Hearts from God That Turn to God [Family Worship lesson in Deuteronomy 30:1–10]

How can God’s people return to Him? Deuteronomy 30:1–10 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God’s people return to Him by the work of His sovereign grace. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: Deuteronomy 30:1–10 reveals God’s covenantal grace as patient, personal, powerful, prosperous, and persevering, illustrating how divine mercy responds to human failure with sovereign compassion. Though Israel will have broken the covenant and been scattered to the farthest corners of the earth, God promises to gather them, circumcise their hearts, and restore them not by their own effort but by His divine initiative. This restoration is both corporate and individual, demonstrating that true repentance and obedience are gifts of grace, not human achievement. The passage anticipates the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ, the true Root of David, through Whom the church—both visible and invisible—is preserved, prospered, and ultimately glorified. The enduring nature of God’s covenant, secured by Christ’s faithful obedience, assures believers of His unwavering commitment to His people, even in the midst of judgment and exile. Thus, the passage calls all who are far from God to cry out for His grace, trusting in His power to turn hearts and sustain faith to the end.

2026.02.18 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 30:1–10

Read Deuteronomy 30:1–10

Questions from the Scripture text: What will come upon them (Deuteronomy 30:1)? What will they do, among the nations? How will they get there? But to Whom will they return (Deuteronomy 30:2)? By doing what? Who will return with them? In what manner? What will YHWH do for them (Deuteronomy 30:3)? Why? To whom, particularly (Deuteronomy 30:4)? Even from where? What will YHWH do? Where will YHWH bring them (Deuteronomy 30:5)? What will He do to them there? More than to whom? What else will YHWH do to them (Deuteronomy 30:6)? And to whom? To do what? With what? What will YHWH do to their enemies (Deuteronomy 30:7)? But what will His people do (Deuteronomy 30:8)? In what five areas will YHWH make them abound (Deuteronomy 30:9)? What will He do “over them”? For what? Like what? What will they do (Deuteronomy 30:10)? In what manner will they return to Him? 

How can God’s people return to Him? Deuteronomy 30:1–10 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God’s people return to Him by the work of His sovereign grace.  

Israel will fail (Deuteronomy 30:1) to keep the first great commandment (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5). But YHWH will turn them (and their children!) back to love Him with all their heart and all their soul (Deuteronomy 30:2, Deuteronomy 30:6, Deuteronomy 30:10). They are commanded to circumcise their hearts unto Him in this way (cf. Deuteronomy 10:12–16), but the history of Israel will show that He must do this for and in them by His grace (Deuteronomy 30:6). This grace is patient: it will still seek them, after they have brought upon themselves all the curses (Deuteronomy 30:1-3). This grace is particular: it seeks out every elect individual (Deuteronomy 30:4a). This grace is powerful: it overcomes any distance or obstacle (verse 4b), including the obstacle of an unregenerate heart (Deuteronomy 30:6). This grace prospers, bringing upon them all covenant blessings (Deuteronomy 30:5, Deuteronomy 30:7, Deuteronomy 30:9). And this grace perseveres, bringing them to love Him with all the heart and soul, and to obey and do all His commandments (Deuteronomy 30:6, Deuteronomy 30:8, Deuteronomy 30:10). 

In what ways do you need to turn to the Lord? In what ways do your children? What is your hope for this?

Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for how we have transgressed Your commands. It exposes that we do not love You with all the heart and all the soul. Our only hope is that grace which would find us, no matter how far we are, and give us new, consecrated hearts. Save us, and our children, by that grace, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH433 “Amazing Grace”

How Jesus Awakens the Church [2026.02.15 Evening Sermon in Song of Songs 5:2–8]

Jesus awakens the spiritually backslidden by His Word, grace, and ordinances.

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

Truly, This is the Son of God! [2026.02.15 Morning Sermon in Matthew 27:45–54]

We must respond to Christ's once-for-all sacrifice with awe, acknowledgement, faith, holiness, and witness.

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

Sacraments as Signs [2026.02.15 Sabbath School in WCF 27.1 — Hopewell 101]

Sacraments are signs and seals unto faith—without which faith, the sacrament does you no ultimate good.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

The Way Back from Backsliding [Family Worship lesson in Song of Songs 5:2–8]

What do the backslidden need? Song of Songs 5:2–8 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the backslidden need Christ’s Word, Christ’s grace, Christ’s ordinances, and the prayers of Christ’s people. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The devotional from Song of Songs 5:2–8 illustrates the tension between the believer’s awakened heart and the lingering lethargy of the flesh. It emphasizes that while Christians possess a new nature that longs for Christ, spiritual complacency and self-justification can lead to a state of spiritual sleep, where even the voice of the Beloved is met with excuses—inconvenient or unpleasant—against deeper communion. Christ, in His grace, does not merely knock but actively reaches through the latch of the door, symbolizing His direct, transformative work in awakening the heart, even when the response is delayed or imperfect. The passage warns of the consequences of backsliding, including the loss of spiritual assurance, the painful discipline of faithful shepherds, and the temporary removal of spiritual evidence. Yet, it ultimately points to the hope of restoration through repentance, prayer, and the intercession of the church. The call is clear: believers must resist spiritual lethargy, embrace the means of grace despite inconvenience, and actively pray for revival, both personally and corporately, so that the church may once again be filled with the presence of Christ, Whose love is both the source and the goal of all spiritual life.

