Bulletin for April 21, 2024

Psalm 113

This Sunday, we will open our worship service with a responsive call to worship from Psalm 113. This psalm is the first of the Hillel psalms (113-118) which would have been sung each year at the Passover. In Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26, it says that Jesus and his disciples sang a “hymn.” That almost certainly refers to this sequence of psalms.

Psalm 113 is a call to praise God, and it lists several reasons to praise him.

Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!

Verses 1-4 tell us to praise God because he is creator. We praise him because he is sovereign over all things. He sets the sun in its place, and he establishes all the rulers of the earth. Nothing is outside of his control. This is certainly enough reason to praise him, but there’s more.

Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

Verses 5-9 tell us to praise God because he is our redeemer. Although God is high above all things, sitting on the throne of heaven, he does not remain unapproachable. In fact, he bends down from his throne to raise up the poor and needy. This is exactly what Christ did in his incarnation, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7).

We are the poor and needy, and he raises us up from the dust and ash by becoming dust and ash himself, i.e., by becoming man. He takes barren Israel, and makes her fruitful so that the children of God are multiplied with the gospel. He gives the church a home in heaven, and guards her from all danger.

When we worship each Sunday, we rejoice in this–that God is both creator and redeemer. This is how John Calvin summarizes this truth:

In this ruin of mankind no one now experiences God either as Father or as Author of salvation, or favorable in any way, until Christ the Mediator comes forward to reconcile him to us. Nevertheless, it is one thing to feel that God as our Maker supports us by his power, governs us by his providence, nourishes us by his goodness, and attends us with all sorts of blessings—and another thing to embrace the grace of reconciliation offered to us in Christ. First, as much in the fashioning of the universe as in the general teaching of Scripture the Lord shows himself to be simply the Creator. Then in the face of Christ [cf. II Cor. 4:6] he shows himself the Redeemer. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.2.1)

Updates

1. Parents’ Fellowship is scheduled to meet again on April 28th (next Sunday) at 5 PM. We’ll be diving deep into what the Bible teaches about how to study the Bible.

2. Presbyterian Women will meet on Thursday, May 2, at 6:30 PM

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletins for April 14, 2024

What’s Happening Sunday?

This Sunday, we’re doing something a little unusual. In fact, it’s possible that some of you may have never seen this kind of service before. Under normal circumstances, elders in the local church are ordained and installed in the local church by the local Session, but since we have been received into the EPC, our elders need to be installed by our new presbytery. We’ll have elders from several churches in our presbytery joining us for this service.

Ordination is what makes someone an elder. This is done through the laying on of hands by other elders (see 1 Tim. 4:14, 2 Tim. 1:6), and it is only done one time–once an elder, always an elder. Installation is when an ordained elder is appointed to a particular role. All of our elders have previously been ordained, so the purpose of Sunday evening’s service is to install them as elders in the EPC. They will take vows to serve the church with moral integrity and doctrinal purity, and the congregation will take vows to sumbit to and support the elders in their calling. This is a very solemn and important event in the life of our church, but it is also a great time of rejoicing and thanksgiving for God’s provision to us.

Also, here’s a short video explaining the basic of Presbyterian church government to help you:

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for April 7, 2024

Psalm 87

This Sunday, we’ll open worship with a responsive call to worship from Psalm 87. Then, we’ll sing “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.” John Newton (also the author of “Amazing Grace”) wrote this hymn as a reflection on Psalm 87. So I thought it would be good to prepare you with a couple thoughts on what this psalm means.

Psalm 87 is divided into three stanzas by the word “Selah”–vv. 1-3, 4-6, and 7.

On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
the LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah

Zion/Jerusalem/the city of God are all used in the psalms to designate the place of God’s worship. In the Old Covenant, the highest worship happened on the Temple Mount in the city where the people would gather periodically to perform their duties. Of course, there were synagogues throughout the land of Israel, and the people worshipped each Sabbath in these smaller settings. But notice what the psalm says, “The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.” The people’s synagogue worship was certainly accepted by God, but the fullest and best expression of worship occurred in the Temple.

In the New Covenant, these terms are redefined. The temple is now the body of Christ and the people of God (Eph. 2:21). When God’s people gather, they themselves constitute the temple. This is why the author of Hebrews can say that we have “come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22).

So Psalm 87 takes on new meaning in the New Covenant. It is still true that the LORD loves Zion more than the dwelling places of Jacob, but Zion is no longer bound to a physical hill in Jerusalem. Zion is the weekly gathered worship of God’s people. This also means that, although it is good to worship God privately and in our families, the pinnacle of our worship, the most important time of our week, is weekly Lord’s Day worship. This, of course, makes this psalm particularly appropriate for our call to worship. When we read this together, we are proclaiming the value of the worship that we are about to engage in. Our weekly worship is the thing that most delights God in this life, and it should also be the thing that most delights us.

Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush–
“This one was born there,” they say.
And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself will establish her.
The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah

In the second, we get a catalog of some of the nations that surround Israel. Each of these nations is praising the one who is born in Jerusalem. The word “born” here can mean physical birth, but more generally, it refers to any “bringing forth.” Those who are born/brought forth in Zion have a special distinction of belonging to the LORD who makes note of them.

Of course, in the New Covenant, one element of salvation is the new birth–we are born again to a living hope. To borrow Jesus’ words from John 3, we are born of the Spirit. Verses 4-6, then, are a picture of the nations coming to God’s temple to rejoice with his people, which is ultimately fulfilled in the church.

Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”

The spring (some translations, “fountain”) is the source of water. In the same way, the public worship of God among the people of God is the source of life. When we ascend Mount Zion each Sunday morning, we are going to drink from the well of living water. We call these springs the means of grace: the Word, sacraments, and prayer.¹ It is in these things that God has promised to meet us, and they are found in their most potent and concentrated form in public worship.

So as we worship this Sunday, let us delight in the streams of living water God offers us, the streams that flow from his holy temple, the people of God.

Updates

1. The floors are getting closer, but we’re not quite there yet! We’ve got one more week out of the Fellowship Hall, and one more week of adult Sunday school in the sanctuary.

2. Keep in mind that we’ll have a special installation service next Sunday, April 14th, at 5pm. Be sure to join us to welcome our guests and celebrate our elders!

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletins for Easter Weekend 2024

Bulletin for March 24, 2024

A Devotional Suggestion

This week and next week, we’re taking a short break from reading the Gospel of Luke and jumping over to the Gospel of John. We’ll read the first part of John 12 in worship this Sunday, and on Good Friday, we’ll pick up with John 18. So it would be a great idea to read chapters 13-17 during the week (you can read one a day)! These chapters, called the Upper Room Discourse, are an account of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. In it, he tells them a number of important things about how to live the Christian life after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

If you to dig deeper into these chapters, you can watch this teaching series from Sinclair Ferguson at Ligonier.

Updates

1. Don’t forget about the community choir special at Faith Presbyterian in Leakesville! There will be two shows–Saturday at 7 PM and Sunday at 3 PM.

2. Make note of the Holy Week schedule, and be sure to share it with your friends!

3. The floors are still in progress, so please continue to avoid the Fellowship Hall.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for March 17, 2024

Updates

Over the next four weeks of sermons, we’ll be studying the Passover. This week is “The Passover Promised.” I highly encourage you to be looking ahead to familiarize yourself with the Scriptures as we move toward Easter!

1. The new floors are going down in the Fellowship Hall! Please keep out of that area until further notice.

2. Presbyterian Women meets Thursday at 6:30 PM to install new officers.

3. If you haven’t been with us for Wednesday night, this week is a great time to start! The adults are working through the book of Romans in addition to all the kids’ activities.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for March 10, 2024

Psalm 116

This week, we’re singing Psalm 116:15-19. In this section of the psalm, verse 16 may jump out at you:

O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.

Here’s some brief comments from John Calvin that may shed some light on what’s going on here:

In assigning, as the reason of his deliverance, that he was God’s servant, he by no means vaunts of his services, but rather refers to God’s unconditional election; for we cannot make ourselves his servants, that being an honor conferred upon us solely by his adoption. Hence David affirms, that he was not God’s servant merely, but the son of his handmaid. “From the womb of my mother, even before I was born, was this honor conferred upon me.” He therefore presents himself as a common example to all who shall dedicate themselves to the service of God, and place themselves under his protection, that they may be under no apprehension for their safety while they have him for their defense.

In other words, we are God’s servants first because we have been freed from sin. This is justification (freedom from sin’s penalty) and sanctification (freedom from sin’s power). Second, we are God’s servants because we have been adopted into the family of God. Our relationship with God is both legal and familial. As Paul reminds us:

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:14-15)

Get Ready for Easter!

Updates

1. Don’t forget to change your clocks Saturday night!

2. Presbyterian Women meets Thursday at 3 to install new officers.

3. Within the next few weeks, the Fellowship Hall will be blocked off to put in new floors. Please do not attempt to enter.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for March 3, 2024

Another Recommended Resource

Rev. Benjamin Glaser is an Associate Reformed Presbyterian¹ pastor in South Carolina. Prior to that he was the pastor of the Ellisville Presbyterian Church in Jones County. Each week, he writes a couple of helpful blog posts for his congregation, but he also publishes them more broadly here. I highly recommend you read his material.

Besides being generally helpful, often one of his posts each week is geared toward helping you prepare for Sunday. This would be a great thing to include in your devotional routine each week!

Updates

1. Be sure to check back at last week’s post to see the plague chart. It will help you stay oriented as we work through each plague. I also highly recommend that you read the sermon Scripture ahead of time, especially while we’re working through these larger chunks!

2. Parents’ Fellowship meets this Sunday at 6PM! We’ll have a meal and a Bible study time.

3. The Easter Sunrise Service is scheduled for 6:45AM on March 31st.

4. The Gulf South Presbytery has authorized a commission to officially install our session as elders in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. A special service will be held for that purpose on April 14th at 5PM followed by a fellowship meal.

And, of course, please continue to be in prayer for all of these on our prayer list.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for February 25, 2024

Plagues in Exodus

This week, we’re going to get started working through the ten plagues. The first nine occur in three cycles of three, so I’m planning on preaching on them over three weeks. (The tenth plague is in its own league.) In preparation for that, I wanted to make this chart available to you. There’s a lot to keep track of, so it’s good to have a quick reference to refer back to. As I continue to work through these texts, I may add some more information to it. If you’d like a paper copy, let me know.

Updates

1. Make note of the information concerning Vernal PW’s support of PROMISS.

2. Another Parents’ Fellowship is scheduled for Sunday, March 3rd at 6 PM. We’ll meet at the church for a fellowship meal and Bible study.

3. We’re just a few weeks away from Easter! I’ll be keeping an eye on the weather, but we plan on having a sunrise service in the prayer garden at 6:45 AM.

4. A presbytery commission will be joining us to officially install our elders in the EPC on April 14th at 5pm. I’ve had some discussions with them over the past week, and they’re excited to be joining us!

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for February 18, 2024

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