Oct 13
6
There is a new song available below for the month of October.
This document can be downloaded as a PDF by logging into the CITY.
Prayer
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
Address God and Praise Him for Who He Is (Matthew 6:11)
- God’s Self-Existence: “…one thing God has declared to be true of Himself is, ‘I AM THAT I AM’ – I exist. Not ‘I will exist,’ or ‘I did exist,’ but ‘I do exist.’ The philosophy of existentialism begins with the proposition ‘I exist’ and ‘there is no God.’ But the Christian believes that God is the original existence, that He said ‘I AM.’ And because God is, everything else that is, is.” (A.W. Tozer, Attributes of God).
- The Names of God: Jehovah, Yhwh, Yah or Jah
Meaning: “I AM,” The One Who Is, The Self-Existent One
Exodus 3:14; 6:2-4; 15:2; 34:5-7; Psalm 46:1; 68:4; 102; Isaiah 26:4, Malachi 3:6,
Thank God for All That He Has Provided (Ephesians 5:20)
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Pray For the Ministry of Other Churches (Matt. 28:18-20)
- Olive Branch Ministries Church, San Jacinto – Website
Pray For the Gospel to Spread Among All Peoples (Matt. 9:37-38)
- Country: Egypt
Population: 85,294,000
Unreached People Groups: 22
Religion: Muslim: 87{e0b72a53c242df1424785628340537005f8b2ebeecfbb0205a95286f7b4c8fc9}, Orthodox: 12{e0b72a53c242df1424785628340537005f8b2ebeecfbb0205a95286f7b4c8fc9}, Evangelical: Less than 1{e0b72a53c242df1424785628340537005f8b2ebeecfbb0205a95286f7b4c8fc9}
HeartCry Missionary: Samuel D. – click here to learn more about this missionary.
Overview
- “Egypt has the oldest history of any modern state. Dating back to the tenth century BC, modern Egypt is built on the foundation of one of the world’s most significant ancient civilizations. This ancient culture is preserved in the ruins and artifacts of the Giza Pyramids, the Great Sphinx, Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings. Known as the Arab Republic of Egypt today, it is a transcontinental country in both the northeast corner of Africa and the southwest corner of Asia. Its territory is predominantly made up of sand from the Sahara Desert with a narrow strip of arable, life-giving farmland along the banks of the Nile River. Egypt is the fifteenth most populous country in the world, and its capital city Cairo is the largest city in Africa. Its economy is primarily fueled by agriculture along the Nile and tourism to its ancient sites. In spite of its rich cultural legacy, the vast majority of Egyptians are poor, citing government corruption as the primary cause of their failing economy.
Almost 87 percent of Egypt’s 85.3 million people adhere to Islam, with the remaining 13 percent primarily Coptic Christians. Coptic Christianity dates back to the first century to the Apostle Mark, who carried the Gospel from Jerusalem to Alexandria. The Alexandrian Church went on to play a central role in preserving orthodoxy, as men like Athanasius championed the biblical view of the person of Christ. Today, however, the Egyptian church is weak in its knowledge of the Scriptures and the historic doctrines of the church. Generally speaking, the Copts have lost the Gospel and what remains are the ancient ruins of church tradition. The Egyptian Church has great potential, nonetheless, to impact the entire Middle East with the Gospel. It needs pastors and shepherds full of the truth of God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God’s work in this critical country.” (HeartCryMissionary.com).
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Pray For Yours and Your Family’s Needs (Matthew 6:11)
Pray For One Another (James 5:16)
- Log into the CITY for a list of families to pray for.
Pray For Those Who Feed, Lead, And Care For The Flock (Col. 4:3; 2 Thess. 3:1)
- Elders: Joe Anady, Steve Bovee, Kris Vanderschuit
- Deacons: Dave Anady, Mike Thezier
Pray For Kings And Those In Authority (1 Timothy 2:2)
- Local: Hemet & San Jacinto City Managers – Wally Hill, Tim Hults
- State: Lieutenant Governor – Gavin Newsom
- Nation: President – Barack Obama
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Ask Forgiveness From God And Others. Forgive Those Who Sinned Against You. (1 John 1:9)
“lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Pray That God Would Strengthen Us From Giving Into Temptation (James 1:12-17).
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Worship through Song
Song of the Month
- I encourage you to incorporate musical worship in some way within your household worship time. Lyrics are available for all the songs we sing in worship on Sundays. See Dave Anady or Mike Thezier for the song book.
- “Before the Throne of God Above” by Shane and Shane can be purchased and downloaded here.
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Family Scripture Reading
The scriptures follow the reading plan for families outlined in Emmaus’ Passages booklet.
- Sunday – 1 Kings 9, Eph. 6
- Monday – 1 Kings 10, Phil. 1
- Tuesday – 1 Kings 11, Phil. 2
- Wednesday – 1 Kings 12, Phil. 3
- Thursday – 1 Kings 13, Phil. 4
- Friday – 1 Kings 14, Col. 1
- Saturday – 1 Kings 15, Col. 2
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Catechism – Instruction of God’s Word
Doctrinal Standard – Baptist Catechism #98 (Compare WSC #91)
- Q. How do Baptism and the Lord’s Supper become effectual means of salvation?
A. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them or in him that administers them, but only by the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit in them that by faith receive them.
