2025.03.11 Hopewell @Home ▫ Psalm 137

Read Psalm 137

Questions from the Scripture text: What is the setting for this psalm (Psalm 137:1a)? What were its singers doing (verse 1b)? What did they remember (verse 1c)? What did they do with what in Psalm 137:2? Why–what had who requested (Psalm 137:3)? What sort of song? What rhetorical question does Psalm 137:4 ask? What is the implied answer? What would it be to sing a song of YHWH for entertainment, rather than for worship (Psalm 137:5a)? What does the psalmist call upon himself if he does forget (Psalm 137:5-6b)? What place should God’s church and worship, properly remembered, have in our hearts (Psalm 137:6c–d)? What does the psalmist ask YHWH to remember against whom (Psalm 137:7)? And what remembrance/curse against whom in Psalm 137:8-9?

How should we grieve over the church’s chastening? Psalm 137 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should grieve over the church’s chastening by longing for her restoration and worship, and desiring her vindication.   

Avail yourself of worship privileges while you have them. The sadness of the exiled worshipers in this psalm is even sadder in light of how they had failed to esteem God’s church and God’s public worship until His chastening fell upon them.

Beware of a taunting spirit. A taunting spirit is presented here (Psalm 137:3) as especially marking those who deserve to be destroyed and have their little ones dashed upon the Rock. Though God’s justice, especially concerning His church, ought to be so loved that its vindication is greatly desired (Psalm 137:7), Scripture teaches us to love and pity even our enemies, as Christ did on the cross, Stephen at his stoning, and Paul for the Jews who had murdered him many times.

Worship is not entertainment. It was not appropriate to sing Zion’s songs for the entertainment of men (Psalm 137:3), rather than the worship of God. In an “evangelical” world where there are things like “worship concerts,” we would do well to learn from this psalm to keep sacred songs for sacred occasions. Singing YHWH’s songs outside that context is regarded here as “forgetting Jerusalem” (Psalm 137:5a)—failing to value properly the church and her public worship. Indeed, we are forgetting God’s Jerusalem if we do not value the church and her public worship above every merely individual joy (Psalm 137:6d).

Value wrath. Love for Jerusalem, remembering Jerusalem, is not merely a duty of the believing man. It is an imaging of God Himself, Who remembers against her oppressors (Psalm 137:7), every harm done to the church. Men deserve not only a full reciprocation for what they have done (Psalm 137:9), but indeed destruction itself for their sin against God (Psalm 137:8). Love for God’s church, and love for God, includes a desire that He vindicate her honor and repay her harm. 

Cyrus the Great, who was the temporal fulfillment of Psalm 137:8-9, was comparatively blessed among emperors of the ancient world. But the Blessed One to Whom this refers is Christ Himself. Those who have difficulty with severe and covenantal judgments must wrestle with Hell, which comes upon us both for sin committed in our first father and sins that we ourselves perpetrated. Indeed, He is the Rock (singular, with definite article, Psalm 137:9!) upon Whom the enemies of the church will be dashed forever (cf. Matthew 21:44; 2 Thessalonians 1:9).

What use do you make of public worship? How does your treasuring corporate worship over any individual joy show itself in your life? What distinctions safeguard the sacredness of worship to differentiate it from entertainment in your life? What is your reflex response to the wrath of God? What does this indicate about your valuing of His glory and His church’s honor?

Sample prayer:  Lord, how we thank You that, instead of the grief that we deserve by the chastening of Your church, we are instead gathered to You to sing Your songs. How great has been Your mercy to us! You have fully repaid our sin upon Christ. And He will fully repay all harm done to us. So, fill our hearts with Your adoration, and our mouths with Your praise, and gather us to Yourself in Christ now, we ask, through Him, AMEN!

Suggested Songs: ARP137 “By Babylon’s Rivers” or TPH137 “By Flowing Streams in Babylon” 

Discrete Words and Diligent Work [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 12:15–28]

What does walking with God involve? Proverbs 12:15–28 looks forward to the sermon in this week’s midweek meeting. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture. the Holy Spirit teaches us that walking with God involves godly speech, and diligence, in the path that leads to eternal life. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.03.10 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 12:15–28

