Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church

The Jews were baptised to enter the New Covenant when they accepted Him as the promised Messiah, and the Gentiles when they were called to come to God through faith in Him. Both Jews and Gentiles came with their children. But after churches were established, most of the baptisms were of the children born in those families. So it is today in churches that practice household baptism.

The three persons are clearly distinguished here. Jesus begins by saying, "You believe in God." This speaks of the One God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). But then in John 14, Jesus goes on to speak of three distinct divine persons.

Last week, we saw David's Christ-like response to the news of Saul's & Israel's demise. He truly grieved. He brought justice to the Amalekite for killing the Lord's Anointed. Today, we are moving on in 2 Samuel chapter 1, picking up with verse 17. Here we are shown a wonderful example of godly lamentation.

Since it is true that we know God innately, the Scriptures often simply assume and assert (without argumentation) that there is only one true God.

Today, in the opening chapter of 2 Samuel, we see the very Christ-like response of David as soon as he receives the news about the demise of King Saul.

Today in our Westminster Shorter Catechism series, we are going to look at a basic definition of God—things we need to know about Him and why we need to know them.

Today, we come to the end of First Samuel. Here we have the demise of Saul to make room for David to take the throne. We have seen God preparing David by His grace to be a model of King Jesus. We have seen Saul come to ruin, a man who was never brought to personal repentance and was a king like the nations instead of like Jesus. Here in chapter 31, we see the striking contrast between Saul's demise and David's rise.

We saw that we cannot rely on human wisdom to bring us to God (I Cor 1:18 – 2:16). Human wisdom does not bring people to God. Trusting in Christ crucified does. Today's question, question 3, is related to last week's question. I want to show you that the focus of these principal teachings of scripture, what we are to believe and how we are to live, is Jesus.

Today, I will review 1 Sam 30:1-10, 'David Returns Home ' then, cover the rest of chapter 30.

Today, we are moving on to Question 2. If you are convinced that your chief end is to glorify and enjoy God (and I hope you are), then you will want to know how to do that! Q. 2 tells us.

People of God, see how much the Lord loves us. He will not allow those that He loves to go on being lukewarm. David did not repent when God rescued him. Gentle measures failed, so now the Lord takes more severe measures.

Last week, we began a new afternoon sermon series on the Shorter Catechism. I did an introductory message to show you that God has called us to confess our faith, therefore faithful churches have always had creeds and confessions. We are to hold to the pattern of such sound words in opposition to false doctrine, false beliefs, that some who profess Christ hold. As those gathered for worship, it is proper for us to confess these articles of faith. So we will do that each week. Today, we come to the First Question in the Catechism. So I will ask the question and then we will confess the answer together. Q. 1. What is the chief end of Man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

My dear brothers and sisters, in this chapter our Lord shows us that He is the One who rescues us when we have become hopelessly entangled with the world through faithless compromise like David was.

This afternoon, I am going to start a new sermon series on the Shorter Catechism. It seems like I sense a need for this about every five years. But why do we do Catechism, and what are we trying to accomplish? Five years ago, I emphasised that we are called to do Catechism. I want to do that again, but to emphasise that it is Christ that we are given when we believe the articles of faith. The goal is for us to be rooted and built up in the faith.

Today, since we have the blessing of welcoming nine new members, and of baptising four covenant children, I am going to break from our regular sermon series in Samuel. Those who are joining want to be a part of a church with a biblical confession and practice. That is why they have come. I want to show you today that where you worship, and what church you are a part of, is important because God is those who will worship Him in spirit and truth.

This week, we will focus on why our Lord, as a faithful Saviour, rejects Saul.

John's great burden in this Epistle is to encourage believers to continue trusting in Christ for ongoing fellowship with God—that we grow in our knowledge of God, in our delight in Him, in our love for Him and for others, in our obedience and in our service. Since faith in Jesus is the vehicle that fuels our growing relationship with God, it is essential for us to have certainty about Jesus—that He is indeed the One who saves us!

In 1 John 4, John has much to say about love. In 1 John 4:7-12, we saw how, as those who are adopted into God's family, we have the perfect conditions for love—a new nature from God and new environment in His house. In 1 John 4:12-19, we saw how our security increases as we mature in love. Today in 1 John 4:20 – 5:5, we are going to see still more about love. Here, we are given a reality check about our love, and then we are sent to Him for help. It is a tremendously helpful passage! Let's dig in.

I am so thankful for the realistic picture the Bible gives us even of the heroes of the faith like David. It shows us their godliness as well as their sin. This is helpful for our walk. But this is not the best part. The best part is that the Bible shows us how God's grace intersects with their lives. This helps us to trust Him and love Him better. Today, we see David in a time of weariness. He pursues relief in a sinful way.