Scripture Reading:
#1. Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness (Psalm 29:1-2).
#2. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed (1 Pet. 4:12-13).
Prayer of Praise to God: Refer to the verses above and hymn below.
Hymn: Fairest Lord Jesus
Fairest Lord Jesus,
ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.
Fair are the meadows,
fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.
air is the sunshine,
fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.
Beautiful Savior!
Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.
Reading of the Law: Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:7-10)
Silent Confession of Sin/Confession of Sin: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Reading of the Gospel: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 26
Question #69
Q. How does holy baptism remind and assure you that Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross benefits you personally?
A. In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing and with it promised that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, that is, all my sins.
Question #70
Q. What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit?
A. . To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven our sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed and sanctified us to be members of Christ, so that more and more we become dead to sin and live holy and blameless lives.
Question #71
Q. Where does Christ promise that we are washed with his blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism?
A. In the institution of baptism, where he says: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.” This promise is repeated when Scripture calls baptism “the water of rebirth” and the washing away of sins.
Prayer of Thanksgiving: Give thanks to God for all of his creation and for sending his only Son to save us.
Prayer of Supplication: Ask God to give you strength to live in these trying times and the courage to stand for what is true.
Bible reading and commentary:
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Because some members of the Corinthian church doubted the future resurrection of the dead, Paul now turns his attention to the fundamental teaching of the Christian faith. He first lays the groundwork by reminding the Corinthians of the gospel that he had taught them as well as the nature and fruitfulness of his apostleship. These verses contain the foundation of Christian doctrine and the heart of the evangelical message: that the Lord Jesus Christ died for sinful human beings and rose again on the third day for their justification. This glorious gospel continues to produce much fruit in the lives of Christians, as they experience forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, daily comfort, freedom from the burden of the law and hope for the future resurrection. All blessings are because of Christ’s work on their behalf.
Christians should find special significance that Jesus’ resurrection was both prophesied in Scripture and testified to by the early church. God’s scriptural revelation definitely bears the greatest authority, but the experience of early Christians who encountered Jesus alive after his crucifixion is also convincing evidence for his resurrection.
The apostle Paul was both a compelling witness to Christ’s resurrection and a great example of the power of the gospel. When Christians are tempted to despair on account of the extent of their sin, they do well to consider God’s marvelous grace and mercy expressed toward Paul, who was a persecutor of the church before he met the resurrected Christ. Paul’s life and his statement in 1 Corinthians 15:10 make it clear that salvation comes from God’s grace alone, apart from human cooperation or merit.
John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 15:3 – By taking our curse upon him he might redeem us from it. For what else was Christ's death, but a sacrifice for expiating [removing] our sins -- what but a satisfactory penalty, by which we might be reconciled to God -- what but the condemnation of one, for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness for us? He speaks also in the same manner in Romans 4:25, but in that passage, on the other hand, he ascribes it also to the resurrection as its effect -- that it confers righteousness upon us; for as sin was done away through the death of Christ, so righteousness is procured through his resurrection. This distinction must be carefully observed, that we may know what we must look for from the death of Christ, and what from his resurrection. When, however, the Scripture in other places makes mention only of his death, let us understand that in those cases his resurrection is included in his death, but when they are mentioned separately, the commencement of our salvation is (as we see) in the one, and the consummation of it in the other.
Heinrich Bullinger on 1 Corinthians 15:10 – Again, lest Paul should seem to be attributing anything to his own powers, he adds by way of correction: “Though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” For God uses men and women as instruments; nevertheless, all the glory and praise for good deeds ought to be ascribed to God, who sometimes ascribes to us what he himself works through us, and that by grace. For he punishes our evil within us, and crown his gifts in us.
Closing Hymn: The Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Amen.
Closing Scripture: In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).
The Lord’s Prayer (together): Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.