Wise in Our Primary Callings [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 14:1–7]

What does true piety do? Proverbs 14:1–7 looks backward to the sermon in last week’s midweek meeting. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that true piety serves the Lord in the primary callings that He has given. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.28 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 14:1–7

Proverbs 14:1–7

Questions from the Scripture text: What does the wise woman do (Proverbs 14:1a)? What does the foolish woman do (verse 1b)? How does relation to the Lord show up in our walking (Proverbs 14:2)? What is in the mouth of the fool (Proverbs 14:3a)? What will preserve the wise (verse 3b)? How does one get a clean trough (Proverbs 14:4a)? Why is this a bad idea (verse 4b)? What causes a witness not to lie (Proverbs 14:5a)? And what causes one to utter lies (verse 5b)? Who produces no wisdom (Proverbs 14:6a)? Who provides it easily (verse 6b)? Whose company should we shun (Proverbs 14:7)?  

What does true piety do? Proverbs 14:1–7 looks backward to the sermon in last week’s midweek meeting. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that true piety serves the Lord in the primary callings that He has given.  

Since the beginning of chapter 10, we have heard the Spirit-borne writer addressing together the themes of wise words, wise work, and wise service of one’s household/generations. This little section at the beginning of chapter 14 continues to do the same. It has a chiastic structure. Many of the sections that we have considered do so, but we have only mentioned the inclusio of the outer verses, sometimes calling them “bookends.” In chiasm, each step in from the bookends has a similarity with its counterpart from the other bookend, until either the core idea or the pivot idea, is in the middle. So, in our passage, Proverbs 14:1-2 matches Proverbs 14:6-7, Proverbs 14:3 matches Proverbs 14:5, and Proverbs 14:4 is the pivot.

Proverbs 14:1-2, Proverbs 14:6-7. Embrace the wise; flee the fool. Nowhere is this more important than marriage. In Proverbs 9:1, wisdom was pictured as a woman who builds her house. A man who is looking for a wife, with whom to build a household, must look for a wise one, lest his co-laborer become sole destroyer (Proverbs 14:1). True piety, fearing the Lord, impacts the way one goes practically: either straight (Proverbs 14:2a), or crooked (verse 2b). So, we must flee the presence of a fool (Proverbs 14:7), who is unable to provide us with wisdom (Proverbs 14:6)—and all the more so, the foolish wife. How very important it is that we be intentional about our companions! And let us establish this skill well in advance of when it comes time to select a life-companion.

Proverbs 14:3, Proverbs 14:5. Destructive speech, or protective speech, overflows from one’s character. The fool deludedly thinks that his proud words build him up, but the very arrogance of his words is a rod to beat him (Proverbs 14:3a). It is the words of the wise that protect him (verse 3b). The wise one of verse 3b is the honest one of Proverbs 14:5a; his preservative truth is an expression of his honest character. But the fool of Proverbs 14:3a is the false one of Proverbs 14:5b; his destructive lies proceed from an ingrained falseness. If we are given to lying, let us beware not only the destruction that we inflict, but the corruption with which we are filled.

Proverbs 14:4. Productive wisdom prioritizes primary callings. Proverbs 14:4 has been a great encouragement to many a mother and housewife. There is something far more important than keeping a tidy home. Our primary task is not to be careful and sanitize but to be fruitful and multiply. Cleanliness may be good stewardship, but it is not an end in itself, and it is not a primary calling. This connects strongly to all three themes, which touch very closely upon our primary callings. God has made Himself known by His Word, and speaking with wisdom is a significant part of imaging Him. God has revealed Himself also in His works of creation and providence, and He makes our working a significant part of imaging Him—this is why we prioritize having an ox over having a pristine feed box. And God has called us to be fruitful and multiply, which urges upon us the necessity of prioritizing a godly wife. 

How intentional are you about your relationships/companions? What is the connection, in your life, between your interaction with the Lord, and the straightness of your way of living? What do your words show about your character? What are your words doing to yourself and others? What would be emphasized more, and less, in your life by prioritizing your primary calling?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for creating us to multiply, speak, and work in Your image. Have mercy upon us, for we see how we have been crooked in our ways in every area, and our sins go over our heads. But You are near to the broken hearted, and You not only forgive our sin, and cleanse from unrighteousness, but even work in us to will and to work according to Your good pleasure. Grant that Your Spirit would conform us to Christ to such an extent that He would be glorified by the godliness of those who are in Him, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP45B “Daughter, Incline Your  Ear” or TPH400 “Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me”

2025.04.27 Lord's Day Livestreams (live at 10:10a, 11:10a, 3p)

Click below for the:

April 27 Lord's Day Worship Booklet

Matthew 18:6–11 sermon outline

3p song selections & Matthew 28:16–20 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.

