Trinity Bible Church

Prayer

Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest (Psalm 55:1-6) Amen!

Today’s Hymn

Words: J. Wilbur Chapman, 1910.

JESUS! WHAT A FRIEND FOR SINNERS
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Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Refrain

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

Refrain

Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night overtakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.

Refrain

Jesus! I do now receive Him,
[or Jesus! I do now adore Him,]
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

Refrain

Thought Provoker

What do you find yourself worrying about today? Many are unable to sleep at night due to their worries about tomorrow. Others are so overwhelmed by their fears that they can think on nothing else. Worries can bring sickness and even cripple you into inaction.

You might be surprised to discover that the average person focuses his worries on:

· 40%—things that will never happen
· 30%—things about the past that can’t be changed
· 12%—things about criticism by others, mostly untrue
· 10%—health, which gets worse with stress
· 8%—real problems that will be faced

No wonder Paul commands Christian to be anxious for nothing (Phil. 4:6). Today, Peter tells you how to free yourself from unnecessary worrying.

Dad’s Study

In verse 7 Peter points to the remedy for worry. Casting all your care upon him (Christ); for he careth for you. Every word of this short verse is golden and precious to the ears of God’s children. It appears like Peter is quoting from the Psalms: Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved (Psalm 55:22). How do you take your worries and cast them on Christ? Casting means to throw. It is the same word used in Luke 19:35 where they brought a colt to Jesus and “threw” their coats on it. How do you throw your cares on Christ? Take them to Him in prayer and leave them there for Him to work out your worries according to His plan and for His glory. Spurgeon rightly adds, There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to make show of Him and not to use Him. He loves to be worked. He is a great laborer. He always was for His Father, and now He loves to be a great laborer for His brethren. The more burdens you put on His shoulders, the better He will love you. Cast your burden on Him. Casting is a participle which takes us back to Peter’s command in verse 6 to humble yourself. In other words, it is prideful to hold on to your worries and fears. Pride says: “I will deal with this worry myself. I will carry it on my shoulders.” Humility says, “I will throw it upon Jesus and leave it there.” Don’t overlook that little three letter word, “all.” You are to cast all your worries and fears upon Christ. It’s tempting to cast the big one on him and fret with the little ones. Cast the whole of your life upon Jesus. God is sufficient to handle all of the worries of life. Why should you cast your cares upon Jesus? Upon what basis do we do so? It is simply because He cares for you! If you are His, He continually cares for you.

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

Are there some worries that you are carrying just now? Could it be that your cares today are for physical problems? Are you worrying about you finances, marriage, job, serious illness, or even death. Perhaps your worries are in the realm of the spiritual. There is not greater heartache than for a prodigal child who is somewhere out in the far country, away from God and your family. Stop and humbly come before the throne of grace. Throw all your worries upon Him. Who is better to resolve life’s difficulties? Remember, He cares for you!

Catechism

Question 52

Q. Which is the fifth commandment?

A. The fifth commandment is, Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

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Prayer

Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins (Psalm 25:16-18).

Prayer

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision (Psalm 2:1-4) Amen.

Today’s Hymn

Words: Words: Joseph H. Gilmore, 1862; Music: William Bradbury, 1864.

At the close of the meeting a few of us in the parlor of my host, good Deacon Wattson, kept on talking about the thought which I had emphasized; and then and there, on a blank page of the brief from which I had intended to speak, I penciled the hymn, talking and writing at the same time, then handed it to my wife and thought no more about it. She sent it to The Watchman and Reflector, a paper published in Boston, where it was first printed. I did not know until 1865 that my hymn had been set to music by William B. Bradbury. I went to Rochester [New York] to preach as a candidate before the Second Baptist Church. Going into their chapel on arrival in the city, I picked up a hymnal to see what they were singing, and opened it at my own hymn, “He Leadeth Me.”

HE LEADETH ME
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He leadeth me, O bless’d thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Refrain
He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still ‘tis His hand that leadeth me.

Refrain

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ‘tis my God that leadeth me.

Refrain

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

Refrain

Dad’s Study

Read together 1 Peter 4:12-19 and see if your family can identify five blessings that come from suffering.

1. It brings testing (v. 12). Peter says that suffering tries you. Don’t think it something strange. When God brings persecution and suffering to His church, He is testing it with a purifying fire. It proves and strengthens real faith and consumes and burns false faith.