Read Proverbs 12:15–28

Questions from the Scripture text: What does a fool think of his way (Proverbs 12:15a)? What does the wise man do instead (verse 15b)? When is a fool’s wrath known (Proverbs 12:16a). What does a prudent man do instead (verse 16b)? What does the truth-speaker declare (Proverbs 12:17a)? What does the false witness declare (verse 17b)? What can a man speak like (Proverbs 12:18a)? But what does the wise tongue do (verse 18b)? How long will the truthful lip be established (Proverbs 12:19a)? How long the lying tongue (verse 19b)? What is in the heart of the deviser of evil (Proverbs 12:20a)? But what does a counselor of peace have (verse 20b)? What cannot overtake whom (Proverbs 12:21a)? What will the wicked have a filling of (verse 21b)? Who abominates the lying lip (Proverbs 12:22a, cf. Proverbs 11:1, Proverbs 11:20)? What does He think of the truthful (Proverbs 12:22b)? What does a prudent man do with some of his knowledge (Proverbs 12:23a)? What does a fool’s heart proclaim (verse 23b)? Whose hand will rule (Proverbs 12:24a)? But what will happen to the lazy man (verse 24b)? What does anxiety lead to (Proverbs 12:25a)? What has the opposite effect (verse 25b)? What should the righteous diligently do (Proverbs 12:26a)? What does the lazy man fail to cook (Proverbs 12:27a)? What, therefore, has great value (verse 27b)? To what does the way of the righteous lead (Proverbs 12:28a)? What does it certainly avoid (verse 28b)? 

What does walking with God involve? Proverbs 12:15–28 looks forward to the sermon in this week’s midweek meeting. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, )? the Holy Spirit teaches us that walking with God involves godly speech, and diligence, in the path that leads to eternal life.  

The second section of chapter 12 also (cf. Proverbs 12:1) begins with an introduction about the need to be instructible (Proverbs 12:15). And it ends with a conclusion that is a synthesis of how the difference in ways, that was introduced in verse 15, makes quite literally all the difference for the righteous (Proverbs 12:28). Just as in the first half of the chapter, the core of this second half are two subsections, one on wise words (Proverbs 12:16-23) and another on wise work (Proverbs 12:24-27). In both sections, the instruction is given almost entirely by way of comparison.

Proverbs 12:16-23 address the subject of wise words. A fool always expresses his emotions (Proverbs 12:16a), is willing to lie from his own false heart that devises evil (Proverbs 12:17b, Proverbs 12:19b, Proverbs 12:20a), uses words like sword thrusts (Proverbs 12:18a), and expresses all of his thoughts (Proverbs 12:23b). However, the prudent man conceals wrong emotions (Proverbs 12:16b), speaks only truth in righteousness that seeks peace (Proverbs 12:17a, Proverbs 12:19a, Proverbs 12:20b), uses words to heal others (Proverbs 12:18b),  and keeps most knowledge to himself (Proverbs 12:23a). How important (and beneficial) a part of walking with God is godly speech!

Proverbs 12:24-27 address the subject of wise work. The man who can’t make himself work will be forced to by others (Proverbs 12:24b), allow himself to be easily discouraged (Proverbs 12:25b), be lazy even about choosing friends (Proverbs 12:26b), and even too lazy to benefit from work that he has already done (Proverbs 12:27a). However, the diligent will rule others (Proverbs 12:24a), employ good words to stir up gladness to live (Proverbs 12:25b), be diligent even about choosing friends (Proverbs 12:26a), and treasure the diligence that improves all else to him (Proverbs 12:27b). How important (and beneficial) a part of walking with God is diligence!

The conclusion (Proverbs 12:28) is set up by the pathways in Proverbs 12:15 and the outcomes in Proverbs 12:19, Proverbs 12:21. Now, the conclusion synthesizes these two themes. The reason that there is only life and no death in the well-counseled way of the righteous is because death is a just sentence from YHWH, while life (in Him!) is His reward to the righteous. In the same manner as Proverbs 11:20 (cf. Proverbs 11:1), Proverbs 12:22 reminds us of the personal nature of these outcomes from His hand.

How are you relating to God in your words? How are you relating to God in your work?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for giving us to be righteous in Your Son, our Lord Jesus. And thank You for Your Spirit’s ministry in applying His character to us in the areas of our words and our work. Glorify Yourself in Him, by conforming us to His image, and rewarding us with His inheritance, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent, Who Will Reside” or TPH400 “Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me”

2025.03.09 Lord's Day Livestreams (live at 10:10a, 11:10a)

Click below for the:

March 9 Lord's Day Worship Booklet

Matthew 16:18–20 sermon outline

We urge you to assemble physically, if possible, with a true congregation of Christ's church. For those of our own congregation who may be providentially hindered, we are grateful to be able to provide this service.

