Family Worship Guide

Scripture Reading:
‍#1 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. 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.” (Psalm 87:1-6)

#2 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (Rom. 4:4-5).

Prayer of Praise: Refer to the verses above and hymn below.

Hymn:‍ Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Reading of the Law: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7)

Silent Confession of Sin/Confession of Sin: O Father, we are gathered before you, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, whose chosen dwelling place is with the broken and contrite, to confess that we have sinned in thought and word and deed; we have not loved you with all our heart and soul, we have not loved you with all our mind and strength; we have not even loved our neighbor as ourselves. In your mercy, deepen our sorrow for the wrong we have done and for the good we have left undone, so that we may hate our sin with a holy hatred. But, please Father, do not leave us in sorrow. With you, O Lord, there is forgiveness. In your mercy, restore the joy of our salvation; so that we may love you with a holy love. Amen.

Reading of the Gospel: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Westminster Larger Catechism - Questions 21-25

Question #21

Q. Did man continue in that estate wherein God at first created him?

A. Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, through the temptation of Satan, transgressed the commandment of God, in eating the forbidden fruit, and thereby fell from the estate of innocency wherein they were created.

Gen. 3:6-8, 13; Ecc. 7:29; 2 Cor. 11:3.

Question #22

Q. Did all mankind fall in that first transgression?

A. The covenant being made with Adam, as a public person, not for himself only, but for his posterity; all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in that first transgression.

Acts 17:26; Gen. 2:16-17; Rom. 5:12-20; 1 Cor. 15:21-22.

Question #23

Q.Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.

Rom. 5:12; Rom. 3:23.

Question #24

Q. What is sin?

A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature.

1 John 3:4; Gal. 3:10, 12.

Q. Question #25

Q. Wherein consisteth the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?

A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of that righteousness wherein he was created, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually; which is commonly called Original Sin, and from which do proceed all actual transgressions.

Rom. 5:12, 19; Rom. 3:10-19; Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 5:6; Rom. 8:7-8; Gen. 6:5; Jas. 1:14-15; Matt. 15:19.

Prayer of Thanksgiving: Thank God that he provides our daily needs and for his forgiveness.

Prayer of Supplication Supplication: Ask God to give good health to our expectant mothers and their babies.

Bible reading and commentary: 2 Corinthians 13:1-14

The apostle Paul with love and firmness addresses the Corinthians’ sin as he concludes his letter (vv 1-4). Because Paul is weak, a weakness into which the crucified Christ entered, he is confident to address sin with the power of the resurrected Christ (v 4). Gospel love never overlooks sin, but in a loving way confronts it for the restoration of the erring brother (vv 9-10; 12:19). In addition to restoring the person, gospel love does not address sin for the sake of keeping up appearances but in order to be in accord with the truth (13:7-8).

Because we are prone to sin, it is our responsibility to examine ourselves for the evidence that the gospel is working itself out in our lives (v 5). Some questions we can ask ourselves during our self-examination include: Am I experiencing and sharing the comfort of Christ in affliction? Is the forgiveness I have experienced leading me to forgive others? Are the permanent promises of God more important to me than momentary afflictions? Is my love for other Christians restricted by my sin? Am I eager to give sacrificially in response to Christ’s becoming poor for my sake? Does the “one husband” who gave his life for me hold preeminence over all other suitors? No matter what our response to these questions is, our need for Christ should be exceedingly obvious but to the extent that we see the fruit of the gospel in our lives, we ought to rejoice. When we spot sin in our hearts, it is to a self-sacrificing God of love and peace that we can freely run (v 11). Christ was crucified for us (v 4) which is the heart of the gospel and the note on which Paul concludes his letter.

As Richard Sibbes discussed in his book ‘The Bruised Reed’, Christians are all bruised reeds and smoldering wicks and the good news is that Christ will never break a bruised reed and never quench the smoldering wick. In fact, Jesus does just the opposite; he holds up the bruised reed and ignites the smoldering wick. He will never forsake you because he has already been forsaken by his Father and since he died for you, why would he ever leave you or cast you out? The answer is, he never will. That is the promise of God and his promises can never be broken.

All the spiritual blessings we receive come from the love of God the Father, who planned salvation before time began. All blessings come through the grace of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, who died to purchase redemption and rose again to apply it to his people. And all blessings are shared within the church by the Holy Spirit. If you are in Christ and have experienced the grace of Christ, the love of the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, you are sure to be of his chosen people. Meditate on these blessings and pray for God to increase your enjoyment of him.

This concludes our study of 2 Corinthians. Next week we will begin a study in the book of Habakkuk.

Closing Hymn: The Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Amen.

Closing Scripture: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:8).

The Lord’s Prayer (together):

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen