Created (and Redeemed) to Be Happy and Holy [Children's Catechism 21 — Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 21—especially explaining how God created us happy and holy, into which He brings us back when He redeems us.

Q21. In what condition did God make Adam and Eve? He made them holy and happy. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary from the transcript: God created Adam and Eve in a state of holiness and happiness, reflecting His righteous and holy nature, as revealed in Scripture such as Ecclesiastes 7:29 and Ephesians 4:24, where humanity was made upright and in God’s image. Their condition was one of divine communion, with God Himself as their ultimate joy, providing all that was good and necessary for their flourishing in the Garden. This original state of grace is restored in the new man through Christ, the Last Adam, who renews believers in true righteousness and holiness, reestablishing the happiness that comes from fellowship with God. Though the first Adam fell into sin and misery, the redemptive work of Christ restores what was lost, ensuring that all things work together for good for those called according to God’s purpose. God’s design for humanity was that they would be happy and holy.

The Joyous Difference God Makes [Family Worship lesson in Ecclesiastes 5:18–20]

How do we get joy? Ecclesiastes 5:18–20 looks forward to the call to worship in public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that joy is a gift that God adds to His other gifts. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary from the transcript: The devotional draws from Ecclesiastes 5:18–20 to affirm that life’s joys—eating, drinking, and labor—are not meaningless but truly good and meaningful when received as gifts from God. It emphasizes that even in a short, toilsome life shaped by the fall, God’s goodness in ordinary experiences is a sacred blessing. The passage teaches us to receive wealth and labor, not as achievements of human effort, but as gifts from God. True joy arises from recognizing our good things as our portions from Him, and the joy itself is its own, separate gift. This frees believers from anxiety over life’s brevity, as God sustains them with joy, preventing undue dwelling on mortality. Ultimately, the message calls for a life lived in continual gratitude, where every good thing is received in worship and delight, reflecting a heart transformed by grace and anchored in eternal hope.

2025.10.07 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ecclesiastes 5:18–20

Read Ecclesiastes 5:18–20

Questions from the Scripture text: How does Ecclesiastes 5:18 introduce the conclusion? What two adjectives does it apply to what three things? Where does man labor? But Who gives him his life? What do that goodness and that life constitute? What other six gifts from God does Ecclesiastes 5:19 mention? What will a man who receives these as gifts from Him not do (Ecclesiastes 5:20)? Why not; what keeps him busy?

How do we get joy? Ecclesiastes 5:18–20 looks forward to the call to worship in public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that joy is a gift that God adds to His other gifts.

Joy cannot be obtained directly from food, drink, labor, or wealth. The enjoying of good is a portion (NKJ “heritage,” Ecclesiastes 5:18) from God, and rejoicing in labor is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 5:19). It is God that gives him the joy of his heart (Ecclesiastes 5:20). 

So, the key to lastingly worthwhile living is not the obtaining of things, but the receiving of those things as gifts from God.

In our fleshliness, we may think that attaining to high positions, or accumulating many possessions, make life better, more significant, or more happy. But, even food and drink are true blessings when received as a gift from God. Labor and toil, and what they produce, are true blessings when received as a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 5:19). And the power to eat of it, to receive it as a portion from God, and rejoice in it—these are all gifts from God.

When received this way, the darkness and sorrow and anger (Ecclesiastes 5:17) of “dwelling unduly” on the brevity and fruitlessness of one’s life are replaced by joy of heart that is being given by the Lord (Ecclesiastes 5:20). 

How rich and joyous is life when received as your assigned portion from God! What grief men unnecessarily bring upon themselves, when they push down on the knowledge of God, and live a life that is limited to what’s under the sun.

How are you receiving your food as a gift from God? How are you receiving your drink as a gift from God? How are you receiving your labor as a gift from God? How are you receiving its productivity as a gift from God? How are you receiving your wealth as a gift from God? What joy do you have in these things? How are you receiving that joy as a gift from God?

Sample prayer:  Lord, You have given us every good and perfect gift: our food, our drink, our labor, our life, and the ability to enjoy them all truly. Grant that we would not only enjoy Your good gifts, but that we would enjoy Your goodness, and indeed enjoy You Yourself. So, help us by Your Spirit, to glorify and enjoy You, we ask through Your Son, our Lord Jesus, AMEN!