IF you are unable to get the stream to work, or simply wish to save on data, you can listen in simply by calling 712.432.3410 and entering 70150 at the prompt.

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.

Making Much of Jesus Together [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 18:6–11]

What does treating Jesus as great look like in the church? Matthew 18:6–11 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that treating Jesus as great means refusing to encourage others’ sin and declaring war on our own. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.26 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 18:6–11

Read Matthew 18:6–11

Questions from the Scripture text: What might someone do to one of Jesus’s little ones (Matthew 18:6)? Little ones who do what? What would be better for the one who does this? Upon what does Matthew 18:7 pronounce woe? Because of what? What must come? Upon whom else does verse 7 pronounce woe? What does v8 imagine causing you to stumble? What should you do to that hand or foot? Why? What does Matthew 18:9 imagine causing you to stumble? What should you do to that eye? Why? To the consideration of whom does Matthew 18:10 return? What must they see to it that they do not do to them? Whom do they have where? And what do those angels always see? Who has come to save little ones (Matthew 18:11)? What sort, specifically?

What does treating Jesus as great look like in the church? Matthew 18:6–11 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that treating Jesus as great means refusing to encourage others’ sin and declaring war on our own.  

Help other little ones treat Jesus as great, Matthew 18:6-7. Rather than focus upon being greater than others, we ought to be focused upon helping one another treat Jesus as great. Prideful jockeying for status in the church is exactly the opposite, and is  way of causing one another to stumble. Jesus denounces this in shocking terms in Matthew 18:6 and pronounces a solemn woe upon it in Matthew 18:7. The world, by which verse 7 means that which is hostile to Christ, would like nothing more than to cause believers to stumble. Jesus pronounces  woe upon it. But, if we cause one another to stumble, then we become just like the world in that regard, and Jesus pronounces a woe upon us when that is the case.

Cut out anything that keeps you from treating Jesus as great, Matthew 18:8-9. Whatever diminishes Christ to us threatens our very soul. We know that it is not the hand or foot or eye that actually causes us to stumble. But there are certainly activities that we do with our hands, and places that we go with our feet, and things that we look upon with our eyes, that should be ruthlessly expunged from out lives. Choosing sin over Christ, and not caring to correct it, is a reliable indicator that we are not in Him at all.

Treat His salvation as great by greatly regarding those whom He is saving, Matthew 18:10-11. Just who do we think that we are, looking down upon Christ’s little ones. Angels do not look down on them! Indeed, each little one has mighty ministering spirits, sent out to serve them (Matthew 18:10, cf. Hebrews 1:14). They know true greatness; they are familiar with God’s own glory in the highest heaven; and, they still don’t despise these little ones. What’s more, infinitely more, is that the Son of Man has regarded them. This Glorious One has so regarded them that, when they were lost, He Himself came to save them. He humbled Himself to come save them! Just who do we think that we are to look down upon them? Let us regard them out of regard for Him, and in imitation of Him!

What are situations in which you are in danger of encouraging others’ sin? What are some circumstances, occasions, or people who influence you to treat sin as ok? How can you keep in mind that, in such situations, you are allied either with hell or with heaven?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for exposing the hatefulness of sin by the greatness of Christ. Grant that we would truly hate it, and truly love Him, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP24 “The Earth and the Riches” or TPH280 “Wondrous King, All Glorious”

Either Heaven or Hell [Children's Catechism 142–Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 142—especially explaining how there are only two things that can happen to you at the judgment: heaven or hell.

Q142. What will become of the wicked in the day of judgment? They shall be cast into hell.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

The Christian Church [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 28:16–20]

For what does the Lord institute baptism? Matthew 28:16–20 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord institutes baptism as a sign of Christ’s authority and power in His gathering church. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.25 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 28:16–20

Read Matthew 28:16–20

Questions from the Scripture text: Who go to Galilee (Matthew 28:16)? Which mountain do they go to? Whom do they see (Matthew 28:17)? What do they all do to Him? What do some of them do? Who came and spoke to them (Matthew 28:18)? How much authority has been given to Him? Which authority has been given to Him? What are they to make, therefore (Matthew 28:19)? By what two actions are disciples made (verse 19b, Matthew 28:20)? Into what single name are they baptized? What are they taught to do with Jesus’s commands? How many of them? Who is with them always, as they make disciples? Even until when?

