Introduction As we approach pride month, many conservative Christians may be tempted to think this is Liberalism on steroids. There may be some truth to that. But it’s not completely true because Liberalism is a Christian invention. Classical Liberalism holds that outside forces should have limited power over individual liberty. I call this a Christian invention because only Christ liberates individuals in the first place (John 8:31-32). Jesus gives the liberating preconditions for a liberal society to flourish. When a slave no longer finds shackles around his ankles, he’s now free to learn that ankles are made for running, jumping, and wearing shiny boots. As the Christian faith spread in the west and liberated pagans from sin, what we know as Classical Liberalism began to grow. Fast-forward to today, so-called “liberals” found some rusty chains and want our kids to wear them as fashion accessories. Slavery to sin is now a social fad. The Liberal Lie of Licentious Inclusivism No matter what Disney tells you, you can’t find liberty in yourself. True liberty is found in Christ who welcomes all people, tribes, and nations into His kingdom (Revelation 5:9). But remember, Christ demands for everyone to come to Him to die (John 12:24-26). The only way to true freedom is in following Christ to the grave (Matthew 16:24). But every son and daughter of Adam is already enslaved to death (John 8:34). We can’t escape it no matter how hard we run in the other direction. But Jesus came and walked directly into the grave in order to defeat it (Revelation 1:18). When we turn from our sin and follow Him into the grave, we find it’s the way out of sin, slavery, and death. And it’s only when you lay down your life for Christ that you realize He gave you your life to give. A way to summarize the Christian life is, “my life for yours.” Jesus gave His life for you and He calls you to do the same. Christian husbands should tell their wives, “My life for yours” and wives say the same to their husbands. You tell all the people in your church—especially the ones your don’t like—“my life for yours (Galatians 5:13).” Our life is not our own, it’s been bought with the life of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Secular culture, on the other hand, demands the opposite. “Your life for mine.” A teenage mother tells the small baby in her womb, “your life for mine.” An adulterous woman lies to her husband because “your life for mine.” Sodomite groomers strip in front of small children at a parade because “your life for mine.” The LGBTQ+ agenda is not liberation; its bondage. They are prisoners of their own desires and wardens over new prisoners. They enjoy when the population of prisoners increase. That’s what the + sign stands for. More slaves to sin. More abortions. More broken families. More butcheries disguised as sex-change surgeries. And more pedophilia. Twenty years ago, I remember some Christians arguing that redefining marriage would result in pedophilia. Not even ten years after the Supreme Court decided Obergefell, you can find the pride flag stamped on children’s clothes. The LGBTQ+ agenda literally planted their flag on children as their territory. They aborted and forsook their own kids so they could prey on yours. This is doctrine of demon territory (1 Timothy 4:1). A Word to the Christian Tone Police Criticizing the tone of the doctor who is saving your child’s life reveals more about you than him. Tone, although important, never trumps content and motivation. Many Christians today will excuse the rampant sin of sodomy and child sacrifice because they’ve mastered a gentle tone but adopted the content and motivation of demons. Christian, it isn’t loving to excuse someone for their sin just because it’s culturally praised now. Don’t fall into the temptation of nice “christianity” which uses phrases like, “he’s just born that way” as if it excuses anyone of sin. We are all born sinners (Psalm 51:5). Whether your pious aunt who gossips at her small country church or your nice niece who sleeps with her girlfriend, there’s only one standard for righteousness. And everyone fails to attain it. There’s also one savior for all these sinners and His name is Jesus. And He gave one command for all sinners to receive redemption. It goes something like repent and believe. One standard, one savior, one summons. So, when you make excuses for your gay friends and family this month, you’re barring them from the only one who died for their sins. It’s the Christians who make them feel uncomfortable in their sin—their chains and shackles—that want them free. Conclusion Over the last two summers, I’ve noticed an increased push from corporations and politicians to celebrate June as Pride Month. Even today, I see “conservative stalwarts” on twitter apologizing to the new gods of society—the LGBTQ+ agenda. But God is not mocked. He looks from heaven and laughs at our vainglory and pious tolerance for soul-cancer (Psalm 2). The nations are His inheritance. So we need to ask ourselves, will he repair America or throw us into the wastebasket of empires He doesn’t want? Last June, the Supreme Court decided in the Dobbs case that ruling in Roe v. Wade was unconstitutional. Since then, numerous states began legislating to protect pre-born life and their liberty. This work won’t be done until abortion is completely abolished, but it’s at least a start in the right direction. Last year, the Lord gave us a glimmer of hope in the midst of intense judgment. A rainbow after a storm. So, instead of celebrating sinful pride this June or retreating in fear, let’s celebrate God’s gracious gift of life. Let’s ignite a culture of partying, celebrating, eating, and praising during the month of June for the good of our neighbors and the glory of our God. Yes, vote in primaries and boycott corporations, but also build cultures and start your own businesses. June is not anyone’s month but God’s anyways. So, live in His good graces and share that grace with others. Who you worship on Sunday gives you your victories on Monday. Remember, the rainbow is God’s sign, not Sodom’s.

