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The 26th chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith gives a detailed description of the church. In today’s climate, many Christians fail to understand–or worse, refuse to embrace the importance the Scriptures place on the church. In our sermon this Lord’s Day, we will see that the church lies at the heart of God’s plan for his own eternal glory.

The 25th chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith focuses our attention on marriage. It has been an important topic in every generation, but it holds a special timeliness now. Marriage—and all the biblical truths that support it—is under assault. The message this Lord’s Day will plainly proclaim God’s truth about marriage and God’s intention for men and women, His image bearers. It will also unmask what lies behind today’s assault on the institution and provide guidance for the Christian’s appropriate response.

It is a privilege to welcome Chris and Heidi Seawright and their family to HBC. They serve as missionaries in Thailand. Chris will deliver the message in our worship service.

Baptists have always insisted the Bible teaches the separation of church and state. By this, they mean that the government cannot interfere with the affairs of the church. That does not mean, however, that they promote anarchy. The 24th chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith explains the biblical view of civil government. It is a timely subject for our chaotic times.

We began a topical series last Lord’s Day evening on the subject of prayer. We showed how prayer is one side of a conversation between at least two parties, me and God. My part of the conversation comes to Him directly in the form of praying, and His part of the conversation comes to me indirectly through His written Word in the Scripture. However, we need to ask the very important question, “On what basis may I approach the living God in prayer? On what basis will He permit me to draw near to His presence?” This question naturally arises when you consider the great enmity that exists between man and God because of sin, and the resulting consequence of the separation of man from God. Man’s sin leaves him entirely helpless to restore his relationship to God and gives the fearful expectation of His righteous judgment. God’s provision of a way to remove man’s sin and to restore the relationship is man’s only hope and the only basis upon which God will permit sinful man to approach Him. This gracious provision is found in the death of Christ for man’s sin.

The 23rd chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith deals with “Lawful Oaths and Vows.” At first glance, the topic seems to have little current relevance. However, on closer examination, it has profound significance. Jesus even devoted a portion of his famous Sermon on the Mount to this topic, placing it alongside such topics as adultery and murder. The core issue is truth. How should God’s people reflect the character of the God of truth in the way we conduct our lives?

The twenty-second article in the Baptist Confession of Faith is called “Religious Worship.” It strongly states that God prescribes in Scripture the way his people are allowed to worship him and that worship “according to the imaginations and devices of men” is unacceptable. The sermon text demonstrates this truth from the second of the Ten Commandments.

Article twenty-one in the Baptist Confession of Faith addresses the subject of Christian liberty. The gospel sets the believer free from the Law and neither church nor government has the authority to bind the believer to the Law again. This article is a warning against legalism. Unlike the historical setting in which it was written, believers today are seldom drawn to legalism. They are more likely to misuse Christian liberty as an excuse for worldliness. Neither error is permissible. Free from the law, our conscience is bound only by the Word of God. The irony of Christian liberty is that God’s Word frees us to serve others for the glory of God.

The subject of the twentieth chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith is “The Gospel.” Other chapters also address gospel themes such as Christ the Mediator, Justification, Repentance unto Life and Salvation, etc. But the unique emphasis in the current chapter is the relationship between the gospel and special revelation, that is, the Bible. God takes the initiative in salvation and the instrument that he always uses to draw people to Christ is his own word.

The nineteenth chapter of the Baptist Confession of Faith addresses the topic, “The Law of God.” It is a controversial topic that draws out a variety of opinions. Some say that Christians are still bound by the Law of Moses (at least in part) that God gave to Israel. Others argue that since Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses, Christians are free from the concept of law. In the service this Lord’s Day, we will demonstrate that neither of these extremes is what the New Testament teaches.