For what does the Lord institute baptism? Matthew 28:16–20 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord institutes baptism as a sign of Christ’s authority and power in His gathering church.  

When Jesus’s disciples are brokenhearted at the Passover, the Lord Jesus instituted the Supper to direct their hearts and minds unto Him, to feed spiritually upon Him repeatedly for the rest of the age. 

And now, when some of them are still doubting after having seen Him multiple times (as we learn from John 21), the Lord Jesus institutes baptism to affirm to them His authority and glory (Matthew 28:18), obligate them to His service (Matthew 28:19), and assure them of His presence and power  unto the end of the age. These are exactly the things to which every single one whom Jesus adds to His church needs to commit. 

In the first century, baptisms were already used as initiations/identifications by set-apart groups. The same had been true of circumcision. Now, Jesus initiates baptism as the mark of the church of His disciples. And what does this mark teach us?

That all authority has been given to Him in heaven and earth. He is God from all eternity. But He became a Man, lived a perfectly obedient life, died an atoning death, and rose again from the dead. His saving work as the Christ is done. His time of humiliation is over. Even in His human nature, He is now exalted. Not only over the earth. But even over heaven! He is, in His divinity, “He who sits upon the throne.” But He is also, in His humanity, the risen and ascended and exalted “Lamb who sits upon the throne.” We must trust in Him and worship Him. Faith.

Christian baptism also teaches us that we are obligated to be disciples who make disciples. If our risen Lord is in authority generally, how much more over His disciples specifically! And what does He want them (and us) to do? Well, there is a great and primary duty: make disciples. But, there is also something else that He wants disciples to do “observe all thing that Jesus has commanded.” If the church does not teach the whole counsel of God, it is guilty of the lives of its members (Acts 20:26–27). Not all may be teachers, but all must learn. We have a duty to study in order to believe all of Jesus’s doctrine and obey all of Jesus’s commands. Obedience.

And the last big thing that Christian baptism teaches is that this faith and obedience can come only through the grace of ongoing, continual delight in and dependence upon Jesus’s fellowship. “and lo, I am with you always.”

The Lord Jesus had said that He Himself would build His church and that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it (cf. Matthew 16:18). But now the Lord Jesus is leaving, and this group before Him is not very promising. 

There are only eleven of them because one who was numbered among the disciples turned out to be the betrayer. That might dampen your confidence about the new disciples in Matthew 28:19—especially when you consider that even from among the eleven that remain, there are still some who are doubting.

But it is exactly into our consideration of these disciples, and the disciples that they are to be making, that Jesus announces that it is about His authority and power, not ours, and His faithfulness, not ours.

Jesus announces that He has authority in heaven and on earth, and a church that is in heaven and on earth. The resurrected Man before them has authority even in Heaven to pour out the Holy Spirit, for He is a divine Person. They have known since Matthew 3:11 that He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. 

Baptisms were already used as initiations into groups, and now Jesus notifies them that as He is the Second Person of the Trinity, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the church of the Triune God. He commands that the one Name (singular—one God) into which they be baptized be Triune (three Persons, whose one name is “Father and Son and Holy Spirit”). And so, our baptisms remind us that Jesus has this authority both with reference to His eternal godhood, and with reference to His finished and perfect work as the Redeemer.

When He marks of His holy assembly with this particular sign in this particular Name, we can see that He is saying: “it depends upon My power.” And when He follows by saying, “and lo, I am with you always,” we can hear that it depends upon His faithfulness. That is wonderful news for those whose weakness and unfaithfulness would lead to ultimate failure!

Jesus answers our weakness by His strength in His gospel signs and words.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we need not do anything. It rather means the exact opposite: that we must do everything. He has marked us as His own, and as those to whom He has committed His power. We ought to obey all His commands merely because we are His creatures, and then again because He has bought us by His blood, and now again because He has marked us off as holy and set apart to Him! Therefore, disciples must be taught to “observe all things I have commanded you.”

Thus, we realize that baptism is not a statement by the new disciple, but by the Lord of the disciples, through those whom He has commanded to mark and teach them. It is a mark that is displayed anew to the holy assembly, whenever it is being applied to a new addition to that assembly. In it, our Lord presents Himself and His Spirit for the worship of His people!