Introd  uction 2 Kings 23:3 3 The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant. What is the best gift you could give your mom or dad? Shopping for parents is typically fairly difficult. I’ve learned how to gives gifts for my Dad after learning how he gives gifts to me. My dad pays attention to what tools I need. So, now, I pay attention to the tools he needs. My dad also likes to give an unexpected gift. One year he built me an axe throwing target. So, now I try to think of a surprise to give him. We learn how to give to our heavenly father only after first learning how he has given to us us. Summary of Text We all know this passage well. And since Jay preached on this text a few weeks ago, I will not explain this in detail. But king Josiah receives a copy of Deuteronomy and realizes that Judah had forsaken their covenant with God. He tears his clothes in sorrow ( 2 Kings 22:11 ). Then he gathers the leaders of Israel to the temple, and he makes a covenant with the Lord. This isn’t the only time God’s people have sought renewal through God’s covenant. The entire book of Deuteronomy is a sermon by Moses to the second generation to not be like the first. Joshua, after conquering Canaan, preaches to Israel not to forsake the covenant but to live up to it. And after Josiah, when Judah returns from exile back to Jerusalem, Ezra and Nehemiah lead the people to renew commitment to the covenant. My hope for this sermon is to show you that our weekly worship should seek to be faithful to the new covenant. We do this by learning how God has given to us. Our worship of God should line up with who God is. And we learn that by studying how he has dealt with his people in the past. God relates with his people through covenant. The word “covenant” is used more than 300 times in the Older and Newer Testaments. In the bible there’ s the covenant with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the New covenant. The goal of covenant is communion. You see this in Revelation . Revelation 19:7–9 7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” So, God communes to His through covenant. But how do His people commune with Him?Through covenant renewal worship. We worship through the covenant and are renewed by it. We see how God has communed with us and we commune with Him similarly. Covenant renewal doesn’t mean God’s people renew the covenant when they worship. Rather when they worship according to the covenant, they are the ones made new. I’m going to argue that our corporate worship should go with the grain of how God relates to His people. Scripture shows God makes covenant with his people using these 5 actions. Call - God initiates and starts the conversation. Covenant and worship is not us calling God’s cell phone. Its Him calling ours. Confess - God separates and makes new. God takes what is not good and makes it good. Consecration - God speaks and instructs His people . Communion - God relates to His people through rituals and symbols . In most of the scriptures this symbol involves mealtime imagery. God has us over for supper. Commission - God arranges His people for the future. Let’s look at some examples in Scripture . Covenant with Adam Call Genesis 2:5 5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. God made ground to be cultivated but there was not yet a man to cultivate it. God cleared land for a garden and a gardener . Confession Genesis 2:7 7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. God took dust from the ground. He separated some dirt from a lot of dirt. He then made something new out of it. Consecration Genesis 2:8–9 8 The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After making the gardener, God makes the garden. God makes trees for food and trees for instruction. Note “knowledge of good and evil” Communion Genesis 2:15–17 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” God put Adam in a garden and said, you can eat everything but one . God sits down and eats with Ada m. Commission Genesis 2:18 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Now at this point we see the same process repeated again. Call Genesis 2:18 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” God will make Adam a helper . Confession Genesis 2:22 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. God took what was not good - Adam by himself - and made something good out of it - Eve. Consecration Genesis 2:23 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Adam learns the lesson God taught him and names his wife . Communion Genesis 2:25 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Adam and Eve had communion and a relationship with one another. Their nakedness symbolizes the union between husband and wife . Commission Genesis 2:24 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. What God made became the template for the rest of Adam and Eve’s children. Covenant with Noah Call Genesis 6:8 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. God looks at humanity and sees evil. God sees Noah and is pleased with Hi m. Confession God will destroy the earth with a flood to destroy all the evil. Genesis 6:13 13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. But before he destroys the world and all evil creatures, he takes some of the creatures to make the world good. Genesis 6:19 19 “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. God took what was not good and made something good out of it. Consecration After the flood, God saves Noah and his family and preaches a sermon to him. Genesis 9:1 1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. God goes on to tell Noah what he can eat and what happens to man if he takes another’s life. God instructs Noah on how to live in this new world . Communion Genesis 9:12–13 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. God then gives symbols for this new era of living. The rainbow symbolizes God’s promise not to judge the world like He did with the flood . Commission Genesis 8:21–22 21 The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.” God acknowledges end of one era and beginning of new one. God gives Noah freedom to live life. Covenant with Abraham Call Genesis 12:1 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; Notice, God called Abram. Not the other way. Confession Genesis 12:1–3 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” God called Abraham out of old nation to start a new nation. Consecration Genesis 13:14–17 14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16 “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. 