The Beginning of the Gospel
Mark 1:1-8
Call to Worship –Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)
Psalm Reading – Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (ESV)
Prayer of Praise: Refer to the verses above and hymn below.
Hymn: Come Thou Fount
1 Come, thou Fount of every blessing;
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above;
praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of God’s unchanging love!
2 Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
3 O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.
Reading of the Law: Deuteronomy 10:12–13
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? (ESV)
Silent Confession of Sin/Confession of Sin: Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from Your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended Your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare those, O God, who confess their sins. Restore those who are penitent, according to Your promises declared to us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for His sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Acts 3:19–20
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, (ESV)
Response: 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.
Confession of Faith: Westminster Larger Catechism - Questions 66-70
This week we continue grounding ourselves in the Larger Catechism’s teaching on Union with Christ, effectual calling, and the benefits of redemption.
Question #66
Q. What is that union which the elect have with Christ?
A. The union which the elect have with Christ is the work of God’s grace, whereby they are spiritually and mystically, yet really and inseparably, joined to Christ as their head and husband; which is done in their effectual calling.
Eph. 1:22; Eph. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 6:17; John 10:28; Eph. 5:23, 30; 1 Pet. 5:10; 1 Cor. 1:9.
Question #67
Q. What is effectual calling?
A. Effectual calling is the work of God’s almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto) he doth, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his Word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein.
John 5:25; Eph. 1:18-20; 2 Tim. 1:8-9; Titus 3:4-5; Eph. 2:4-5, 7-9; Rom. 9:11; 2 Cor. 5:20, 2 Cor. 6:1-2; John 6:44; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Acts 26:18; 1 Cor. 2:10, 12; Ezek. 11:19; Ezek. 36:26-27; John 6:45; Eph. 2:5; Phil. 2:13;Deut. 30:6.
Question #68
Q. Are the elect only effectually called?
A. All the elect, and they only, are effectually called; although others may be, and often are, outwardly called by the ministry of the Word, and have some common operations of the Spirit; who, for their willful neglect and contempt of the grace offered to them, being justly left in their unbelief, do never truly come to Jesus Christ.
Acts 13:48; Matt. 22:14; Matt. 7:22; Matt. 13:20-21; Heb. 6:4-6; John 12:38-40; Acts 28:25-27; John 6:64-65; Ps. 81:11-12.
Question #69
Q. What is the communion in grace, which the members of the invisible Church have with Christ?
A. The communion in grace, which the members of the invisible Church have with Christ, is their partaking of the virtue of his mediation, in their justification, adoption, sanctification, and whatever else in this life manifests their union with him.
Rom. 8:30; Eph. 1:5; 1 Cor. 1:30.
Question #70
Q. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone.
Rom. 3:22, 24-25; Rom. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:19, 21; Rom. 3:22, 24-25, 27-28; Titus 3:5, 7; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:17-19; Rom. 4:6-8; Acts 10:43; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9.
Prayer of Thanksgiving: Gracious Father, we thank You for the good news of Jesus Christ, Your Son. We praise You for sending a faithful messenger to prepare the way, calling sinners to repentance and pointing us to the One who is mighty to save. Thank You for the forgiveness of sins and for the promise of new life through the Holy Spirit. We bless You that You do not leave us in our sin, but in mercy call us back to Yourself. Receive our thanks for Your grace that awakens our hearts and leads us to Christ. Amen.
Prayer of Supplication: Holy Lord, we confess that our hearts are often slow to repent and quick to wander. Grant us true repentance—deep, sincere, and Spirit-wrought. Humble us to see our sin clearly and to confess it honestly before You. Prepare our hearts to receive Christ anew, that we may not trust in outward things, but in the cleansing and renewal that only He gives. Baptize us afresh with Your Holy Spirit, that our lives would bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Draw us nearer to You, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Bible reading and commentary: Mark 1:1-8 (Mark 1 - ESV.org) (click link to ESV.org)
Theme: John prepares the way by calling us to repentance so that we may behold the One who brings the true baptism of the Spirit.
Mark opens his Gospel with a bold announcement: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Before Jesus steps onto the scene, Mark turns our attention to preparation—specifically, the ministry of John the Baptist. This is intentional. The good news does not rush in unannounced; hearts must be readied through repentance.
John appears as the promised messenger, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of the one who prepares the way of the Lord. His ministry in the wilderness is deeply symbolic. The wilderness recalls Israel’s story—a place of testing, dependence, and renewal. John’s call to repentance is not mere moral adjustment but a summons back to covenant faithfulness. As Calvin writes, “And John Baptist and Paul, under the expression, bringing forth fruits meet for repentance, described a course of life exhibiting and bearing testimony, in all its actions, to such a repentance.” (Institutes 3.3.5).
John’s baptism is a sign of cleansing, but it is not the source of forgiveness. It points beyond itself. Crowds from Judea and Jerusalem come confessing their sins, showing that repentance involves both inward conviction and outward acknowledgment. It is a humbling act—an honest admission that we stand guilty before a holy God and are in need of mercy.
John’s appearance—camel’s hair, leather belt, locusts and wild honey—echoes Elijah, signaling his prophetic role in calling Israel back to God. Yet John is emphatically aware of his place. He points forward to One far greater: “After me comes he who is mightier than I.” John baptizes with water, but the coming Messiah will baptize with the Holy Spirit. True transformation is not external but internal, a work of God Himself.
The heart of this passage is clear: repentance is essential preparation for receiving Christ. It is not optional or superficial; it is the doorway into the gospel. And of course, even this repentance is a gift of grace—God awakening sinners to their need and drawing them to Himself out of his loving kindness. Only when we reckon honestly with our sin are we ready to behold the One who brings true forgiveness and renewal.
Closing Hymn: The Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
Closing Scripture: Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
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.