The Morning Devotional for September 4, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 27.2
II. There is in every sacrament a spiritual relation or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified; whence it comes to pass that the names and the effects of the one are attributed to the other.a
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for September 1, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 27.1
I. Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace,a immediately instituted by God,b to represent Christ and his benefits, and to confirm our interest in him:c as also to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world;d and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.e
Read MoreRead: Genesis 29
Genesis 29 is the narrative account of Jacob's marriage to Leah and Rachel. The account is similar to the events found in chapter 24 when Abraham's servant sought a wife for Isaac. There are some differences. However, the most notable is that Jacob is never recorded to have prayed for a wife. However, through God's providence, Jacob is led to his two wives, although it is clear that Jacob had a greater love for Rachel than for Leah. Jacob, the deceiver, is deceived by his uncle and forced to marry Leah after serving him for seven years through an ironic twist. Subsequently, Jacob was forced to labor for Laban for another seven years for the wife he truly loved.
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for August 31, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 26.3
III. This communion which the saints have with Christ, doth not make them in any wise partakers of the substance of his Godhead, or to be equal with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm is impious and blasphemous.a Nor doth their communion one with another, as saints, take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man hath in his goods and possessions.b
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for August 30, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 26.2
II. Saints, by profession, are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification;a as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.b
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for August 29, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 26.1
I. All saints that are united to Jesus Christ their head, by his Spirit and by faith, have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory:a and being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces,b and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man.c
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for August 28, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 25.5-6
V. The purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error;a and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan.b Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth to worship God according to his will.c
VI. There is no other Head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ:a nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense be head thereof.
Read MoreRead: Matthew 28
Matthew 28 details the events of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and his final days before ascending to his Father in heaven. Matthew's account is much shorter than Luke's, but it has some important observations. First, like the other accounts of the resurrection, the first day of the week is mentioned. That is precisely why we worship the risen Lord on the first day of the week. To worship on the seventh day, before the resurrection, would miss the whole meaning of the resurrection. We do not worship a dead Savior but a risen one who lives evermore, interceding for his people. Second, when Jesus meets up with his disciples, they worship him.
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for August 25, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 25.4
IV. This catholic Church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less visible.a And particular churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them.b
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for August 24, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 25.3
III. Unto this catholic visible Church Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the saints, in this life, to the end of the world: and doth by his own presence and Spirit, according to his promise, make them effectual thereunto.a
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for August 23, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 25.2
II. The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation as before under the law) consists of all those, throughout the world, that profess the true religion,a and of their children;b and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ,c the house and family of God,d out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.e
Read MoreRead: Genesis 28
Genesis 28 continues the narrative from chapter 27 with the immediate consequences of Jacob's deceitful behavior over his father, Isaac. Because Esau threatened to kill Jacob, Rebekah sends him to his uncle, Laban, forcing him to leave his land and become an exile in another country. The theme of exile and restoration will dominate the Pentateuch for many chapters and into the historical books of the Old Testament. That theme is one that God's people continue today. We are pilgrims and sojourners in this world as we await a better country, the New Heavens and the New Earth.
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