Good Friday Service – Christ’s Sufferings (Matt 27:46)
Christ Sufferings
- Be despised and rejected (Isa 53:3; John 1:11).
- Be hated, persecuted, blasphemed and evil spoken of (John 5:16,18; 7:7, 12; 9:24).
- Betrayed, forsaken and denied (Mark 14:50; John 13:21; 18:17, 25-27).
- Be tortured, smitten, mocked and crucified (Matt 26:67; 27:12,29,30,41).
- Be misjudged and thought to be punished by God (Isa 53:4).
- Be burdened with the sins of all mankind (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2).
The climax of Christ’s suffering is when He cried unto His Father,
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). Why?
Because of the sins of the whole world, including yours and mine!
Christ’s Blood-Shedding Death on the Cross
- A perfect sacrifice for our sins, our Redemption (Col 1:14; Heb 10:12-14).
- God’s love and Christ’s love manifested (John 3:16; 15:9,13; Rom 5:8).
- God’s holiness, righteousness, judgement: do not take sins lightly (Rom 3:24-26).
- Jesus Christ, the only living Way to God and to Heaven (John 14:6; Heb 10:20).
Our Proper Attitudes
- Remember Christ’s love and sacrifice with our gratitude (1 Cor 11:23-25).
- Being purchased by Christ’s blood, let us live for Him and His glory (1 Cor 6:20).
- Be one with Christ in His death to self, sinful lusts and worldliness (Gal 2:20; 5:24; 6:14).
- Look unto the Lord and humbly follow His steps (Heb 12:2; 1 Peter 2:21).
Message 1 – Our Bible (Eph 2:19-22)
What is Bible Inspiration? The Scripture is “God-breathed” or “inspired by God.” The Holy Spirit guided His saints and moved them to write exactly what He wanted them to write so that the final product is the very Word of God, free from errors (2 Peter 1:20-21). God not only inspired His Word as a whole but also all of His words (verbal plenary inspiration – VPI - Matt 5:18; 2 Tim 3:16) in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
What is Bible Preservation? God has preserved His inspired Word as a whole and all of His inspired words as He promised (verbal plenary preservation – VPP - Ps 12:6-7; Matt 5:18; 24:35, et al), and they are in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts underlying the KJV.
Is the KJV the Inspired Word of God? KJV is not directly inspired by God, but it is the most faithful, correct, reliable and beautiful translation in English because it was translated from the preserved texts by godly and highly-qualified translators through the verbal technique of translation (word for word). So, it has preserved all sound doctrines.
Can God use the modern English versions of the Bible like the NIV to save an unbeliever from sin, and to edify a believer in the faith? Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9), and He can use modern English versions like a tract to save a repentant sinner, but to grow in faith and fight a good fight of faith, we have to use the KJV.
What are the dangers posed by modern Bible versions today? They contain God’s Word but are not exactly the Word of God because they are translated from the corrupt texts by ungodly translators using dynamic equivalence technique, so they do not present all biblical doctrines or right theology. They even cast doubt on God’s Word.
Our Proper Attitudes: Read, teach and preach the KJV with full trust & submission.
Message 2 – Our Reformed Faith (Eph 2:8-9)
What Is Reformed Faith?
- It holds the fundamental doctrines of our Reformed Faith: the Trinity; the eternal and essential Deity of Christ; His eternal Sonship; His true humanity, His Virgin Birth by the miraculous action of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin Mary; His atoning death, bodily resurrection, the second coming as the Judge of all the earth; and His unique Person as God manifested in the flesh.
- It holds the five great sola statements: Sola Scriptura or “The Scripture Alone”; Sola Gratia or “Grace Alone”; Sola Fide or “Faith Alone”; Solo Christo or “Christ Alone”; and Soli Deo Gloria or “Glory to God Alone.”
- It holds the five points of Calvinism (TULIP): Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints.
What is Hyper-Calvinism?
It overemphasizes God’s sovereignty and neglects human responsibility. It is wrong because Hyper-Calvinists deny God’s common grace and the free offer of the gospel and believe that since God loves only the elect and Christ died only for the elect, there is no need for evangelism.
What is Our View on the Millennium?
We are for Premillennialism (Rom 11:25-29; Rev 5:10; 20:6). Amillennialism (no millennium) and Postmillennialism (the world is getting morally better and better) are not biblical.
Sunrise Service – Christ Rose Again (I Cor 15:1-4)
How Do We Surely Know That Christ Died for Our Sins and Rose Again?
God’s Word, the Scripture, says so, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4).
What Would Happen If Christ Had Not Risen Again?
- Our preaching is vain, and our faith is also vain (v 14).
- The dead would not be raised and all would perish (v 16, 18).
- We are yet in our sins (v 17).
- We are the most miserable, without any hope for our future life after death.
Jesus Christ Truly Rose Again!
- Jesus Christ is the Son of God, is God Himself, with all power (Rom 1:4).
- Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27,44).
- His atoning sacrifice has been accepted (Acts 2:22-36). His resurrection is for our justification (Rom 4:25) and our future resurrection (1 Cor 15:20-23). Christ is our Hope.
- Christ has overcome death, sin, Satan and the world and secured our victory in Him (Rom 8:37; 2 Cor 2:14). Christ is our Life (Col 3:4).
- Christ will return, and our bodies will be changed like His (Phil 3:21).
- Our labour in Him is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58).
Message 3 – Our Practices (I Cor14:26-40)
God’s Word, the Scripture is the foundation of our faith, salvation, doctrines, worship, services and practices. Let all things be done unto edifying, decently (properly) and in order, and with love (1 Cor 14:26,40; 16:14). Our practices are as follows:
- Biblical Separation from sins, self, worldliness, wrong doctrines, all unbiblical ‘isms’, and disobedient brethren must be applied in both personal life and in the church (2 Cor 6:14-18; 2 Thess 3:6-15). This should be biblically practised in love and humility to avoid being isolationistic.
- Sacraments are only two: The Lord’s Supper replaces the Passover (1 Cor 11:23-25), and Water Baptism (by sprinkling) replaces circumcision (Col 2:11-12). Infant baptism (not baptismal regeneration) signifies an entrance into God’s covenant which is family-oriented (Gen 17:10-12; Deut 29:11-12).
- Church Government is Presbyterian, which means the church is ruled by a plurality of elders (Board of Elders). Members must be careful to elect godly and spiritually mature elders, and likewise deacons who are submissive to the Lord and His Word to assist the elders (Acts 20:17,28; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). Presbyterian government is different from Episcopal government(governed by one person, by a hierarchy of bishops – if he is ungodly, he will mislead the members with ungodly decisions or wrong doctrines) and from Congregational government (governed by all the church members – if the majority are ungodly, the church will be ungodly).
- Burial of the Dead is our practice as our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20) and will be resurrected with a glorious body like Christ’s. Cremation (a heathen practice) is not biblical.
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