Reformation Orthodox Presbyterian Church

As Paul moves into a new and distinct section from what has come before, it is right for us to think that all of the doctrine which Paul covered in the epistle to Rome has as a theological foundation the revelation of the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the one and only Savior of the world. Beginning in chapter 13 Paul emphasizes the importance of unity and mutual welcome and acceptance among believers, particularly regarding non-essential matters of faith or what we might call scruples. Paul addresses the disputes that naturally arise between members of the church over matters such as dietary practices and the observance of special days, urging Christians not to judge too harshly, respond uncharitably, or despise one another based on personal convictions in these areas. Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

1 Samuel 14 recounts Jonathan's bold courage and faith in the Lord as he attacked and was granted victory against the Philistines, and this contrasted with Saul's rash and impatient leadership. Jonathan, Saul's son, demonstrated trust in God by initiating an attack on a Philistine garrison with his armor-bearer. His faith lead prompted divine intervention, resulting in wide spread confusion among the Philistines and ultimately their defeat. Concurrently, Saul's impulsive oath nearly costs Jonathan his life, highlighting the dangers of rash decisions, distrust in the Lord, and taking matters into one's own hands rather than seeking to honor the Lord with one's decisions and actions. Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

This morning, we look at Romans 11:33-36, a doxology that issues forth in response to the sovereign reign of God and the outworking of His plan to bring in the Gentiles, and His future plan to bring back the Jews. God moves in a mysterious way to those who sit at His feet, who cannot see or rule as He does, and to those who love the Lord and long for His appearing to trust and wait in Him as He rules most wisely and beautifully.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

Last week I covered the sin of Saul, which was first and foremost due to a lack of confidence in God's man, Samuel, to arrive to offer the sacrifice unto the Lord, to bless the nation, that they might have victory in battle. He had been called to wait, but failed to do so, and out of fear, he took into His hands the means of the blessing whereby God proclaimed that salvation comes only by His hands. He should have waited, and for his disobedience, the kingdom would be taken away from him. How often do we, rather than leaning upon the sufficient work of the Lord's Anointed, promised and made manifest through God's power alone, seek to do even the rightful works of God in our own strength? Rather than taking into our own hands the work that belongs to the Lord, we must look to Him, believe what He has promised, and wait upon Him to reveal salvation and victory on His terms. Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Ou

"In this powerful sermon, we explore the call to live as new creations in Christ—shedding the works of darkness and putting on the armor of light. Through biblical wisdom, personal reflection, and the transformative power of the Gospel, we uncover the dangers of laziness, worldly distractions, and spiritual complacency. Learn how to walk in righteousness, fight against sin, and embrace the fullness of life found in Jesus. If you're seeking encouragement in your faith journey, clarity on biblical truth, and a challenge to grow deeper in Christ, this message is for you. Watch now and be equipped to live boldly for the Kingdom of God!" As we come to Paul's final exhortations in Romans 13, we find a centralizing theme of new life in Christ Jesus, comprised of an urgent call for Christians to live as those who have been brought into union with Christ Jesus and to live as though ready for His return. Paul emphasized the need to cast off sinful behaviors associated with darkness and instead embrace a life of light w

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul's reign as Israel's first king faced a critical test against the Philistines. After Jonathan successfully defeats of a Philistine garrison at Geba, the Philistines planned to retaliate by amassing a massive army, and in response the Israelites scattered in fear. Saul gathered his forces at Gilgal but disobeyed the Lord's command to wait for Samuel to offer sacrifices. Having taken matters into his own hands. Fear and impatience will eat the heart of men, and rather than trusting in the Lord to deliver through the mechanism of the altar, trusting the Anointed One to bring victory, the king gave up the throne and the people saw just how unarmed they truly were. Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

In a world filled with lawlessness and moral confusion, God's Word provides clear guidance for living a life of love and righteousness. This powerful message reveals how true love is defined not by fleeting emotions but by God's eternal law — to love your neighbor as yourself and do no harm. Discover how Christ's example teaches us to embrace sacrificial love, reject selfishness, and prioritize God's truth in our homes, churches, and communities. Watch now to learn how to reflect God's love in everyday life and stand firm against cultural deception. Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

The call to repentance comes to us wherever the Lord finds us, and it comes to us not as those worthy of Divine favor, but as sinners who have a sketchy track record, and apart from repentance a miserable future looming ahead. Come to Christ, lay your failures at His feet, and seek to go and sin no more.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

It stands that in light of God's established order, that the civil magistrate has been instituted by God for a clear and universal purpose, to bring peace and order to societies of men. Seeing as this is their mandate, to wield the sword in the promotion of peace, the magistrate, ideally men who themselves are connected and governed by covenant between God and the people, they rely upon the support of the people to perform their duties. It is this support that comes in the form of taxes that are not only useful, but ordained by God to fund the work of the magistrate, and in light of this the clear exhortation, "render therefore to all their due…" Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