2. It is evidence of your salvation (v. 13a). Suffering is evidence that you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings. In fact, they are not your sufferings; they are Christ’s sufferings. Whenever you are persecuted, it is Christ they persecute. Therefore, if they persecute you it is evidence that you are joined with Christ!

3. The Spirit of glory and God rest upon you (v. 14a). You might think right now that you would not be able to bear the suffering that some of the great saints of old endured. However, God will give you His grace in the midst of the greatest trials. God will come to you at your time of need and rest upon you and manifest enough of His glory to see you through the trial. It was while Stephen was being plummeted with stones that he looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father (Acts 7:55).

4. It glorifies God (v. 16). During times of suffering and persecution you can show to others around you how valuable and precious God is! A man in our church recently lost his job of eighteen years because of his conviction about not working on the Lord’s Day. He joyfully applied for a job as a sales clerk paying a little more than minimum wage. He shared with me today that he was able to glorify God as he completed his application. Next to the reason for leaving his previous job he wrote, to have the Lord’s Day free to worship my God. He was also asked the amount of his prior salary. His prayer was that the manager would be left to ponder what a great God he must worship to give up a huge salary and eighteen years of seniority to work there for a little more than minimum wage!

5. God is faithful to care for you (v. 19). You can trust God to do what’s right even if it includes affliction. There is no better place for your eternal destiny to be than in the hands of the faithful loving Creator and God!

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

Live your life without compromise! Proclaim His Gospel even if you are standing alone. Live a life of bright holiness in the midst of a church that is stained by sin! This is the kind of life that provokes persecution and suffering. This is the life that brings blessing and joy!

Catechism

Question 51

Q. How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?

A. The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days (Leviticus 23:3), and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God’s worship (Psalm 92:1, 2; Isaiah 58:13, 14), except so much as is taken up in the works of necessity and mercy (Matthew 12:11, 12).

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1 Peter 3
January 21, 2008

Prayer

Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD (Psalm 25:6-7).

Today’s Hymn

Words & Music: Martin Luther, 1529; translated from German to English by Frederic H. Hedge, 1853.

This song has been called “the greatest hymn of the greatest man of the greatest period of German history” and the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation.” This hymn was sung at the funeral of American president Dwight Eisenhower at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, March 1969.

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD
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A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Thought Provoker

How are things at your home? Is your family characterized by strife and sibling rivalry or joyful peace and love? Is the pattern selfishness or sharing? Is the tone shouting or quietude? Does harmony or discord reign? Because the family is the most intimate of relationships, it is also the most fragile. Living together as a family puts to the test the fruit of the Spirit. It seems like many families just tolerate each other under the same roof rather than lovingly care for one another. In today’s text (1 Peter 3:8-9), Peter points the way to live harmoniously in the church family as well as at home. Read together today’s passage and see if you can name the five traits that should characterize every believer in your family.

Dad’s Study

The Christian family should be radically different from all other families because of one fundamental difference, Jesus Christ! As God graciously brings salvation to each family member, He wonderfully changes his or her heart to live together in harmony. In fact, it’s the kind of change that is impossible without the work of God’s mercy called the “new birth” (1:3). Here are five traits He produces in the lives of all Christians:

1. Single minded (v. 8). Since you each have the same Lord, same indwelling Sprit, and same Word as a guide for faith and practice, each family member should have the same common mindset. This does not mean that you will each have the same tastes, gifts, or habits. One might like purple and another like orange. One might like dogs while another likes cats. However, it does mean that you will have the same mind about Biblical standards of conduct and priorities in the Christian life. Families that are not singly focused are families that pull apart at the seams with conflicting priorities. When differences arise in the Christian home, Dad simply needs to bring to bear God’s Word and the family should unite around the will of God.

2. Compassionate (v. 8). How much more harmony would there be in the home if there were a greater degree of compassion for one another? Compassion is feeling what others in the family feel and responding with sensitivity to their needs. The compassionate brother or sister knows how it feels to be picked on and put down, and with a compassionate heart, refrains from doing anything that would cause such hurt feelings.