Who is “saying something” in baptism? What is He saying? How are you responding?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for giving us baptism as a sign of Your authority and power to make us into disciples, and to make those whom we teach and baptize into disciples. Forgive us for whenever we are self-reliant in evangelistic work, or when we are neglectful of evangelistic work. Grant that we would keep teaching, keep baptizing, and keep trusting that You will be with us to use these for making disciples of Christ, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP111A “O Praise the Lord” or TPH424 “All Authority and Power”

Sign of the Covenant [Family Worship lesson in Genesis 17:9–14]

What is circumcision? Genesis 17:9–14 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 circumcision is a sign that points us away from ourselves and unto the grace of God.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.24 Hopewell @Home ▫ Genesis 17:9-14

Read Genesis 17:9-14

Questions from the Scripture text: Who speaks to whom in Genesis 17:9? What does God tell Abraham to keep? Whom else does God say must keep His covenant? What obligation does God call “My covenant” in Genesis 17:10? Who must be circumcised? Who else gets included in the command in Genesis 17:11? When must a child be circumcised (Genesis 17:12)? What two groups are specified in verse 12, then reaffirmed in Genesis 17:13, as being required to have the sign applied to them? How long does the covenant with Abraham last? What if someone does not receive the sign—what shall happen to him (Genesis 17:14)? Why?

What is circumcision? Genesis 17:9–14 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 circumcision is a sign that points us away from ourselves and unto the grace of God.

God has already covenanted Himself to be and do many wonderful things for Abraham. So, when God says “this is My covenant” and gives Abraham a responsibility, we must not think that the emphasis is upon what Abraham does.

In fact, Genesis 17:11 further explains Genesis 17:10 by saying, “it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” Of course the sign is an obligation—so important that God threatens to cut off whomever rejects it (cf. Genesis 17:14)! But it is an obligation to be reminded that this covenant is from the grace of God and depends upon the grace of God.

Dependence upon God’s grace is inherent to the sign itself—coming as it does only upon males, and specifically in their flesh in a way that reminds them of how their children also come from their flesh. A man’s children are already federally guilty and genuinely fallen in him. They already have a father on earth. They need a Father in Heaven through Christ! They need a new representative to deal with the guilt of sin and a new nature to deal with the power of sin. Notice that God keeps saying MY covenant, MY covenant, MY covenant. The sign demonstrates this in at least three ways:

First, there is the substance represented by the sign. The sign is of a promise that belongs to Him. The sign is of a power that comes from Him. 

Second, there is the type of action assigned in the sign. The sign itself is presented as passive—something that is done to the males in Genesis 17:10, Genesis 17:11, Genesis 17:12, Genesis 17:13, Genesis 17:14… not something that they themselves do. It is an obligation, but it is one that is ultimately kept on their behalf by those already in the covenant. 

Third, there is the ordinary timing of the sign. Yes, there are some who come into the covenant less naturally—purchased with money, joining the household of God from the outside. But for those whom the Lord brings into the covenant from the start, the sign is applied to them before they could do or decide anything for themselves.

The sign is GOD’s sign. But the fact that it points us away from ourselves and unto Him is exactly why it’s also so vital. To reject the sign would be to reject the thing signified—essentially to miss that God is declaring to us that salvation depends upon (and is most certainly secured by) the Lord!

It might slip our notice, as we look at the rest of this passage, that Abraham spends the entire passage on his face. We would do well to come with the same posture of heart toward God, as He says MY covenant, MY covenant, MY covenant.

God is the One who initiates this covenant. Abraham does not have a choice in the matter. He did not make a decision or a commitment to bring himself into this binding relationship. Of course, he must decide and commit, but these were not optional for him.

God is the One who makes all of the promises. Promise to forgive. Promise to make holy. Promise to defeat death. Promise to give land. Promise of everlasting relationship. Yes, there are demands of Abraham, explicit and implicit. Faith. Obedience. Service. Worship. Even the application of the sign itself—which implies his obligation to yield to all of these things. But this is God’s covenant, and it has at its core God’s promises.

God is the One who will sustain both sides of the covenant. We saw this with the smoking pot and flaming torch in chapter 15. We heard it earlier in this chapter with the glorious statement that God Almighty would exercise that power in sustaining Abraham’s walk. In between, in chapter 16, all we had was Abraham’s failure.

Ultimately, this is a picture of Christ Himself. It is in Christ that God keeps all of these promises in your life and mine! The sign has changed but the substance is the same.

What aspects of circumcision are the same in baptism, as this covenant continues? When were you baptized? How often do you reflect upon it and look to Christ?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for giving us a covenant sign that points us to Your power and promise and is applied to us by others, rather than something that we ourselves do. Forgive us for treating the sign as something that we do, and for treating our Christianity as something that depends upon us. Grant that, by Your sure grace, we would walk zealously in Christ Jesus, in Whose Name we ask it, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH234 “The God of Abraham Praise”