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Each week we livestream the Lord's Day (Sabbath School, Morning Public Worship, and p.m. Singing and Sermon) and Midweek Meeting (sermon and prayer). For notifications when Hopewell is streaming live, install the CHURCHONE APP on your [Apple], [Android], or [Kindle] device, and enter hopewellarp for your broadcaster.

2025.03.08 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 16:18–20

Read Matthew 16:18–20

Questions from the Scripture text: Who is speaking to whom in Matthew 16:18? What does He name him? What does He say He is going to build? Upon what? What won’t prevail against it? What will Jesus give to him (Matthew 16:19)? What will he do on earth? What will have been done to it, already, in heaven? What else will he do on earth? What will already have been done to that in heaven? Whom does Jesus now command (Matthew 16:20)? That they not do what? 

What is the foundation of the church? Matthew 16:18–20 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus Himself, as confessed by the apostles to be Christ and God, is the only foundation of the church.  

Jesus has asked the disciples (plural, Matthew 16:15) Who they say that He is. Simon, speaking for the group, has answered that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16). 

Now, Jesus offers a play on words. He calls Simon “Peter” (Petros), but then refers to “this rock” (petra). What is the rock upon which Jesus will build His church? Ultimately, the answer is not “Peter” but “Jesus.” Even here, we can plainly see that He calls the church “My church.” 

But, the Spirit also answers this question in other places. The household of God is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (cf. Ephesians 2:19–20, 1 Corinthians 3:11, Revelation 21:14). 

Some have made the mistake of thinking that Jesus was establishing Peter himself as the foundation. But He Himself initiated this conversation about what the apostles say about Jesus. This is the foundation: the apostolic witness to Jesus’s Christhood and Godhood. Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone, and the foundation of the church is the apostolic witness to Who He is.

A foundation is necessary, because the church will be under attack. The gates were the place of public discourse and government. All of the counsels and influence of Hell itself are bent on destroying the church (cf. Genesis 3:15; Revelation 12:13–17). But the church is built upon the testimony of Who Jesus is: “Who do ye [apostles] say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). They overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and by not loving their lives to the death (cf. Revelation 12:11). 

And the foundation holds because of Who is building upon it! The Lord Jesus Himself. It’s His church. He is the One building upon it. And the foundation of it is the confession of Who He is. 

It would be a travesty to take this passage and make Peter the foundation, as if Jesus were ordaining some sort of first pope. Although Peter is privileged, both here and in Acts 2, with making an initial and remarkable confession of the Lord Jesus, he is not the leader of the church in its first general assembly in Acts 15 and has to be openly rebuked by Paul in Galatians 2:14. To take a passage (and a church) that is all about Christ, and attempt to make it about Peter is surely the spirit and pattern of antichrist.

That said, just like confessing Christ must be done individually; so, also, individual church officers must confess Christ and exercise the keys of the kingdom. What Jesus is saying about Himself and His church applies personally, individually to Peter, as he confesses Christ—just as it applies to each apostle and elder. They are to confess that which has been revealed from heaven (cf. Matthew 16:17b), because this is the first and great way in which they open and shut the kingdom to those for whom this has already been done in heaven. Matthew 16:19 more literally says “will have been bound” and “will have been loosed,” indicating that heavens determinations govern the earthly results in the ministry of those who preach Christ. This is not license for church officers to bend the church according to their will, but rather a heavenly mandate that they preach and practice only according to God’s expressed will in Scripture. 

That this is primarily what is mean by the keys is confirmed in Matthew 16:20. The kingdom is not yet open to the nations, and so the foundational confessors of Christ (the disciples) are not yet to tell people that He is Jesus the Christ. The day will come when the kingdom is open, and then the keys of the preaching of the gospel will be employed on earth to open it to those who are being brought in. Isn’t that wonderful to know, dear reader? Whenever the gospel is preached to us by Christ’s ordained officer, he is taking Jesus’s own keys, and putting them into the doors of heaven to open them for us. But, let us seek that God would reveal Jesus to us from heaven, because the sobering reality is that this same preaching shuts heaven up against those who refuse the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How is the identity of Jesus foundational to your Christian life? How is it evident that it is foundational to your church’s ministry (or, perhaps, do you need to go to a true church, instead)? What is happening when your elders or pastor are preaching the gospel of Jesus as the Chris to you? How can you come to respond rightly? What would that response look like?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for revealing to us from heaven what flesh and blood could never discover: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Grant that by Your grace in Your ordained servants, heaven would be opened to us week by week in the preaching of the gospel. And, grant that by Your grace to us, we would enter the open door by faith in Jesus Christ, through Whom also we ask this, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP110B “The LORD Has Spoken to My Lord” or TPH332 “Songs of Thankfulness and Praise”

