...the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagnations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture (Westminster Confession of Faith 21:1).

Order of Worship Examples

Typical Sunday
Communion Sunday

Sermons

God's Kingdom   Listen Now or subscribe to the ipod Podcast
Daniel 2:24-49
Mark Gibson

In the Lord's Supper we are said to receive Christ and the benefits of His redemption to our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace. As our natural food imparts life and strength to our bodies, so this sacrament is one of the divinely appointed means to strengthen the principle of life in the soul of the believer and to confirm his faith in the promises of the gospel. By partaking of the bread and wine, the symbols of Christ's body and blood given for us, we are united to Him as our head, our life. He then works in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure. He works in us everything that is good, so that it is from Him that all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works proceed. It is not, therefore, we that live, but Christ that lives in us.

What our Lord said to the apostles He says in the most impressive manner in this ordinance to every believing communicant: "This is my body, broken for you... this is my blood shed for you." These words when received by faith fill the heart with joy, confidence, gratitude, love, and devotion, so that the believer rises from the Lord's table refreshed by the infusion of a new life.

To summarize the Reformed position: The Lord's Supper is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ as a memorial of His death wherein, under the symbols of bread and wine, His body as broken and His blood as shed for the remission of sins are signified and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, sealed and applied to believers. Thereby their union with Christ and their mutual fellowship are set forth and confirmed, their faith strengthened, and their souls nourished unto eternal life.

In this sacrament Christ is present not bodily, but spiritually. His people receive Him not with the mouth, but by faith. The union thus signified and effected is not a corporeal union, but a spiritual and mystical union due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The efficacy of this sacrament as a means of grace is not in the signs, nor in the service, nor in the minister, but in the attending influence of the Holy Spirit.

------------------------------- Charles Hodge

Ordination of Deacons   Listen Now or subscribe to the ipod Podcast
Acts 6:1-7
Mark Gibson

The day having arrived, and the Session being convened in the presence of the congregation, a sermon shall be preached after which the presiding minister shall state in a concise manner the warrant and nature of the office of deacon, together with the character proper to be sustained and the duties to be fulfilled.

Warrant and Nature:
The office of deacon is set forth in the Scriptures as ordinary and perpetual in the Church. The office is one of sympathy and service, after the example of the Lord Jesus; it expresses also the communion of saints, especially in their helping one another in time of need.

Character proper to be sustained:
To the office of deacon, which is spiritual in nature, shall be chosen men of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly spirit, warm sympathies, and sound judgment.

Duties to be fulfilled:
It is the duty of the deacons to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress. It is their duty also to develop the grace of liberality in the members of the church, to devise effective methods of collecting the gifts of the people, and to distribute these gifts among the objects to which they are contributed. They shall have the care of the property of the congregation, both real and personal, and shall keep in proper repair the church edifice and other buildings belonging to the congregation.

------------------------------- PCA Book of Church Order

God's Gracious Deliverence   Listen Now or subscribe to the ipod Podcast
Daniel 2:1-23
Mark Gibson

To know God is the highest and best form of knowledge. But what can we know of God? Nothing but what He has been pleased to reveal to us in creation and especially in His Word. Therefore, let us study to be well instructed in the Divine attributes and ask for Grace to know them all. Do not be like those who dream of a God who is all love, and nothing else. These people talk in maudlin sentences, as if they believed in an effeminate God who winks at sin and is utterly destitute of one single ounce of justice or holiness. Believe God to be what He most certainly is—a God terrifying as well as benevolent who will by no means acquit the guilty—and yet forgives transgression, iniquity and sin. See God in the sufferings of Christ upon the cross and you will understand how He is severely just in punishing sin and yet also supremely gracious in providing such a way of escape for guilty souls! Do not be content with a maimed and distorted view of God’s attributes! Know Him to be Omnipresent—let it be your delight to know that you do not call upon a God who is far off, but ever near at hand. Recognize Him as Omnipotent—know that there is nothing which is too difficult for Him to accomplish and therefore doubt Him not. Forget not His absolute Sovereignty, but meekly submit to it. Although you cannot know God perfectly or exhaustively, yet do not worship Him as did the Athenians under the title of “The Unknown God.” Endeavor to understand how Love unbounded meets with Justice unlimited and Sovereignty without constraint! Do not worship ignorantly! Whatever else you may not know, do know the Character of your God. “They that know Your name will put their trust in You.”

------------------------------- C.H. Spurgeon

God's Sovereignty in Adversity   Listen Now or subscribe to the ipod Podcast
Daniel 1
Mark Gibson

There never was a man yet who had faith, and who had no testing of his faith. Wherever there is faith in God, it will be tested at some time or other. Look at Daniel’s test of faith. He was commanded to eat the portion of food that, every day, came from the king’s table. Could he desire any better? He might have feasted like a king. Could he have any objection to that? He had no objection except this, that it would defile him.

Daniel felt that he would be defiled if he ate of meat which might be unclean, and which was certain to be offered to idols; it would be breaking the law of God, so Daniel would not eat it. But the temptation to do so must have been very strong, for somebody would say, “Why, what difference does it make what you eat, or what you drink?” “Why is Daniel so particular? Why does he put his back up so, and make himself so odd, and so different from everybody else? There is no use in being so strict, and making such a fuss about such little things.”

This is the temptation of the present day too. We are told to freely confess to being a Christian, but float along the common current of the world. Take the name of Christian, but do not bring your religion into your business. Act as other people act, think as other people think, speak as other people speak. This is the Satanic temptation which is wrecking our churches, and doing I know not how much mischief to men of God.

They might change Daniel’s name, but they could not change his nature, nor would he give up anything that he believed to be right. Captive though he was, he had a redeemed soul; and he was as free in Babylon as he had been at Jerusalem, and he determined to keep himself so, for he “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself .” Oh, that we had a multitude of Christians, to whom custom and tradition meant nothing, but God’s Word meant everything; to whom it mattered not whether obedience brought loss or gain, but only that they did the right, and followed the right, cost what it might!

------------------------------- C.H. Spurgeon