17 “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” God instructs Abraham on what it means for him to be a new nation . Communion Genesis 17:10 10 “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. God gives the symbol of circumcision . Commission Genesis 17:9 9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. God has plans for Abraham’s children . Covenant with Moses Call Exodus 3:4–7 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. God hears His people and starts conversation with Moses . Confession Exodus 3:8–10 8 “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” God will separate them from Egypt to make them worshippers of Him . Consecration Exodus 3:14 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God tells His name . Communion Exodus 3:12 12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” God promises worship . And he gives symbols ( Exodus 4:1-9 ) which correspond to whats found in Leviticus. (staff refer to priesthood. Leprosy to cleanliness codes. Blood to sacrifices) . Commission Exodus 4:15–17 15 “You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. 16 “Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. 17 “You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.” Moses Speaks for God and Aaron for Moses. Covenant with Israel Call Before Israel was a nation, God told Abraham what was going to happen. Genesis 15:13–16 13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” God promises to use them in the future . Confession See Exodus 3-19 . The plagues, Israel leaves, Pharoah is killed, and they make it to Mount Sinai as a new nation . Consecration See Exodus 20-23 . The law of the covenant is given Communion Exodus 40:34–35 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. T he book of exodus ends with God’s glory filling the tabernacle but Moses unable to enter. Leviticus is how God and man can commune together and its filled with symbols. T he signs of the covenant are given - the tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices. Commission See numbers and Deuteronomy . T he first generation breaks the covenant and are destroyed in wilderness (see numbers ). The second generation renews covenant in Deuteronomy and follows Joshua. New covenant Call John 10:14–15 14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. Jesus came for His sheep. His sheep did not come to heaven for Him. Confession 2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Jesus does and rose again to make new . Jesus dies for old humanity and rises for new humanity . Consecration John 1:1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Hebrews 1:2 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Jesus is the word. God speaks and reveals and shows himself through His son . Communion Luke 22:20 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. Romans 6:3 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? The rituals of the covenant symbolize the work of Christ. One symbol introduces people into the covenant. Its the front door . The other symbol confirms people as members of the covenant. Its the kitchen door. Commission Matthew 28:18–20 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Jesus calls us to tell He is lord of a new earth We respond to new covenant Call John 10:27–28 27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. We obey Jesus’ call . Confess 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus died for our sins. We, therefore confess our sins and rest in the assurance of the cross Consecration Colossians 3:16 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. We are instructed by word and we instruct others with word Commune We receive baptism and supper Commission Acts 1:8 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Summary of Covenant Renewal Service Remember in the first sermon on this subject: Worship is started by God, biblical, covenantal, and corporate. Last week we studied how a worship service should have evangelism, education, experience, and exaltation. God calls us to worship in His word and we answer the call. The service should begin with acknowledging God’s glory. Sing a hymn of praise (Holy, Holy, Holy). God then separates His people from the world with the gospel. He cleans us with the blood of Christ. We have time of confession of sins and assurance of pardon. Similar to what my exhortation is at beginning of service. But then, after praying our confession to God, we accept God’s forgiveness. This is important because guilty people can’t worship, share good news, or build a kingdom. We preach the gospel to ourselves each week. Before eating supper, you got to clean your shoes and wash your hands. God then consecrates us and speaks to us. We sing hymns. We will start learning more old hymns, some new songs, and of course the Psalms. We will read passages of scripture. We will listen to God’s word preached God then communes with us through symbols and rituals. We will pass the offering. We will pray for one another. I will try to convince you that the Lord’s supper is a weekly gift from God God then sends us out. We will close with a short closing hymn. We will be charged to bring worship to all of life. Conclusion We will start structuring our worship this way in order to renew us each week. But all this reform will do nothing if all of us do not become worshippers.