Trustworthy Lord and Word [Family Worship lesson in Deuteronomy 2:1–25]

What did Israel see, when they approached to enter the land? Deuteronomy 2:1–25 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twenty-five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Israel saw just how foolish and wicked their unbelief had been.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.03.07 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 2:1–25

Read Deuteronomy 2:1–25

Questions from the Scripture text: After the rebellion about the report of the spies, what did Israel do (Deuteronomy 2:1, cf. Deuteronomy 1:40)? What did they skirt around, for how long? Who spoke to whom in Deuteronomy 2:2? What did He say about their time going around Mt. Seir (Deuteronomy 2:3)? What did He now tell them to do? Where did He say this would take them (Deuteronomy 2:4)? How did He say Esau would respond? What did He say they should do? What did He tell them not to do (Deuteronomy 2:5)? Why not? How did He tell them to get food and drink (Deuteronomy 2:6)? What had YHWH done for them (Deuteronomy 2:7)? How much? For how long? With what results? So, what route did Israel take (Deuteronomy 2:8)? Where did this take them? What did YHWH say not to do (Deuteronomy 2:9)? Why not? To whom had He given it? Who had previously dwelt there (Deuteronomy 2:10)? What/whom were they like (Deuteronomy 2:10–11)? And who had previously dwelt in Seir (Deuteronomy 2:12)? But who had come and done what? In what fashion? What did the Lord command in Deuteronomy 2:13? And what did Israel do? How long passed between what two events (Deuteronomy 2:14)? In order for what to happen? In accord with what? How did this occur (Deuteronomy 2:15)? What occasioned a new phase (Deuteronomy 2:16)? Who spoke to whom in Deuteronomy 2:17? What did He say to do, when (Deuteronomy 2:18)? What did He say not to do (Deuteronomy 2:19)? Why not? To whom had He given it? To what sort of people had it previously belonged (Deuteronomy 2:20)? Like whom (Deuteronomy 2:21)? But Who had done what to them? Just as He had done for whom (Deuteronomy 2:22)? And to whom else (Deuteronomy 2:23)? So, where did the Lord now command Israel to go (Deuteronomy 2:24)? Whom, and what, had He given into their hand? What did He command them to do? What did He say that He would begin doing, when (Deuteronomy 2:25)? To whom? From where? How?

What did Israel see, when they approached to enter the land? Deuteronomy 2:1–25 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twenty-five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Israel saw just how foolish and wicked their unbelief had been.

Probably every believer has had this experience: he was anxious, or he doubted, or he disobeyed—then the Lord brought him out of it, and through it. He saw, and remembered, the greatness of God’s love and wisdom and power, and he began to realize just how ridiculous that anxiety, or doubt, or disobedience, had been.

This is Israel’s experience after thirty-eight years going around Mt. Seir (Deuteronomy 2:14). The Lord begins to direct them toward the promised land, and everywhere they go, YHWH has taken that land from a people as intimidating and numerous as the Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:11, Deuteronomy 2:20, Deuteronomy 2:23), and given it to some underpowered people from Abraham’s extended family (Deuteronomy 2:5, Deuteronomy 2:9, Deuteronomy 2:19). How silly our unbelief is! Whenever we are tempted to anxiety or doubt, let us remember that the Lord has done harder things before. Would He do that for Edom, or Moab, or Ammon, and then not do it for Israel themselves?! 

And applying the logic of the text to your own life, dear Christian reader, will He do such things throughout history, and then stop short of perfect faithfulness, deliverance, and blessing for one who is united to His beloved Son?! Indeed, the logic of even this passage is dwarfed by that in Romans 8:32. He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not, together with Him, freely give us all things?! His resumé and track record are such that we must give Him our full trust. And therefore follow Him with full obedience.

Now, we might chide ourselves for our unbelief. And well would we do so. But let us not miss that the point of this passage is not merely that the generation that was consumed in the wilderness richly deserved it (Deuteronomy 2:15–16). Rather, the point is that the Lord keeps His Word. He kept His Word, in which He had sworn to consume them (Deuteronomy 2:14). And now He was keeping His Word to give Israel the land, and particularly to give the children of that generation the land (Deuteronomy 2:7, Deuteronomy 2:25). He was beginning to do, for the children, the very thing that the foolish and wicked parents had doubted that He could or would do.

