Trinity Presbyterian Church North Bay — Sermons & Sunday School

Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hakins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/29/2020 in Novato, CA. This week we continued our series on biblical history, covering the time period from Joash to Jeroboam II.

Sermon preached on James 1:2-4 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/22/2020 in Novato, CA.







Sermon Manuscript



With the coronavirus pandemic and now the shelter in place orders, these are strange times. Such times can bring a swell of different emotions and reactions. This can range from fear and anxiety and panic to anger and frustration. Probably an uncommon reaction would be joy. Yet, it’s such joy that our passage commends to us today to consider in the midst of varying circumstances. To be more specific, it calls us to considering finding joy in the midst of various trying circumstances.



Let’s begin then today in our first point by considering the kinds of trials that are in view here. Look with me at verse 2. It says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” The Greek word for “trials” here carries a wider range of meaning than the English word “trials”. It is also sometimes translated as “temptation”. I would prefer if translations translated it like that, as “trials and temptations” instead of simply one or another. In English, the word “trial” can refer to something that tests the character of something else. Whereas in English, the word “temptation” can refer to something that tries to lure someone into sin. Both “trial” and “temptation” are in view in verse 2 which is why James says he is referring to “various” trials. He’s invoking the whole wide range of usage for this word of trial and temptation. That’s why he can go on to speak about how these will test our faith in verse 3. And its why in verses 13-14 he can then also talk about temptation to sin, using the verb form of this same Greek word.



In the context of the epistle of James, we are given the example of Job to illustrate this. At the end of this epistle, in James 5:11, Job is mentioned as a way to return to this theme of trials and temptation. Job was tempted and tried by many hardships that Satan was allowed to afflict upon him. Job lost his financial prosperity, his children, and his health. Job’s life became one trial and temptation after another!



My point is that our passage today is getting us to think of a wide set of circumstances that might try or tempt a Christian. Sometimes verses in the Bible that deal with Christian trials deal specifically with Christian persecution – persecution that comes to a Christian from the world because of our faith. While this passage would include that, it also includes much more. Anything and everything that a Christian faces in life that either is a trial of faith or a temptation to live contrary to our faith is being addressed here.



Brothers and sisters, we are in trying and tempting times. Bear with me as I state some of the obvious aspects of our current trials and temptations because stating them can help us to begin to process them in the way this passage is calling us to process them. These trials and temptations include the coronavirus itself in terms of the health risk and threat it poses. That threat very possibly will go from just a theoretical threat to an actual health trial that either yourself or someone you personally know is undergoing. It may be a member or members in our church. It may be family members or friends. The threat of the coronavirus is a trial to our faith and we should consider in what ways it tempts us toward sin. That will only increase if you or a loved one contracts the disease.



These trials and temptations also include the economic impact of our current situation. The stock market has experienced a major crash and that can have real immediate financial effects, especially for people relying on their investments during retirement.

Sermon preached on 1 Kings 22:41-53 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/15/2020 in Novato, CA.







Sermon Manuscript



While we come to the end of 1 Kings today, we are really only coming to an arbitrary marker in the middle of the book. In the original Hebrew this was just the single book of Kings. It wasn’t until the Septuagint Greek translation that the translators decided to divide it into two books, presumably to make it a more manageable size for fitting each onto a single scroll. But the book itself is one book and so we will be continuing into 2 kings in treating it as one book.



So then as we come to today’s passage, we see that these are two relatively polar opposite biographical sketches. A godly king and an evil king. A king of the light and a king of the darkness. And yet these two kings are not without any intersection between the two. While I will primarily walk us through this passage reflecting on King Jehoshaphat’s successes and failure, we will inherently at the same time explore some of the intersection between these two kings. And it’s this intersection between a godly king and a godless king that is especially interesting in today’s passage anyways.



Let’s consider first the successes of this godly King Jehoshaphat. Of course, the fact of his godliness is his chief success. Yes, we ultimately credit his godliness to the LORD, but we can also join with verse 43 and describe him as a king who walked in the way of Asa his father, doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD. That godliness manifested itself in various religious successes for his reign. We see here in verse 46, for example, that he removed the cult prostitutes from the land. That was an evil practice that infiltrated Judah during the time of King Rehoboam. Interestingly, King Jehoshaphat’s father Asa was also credited for removing the cult prostitutes from the land. But apparently there were more yet to remove during King Jehoshaphat’s time. Like today, each generation in the church, it seems, needs to fight against the tide of paganism that keeps trying to find a way back into the church.



Related to this, we learn in 2 Chronicles that part of the success King Jehoshaphat brought in terms of religion is educating the people in the law of God. As a side note, I’ll be referencing 2 Chronicles a lot today because it frankly records a lot more about King Jehoshaphat than the book of Kings does, so I’ll be bringing in that parallel account as it helps to fill in the details we find here in the book of Kings. And so, in 2 Chronicles 17 we see that Jehoshaphat sent officials with Levites throughout Judah to train the people in the law of God. It says that this resulted in a righteous fear of the LORD growing among the people. Another aspect of the religious reform that is explained further in 2 Chronicles is related to the high places mentioned in verse 43. 2 Chronicles seems to suggest that Jehoshaphat did make some effort to remove the high places but the people’s hearts were still in love with them and thus he was not ultimately successful in completing that reform. But it was nonetheless good that he made the progress he did on these various religious reforms.