Originally preached at the Charnock Conference at Warrior Creek Baptist Church on October 8, 2022. Introduction I want to thank Warrior Creek Baptist church for hosting this conference. I want to thank Pastor Bobby Howell for the invitation. The Lord has gifted Bobby with great intelligence and pastoral convictions. I know he uses his gifts to bless his family and serve his church. God has blessed Warrior Creek in many ways, but one of the best gifts He has given is a good pastor. Who here has ever visited another country? In some countries they worship idols and created things. If you ask them why they offer sacrifices, they will tell you. They’re afraid of not doing it. But if you ask a modern Christian why he worships God on Sunday, what will he say? Because my wife makes me. Because my mom made me. So, I can get a burial plot. The title of my sermon today is “Why We Must Offer Spiritual Worship.” Charnock Gives 6 Reasons. 1. Because God is worthy of our best God is the best being. Psalm 18:30 30 God—his way is perfect; Now, there are two ways we can contemplate someone being the best. The first way is that of the best within a given category. For example, if you were to gather all the basketball players who ever lived and measured their abilities and achievements, there would be one player we would recognize as the best. But this way is not the way we should think about God. God is not the best basketball player because He has the best vertical jump. God doesn’t need to jump. That’s why we should think of God as best in the second way—He is outside all categories. God is independent. He doesn’t need the say-so of His superior for permission to do, say, or think anything. Instead, everything else exists because He says so (Acts 17:25; Romans 11:36). God is unchangeable. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all time. But he also improved and changed as a player. There was a time Jordan wasn’t as good as he later became. Now, he’s not as good as he once was. God doesn’t retire from being God because He cannot change (James 1:17). God is eternal. Alexander the great conquered the known world, then died. The Roman empire lasted for hundreds of years, then it didn’t. God cannot be measured by time because He is outside of it. But because He is sovereign over every moment of time, nothing happens absent of His divine will (Psalm 90:2). [1] God is the best being because He is the only being like Himself. He is uncreated, unmoved, and unchanging. He is all knowing, all powerful, and all present. He is ever loving, ever holy, and ever righteous. Because God is best, we must give him our best in our worship. Matthew 5:48 48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. When a celebrity visits your home, you put out the best China and you prepare your best meal. When you finally get a date with the best looking girl in school, you put on your best clothes. This is why in Exodus 29:13 , a worshipper was to offer fat from their offering to God. God is the best, so He commanded His people to worship Him as the best. By nature, we give our best to what we believe is worth it. But sinful man, born in rebellion against God, eagerly worships counterfeits. Calvin famously mentioned in his institutes that the heart of man is a factory of idols. [2] Man is born a worshipper. So, he wants to give his best. But since man is born a sinner, he hates the God he was made to worship. Instead, he will worship anything and everything else. For instance, people give their best years to the worship of their career. But as believers, our spiritual worship to God shows He is best. 2. Because spiritual worship fits with both God’s nature and ours Stephen Charnock said, “The nature of God informs us what is fit to be presented to him; our own nature informs us what is fit to be presented by us.” God made us physical and spiritual. Genesis 2:7 7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (lit. Living soul). God formed man from the dust of the ground. God made man from physical stuff. We have a physical body because God made it. God also formed man with the breath of life so He could be a soul. Man is a body and a soul. He made us to be both. An interesting way to illustrate this is to figure out the difference between mind and brain. We can touch a brain with our finger but not a mind with our finger. But when I read a play from Shakespeare, I’m not picking up pieces of his brain and inserting it into my head. My mind interacts with his mind because we are both souls. To be human is to be body and spirit. We have an obstacle in our spiritual worship. But God is not body, He is spirit. That is why we worship Him in spirit. This means our flesh, by itself, cannot worship God. John 4:24 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Because God is Spirit, we must worship God spiritually. This leads us to a second obstacle, sinful man is born spiritually dead. Ephesians 2:1 1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, This means man cannot worship God in his natural state. Working in our bodies, flesh, and strength cannot replace the work of spiritual worship. No amount of tithes given, Sunday school classes attended, or smiles given can replace spiritual life. This is why Jesus says in John 3. John 3:3, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:6 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. These obstacles are real. But God overcomes these obstacles to create worshippers. Christians can only worship spiritually because the Holy Spirt worked in us spiritually. Titus 3:5 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, And we receive this gift because of what Christ our savior did on the cross. 