4.23.25
Hello brothers and sisters,
We are studying J.I. Packer’s book, Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know and are meeting on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. This evening, we will discuss the 3rd chapter, “Taking Christian Unity Seriously.” You are still welcome to come to the study even if you haven’t done the reading.
This Sunday we will return to our normal schedule. The 10:00 am lesson will be on question 60 of the Shorter Catechism. The sermon in the 11:00 am worship service will be on Acts 27. And the sermon in the 5:00 pm worship service will be on 1 Samuel 18.
Last evening, the livestream on our YouTube channel worked correctly since I used my phone rather than my computer. So we will resume regularly live-streaming the evening service. (The morning service can be live-streamed if requested.)
Recordings from Last Sunday
Morning Sermon: Risen with Christ (Romans 6:1-14)
Evening Sermon: David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17)
You can find the video of the evening sermon at this link (the video should start at the 19:08 mark where the reading of the sermon text begins).
A Weekly Reading from the OPC Directory for the Public Worship of God
III.C. The Lord’s Supper
3. Invitation and Fencing the Table
The minister shall then declare who may come to, and who are excluded from, the Lord’s Table according to the Word of God. He may use the following or like words:
It is my privilege as a minister of Christ to invite all who are right with God and his church, through faith in the Lord Jesus, to come to the Lord’s Table. If you have received Christ and are resting upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to you in the gospel, if you are a baptized and professing communicant member in good standing in a church that professes the gospel of God’s free grace in Jesus Christ, and if you live penitently and seek to walk in godliness before the Lord, then this Supper is for you, and I invite you in Christ’s name to eat the bread and drink the cup.
At the same time, God’s Word says, “Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth [eats] and drinketh [drinks] unworthily, eateth [eats] and drinketh [drinks] damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Cor. 11:27-29). If you are not trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you are not a member of a faithful Christian church, if you are not living penitently and seeking to walk in godliness before the Lord, then I warn you in the name of Christ not to approach the Holy Table of the Lord.
This warning is not aimed to keep the humble and contrite from the Table of the Lord, as if it were for those who were free from sin. In fact, it is for sinners that our Lord gives this Supper as a means of grace. Through the elements of bread and wine, our Lord graciously gives himself and all his benefits to everyone who eats and drinks in a worthy manner, discerning the body of the Lord. It is one thing to eat and drink in a worthy manner. It is very different, however, to imagine that we are worthy to eat and drink. We dare not come to the Lord’s Table as if we were worthy and righteous in ourselves. We come in a worthy manner if we recognize that we are unworthy sinners who need our Savior, if we consciously discern his body given for our sins, if we hunger and thirst after Christ, giving thanks for his grace, trusting in his merits, feeding on him by faith, renewing our covenant with him and his people.
Let us examine our minds and hearts to determine whether such discernment is ours, to the end that we may partake to the glory of God and to our growth in the grace of Christ. Come then with joy and thankfulness to the Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Supper is medicine for poor, sick souls. Come to Jesus and find rest, refreshing, and nourishment for your weak and weary soul.
4. Exhortation
If desired, the minister may exhort the people of God, in the following or other words, to embrace in the sign the thing that is signified:
Beloved congregation, lift up your hearts from these visible elements even to heaven itself, where Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, from where we look for him to return and perfect our redemption. All the promises of God are yes and amen in him. Every spiritual blessing is found in him. With joyful hearts, in Christian love, partake of his Table, giving thanks for the great love that he has shown to us.
Morning Worship Details
Hymns & Psalms
Hymn #274 “Thine Be the Glory”
Hymn #706 “Jesus Lives, and So Shall I”
Hymn #89B “Who with the LORD Can Be Compared?”
Psalm #107D “To Those Who Go to Sea in Ships”
Hymn #384 “Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing”
Old Testament Reading: Jonah 1
New Testament Reading: Acts 27
Sermon: “Saved from the Stormy Seas” – Acts 27
Evening Service Details
Hymns & Psalms
Hymn #285 “Jesus, Lord, Redeemer”
Psalm #71A “In thee, O LORD, I Refuge Take”
Hymn TBA
Bible Texts, Sermon:
Old Testament Reading: TBA
New Testament Reading: TBA
Sermon: “The Rise of David: Love, Fear, and Honor” – 1 Samuel 18
—
Pastor Peter Bringe
Covenant Family Church is a conservative, Bible-believing, and elder-governed congregation located in Wentzville, MO which seeks to evangelize the lost and equip those who have been converted to walk worthy of their calling in Christ. 
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church continues to be vigorous in its defense and propagation of the historic Christian faith, particularly as it was articulated by the Protestant Reformers of the 16-17th centuries. 
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