As we continue through Samuel's history, leading up to the establishment of the monarchy "at home" in Israel, we see a series of national mishaps and also acts of sovereign mercy along the way. Fitting within the whole scope of Redemptive History, we find the telltale contours of the Triune Lord, pursuing a wicked and wayward bride through persistent acts of extraordinary patience shown to a people who did not deserve it, but were nonetheless those upon whom God special favor rested. This evening, we see God's granting the demand of Israel to "have a king over us," thinking that a king would solve their problems, they again missed God's lessons as to where true salvation and security rested - not in a corrupt and human actor who had been granted authority, but in a righteous man, after God's own heart. Sometimes getting exactly what you want is not an act of Divine blessing but cursing, and so we must know what to ask for, and it must be in accordance with God's will.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gasto

From the outset, let me be very clear, this sermon and the one which will follow it, next Sunday, are primers for how those who fear God and live in a world "under the sun" are to think about and participate in the public life of the civil sphere. I say it is a primer because within the wider Christian tradition, and nearer and I dare say dearer to us are the volumes written by our protestant church fathers on the subject of the civil magistrate. I will also add that much of my own education on this matter is remedial beyond both high school, college, and even seminary where next to nothing was taught to me of the Bibles teaching on the topic of government, civil authority, and an appropriate mode of participation in this area of public life. We have but one life to live, may we live well, according to God's Word.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

From the outset, let me be very clear, this sermon and the one which will follow it, next Sunday, are primers for how those who fear God and live in a world "under the sun" are to think about and participate in the public life of the civil sphere. I say it is a primer because within the wider Christian tradition, and nearer and I dare say dearer to us are the volumes written by our protestant church fathers on the subject of the civil magistrate. I will also add that much of my own education on this matter is remedial beyond both high school, college, and even seminary where next to nothing was taught to me of the Bibles teaching on the topic of government, civil authority, and an appropriate mode of participation in this area of public life. We have but one life to live, may we live well, according to God's Word.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

As we continue through Samuel's history, leading up to the establishment of the monarchy "at home" in Israel, we see a series of national mishaps and also acts of sovereign mercy along the way. Fitting within the whole scope of Redemptive History, we find the telltale contours of the Triune Lord, pursuing a wicked and wayward bride through persistent acts of extraordinary patience shown to a people who did not deserve it, but were nonetheless those upon whom God special favor rested. This evening, we see God's granting the demand of Israel to "have a king over us," thinking that a king would solve their problems, they again missed God's lessons as to where true salvation and security rested - not in a corrupt and human actor who had been granted authority, but in a righteous man, after God's own heart. Sometimes getting exactly what you want is not an act of Divine blessing but cursing, and so we must know what to ask for, and it must be in accordance with God's will.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gasto

Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

Romans 12:9-13 As we endeavor to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, guided and motivated by God's Word and the gift of His saving grace, we are to use the gifts which He has distributed among redeemed individuals to serve, build up, and sanctify the body of Christ as we each seek the things of the kingdom, for its coming and the work of the Spirit in our own hearts. Having listed seven gifts that are to be used in the aiding of the saints to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, the Church is to grow up together in the knowledge and righteousness of God. The disposition of the heart comes next, in verses 9-13 when Paul exhorts the saints in Rome to love one another well, for if we are to love those who are our enemies, then we must first love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

It has been made clear that Samuel is the Lord's man, graciously and miraculously given, and dedicated to the Lord's work in His house. Having also been called by the Lord in chapter three, Samuel prophecies the coming judgment of the house of Eli, and even as Israel was languishing in the darkness of a lack of revelation through their own rebellion and that of the priests in the tabernacle, God was raising up a deliverer, asked of the Lord by a faithful but barren woman. God was scheming to deliver His people through a miracle Son, asked of the faithful remnant, to bring an end to the lack of or impeding of the mediation of word, offering, and sacrament. God was and is committed to setting His own man who would serve forever as Prophet, Priest, and King.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

Just two verses and that shall be enough for us this morning. Just two verses, and in them the whole matter of Christian piety: The origin of it, being the mercy of God that has set us free from this world that is passing away; the whole purpose of it, to live in a manner that is acceptable to God, as your act of reasonable service; and the means or method of it, by being transformed through the Word of God and in the renewing of our minds according to what God has revealed. All of life then might be summarized in this way: present yourselves holy and acceptable to God as those in whom the Word brings redemption and renewal.   Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com

There are many providentially or particular signs in the Old Testament that God was in the act of blessing or judging the nations of men, and specifically His people giving evidence as to their covenant standing before Him. The miraculous gift of a child, in particular, is a sign of Divine blessing and grace, whereas barrenness both of the womb and the ground is a sign of covenant cursing. Historically the promises of God were manifested amongst small groups of people, even one or two, where God was displaying His response to man's actions in light of their obedience or disobedience.  Worship with us at Reformation OPC Gastonia! Each Lord's Day 9:30am & 5:30pm 203 Rhyne Oakland Road, Gastonia, NC, 28098 (704) 931-8094 Our Website: https://refopc.net/ ropcgastonia@gmail.com