1 Peter 3:18 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; We follow Christ’s example and fulfill His work when we sacrifice our flesh and worship in the Spirit. Let me summarize this point before I go further. God is spirit. God made us physical and spiritual. Being born a sinner means we are born spiritually dead. Being spiritually dead means we cannot worship God in spirit. Jesus death on the cross paid for our penalty of sin. His death also purchased the new birth of our spirit by the Holy Spirit. Now, our lives are little crucifixions. We take up our cross daily. We die to our fleshly desires and enjoy a resurrected spirit. 3. Because without our spirits, no worship occurs I mentioned in the last point that God requires spiritual worship. John 4:24 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” This means that physical displays of worship alone do not satisfy God. For example, in the book of Amos, God told Israel who has spiritually rebelled against Him the following. Amos 5:21–23 21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. Merely looking like worship is not enough to be worship. So, what does spiritually worship mean? Is spiritual worship something we do with our minds? Should we sit in a sensory deprivation tank and mediate on Psalm 119? Should we sit in a dimly lit room, burn incense, and chant? Charnock helps us. He said, “The posture of the body is but to testify to the inward affection of the mind.” I’ll say it another way: You can’t physically move yourself into spiritual worship. But spiritual worship does move physically. Because we’re human, our spirit and body are connected. So, when we spiritually worship, it should be physically seen. For example, Paul instructed Timothy to lead the Ephesian church’s spiritual worship to pray for civil leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1–2 1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. But notice how he ends that exhortation in verse 8. 1 Timothy 2:8 8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. The spiritual action of prayer can be seen when men lift of their hands to God. This is one of those cart and horse things. The cart belongs after the horse, not before. Physical obedience alone does not mean your spiritually worshipping. But if your spiritually worshipping, it will look like physically obeying. 4. Because God graciously gives good gifts in our worship Worship does not begin with God in need but with God giving Psalm 50:5 5 “Gather My godly ones to Me.” When we worship on the Lord’s day each week, we are accepting God’s call to worship him. He sets the terms, not us. God invites us to worship Him like a man invites friends over for supper. He prepares the meal for us beforehand. He sets the table for us. He gets the board game and dessert ready to serve. When we worship God, He gives to us. Don’t get this backward. When God sends us an invitation for supper, He is not inviting us to go into his house to serve Him. He has the roast in the oven. But if we think we serve Him, then we will throw out the roast and fix sandwiches instead. Yes, spiritual worship does something, but we only do what God has told us to. Spiritual worship does what God has given us to enjoy. So, why should you worship God? Because He is good and gives good gifts. Because when you worship Him, you are receiving a handmade gift from God. Worship will ignite your passions, calm you anxieties, inspire your will, and embolden your heart. When we worship God for who He is, we find comfort in Him making us who we are. God gives good gifts. A notable sign of the spiritually dead is they do not want the good gift of worship. God’s people gather together each week to accept God’s good gift. The reason we worship God is because He redeemed us. 5. Because Spiritual worship is the aim of redemption In the scriptures, God reveals His plan to save sinners. The 1689 Confession begins in chapter 1, paragraph 1: “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.” What that means is if you want to know how God is going to save lost souls, its in the Bible. Think about this: The Bible could have ended at Genesis 3:13. Adam fell and threw humanity into rebellion against Him. But God was not forced to redeem humanity. Remember, God doesn’t have a boss that forced Him to save us. But He did it anyways because He is good. And because God redeemed humanity, we have an entire library of revelation declaring God’s love for His people. And I agree with Charnock, the aim of redemption was to make spiritual worshippers. We were all born spiritually dead in sin. Jesus brought us to God . 1 Peter 3:18 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; God gave His best, His one and only son, that we might sacrifice ourselves to God. As I mentioned earlier, God gives us a new spirit so we can offer spiritual worship. God makes us alive in Christ. God also builds us on Christ, the corner stone. 