 Suggested Songs: ARP73C “Yet Constantly, I Am with You” or TPH429 “Come, Thou Fount of Ev’ry Blessing”

When Silence Is a Virtue [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 17:26–28]

Why should we watch against overzealousness in discipline and instruction? Proverbs 17:26–28 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that proper response to others demands that we be sparing with our words and cool in our spirit. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary from the transcript: The devotional centers on the wisdom of restraint, emphasizing that punishing the righteous or rebuking those who act with integrity is contrary to God’s design, and that true understanding is marked by a calm spirit and sparing of words. Drawing from Proverbs 17:26–28, it highlights the importance of discernment in responding to authority and virtue, urging believers to be slow to speak and quick to listen, especially when recognizing God’s work in others. The passage teaches that silence is a foundational step toward wisdom, as even a fool begins to grow in understanding by holding his peace and refraining from folly. The lesson calls for a Christlike character marked by self-control, humility, and patience, inviting the hearer to cultivate a cool, thoughtful spirit that reflects the fruit of the Spirit.

2025.10.06 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 17:26–28

Read Proverbs 17:26–28

Questions from the Scripture text: What is not good (Proverbs 17:26a)? What else is not good (verse 26b)? What does the one with knowledge do (Proverbs 17:27a)? what does the man of understanding have (verse 27b)? Even who can be counted wise (Proverbs 17:28a)? When (verse 28b)?

Why should we watch against overzealousness in discipline and instruction? Proverbs 17:26–28 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that proper response to others demands that we be sparing with our words and cool in our spirit.

These three verses provide a concluding caution to the last several subunits. Yes, folly is fatal, and discipline and instruction are necessary. But one must be careful against overzealousness in either of them.

There is truly righteous behavior that is produced by real grace, and this righteousness should be praised not punished (Proverbs 17:26a, cf. 1 Peter 2:14). The proper handling of a man includes just as much watchfulness for praising the righteous as for disciplining the fool. 

And whereas an evil prince is a too-frequent and too-harmful danger (cf. Proverbs 17:7), there is such a thing as a prince of such character as is appropriate to the position of a king. So, we must resist the inclination always to suspect and resist authority (cf. Proverbs 17:26b), as if it is always good to do so. Uprightness in the civil magistrate is to be desired, sought, hoped for, and rejoiced in.

How will we keep from responding inappropriately to situations, before we know whether we are dealing with wisdom or folly—whether what is needed is punishment or praise? The one who has knowledge and understanding restrains both his lips and his heart. Both are necessary: to spare one’s words and calm one’s heart (Proverbs 17:27); and, this is in keeping with the fruit that the Spirit produces in the believer (cf. Galatians 5:22–26). To train those beneath us well, and respond properly to those above us, we must bear these fruit.

For the fool, this can be the first step toward wisdom. Stopping up his mouth enables him to start listening instead of speaking, and puts him on the path to wisdom. This is to be hoped for, watched for, and commended (Proverbs 17:28). In remediating folly (particularly in child-rearing), it is necessary that one be gracious and prudent by the work of the Spirit.

By what means have you been seeking the grace of the Spirit? How has this shown up in your use of your words? How has it shown up in the calmness of your heart? Whom are you training or submitting to? What evidences have there been of God’s gracious work in them? How are you responding to it?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You that Your grace actually does make us new, bring us to faith, unite us to Christ, and begin to make us to be like Him. Please, apply that grace to us by Your Holy Spirit. Bless the means of Your grace to us, and conform us to Christ, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

 Suggested Songs: ARP14 “Within His Heart the Fool Speaks” or TPH400 “Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me” 

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Religious People Going to Hell [Family Worship lesson in Mathew 23:13–33]

What does a Pharisee need? Matthew 23:13–33 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twenty-one verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the children of the first Adam need a new nature from, union with, and to be conformed to the last Adam. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary from the transcript: The devotional lesson delivers a sobering indictment of religious hypocrisy, drawing from Jesus’ scathing critique of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:13–33. It exposes the anatomy of a condemned person: one who outwardly appears righteous yet is inwardly corrupt, prioritizing ritualistic obedience over justice, mercy, and faith, while exploiting the vulnerable and manipulating religious practices for self-gain. The passage emphasizes that true righteousness is not achieved through external conformity or impressive displays of piety, but through inner transformation—cleansing the heart by union with Christ, the last Adam, and receiving a new nature by the Holy Spirit. The warning is clear: even the most active, doctrinally sound, and outwardly righteous individuals can be headed toward hell if they remain in themselves and dead in sin. The ultimate call is to repentance, faith in Christ, and a radical inward renewal that reorients all religious life around relationship with God, not merely outward displays.

