Trinity Fellowship

Baptism is a step of obedience for those that have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. It is a sign to the world around us that our allegiances have changed; that we are no longer slaves to sin but belong body and soul to Jesus Christ. In baptism we are confessing that we have died to sin and been made alive to the things of God. As we do this, Christ is also ministering to us, reminding us of what He has done on our behalf. Adoption into God's family and union with Christ are two of the sweetest gifts of grace that God gives. So the charge is to remember your baptism! Reflect on what this all means. Reflect on the sign that God has put on you. Let us spur each other on as we pursue our new identity in Christ.

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Being entrusted with children is a great honour and a heritage from the Lord. Children are to be shepherded to know the Lord and to receive the faith so that they can in turn pass it on to their children. One generation is to commend the Lord's mighty acts to another (Psalm 145:4). As our children grow, the goal should be for them to internalize the gospel so that biblical wisdom can be applied to the various experiences of life. We also know that we cannot give our children that which we do not have ourselves. Parents, our charge is to trust in the Lord as we shepherd our children. Our love of Scripture, our freedom in Christ, and the eyes we have been given to see the world correctly should all become contagious and obvious things for our children to pick up. "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations" (Deut. 7:9).

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Children are a blessing from the Lord. They are an inheritance designed to transfer the kingdom of God from one generation to the next. Children should be welcomed gladly into our marriages and should be taught to know the Lord from the start. They need to learn who God is and who they are; that they are made in the image of God, born under the Fall, and need the gospel to restore the fallen image. Children born into Christian homes receive the blessing of Christian instruction, and parents should be hopeful and joyful as we teach and disciple in that direction. We are always looking to the prize, which is entering the new creation with our loved ones. The little years are filled with short nights and seeming monotony, and yet these are the years when adults are shaped. These are the years when self-control and discipline first get put into practice. Parents, your charge is to faithfully and carefully shape and mould and shepherd the hearts of your little ones to King Jesus. Teach them that the most obvious, natural, and realistic way to live is in accordance with God's blueprint. Teach them that their sin hurts them, but that through the gospel there is always a way back to the Father.

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Marriage is a vital part of the story that God is telling about His creation. The one-flesh union of a man as covenant head and a woman who builds her home is meant to reflect Christ, the true and perfect covenant head, who builds His kingdom through the faithful labour of His bride, the church. This bond is close, intimate, life-giving, and abundantly fruitful. Christian marriage is the God-ordained garden in which children are welcomed and where fruitfulness, dominion, and the Great Commission are cultivated and extended. The charge in this series is for your eyes to be opened to the glory all around you. Being a man is glorious. Being a woman is glorious. Marriage is glorious, and the little people that result from that marriage bond are glorious. Christian, you are surrounded by glory on all sides. Ask the Spirit to help you see it, and joyfully labour in the heavy joy as you fulfill your calling as man or woman, husband or wife, wherever God has placed you, determining to return His gifts back to Him thirty, sixty, or even a hundredfold.

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Suffering, pain, and affliction are all part of the human experience between the Fall and the Restoration. Suffering reminds us that we walk with a limp. The church walks with a limp in imitation of our Saviour who also walked with a limp. God's children are frequently in heaviness, but not in the darkness. Our suffering reminds us that we are joined to the One who suffered for our redemption. We anticipate entering eternity as conquerors because the suffering has accomplished its assignment. "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."

(Due to some technical issues, the first few minutes of this sermon is lower quality. The issue is resolved around the 14:00 mark.) A woman's glory is her ability to fill and beautify the creation. After God made the man, He saw it was not good for him to be alone. Man without a woman is like Christ without a church. Nothing already made was up to this high and honourable calling, and so the situation called for a fresh creation from God. God made the man for dominion, and next He makes the woman for the man. Together, their task becomes both possible and rewarding. The woman is the glory of the man, which means she is the glory of the glory. She is the crowning jewel, the finishing touch, the magnum opus of creation. Her beauty, her diligence, and her tenderness ideally suit her for her calling to fill, create, nurture, and beautify. As she does this, she gains the love and the trust of her husband, her children, her church, and her community. The glory she has received from on high fills creation such that it redounds back to God many times over. A godly woman is a force multiplier. Women, what is God calling you to this week? Do you need to put your phone down to be more intentional with your little ones? Do you need to drop something else that is a distraction from your central calling? How can you use your glory to equip your husband to excel at his calling? Can you see the glory in the mundane task of sending little eternal people out into the world? Are there places outside your home that could be blessed by your gifts? You were made for fullness and beauty. This is your glory in Christ.