1 Peter 2:5 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Spiritual worship is built on the redemptive work of Christ to make a new humanity. When we gather for worship for those few moments on the Lord’s day, we are doing more than taking notes. We prove the schemes of Satan were powerless against the plan of God (Hebrews 2:14; Colossians 2:15). We prove the old humanity is dying and decaying while the new humanity is growing (2 Corinthians 5:17). We prove that the kingdom grows like leaven through a loaf of bread (Matthew 13:33). We prove that the spiritual powers who plague us will one day stand in judgment under us (Romans 16:20). We prove that the lamb that was slain is worthy of his suffering and He will get what he paid for (Revelation 5:1-14). We prove the love the second Adam has for the second Eve is a kind of love that fights the serpent and crushes its head (Ephesians 5:22-33). We prove the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). God’s redemptive work focused on making worshippers. And He finished that work (John 19:30) 6. Because Spiritual worship is acceptable to God This point is pretty much a summary point of the entire argument. John 4:24 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” But that does lead me to a corollary point that must be made. Undirected worship is judgment. Romans 1:24–25 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. God made us to be worshippers. Our sinful nature doesn’t turn the worship setting off. Sin does turn us in the wrong direction. What unbelievers need is the direction of their hearts changed. They need worship God. That will not happen if God’s people worship unbiblically. If our worship of God burns hot, then God may use some that heat to ignite our neighbors. Because only Spiritual worship is acceptable to God. Conclusion Allow me to conclude with an application and charge to spiritually worship our Great God. The point of this conference isn’t to make egg heads. It’s to build one another up to love and good works. I can think of no other way to love my neighbor and I can think of no better work than to encourage growth in worship. 1. Find the areas of your life where there is no worship. Is it Marriage? Do you and your spouse pray and worship the Lord together? Do you disrespect your wife or husband? Do you go to the word on what to do with your household’s money? Is it raising kids or grandkids? Do you spend time each day studying the word with your child? Do you complain about your kids to people at church or on Facebook? Does your child see a spiritually alive person or a spiritual zombie? Is it your work? Do you grumble over your boss to your coworkers? Do you set an example of work for the Lord?  2. Bring worship into those spheres through regularly worshipping with the saints. Increase biblical worship as a church and watch it affect all the other areas. Certain objects have a vibration frequency. Have you ever noticed when you’re driving that something in your car stars rattling and buzzing? In my old car, the stereo nob would buzz when I drove 40 miles an hour. From what I remember in my physics class, it’s because the engine was vibrating at a certain frequency as the nob on my stereo. Because my engine was humming, other things that were tuned into that same beat, started to join in. Corporate worship is the engine of the kingdom. When the engine starts running, other things tuned toward worship start humming. Let’s be a people that tune every area of our life toward the worship of God. Then every week we get to rev the engine and hear the music. [1] Herman Bavinck, The Wonderful Works of God, 119. [2] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.11.8.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 Whether it’s the aspiring artist in high school who believes algebra is pointless or it’s the middle-class welder who hasn’t read a book since elementary school, fools desire not knowing. Fools believe what they know is all they need to know. They don’t want to learn anything new; in their mind, there’s no need to. This doesn’t mean fools can’t possess any competency or knowledge. A world-renowned heart surgeon can master the science of the cardiovascular system while ignoring his wife and children. When he’s receiving another reward, we would never call such a man a fool. But when he’s in the courtroom for the third time to divorce another wife, “fool” is one of many words we can describe him with. Sooner or later deliberate ignorance demolishes our hardest work. This is why Christians shouldn’t be fools. Christians search the  Bible with their fingers on the letters. Fools close their Bibles and stick their fingers in their ears. Where fools hate instruction, Christians love it. Or at least we should love it. So, a fool can know a lot and still be a fool. But a wise person only needs to know one thing to be wise. He must know God is how he knows everything else. Wise people know God knows all things. They come to God as students before a teacher. Wise people come to God’s classroom knowing they don’t know everything, but that God does. Since Jesus holds all things together (Colossians 1:17), He holds what already know together with what you don’t. Recognizing that you don’t know it all but God does results in fear. But this fear isn’t a paralyzing fear but a reverent fear. We come to God eagerly because He offers us knowledge but also humbly because we don’t possess the knowledge. God wants us to know more than we do. So, we need to let go of all the wrong things we know in order to learn the true things we don’t yet know. We need to come empty handed so we can grab what He’s giving. We unlearn Darwinism so we can learn Genesis. We unlearn self-justification so we can learn justification by faith. We repent of what we know so we can believe what we don’t (yet) know.