2025.10.04 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 23:13–33

Read Matthew 23:13–33

Questions from the Scripture text: What does Jesus pronounce upon whom (v13a, 14a, 15a, 16a, 23a, 25a, 27a, 29a)? With what question does He challenge them after these pronouncements (v33b)? How does v13 summarize when people imitate the behavior described in v4–7? What two behaviors of theirs does Jesus contrast in v14? What effort do they make (v15), but with what results (cf. v13)? What do they make a big deal out of in v16–22? But what are they failing to emphasize? What do they pay in v23? What do they ignore? What does this make them (v24a)? What do they clean, and fil to clean (v25–26)? What does this make them (v27)? How do they appear to men (v28)? What are they like inside? What do they build and adorn (v29) and say (v30)? But what does this show about them (v31)? Like whom are they behaving (v32)? What does this make them (v33a)?

What does a Pharisee need? Matthew 23:13–33 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twenty-one verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the children of the first Adam need a new nature from, union with, and to be conformed to the last Adam.

Jesus is ministering both to the scribes and Pharisees, and to those of the multitude who are tempted to follow them. He pronounces woes upon them, hammering away at their delusion of themselves and deception of others, so that the challenge at the end will penetrate: “how can you escape the condemnation of hell?” We need to know that we are under that condemnation before we will take seriously the need to answer the question.

As Jesus does this, then, He gives us an anatomy of someone who appears righteous but is dead and damned.

v13 is really a conclusion drawn from the first 12 verses. They are exalting themselves and therefore shut the door against themselves, and any who follow them.

A second part of the anatomy of a Pharisee is marrying ruthlessness to religion (v14). They have no problem wiping out the resources that remain to a widow after her husband has passed, but their prayers are mere displays, whose length comes not from the piety of a soul poured out to God but from prideful desire to be admired by men.

A third part of the anatomy of a Pharisee is vigorous recruitment activity (which they would indubitably call ‘evangelism’), but the dynamic from v13 is in full (double) force (v15). 

A fourth part of the anatomy of a Pharisee is emphasizing what impresses men (gold, expensive offerings, heaven) even in the area of swearing (v16–22). They make a big deal out of oaths and vows, but not because it is an act of worship or before the face of God. Being before God does not impress them.

A fifth part of the anatomy of a Pharisee is emphasizing minute details of behavior over-against the weightier matters of the souls engagement with God: justice (right standing with God), mercy (covenant love for God and men), and faith (dependence upon God and fellowship with God). Whenever the less important matters are emphasized, the weightier matters come to be neglected altogether (v23–24).

A sixth, and related, part of the anatomy of the Pharisee is their focus on cleansing what men can see, although genuine righteousness proceeds from the inside out (v25–26). Such men appear outwardly righteous: they may be an admired husband or father, a respected pillar in the community, an honored elder or pastor in the church. But under the good-looking exterior, they are spiritual corpses (v27–28).

A final part of the anatomy of a Pharisee is their recognizing the sins of past generations, but failing to recognize that they inherited the same nature from which their wickedness came. Just like their fathers thought themselves justified in opposing God’s servants in those days, Pharisees think themselves justified in opposing the men that the Lord sends to preach to them in their own day. And rather than seeing themselves in their forefathers’ sins, they think that they deludedly  think that they would have done differently. 

What a Pharisee needs to recognize, then, is that he needs the new birth. He needs not only Christ’s righteousness counted for himself, but before that, life from Christ given to Him, and after it, the resurrection life of Christ and the holy character of Christ reproduced in Him. He needs fellowship with God, union with Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As the offspring of vipers, this is the only hope that he has of escaping the condemnation of hell!

How do each of the symptoms of being a Pharisee threaten you? What is the inner life of your communion with God like? How can you tell that you are impressed with God Himself in your life? How does your thinking, speaking, interacting reflect an emphasis upon communion with God in Christ?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we are the offspring of Adam, and from ourselves there is only death. We deserve hell. Have mercy upon us. By Your Spirit, give us life that we may believe into Christ. Unite us to Him through faith, and count us righteous with His righteousness. By His grace, make us to be godly and holy with His own character, applied to us by His Spirit, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP24 “The Earth and the Riches” or TPH434 “A Debtor to Mercy Alone”

How to Sin Is to Forget God [Family Worship lesson in Deuteronomy 8:11–20]

