Reformed & Expository Preaching

The Lord is a God who is serious about his justice. He will deal with the foreign people who make a mockery of His name and He will drive out His people who also make a mockery of His name. This is something that we expect a sovereign God to do. This expectation is not what makes God necessarily unique from all the other gods. What is the ultimate thing that makes God unique for the other gods? How do we have a relationship with this God? How do we know that he really is the Lord of lords and the King of kings?

Mr. Paul Freswick opens the word of God from 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 and lays out the beauty of the Gospel promises of our Lord.

Mr. Paul Freswick preaches about how we need to be stewards of this creation from Psalm 8.

The Lord is sovereign and mighty even during the exile that Israel faces. We affirm that no matter where we walk in life that the Lord will save us and secure us. Why did the Lord send Israel into exile? What does exile do for us that is good? Where are the Israelites to put their faith? Can they be saved even as they march into exile and it seems as if all is finished? What is the assurance even at the time of facing exile?

How do we know a true church from a false church? The Belgic Confession gives us there marks of the church to distinguish a true church from a false church. One of these marks is the preaching of the gospel. Why is this gospel continually peached? What does Paul say that is so important about this preaching and working this out?

The Apostle Paul gives some strong words regarding the call for members in the church to examine themselves. It is rather frightening to hear Paul talk about people actually dying in the midst of the congregation. Why would we as sinners desire to partake of such a meal? Who is worthy to eat at the Lord’s table? Who can claim a worthiness to be a partaker of this food? So, how can one come to the Lord’s Supper without knowing that one is not going to be struck dead? What does Paul mean when he exhorts us to examine ourselves?

Knowing that the Lord is sovereign over all things is something that should give us comfort. The challenge in finding comfort in knowing the the Lord is sovereign over all things is that we cannot control this God. We have to wait upon this God. How do we know that waiting on the Lord is good? How do we know that the Lord is going to be faithful? What is the basis of the promise where we can ground our hope and peace in the Lord?

We might be tempted to think that there is not a whole lot we can learn from Israel or the history of Israel. They are a people who lived under the Old Covenant and they were people who did bad things while we are the people who are going to do good things because we are more informed right? The apostle Paul wants the church to learn things from Israel’s history. How does Paul use their history to show that we can fall into similar things? What does the history of Israel have to do with us, our sacraments, and even the Lord’s Supper?

Micah has warned the people of God that they are sinning against the Lord, and there is a serious consequence that is coming their way. They have worshiped false gods and they find their comforts in the gifts of the Lord rather than the Lord Himself. In other words, they enjoy their elite blessings, but they have missed the Lord who gives them the blessings that they enjoy. So, what is the ultimate consequence of their action? Is the Lord being cruel in promising or bringing about such punishment? What do we as a people learn from their experience and what exhortations come to bear upon us?

We follow the structure of the Heidelberg Catechism which progresses as the preaching of the gospel, then baptism, and now the Lord’s Supper. We have argued from the previous Lord’s Day that infants are baptized because they are part of the covenant of grace so the sign of circumcision and baptism have a correlation to one another pointing to the same covenant of grace. If this is true, then we do we not allow infants to come to the Lord’s table if Christ is celebrating the passover? Or is the passover merely the opportunity to lay out the Lord’s Supper? So, what is the Lord’s Supper?