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The Passage 17 But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them. Psalm 103:17–18 Summary of the Text Psalm 103 is a joyful Psalm rejoicing in God’s mercy to Israel. In the first five verses of the Psalm, David describes God’s grace toward His people. He saves, crowns, pardons, heals, and satisfies. In verses 6 through 14, David describes God is slow to anger but fast in love (103:8). Right here and right now, God is better to us than we deserve. But when he transitions to verse 15, David raises a concern. Man’s days are like grass—here today and gone tomorrow. What does God do after I’m gone? Will He be merciful to the next generation? And the answer comes from our sermon text this morning. God shows his lovingkindness to those who fear Him (17) and keep His covenant (18). Problems Churches and families do not fear the Lord. We take the Lord for granted. If we feared Him, we would be careful to obey all His commands. One of his commands is not concealing the Lord’s instruction for children. 1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and known, And ou r fathers have told us. 4 We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. Psalm 78:1–4 Fathers are supposed to train their children and not hide from them the instruction of God. Churches are supposed to teach this and help fathers and mothers teach this. Instead, churches have stopped allowing children to worship and started free babysitting services. We Forget that the Thief Steals Because we do not fear God, we are defenseless against His enemy—the world and the devil. Remember the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). If a robber is stealing from the houses in your neighborhood every night, doing nothing will not deter him from your house. 43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43–45 As a society, we inherited a clean and well-built house from our ancestors hundreds of years ago. But somewhere along the way, our grandparents and parents began leaving rooms unoccupied. Now, we are shocked to find demons living in our household. Our faith will either be divided by 2 for our children or multiplied by 2 for our children. If we fear the Lord and diligently obey Him, it’s like a tithe. You lose 10%, but gain a blessed 90%. But if we coast and are not diligent, then we can’t be surprised that the thief visited us. We Separated the Savior from the Lord Many Christian parents want their child to go to heaven, so they eagerly push for Sally to pray the prayer. Mom worries over Johnny walking down the aisle. But for whatever reason, after Johnny and Sally get baptized, there’s little to no discipleship in the home on how to live as a Christian. There’s a bunch of youth activities and children’s church, but zero parent discipleship and real church. We have no men of Issachar 32 Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command. 1 Chronicles 12:32 Let me explain what this means. First, most of you over 50 are still operating like the world was in 1980. You believe that rebellious Sally or wayward Johnny will return to church because that’s what everyone did 30 years ago. But you’re forgetting that there’s no social pressure anymore for Sally or Johnny to return to church. Actually, there’s increasing social pressure to hate Jesus and His church. Second, for Generation X and Millennials , we live like Christianity is an honest option like it was in the early 2000s. You believe that if the church is winsome enough then lost people will come to faith. You believe that if you play guitars loud, smile wide enough, and act kind enough then anyone and everyone will come to faith. You forget that everyone’s default religion is not neutral to God, but hater of God. For people who live like the world is still 90s and 2000s, you tend to be uncomfortable with cultural talk in the pulpit. But children are still hearing cultural preaching from the pulpit of cartoons, schools, and games. Kids are no longer taught that Christianity is one of many options. They are taught that Christianity is racist, bigoted, and homophobic. Christians live like faith in Jesus is up for debate while the secular world does not accept debate against anything they believe. No doubt some of you are banking on Jesus returning again within the next few years. There’s no use in getting worked up over what’s going on. The rapture will happen. But what if it doesn’t? What if Jesus comes back way into the future? What then? Remember, the church is floundering in the west but growing in Africa and Asia. In your mind you’re going through end of days, but in North Africa, former Muslims are coming to faith in hoards. Our present difficulties aren’t signs Jesus is going rapture the church; its signs Jesus is judging the church. Solution Pray that God would grant repentance through Preaching. 