Why is disobeying God’s Word called forgetting Him? Deuteronomy 8:11–20 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that disobeying God’s Word is personal, proud, praising (wrongly), and pernicious (leading to destruction). (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary from the transcript: Pastor's devotional centers on the solemn warning in Deuteronomy 8:11–20 to never forget YHWH God, especially in times of prosperity, as prosperity breeds pride and spiritual amnesia. It emphasizes that forgetting God is not merely a failure of memory but a personal, proud rejection of His identity as Creator, Redeemer, and Provider, who sustains His people through trials and blessings. The passage exposes the danger of attributing one’s success to personal strength rather than recognizing that all wealth and provision come from God’s faithful covenant-keeping character. This spiritual forgetfulness leads to idolatry, as people begin to worship the fruits of their labor instead of the Giver, placing themselves under divine judgment and the same fate as the nations destroyed for their unfaithfulness. The devotional calls for continual dependence on God’s grace through Christ, not only for forgiveness of disobedience but for the transformative power to remain faithful, thankful, and ever-remembering of God’s sovereign goodness.

2025.10.03 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 8:11–20

Read Deuteronomy 8:11–20

Questions from the Scripture text: What must they beware not to do (Deuteronomy 8:11)? How does verse 11 further define “forgetting YHWH your God”? If they do not keep God’s commandments, what situation becomes especially dangerous to them (Deuteronomy 8:12-13)? What is the danger in these circumstances (Deuteronomy 8:14)? What had YHWH done for them (Deuteronomy 8:15-16)? In order to do what? But if they forget YHWH, what would they be in danger of saying (Deuteronomy 8:17)? What must they do with YHWH (Deuteronomy 8:18)? Why? What will happen to them if they forget Him (Deuteronomy 8:19)? To whom else has this happened (Deuteronomy 8:20)? What will happen to Israel, and why, if they are like those nations?

Why is disobeying God’s Word called forgetting Him? Deuteronomy 8:11–20 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that disobeying God’s Word is personal, proud, praising (wrongly), and pernicious (leading to destruction).

In this passage, the Spirit equates to “forget YHWH your God” with “not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes.” The first half of the chapter (Deuteronomy 8:1-10) had been more focused upon the positive (“remember YHWH your God”); now, the second half warns against the negative (“Beware that you do not forget YHWH your God”). As the warning unfolds, we see that failing to keep His Word is personal, proud, praising (wrongly), and pernicious (leading to destruction). 

Deuteronomy 8:11 equates failing to keep God’s Word with forgetting Him personally. This can happen with any person, when we are too focused upon, and satiated with, the pleasures of this world (Deuteronomy 8:12-14a). But it is especially evil when we forget Him Who is our Creator (“YHWH”), covenant God (“your God”), Redeemer (Deuteronomy 8:14b; “Who brought you out”…), and Caregiver (Deuteronomy 8:15-16; “Who led you”… “Who fed you”…). Failing to keep His Word is personal.

Failing to keep His commandments is also proud. Feeling that we do not need to obey Him presumes that we are not dependent upon Him. We might not say it out loud, but we are much like the fool, who would never say with his lips that there is no God. (Just think about how wicked and foolish is that man and nation that says it with their lips!). The fool may not say that with his lips, but he says it in his heart. To fail to keep His commandments is to “say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth,” Deuteronomy 8:17). Every other sin contains within it the sin of pride.

Thirdly, failing to keep His commandments praises wrongly. Pride and idolatry go together, because an idol is a god that you craft, that you invent. So, Deuteronomy 8:19 also equates forgetting YHWH with following other gods and serving them and worshiping them. Whatever you live for, whatever you depend upon, whatever you are devoted to, you turn it into a god. This is part of the great wickedness of sin; every other sin contains within it the sin of idolatry.

Finally, failing to keep His commandments is pernicious. It is harmful. It is lethal. It is self-destructive. Egypt has already been an object lesson in this. The Canaanite nations are about to be (Deuteronomy 8:20a). And if Israel forgets YHWH, they too will perish (Deuteronomy 8:19b), just like those nations (Deuteronomy 8:20b). His written Word is His voice (verse 20b). And failing to keep it is personal, proud, praising (wrongly), and pernicious (leading to destruction).

When have you enjoyed much of the good things of this world? What is the danger to your heart in such circumstances? How are you making a habit of obeying God’s Word? How are you making a habit of viewing it personally, out of love and remembrance for God? Who has He been to you?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for creating us, choosing us, redeeming us, and caring for us. And thank You for communicating Yourself to us in Your Word. Grant that, by the grace of Your Spirit, we would remember You, love You, and obey that Word, in Christ, in Whose Name we ask it, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP1 “How Blessed the Man” or TPH434 “A Debtor to Mercy Alone”