Another success of King Jehoshaphat besides religious reform is listed in verse 45. It describes him there showing might and how he warred. While that is stated briefly there, I can again fill in some details from 2 Chronicles. There we find in 2 Chronicles 17 that King Jehoshaphat did a significant amount of work refortifying the cities in Judah and building up the army. His success in that area is found in that the Philistines began to bring him tribute. Also, the reference here in verse 47 about there bein...

Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hakins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/15/2020 in Novato, CA. This week we continued our series on biblical history, covering the time period from Ahab to Jehu.

Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hakins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/08/2020 in Novato, CA. This week we continued our series on biblical history, covering the time period from Rehoboam to Omri.

Sermon preached on 1 Kings 21 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/01/2020 in Novato, CA.







Sermon Manuscript



What gets you emotional and fired up about? Ahab here at first gets emotional and fired up to the point of depression over something he cannot have. Jezebel seems to get fired up about her husband’s lack of shrewdness and gladly takes the opportunity to exercise some on his behalf. Naboth gets excited here about honoring God and finding great value in the inheritance God have given his family. At the end of this passage we are surprised to see Ahab’s emotional reaction of humility that even God says to Elijah it noteworthy. While we are often concerned about godliness in terms of what we do, this passage reminds us that godliness begins in the heart. What does your heart desire? What do you get excited about and desire? Let us keep this in mind as we dig into today’s passage.



We begin in our first point then to contrast the wrong desire of Ahab here with the right desire of Naboth. Verses 1-2 present the initial desire of Ahab. There is a neighbor of King Ahab in Jezreel named Naboth. Naboth’s vineyard was right next door to Ahab’s palace there and Ahab wants to buy it from Naboth so he can plant a vegetable garden there. Let me point out that verse 1 calls Ahab the king of Samaria, which is interesting because we know he’s the king over all Israel, not just Samaria. But by telling us that, it reminds us that Ahab’s capital city and thus what should be his primary residence is in Samaria. Our passage is about his secondary home in Jezreel. Ahab sees his neighbor’s vineyard and really wants that plot of land there to expand his second palace in Jezreel.



Think about the opportunity here, from a world’s perspective for Naboth. From a mere pragmatic aspect, this would seem like a great deal for Naboth. He’s given the offer to either accept the fair value of the land in money, or Ahab’s willing to get him an even better vineyard elsewhere. Basically, Naboth would be trading up and growing his net worth. More than that, he’d be surely gaining the king’s favor. Seems like a no-brainer decision from a certain point of view. And, of course, it especially seems like a good offer to take in the hindsight of what refusing the king’s offer might entail – aka the ruthless vengeance of Queen Jezebel. Yet, Naboth refuses the offer.



The reason is told to us in verse 3. Naboth said “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” Let me explain what Naboth surely means here. There is not a direct prohibition, per se, in the Bible that would forbid this sale. However, Naboth evidently knows what God has said about this in his Word and knows that he should not sell his family’s land in the Promised Land in these circumstances. Basically, when God’s people were given the Promised Land, God had the land divided up first by tribe and then by family within each tribe. This was described an inheritance from God to those tribes and families. The law of God was very clear that these tribal allocations could not be sold permanently. Leviticus 25 describes that should someone fall into poverty and find need to sell their land, they could do so but essentially only in the form of a lease. Every 50 years there would be a Year of Jubilee where the land would all revert back to the original ownership among the original allocations assigned by God. Consequently, God said that any sale of land should priced with this in mind, that effectively you would be leasing the land until the next Year of Jubilee. Furthermore, the law required for the right of redemption of land that you sold. If you or a family member acquired the means to be able to buy back the land that y...

Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hakins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/01/2020 in Novato, CA. This week we completed a two week miniseries on Baptism.

Sermon preached on 1 Kings 20 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 02/23/2020 in Novato, CA.







Sermon Manuscript



A theme that comes out in this passage is the knowledge of the LORD. It’s in verses 13 and 28; God says, “And you shall know that I am the LORD.” This isn’t about just some basic identification of who God is. This kind of knowledge refers to something deeper. God wants his people to truly know him in his fullness. There is a relational sense to this knowledge, that they would have a relationship with God in a way that the world does not. There is also a knowledge here of God’s character, and his power, and his position. Such knowledge should promote reverence, obedience, gratitude, and joy, for who God is, and for their relationship with him. As we study this passage today we see God mercifully seeking to promote such knowledge among his people. Let us study this passage then to help us also grow in truly knowing the LORD.