How faithful is our God! His promises can never fall to the ground. And what marvelous patience He extends to us, in that faithfulness! If this passage has exposed your heart, behold how worthy He is of your repentance, and how entirely He welcomes it and extends to You His grace to sustain it! He has given you Christ. He will surely give you all things.

When have you had anxieties or doubts that the Lord subsequently proved were misguided? What anxieties and doubts do you have now? Into what disobedience do they threaten to lead you? What is your habit for reminding yourself of what the Lord has promised? What is your habit for reminding yourself of what the Lord has already done?

Sample prayer: Lord, we are so grateful for Your reminding us of Your wonderful works—and especially the wonderful work of Christ’s accomplishing our redemption. Now, make us to live in the confidence that the redemption that You have accomplished, Your Spirit will most assuredly apply to us. So, make us respond in faith and love that produce every good work in Christ, through Whom we ask it, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP78B “O Come, My People” or TPH433 “Amazing Grace”

Wisdom in Our Words and Work [2025.03.05 Midweek Sermon in Proverbs 12:1–14]

The wisdom that YHWH blesses shows up especially in how we use words and how we work.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

Ready to Face the Lamb? [Family Worship lesson in Revelation 6:12–17]

How should we live, under the Lamb’s sovereign authority over history? Revelation 6:12–17 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should live as we will wish we had on the day of the wrath of the Lamb.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.03.06 Hopewell @Home ▫ Revelation 6:12–17

Read Revelation 6:12–17

Questions from the Scripture text: What does John do in v12? What does the Lamb do? What six things happen in v12–14? What seven categories of men are named in v15? What do they do? Where do they hide? What do they ask the mountains and rocks to do (v16)? In order to hide them from Whose face? And Whose wrath? What day do they think has come (v17)? What rhetorical question do they ask? What is its implied answer? 

How should we live, under the sovereign authority of the Lamb over history? Revelation 6:12–17 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should live as we will wish we had on the day of the wrath of the Lamb.

The Lamb exercises His sovereign authority of history not only in the triumphal progress of the church (v1–3), the sorts of things that Jesus calls merely the beginning of sorrows in Mt 24:7–8 (v3–8), and even the persecution of Christians (v9–11). But there is a time coming when the Lord will sovereignly shake all the powers of this world until they fall.

Sun, moon, and stars signify authority. They are created to “rule” (cf. Gen 1:16), and their falling down signifies a shakeup in rule (cf. Gen 37:8–10). In Mt 24:29–31, Jesus teaches that the coming of the Son of Man will come at the end of the age of tribulation (which age spans the entire time between His two comings). It is the same event as we see here, complete with the mourning of all of the tribes of the earth, and it immediately precedes the sounding of the last trumpet.

If the people in v15 had acknowledged or believed that the Lamb was upon the throne, they would not be in the position that they find themselves in the sixth seal. Alas, this age is full of those whose eyes are opened too late. The wrath of the Lamb is worse than the wrath of a Lion. For, they will look upon Him Whom they pierced. They will look upon the One Who died for sinners, the Lamb Who was slain, but Whom they rejected. And the wickedness of their rejecting Him will be compounded by the greatness of what He has done for those whom He redeemed.

The face of Him Who sits on the throne is a terrible prospect for them, in all His beauty and glory. They would rather be crushed by the whole of creation than bear the gaze of the Creator Whom they have denied. They would rather suffer anything else than endure the brilliance of the glory of the Lamb expressed upon them as fury, which glory had previously been offered to them as favor.

The point of the seal seems clear: we must live under the sovereign authority of Jesus, throughout the time between His two comings, as we will wish that we had when the great day of His second-coming arrives. Most of all, we must have Him Himself. We must have the white robes from the fifth seal, and be resting in Him, or else we will not be able to bear having His face look upon us. 

There are all sorts of frightful men, and movements, and powers in this world. But they will all be shaken quite easily, like ripe figs falling in a storm, when the true Power shows Himself upon His return.

Are you dressed in the white robe of the righteousness of the Lamb? What might you change in order to live in the manner that you hope to be found upon His return?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for how easily we fear the powers and movements of this world and this age, when they shall be suddenly shaken and fall to the ground at the coming of our Lord Jesus. And forgive us for how often we do not live as we would wish to be found living upon His return. And forgive us for how much we have taken for granted the salvation that enables us to stand even in the great day of His wrath. Forgive us, and cleanse us, we ask in the Name of the Lamb, even Jesus, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP98 “O Sing a New Song” or TPH389 “Great God, What Do I See and Hear”