3. Brotherly love (v. 8). This means don’t view each others as mere acquaintances or distant relatives, but view and treat each other as close brothers and sisters. Frequently families treat strangers better than they treat each other. Remember that you are not only blood-bought brothers and sisters in Christ but blood relatives in the flesh.

4. Show Pity (v. 8). A Christian’s conduct should be tender and pitiful. This is a God-given emotion whereby you feel goodhearted. This works its way out by showing care for one another and considering each others’ needs as your own.

5. Courteous (v.8). A better reading is humble in spirit. In the Christian home, each takes on the nature of a servant. No one is spiritually above the other. Each is to have a lowly spirit. Apart from God’s free grace, all within the home are unworthy sinners. This grace makes us wonder-struck that we are loved by God and therefore not pushy and self-assertive. If each in the home is truly courteous then it will follow that you will not render evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing (v. 9)! There seems to be a pecking order in many families and the youngest are usually on the bottom while the oldest are the king of the roost. It is pride that keeps siblings from helping each other with their chores. It is pride that causes fights over toys and other possessions. It is pride that picks on younger siblings. May God grace Christian homes with a greater measure of holy humility.

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

Discuss together if the above heart attitudes characterize your family. In which traits do you find your greater weakness? Is it impossible to have such a blessed family?

If you are born again, if the Spirit of God really indwells each of you, if Christ is now your treasure, then the seed of ALL of these traits is in you. In other words, God has given you all the resources you need to flourish as a family. For family members whose hearts are far from these traits, perhaps there is a need for them to examine themselves to see if they have really been called by God (v. 9). If those who are saved seek God’s blessing on your family, then they need to begin in faith blessing others within the home. Individually ask God to forgive you where you have fallen short. Ask Him to spiritually strengthen your family to flesh out the above traits. In faith begin taking steps of blessing one another by not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing (v. 9)! May God grace you to be a rich blessing to each other unto the glory of God!

Catechism

Question 50

Q. What is required in the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment requires the keeping holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his Word, expressly one whole day in seven, to be a holy Sabbath to himself (Leviticus 19:30, Deuteronomy 5:12).

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Prayer

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes (Psalm 118:21-23)

Today’s Hymn

Words: Henry Harbaugh, 1850. Music: Lake Enon, Isaac B. Woodbury, 1856.

JESUS, I LIVE TO THEE
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Jesus, I live to Thee,
The loveliest and best;
My life in Thee, Thy life in me,
In Thy blest love I rest.

Jesus I die to Thee,
Whenever death shall come;
To die in Thee is life to me
In my eternal home.

Whether to live or die,
I know not which is best;
To live in Thee is bliss to me,
To die is endless rest.

Living or dying, Lord,
I ask but to be Thine;
My life in Thee, Thy life in me,
Makes heaven forever mine.

Thought Provoker

Our house is located near the Shoshone River here in Wyoming. Rather than our yard being covered with lush green grass, it is filled with acres of river rocks. These are smooth rocks about 6-8″ across. We’ve spent four years picking up and removing rocks from our yard. Just when it looks like they’re gone, it seems like a new annual crop comes up out of the ground. I have frequently stared at those rocks out our front window trying to think of novel ways of profiting from this natural resource. Although we have not come up with a way to financially profit, God has given our family these rocks to richly illustrate many Biblical truths. Today’s passage (1 Peter 2:4-8) is about rocks – rocks that were once cold and lifeless but amazingly, by the grace of God, became alive to His glorify. Let’s learn a valuable lesson about Christ and His church from these rocks.

Dad’s Study

God is building a spiritual house, part of which is your local church. Jesus Christ Himself is the cornerstone of this spiritual house (Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22). God wonderfully takes stone-dead hearts and spiritually makes them alive through His saving grace. God takes each one of His living elect and personally places them to build the walls of His church (verse 5). Each Christian adds to the growth of the spiritual house, His church, which is always under construction. It is inside of His church, i.e. in the midst of a family of believers, that the Spirit of God dwells. Each Christian has been saved to be a holy priest in order to offer up to Him spiritual sacrifice.

· Have you ever thought of your church this way?
· Have you ever viewed it as a spiritual house made up of living stones and in the midst of your congregation indwells the living God of the universe?
· Have you ever considered yourself to be a holy priest on the Lord’s Day whose service it is to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God?