2026.02.17 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 5:2–8

Read Song of Songs 5:2–8

Questions from the Scripture text: What is the contradictory condition of the bride (Song of Songs 5:2a)? What does she hear (verse 2b)? What is He doing (verse 2c)? What does He call her (verse 2d–e)? What does He ask her to do (verse 2d)? Why (verse 2f–g)? What is her first excuse (Song of Songs 5:3a–b)? What is her second excuse (verse 3c–d)? What does the Bridegroom do in Song of Songs 5:4a–b? How does her heart now respond (verse 4c)? What does she do in Song of Songs 5:5a? To do what? What does she get on her hands and fingers (verse 5b–c)? From where (verse 5d)? What does she finally do in Song of Songs 5:6a? What does she find (verse 6b)? What failed at the memory of His words (verse 6c)? What two things does she now do (verse 6d–e)? With what results? Who find her, where (Song of Songs 5:7a)? What do they do to her (verse 7b)? In what other role (verse 7c) do they do what to her (verse 7d)? Whom, then, does she address (Song of Songs 5:8a)? What does she hope they will do (verse 8b)? What does the bride ask them to tell Him (verse 8c)?

What do the backslidden need? Song of Songs 5:2–8 prepares us for the opening portion of public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the backslidden need Christ’s Word, Christ’s grace, Christ’s ordinances, and the prayers of Christ’s people. 

This passage treats a similar situation to Song of Songs 3:1–5, but much worse. She is experiencing the conflict of having a new nature (the awakened heart, Song of Songs 5:2a), but being spiritually sleepy and lazy (cf. Matthew 26:40–45; Romans 13:11–14). 

The Lord knocks and calls, as He often does by His Word, piling up affectionate addresses to her (Song of Songs 5:2d–e), and reminding her of what He is willing to endure to be with her (verse 2f–g). 

But she responds with those horrible excuses that come from wayward hearts: as if it is too much trouble and unpleasantness to avail ourselves of fellowship with Christ (Song of Songs 5:3)! 

Blessed be Christ’s grace, He responds more directly and insistently, beginning to open the door Himself (Song of Songs 5:4a–b), with the effect that her heart is now moved (verse 4c). 

But, though she finds unmistakable evidence of it being He Who has done so (Song of Songs 5:5), she does not immediately find Him (Song of Songs 5:6a–b, cf. Song of Songs 3:2). 

This time, when the watchmen find her, they strike her until she feels the sting of their ministry (Song of Songs 5:7a–b)—possibly in faithfulness, and possibly lacking some tenderness. In their role as keepers of the walls (verse 7c), they take her wedding veil (verse 7d)… something that happens either by loss of assurance or overt discipline. 

So, she avails herself not only of the public ordinances represented in “about the city” in verse 7, but of the prayers of the members of the church (Song of Songs 5:8). 

Those who are spiritually backslidden do well to ask those church members (v8a) who are finding to Christ (verse 8b) to pray for them (verse 8c). 

O, dear reader, the Lord give you to resist spiritual slumber, and to respond immediately to all of His knocking and calling. 

But, when you don’t, the Lord give you His grace that moves your heart to seek Him in both: His public ordinances, and the prayers of His people.

When has the Lord awakened you, and you let the moment pass? By what means are you correcting that?

Sample prayer:  Lord, come, we pray, and knock to us and call to us by Your Word. Give us to rise and open to You. Make us to persevere until we find You. Grant that We would look for You in Your ordinances, even if we are wounded in that pursuit, and give us to avail ourselves of one another’s prayers. Make our hands to drip with the myrrh of knowing that it is You Who pursues us, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH51C “God, Be Merciful to Me”

You Must Be Born of the Spirit [Children's Catechism 40—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 40—especially explaining how only God the Spirit can give us a new heart.

Q40. Who can change a sinner's heart? The Holy Spirit alone. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The lesson centers on the divine sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in regenerating the human heart, emphasizing that spiritual rebirth—being 'born again'—is an impossible human endeavor but a miraculous work of God alone. Drawing from Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, it distinguishes between physical birth (flesh) and spiritual rebirth (Spirit), affirming that only the Holy Spirit can transform a dead, sinful heart into a living, spiritual one. The passage highlights God’s covenantal promise in Ezekiel 36, where He pledges to cleanse His people, give them a new heart of flesh, and indwell them with His Spirit, fulfilling His holy will for salvation. This spiritual renewal is visibly and sacramentally signified in Christian baptism.

The Wicked Man’s Grief-End [2026.02.11 Midweek Sermon in Proverbs 21:10–18]

The wicked's opposite wishes, works, and way brings him to the opposite end of the righteous—glorifying God by being destroyed by Him forever.

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Diagnosing Our End [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 21:20–29]

How do the righteous and wicked come to different ends? Proverbs 21:20–29 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the righteous and wicked come to different ends, because God sees and rewards the life of Christ in the righteous, and the death of sin in the wicked. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The devotional presents a profound contrast between the righteous and the wicked, rooted in the heart's condition and its implications for worship, character, and eternal destiny. Drawing from Proverbs 21:20–29, it emphasizes that the righteous, grounded in faith and the Spirit of Christ, inherit lasting treasure, victory, life, and enduring honor. In contrast, the wicked are defined by pride, laziness, deceit, and hardened hearts—traits that render even their religious acts abominations to God because they lack genuine faith or a transformed heart.