Memory Verse(s)
- “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63, ESV).
Scripture
- Study Passage: I Peter 3:13-22
Support Passages: Matthew 3:11-12; I Corinthians 3:1-9; I Corinthians 12:13
Bible Story: Acts 8:9-25
Thoughts
- Below is taken from page 953-955 of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology.
- “2. Baptism. Since Jesus commanded his church to baptize (Matt. 28:19), we would expect that there would be a measure of blessing connected with baptism, because all obedience to God by Christians brings God’s favor with it. This obedience is specifically a public act of confessing Jesus as Savior, an act which in itself brings joy and blessing to a believer. Moreover, it is a sign of the believer’s death and resurrection with Christ (see Rom. 6:2–5; Col. 2:12), and it seems fitting that the Holy Spirit would work through such a sign to increase our faith, to increase our experiential realization of death to the power and love of sin in our lives, and to increase our experience of the power of new resurrection life in Christ that we have as believers. Since baptism is a physical symbol of the death and resurrection of Christ and our participation in them, it should also give additional assurance of union with Christ to all believers who are present. Finally, since water baptism is an outward symbol of inward spiritual baptism by the Holy Spirit, we may expect that the Holy Spirit will ordinarily work alongside the baptism, giving to believers an increasing realization of the benefits of the spiritual baptism to which it points.
- When baptism very closely accompanies someone’s initial profession of faith and is in fact the outward form that profession of faith takes, there is certainly a connection between baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, for Peter says to his hearers at Pentecost, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Moreover, Paul says, “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:12). The statement that it is “through faith in the working of God” that this happens reminds us that there is no magical property in the act of baptism itself, which causes a spiritual result to come about, yet the verse also indicates that when faith accompanies baptism there is genuine spiritual work in the life of the person being baptized. As we would expect, sometimes great spiritual joy follows upon baptism—a great joy in the Lord and in the salvation that baptism so vividly pictures (see Acts 8:39; 16:34).
- Although we must avoid the Roman Catholic teaching that grace is imparted even apart from the faith of the person being baptized, we must not react so strongly to this error that we say that there is no spiritual benefit at all that comes from baptism, that the Holy Spirit does not work through it and that it is merely symbolic. It is better to say that where there is genuine faith on the part of the person being baptized, and where the faith of the church that watches the baptism is stirred up and encouraged by this ceremony, then the Holy Spirit certainly does work through baptism, and it becomes a “means of grace” through which the Holy Spirit brings blessing to the person being baptized and to the church as well. (Baptism will be more fully discussed in the next chapter.)
- 3. The Lord’s Supper. In addition to baptism, the other ordinance or ceremony that Jesus commanded the church to carry out is participation in the Lord’s Supper. Although this subject will be discussed more thoroughly in chapter 50, it is appropriate to note here that participation in the Lord’s Supper is also very clearly a means of grace which the Holy Spirit uses to bring blessing to the church. The Lord’s Supper is not simply an ordinary meal among human beings—it is a fellowship with Christ, in his presence and at his table.
- Once again, we must avoid the idea that any automatic or magical benefit comes from sharing in the Lord’s Supper, whether a person participates in faith or not. But when a person participates in faith, renewing and strengthening his or her own trust in Christ for salvation, and believing that the Holy Spirit will bring spiritual blessing through such participation, then certainly additional blessing may be expected. We must be careful here, as with baptism, to avoid the mistake of overreacting to Roman Catholic teaching and maintaining that the Lord’s Supper is merely symbolic and not a means of grace. Paul says, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation (Gk. κοινωνία, G3126, “sharing,” “fellowship”) in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not aparticipation [κοινωνία] in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16). Because there is such a sharing in the body and blood of Christ (apparently meaning a sharing in the benefits of Christ’s body and blood given for us), the unity of believers is beautifully exhibited at the time of the Lord’s Supper: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor.10:17). And since we are participants at “the table of the Lord” (1 Cor. 10:21), Paul warns the Corinthians that they cannot participate in the Lord’s table and also participate in idol worship: “You cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons” (1 Cor. 10:21). There is a spiritual union among believers and with the Lord that is strengthened and solidified at the Lord’s Supper, and it is not to be taken lightly.
- This is why the Corinthians were experiencing judgment for their abuse of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:29–30: “For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died”). But if Paul says there will be judgment for wrong participation in the Lord’s Supper, then certainly we should expect blessing for right participation in the Lord’s Supper. When we obey Jesus’ command, “Take, eat” (Matt. 26:26), and go through the physical activity of eating and drinking at the Lord’s table, our physical action pictures a corresponding spiritual nourishment, a nourishment of our souls that will occur when we participate in obedience and faith. Jesus says, “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:55–56; cf. vv. 52–54, 57–58; also vv. 27, 33–35, 48–51).
- As with baptism, therefore, we should expect that the Lord would give spiritual blessing as we participate in the Lord’s Supper in faith and in obedience to the directions laid down in Scripture, and in this way it is a “means of grace” which the Holy Spirit uses to convey blessing to us.”
Discussion Questions
- What does the catechism mean when it says that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are “means of salvation?”
- How is baptism and the Lord’s Supper closely tied to salvation?
- Does scripture or the catechism teach that these acts earn one salvation? Explain
- Discuss the biblical sequence of salvation and participating in the ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s Supper).