24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24–26 Repentance means cleaning up the mess, even if you didn’t make it. In Nehemiah, the exiles return to Jerusalem 70 years after it was destroyed. They immediately begin rebuilding the temple and the walls. But many of the exiles weren’t alive when the city was destroyed. Why should they fix the city when their parents and grandparents started all that mess? Imagine a guest comes to your home and breaks a glass all over the kitchen floor. He doesn’t clean it because he’s a jerk. You don’t clean it because you didn’t break it. But eventually your daughter comes prancing through the house and cuts her foot. Who is responsible? 1 The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands. Proverbs 14:1 Foolish men and women in the past have torn down what earlier Christians have built for us. But sooner or later men and women must get to work, clean, and build. Will it be this generation or another? At some point, parents will need to put their kids on their lap and read from the Bible every night. Right now, the Christian fathers are teaching their children how to watch the TV, but at some point, fathers will need to practice Deuteronomy 6 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:5–7 Right now, older women are teaching younger women how to complain about their husbands and children, but at some point, mothers will need to practice Titus 2. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:3–5 Will we be the generation of reform or reckoning? Trust in God’s Promises by Living in His Obedience So, I’ve convinced you that there’s a problem and we have all contributed to the problem. Now what? You realize that you should have done more some things or less of others with your kids and grandkids. You have kids of your own still under your influence but don’t know how to handle it. You are a young person and see what I’ve laid out but are unsure what you need to do. We aren’t going to solve a generational problem in one Sunday morning. But you can solve personal problems each morning. Start with what you know you need to do. For some that may mean reading and applying the Bible every day. For some men, it may mean taking down your white flag or surrender and praying with your wife every night. For some women, it may mean confessing your sins to the people you sin against. Remember, the more you give to God in faith, the more He will bless. The more you avoid, the more your enemies can steal. Conclusion When I get back, I will start a series on worship. My hope is for us to be like the exiles who inherited a deserted city and begin with rebuilding the temple. But before I start this project of rebuilding Christendom, I need to make sure we are all on board. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Luke 14:28–30 My prayer for us is Psalm 71:18 18 And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come. Psalm 71:18

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Hi Church family, Tomorrow, the Judiciary committe in the South Carolina House will consider bill H5399 - a near complete ban on abortion in the state. Currently, the recently passed Heart-beat bill only prohibits abortions after the detection of a heart beat. Bill H5399 will be a great step forward in the fight against pre-born murder. I sent the following message to each member the S.C. House Judiciary Committee. Honorable [member's name], I am a pastor of a church in Gray Court, South Carolina. Our church has been praying for the end of pre-born murder in our state since I became pastor two years ago. I am writing to inform you of my support of bill H5399. Tomorrow, your committee will consider this bill and I strongly encourage and urgently ask that you pass this bill to the next stage with no amendments. The intentional taking of a human life is murder. A developing baby in his mother’s womb is a human life distinct from his mother. So, when he is deliberately killed in his mother’s womb, he has been murdered and those responsible should be punished by the civil authorities. As a lawmaker in South Carolina, it’s your God-ordained responsibility to punish evil and uphold the good (1 Peter 2:13-14). It’s my prayer that you submit to king Jesus, protect those made in His image, and punish those who profit from the death of the innocent. Sincerely, Caleb Levi Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church Feel free to copy and paste the message yourself to send to the committe. Here is a link with more information. Let's continue to work and pray for the end of abortion in our state!