I'm assuming that will be the time each month. Here's the schedule:
June 30, 2023 - On the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus (Discussion led by Parker Mansfield)
July 28, 2023 - The Need for Creeds Today by J. V. Fesko (Discussion led by Ethan Tucker)
Aug 25, 2023 - Sabbath as Rest and Hope for the People of God by Guy Waters (Discussion led by Dr. Guy Waters)
Sept 29, 2023 - On the Necessity of Reforming the Church by John Calvin (Discussion led by Dr. J. V. Fesko)
Oct 27, 2023 - Against the Gods by John Currid (Discussion led by Jermaine Van Buren, Jr.)
Nov 24, 2023 - Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Thomas Brooks (Discussion led by Rev. Andrew Mills)
Jan 26, 2024 - Impeccable by William Plumer (Discussion led by Rev. Caleb Cangelosi)
Feb 23, 2024 - Guides to the Reformed Tradition: Worship by Hughes Oliphant Old (Discussion led by Dr. Joshua Cole)
You can find more on the RTS Jackson Bookstore Facebook page.