We begin in our first point to consider God’s first victory in this passage against Syria. That’s right away how this chapter starts out. We find the arrogant Ben-hadad, King of Syria, trying to pick a fight with Israel. Ben-hadad with a humongous army made up of a coalition of forces with thirty-two other kings rolls up against Samaria, the capital city of Israel. The army is huge according to verse 13 and it’s impressive according to verse 1 with its horses and chariots. As they near Samaria, Ben-hadad sends his messengers into the city to Ahab. Likely this first request of silver and gold and wives and children is more of a demand to put Ahab and Israel in a vassal status to Syria. It was probably a claim to own him Ahab in a sense “on paper” but not necessarily meaning that Ahab was going to immediately surrender all his gold, silver, wives, and children over to him. For Ahab to consent to this says that they would be submitting politically to Ben-hadad and Syria with various demands that might come out of that, probably especially the giving of tribute and likely military support. But Ben-hadad doesn’t stop there. Maybe because Ahab gave in so quickly, he then sends another round of messengers. This time they significantly increase the demand. Ben-hadad wants to be able to have his servants come the next day and search through everything they have and take whatever is valuable.



Beyond the bold arrogance here by Ben-hadad, notice the formula used by the messengers in verses 2 and 5. “Thus says Ben-hadad”. Sound familiar? It sounds very familiar to, “Thus says the LORD.” In fact, that’s where this goes. After Ahab seeks counsel from the elders and determines to not consent to Ben-hadad’s second request, Israel is in imminent danger from this huge Syrian army. But that’s when Ahab receives a different messenger. A prophet of the LORD comes and says “thus says the LORD,” verse 13. I appreciate how God points out through the prophet that this Syrian force is a great multitude. It’s God pointing out the obvious threat to Ahab. Ahab and all Israel is in deep trouble on their own. But the good news is that God is going to step in and defend his people Israel and give them the victory over this evil enemy. Ahab welcomes this news from the prophet and immediately asks for more instructions. Ahab wants to know how he is to go about this. Ahab learns that he is to strike first using the “servants of the governors.” This Hebrew word for the servants here emphasizes that theses are the young, likely as in inexperienced” men. This only totals 232 men. They are going to get sent in first and following behind them the rest of the mustered army will come. But that is only 7,000 men. Likely the Syrian forces numbered somewhere over 100,

Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hakins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 02/23/2020 in Novato, CA. This week we completed a two week miniseries on Baptism.

Sermon preached on 1 Kings 19:19-21 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 02/16/2020 in Novato, CA.







Sermon Manuscript



Whom do you follow? Life is full of followers and leaders. Sometimes you might be a follower in one context and a leader in another. But in terms of our relationship with the LORD, we are told whom to follow. We are to follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The gospels are full of Jesus calling people to follow him, and disciples described as those who followed Jesus. Well, in today’s passage in 1 Kings, we find this theme with Elisha beginning to follow Elisha. And as we consider this with Elijah and Elisha, we’ll have a chance to reflect on what such following look like when it comes to the kingdom of God.



So, we begin in our first point by looking at Elijah’s call to Elisha. Last week’s passage ended with God instructing Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor. So then, we immediately see next Elijah calling Elisha to follow him. Though, interestingly, that’s not the language that Elijah uses. In fact, Elijah doesn’t use any words at all. We see in verse 19, that Elijah proceeds to find the Elisha that God had told him about. He then passes by Elisha and casts his cloak upon Elisha. Now clearly, Elisha understood that as a call to follow Elijah. Verse 20 shows Elisha stating that back to Elisha in such terms. But interestingly, Elijah doesn’t say, “follow me.” He instead passes by and throws his cloak upon Elisha.



It’s generally thought that prophets had a prophetic mantle or cloak that they wore when they prophesied. Zechariah 13:4 seems to describe such a practice, and it sounds like they were typically a hairy garment. Such prophetic mantles were likely distinguishable from other garments that normal, non-prophet people wore. It’s like today how some pastors wear Genevan robes to preach in. If after the service the pastor came up to a young man and put the robe on him, he’d probably think the pastor is telling the man he should pursue the ministry. So then, that’s apparently what Elisha thinks here, that Elijah putting his prophet’s mantle on him means that Elijah is calling him to follow in his footsteps as a prophet.



I think we should clarify, that at this point, this calling to Elisha is clearly about preparation for such a ministry. Elisha would not immediately begin to serve as a prophet himself. Elisha understands this since he says in verse 20 he speaks of following Elijah. Like how Jesus used that language in the New Testament, to follow a teacher or prophet is to become their disciple, and also frankly his servant. In this context, it seems that it has in view a sort of apprenticeship, where as a student or disciple you learn and serve the prophet for the purpose of eventually succeeding him. But for now, Elisha would be called into this role of following Elijah as a student and as a servant. In fact, it’s this service role that is emphasized in how our passage ends. It describes Elisha beginning this role of following Elisha in terms of him “assisting” Elijah. The Hebrew here for “assisting” is literally that Elisha “served” or “ministered to” Elijah. This is confirmed later on in the description of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Kings 3:11 where he describes Elisha the prophet as someone who in the past who “poured water on the hands of Elijah.” This fits well with the ongoing record here in 1 Kings, for while Elijah calls Elisha here, we’ll continue to see Elijah as the one doing prophetic ministry for the next several chapters. It won’t be until 2 Kings 2 when Elijah ascends up into heaven that then Elisha begins to really serve as a prophet. Prior to that, he apparently was a servant and disciple of Elijah.