Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
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Covenant Protestant Reformed Church

83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 2 June, 2013

"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious,
longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth" (Psalm 86:15)

Morning Service - 11:00 AM

Rest for God’s People (2)
The Day of Rest  [download]  [youtube]

Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:20-2:3; Hebrews 4:1-4
Text: Hebrews 4:3-4

I. The Institution of the Day of Rest
II. The Parties of the Day of Rest
Psalms: 148:1-10; 36:8-12; 8:1-9; 95:5-11

Evening Service - 6:00 PM

Four Exalted Names of Jesus  [download]  [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 8:9-9:7
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 11

I. The Idea of Jesus’ Names
II. The Meaning of Jesus’ Four Names
III. The Significance of Jesus’ Four Names
Psalms: 89:1-6; 37:1-7; 24:5-10; 45:1-6

For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart

CPRC website: www.cprc.co.uk
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC

Quotes to Consider

David J. Engelsma: "... The man who tastes something of the rest of Christ talks differently: ‘Oh, when will the eternal Sabbath Day dawn?’ Still, our obedience to the Fourth Commandment is, at best, imperfect. We do not have perfect faith in Christ our Rest; we do not come to church with that zeal for God’s glory and with that thankfulness for His work in Jesus that we ought to have; we often hear the Word coldly—yes, and we preachers often preach it so; our use of the sacraments and our prayers are often habitual; our thoughts are profane; our conversations are worldly; when all is said and done, on a Sunday evening, the most that can be said of our Sabbath observance is that we did nothing. The Fourth Commandment teaches us our misery, so that we fly to Christ for righteousness. But the Lord who justifies also sanctifies, so that we do have a beginning of obedience to the Fourth Commandment. This beginning, although small, is a victorious beginning. We do rest in Christ by faith on the Lord’s Day. This then becomes the power by which we live and work the other six days of the week, ceasing from our evil works and yielding ourselves to the Lord to work by His Spirit in us. Thus, we begin in this life the eternal Sabbath" ("Remembering the Lord’s Day," p. 15).

Robert L. Reymond on Isaiah 9:6: "It is grammatically possible to construe the two nouns, [‘wonder’] and [‘counselor’], separately as two names, thus bringing the number of the Messiah’s names here to five rather than four. But there are two decisive arguments in favor of taking the two nouns together as forming one name: (1) the fact that the other three are compound titles, [‘mighty God’] obviously a single title as evidenced by its usage as a single designation for God in Isaiah 10:21 (cf. also Deut. 10:17; Ps. 24:8; Jer. 32:18; and Neh. 9:32), and the other two names being construct-absolute relationships (‘Father of eternity,’ ‘Prince of peace’); (2) Isaiah’s description of the Lord of Hosts as being ‘wonderful in counsel’ in Isaiah 28:29 where the same two roots are united to denote one characteristic in God."

Announcements (subject to God’s will)

Reformed Perspectives are on the back table today.

Family Visitation finishes tomorrow evening: 6 PM - Douglas Stewart, 7 PM - John McAuley and 8 PM - Murrays.

The Council meets this Wednesday at 7 PM.

The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s Day (Gospel 846MW at 8:30 AM) is entitled "God’s Design for Marriage" (Genesis 2:24) by Rev. Haak.

Offerings: General Fund - £976.90. Donations: £25 (pamphlets), £300 (DVDs).

S. Wales Lecture: Rev. Stewart will give the next lecture in Porthcawl on Wednesday, 19 June, on "Rest for the People of God."

Website Additions: 2 Italian translations were added.

PRC News: Doon called Rev. Eriks. Rev. Van Overloop declined the call from Randolph. Faith will call from a trio of Revs. Marcus, Griess, and Spronk.


Proper Sabbath Observance (The Sojourner’s Sabbath)

Rev. Herman Hoeksema

 

This pamphlet, let it be said at the outset, will be found to be quite different from all such treatises on the keeping of the Sabbath which aim to be a plea for sabbath observance by the world in general and, therefore, would emphasize the necessity of legislation and of enforcing the already existing laws pertaining to restriction of labour, business, traffic, and public amusements on Sunday. In the face of the danger that this little treatise will meet with severe criticism from the very first from those who are of the opinion that it is possible to legislate the world into keeping the Sabbath, I must nevertheless maintain that this is quite impossible, that the keeping of the Sabbath is a highly spiritual matter, an act of faith and hope that can be performed only by the Christian that professes in word and walk that he has become a stranger in this world and is looking forward to the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, to the eternal Sabbath that remaineth for the people of God. To this sojourner and pilgrim in a strange country, to the church of Christ in the world, this pamphlet is addressed. It purposes to be a word of encouragement and comfort on the one hand, and a word of warning and admonition on the other.

Also of warning and admonition. For it cannot be denied that desecration of the Sabbath is in our day an evil that is assuming alarming proportions, and that the danger is more than imaginary that the Christian pilgrim, as he lives and travels through this strange land, will defile his garments and adopt the habits of the world in this respect. Many causes and circumstances have, especially in late years, concurred to aggravate this danger. The wave of abnormal economic prosperity that swept our country surely did not prove to be a spiritual blessing for many children of God, but was conducive rather to a spirit of worldly-mindedness by which they also were overcome to a greater extent than they realized or were willing to admit. Everybody is prosperous in the things of the world, has sufficient means to seek after and, in a measure, to obtain the commodities and even the luxuries necessary for the enjoyment of this present life. Not to possess an automobile is an uncommon thing. Young and old spend their time of leisure "between the wheels." Home-life is destroyed. Family fellowship has become a strange thing. The family altar is forgotten. If one is not on the road to enjoy a ride, he finds his home connected with every conceivable place of amusement by means of the radio, which has become almost as common as the auto. And man has become amusement-crazy. Life seems to be without care and worry. The things of the present time occupy a chief place in our hearts and minds. The things heavenly recede into the background and appear gradually with less frequency above the threshold of our consciousness.

Small wonder that with such a spirit of frivolous world-seeking and practical materialism the Sabbath is no longer remembered by many, and desecration of the first day of the week has become customary. Even as the Sabbath was ordained for the purpose of lifting up the pilgrim-stranger in this world to things heavenly and spiritual, so it could, in the world, serve the purpose of enjoying the things earthly and material better than any other day of the week. And even as this desecration of the Sabbath itself has its source in a spirit of world-mindedness, so it exerts a reflex influence upon the minds and lives of the people of God so that they become less heavenly-minded, more attached to the things of the world. The true significance of the Sabbath, that it was not ordained for recreation and pleasure-seeking; that its chief purpose is not even that we might rest from our daily toil and labour; but that on that day we should be occupied exclusively with things spiritual and heavenly, that so it might have a sanctifying influence on our whole life in the midst of the world, and that we might have a foretaste of and more and more fervently long for the eternal Sabbath—this true import of keeping the Sabbath is no longer understood.

Hence, it is the positive purpose of this pamphlet to call attention to this spiritual significance of the Sabbath and to exhort God’s people in the world to keep the Sabbath of the Lord their God. The word of the prophet of old is still true today: "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil" (Isa. 56:2). He will be able to lay hold on the promise: "My salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed" (Isa. 56:1) ...  (complete pamphlet available here)