Although you can worship God alone on a mountain top, when the congregation of God gathers to collectively worship God on the Lord’s Day, their corporate praise is greater than the sum of the individual praise that is being offered up. Congregational worship is not an option. It cannot be substituted by personal expressions of worship. If God has saved you, He has made you into a living stone and placed you within His church. He dwells in your midst and has wonderfully made you a holy priest for the purpose of offering up spiritual sacrifices to God. Matthew Henry adds, let every saint praise Him, but especially the congregation of saints; when they come together, let them join in praising God. The more the better; it is the more heaven.

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

Next Lord’s Day offer up spiritual sacrifices in your church as a holy priest. Worship Him with all your heart. Sing to Him with meaning and joyful praise! Sing lively! Sing loudly! Sing to God remembering He is in your midst! When the Word is preached, listen with an attentive heart, remembering that God is speaking to you in your midst! As you gather around His table of remembrance may your love for Christ be rekindled, knowing His Spirit is in your midst. May the rocks cry out in holy praise to the King of kings and Lord of lords!

Catechism

Question 49

Q. Which is the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment is, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor they cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

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Prayer

Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:1-2).

Today’s Hymn

Words: The Psalter, 1912. Music: Hyfrydol, Rowland H. Prichard, 1830.

BLEST THE MAN THAT FEARS JEHOVAH
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Blest the man that fears Jehovah
Walking ever in His ways
By thy toil thou shalt be prospered
And be happy all thy days.
In thy wife thou shalt have gladness,
She shall fill thy home with good,
Happy in her loving service
And the joys of motherhood.

Joyful children, sons and daughters
Shall about thy table meet;
Olive plants in strength and beauty
Full of hope and promise sweet.
Lo, on him that fears Jehovah
Shall this blessedness attend,
For Jehovah out of Zion
Shall to thee His blessing send.

Blest the man that fears Jehovah
Walking ever in His ways.
By thy toil thou shalt be prospered
And be happy all thy days.
Thou shalt see God’s kingdom prosper
All thy days, till life shall cease,
Thou shalt see thy children’s children.
On Thy people, Lord, be peace.

Thought Provoker

How ought we to live? That is the
Question for every Christian. We who have been born to a newness of life, how ought we to now live? What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein (Rom 6:1-2)? Peter answers that question for us today.

Dad’s Study

In verses 1-12, Peter speaks of the great salvation we have in Christ: that we were chosen for salvation (verse 1), according to the foreknowledge of God, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and the cleansing by the blood of Christ (verse 2). By His mercy we will obtain an eternal inheritance reserved for us in heaven (verses 3-5). Discuss with your family: What should our response be to such a great salvation? Our hearts should overflow with joy and love, even in the face of persecution (verses 5-9)! Peter also exclaims that the mystery of this salvation is so great that the prophets of old and the angels of heaven seek to know it. How should we then live in light of so great a salvation?

· Gird your mind for action (verse 13).
Exercise the spiritual fruit of self-control, that your mind might not be distracted by frivolous pursuits.
· Keep sober (verse 13).
Be humble, be vigilant, and watch for the snares of the evil one.
· Hope completely in grace (verse 13).
Be steadfast in your Christian faith until, by grace, you see Jesus face to face.
· Flee from former lusts (verse 14)
We are now new creatures in Christ, yet that remnant of indwelling sin remains. The flesh, the devil, and the world will tempt us to return to our former life of sin. We must resist the temptation to sin by fleeing from it. If we dabble in sin, we will be ensnared by it.
· Conform to Christ, “Be ye holy for I am holy” (verse 15-16).
We must imitate the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our living Head.

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

Why make such efforts for holiness? First, we should fear God, Who will judge us according to our works (verse 17); and secondly, because of the great price that was paid for such a salvation. We were bought with the precious blood of the unblemished Lamb of God (verse 18-19). That is the highest possible price that could ever be paid. Remember this great truth the next time your church gathers to observe the Lord’s Supper.

Catechism

Question 48

Q. What is required in the third commandment?

A. The third commandment requires the holy and reverent use of God’s names (Psalm 29:2), titles, attributes (Revelation 15:3, 4), ordinances (Ecclesiastes 5:1), Word (Psalm 138:2), and works (Job 36:24, Deuteronomy 28:58, 59).

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