The Faithfulness of God: 200th Anniversary of Leominster First Baptist April 28, 2024

Good to see you this morning.

I'm Pastor Lars Larson.

We greet you in the name of God our father and his son Our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a special day for us.

If you happen to be visiting with us Today for the first time we welcome you and would ask if you

would take a moment fill out a visitor card for us.

And if you'll put that completed in the offering plate later in the service, we'll Send you some

information about our church.

This is again is a unique day because today we are Commemorating celebrating

the 200th anniversary of this church and so 1824

this church was Begun 200 years and so we've got some special things going on

during our service.

We're going to be baptizing two young men here shortly and.

So.

Several different people are going to be leading up here and we trust everything will go smoothly but everything

kind of Whacked up out of order trust.

It will all go.

It'll all go.

Well, but we're glad that you're able to be with us.

Let me run through some more announcements.

Let's turn off our cell phones, please.

So we're not interrupted during our worship service.

A Reminder about our prayer meeting on Wednesday evening at 6 o 'clock.

Some of us meet downstairs in my office most however call in via conference call.

There's information the bulletin about that 6 o 'clock Wednesday evening we would welcome you to join

with us.

We have Bible studies throughout the week.

Ladies study tomorrow evening here at church and Wednesday morning.

Via conference call did I get that, right?

Okay, and then men's studies tomorrow evening at 7 Wednesday morning at 830

men's group 730 on Saturdays.

At John Bulger's this Wednesday morning, okay at 830.

All right.

So we have we have activities throughout the week.

We invite your participation.

Well, let's see.

We have an anniversary banquet coming up and That's a May 11th on the

Saturday evening and the planners need to have reservations in today.

Mine sitting at home on my desk.

I believe Today today is the deadline for that

Anniversary banquet and so let that let Artie know what your intentions are, please

and nursery workers are still needed see Laura if Ladies you could assist it would

work out maybe every four or six weeks maybe more and it would be helpful.

The nursery Actually is in effect.

Right before the sermon and so the nursery workers able to stay in the service until that point.

We've had our bios in the bullets in the last two weeks of the new members that are

joining with us and They those files are posted on the bulletin board today and

also the warrant for our meeting we have a Again a busy morning after the

church is over today.

We'll break for five minutes.

But then the church members we would ask if you would stay here and we have a short business meeting to vote in new

members.

And so that is today.

And a reminder we have of course weekly a lunch provided after service.

And so we would invite you to stay with us join us downstairs in the fellowship hall.

For that meal, it's a good time to get to know one another.

What else today's anniversary bulletin is Enhanced somewhat and

so there's some information about our church's history Included in that bulletin and

there's also a keepsake bookmark and tribute to past members of our

church 200 years.

I'm just about completing 26 years and so Time passes on

let's say.

Before we begin this morning our formal worship before we have the invocation.

We're gonna have Dale Wheeler come forward and he is going to rehearse to us.

Historical address that was given on the what 50th.

Was it the 50th anniversary back in?

1874 so Dale's going to come up and read that and then after he's done.

We'll we'll begin our worship service formally.

Thank you, Dale.

Good morning.

When we were we decided we wanted to read something historical on our anniversary service.

I looked through several of the Histories that we had and over the course of the church a lot of histories have been written about our church.

But this one struck me.

This was given by pastor AF Mason.

And he gave this at a anniversary celebration on December 30th

1874 and we have the actual text of his remarks, which I'm going to read to you.

You.

Eat your 19th century language.

You have to roll with it a little bit.

I've tried to cut out some of the redundancies and.

So bear with me.

Just to give you a little context so you so we kind of keep it straight he starts out in the opening paragraph.

Talking about the Unitarian Church.

And you'll see why when we get into it, but he's talking about, you know.

An address that was given at the Unitarian Church.

So keep that in mind.

Whatever progress Baptist sentiments have been have may have been made in Leominster previous to the present

century.

That would be the 19th century.

Neither record nor oral tradition has handed it down.

Reverend dr. Stebbins in his centennial discourse to the Unitarian Church in Leominster

says as.

Early as the ministry's ministry of mr. Bascom a former pastor at the Unitarian Church.

In 1817 there were in church records some intimation of the existence of Baptist views in that

church.

So even back then the Baptists were infiltrating the Unitarians.

At a meeting of that church in 1817 one brother named Samuel Crocker Was excused from

connection on the grounds of his conscientious scruples regarding infant baptism.

In an account of which he had connected himself with another body of Christians into town the Baptists.

That speaker related the story of that brother Samuel Crocker's conversion to Baptist views when he

received scriptural baptism at the hands of elder Elisha Sampson in 1817

and The Fitchburg Church.

Baptist Church was organized in 1830.

Mr. Crocker was chosen a deacon of that church and held that position till 1856.

In November 1818 Reverend John Walker who was then the pastor of the church in Holden

Visited Leominster and baptized in the Nashua River three converts.

One of whom was mrs. Comfort Crocker The wife of Samuel Crocker who was afterwards a deacon

and the father of Samuel S Crocker Who was a present deacon in?

the 1800s.

The following year elder Walker baptized seven more converts There being an extraordinary

religious zeal.

Those ten converts and all in this town who backed embraced Baptist principles united with the Holden

Church.

Retaining membership there till 1822.

Imagine that horse ride to Holden every Sunday.

In 1822 they when 65 other people were dismissed from the Holden Church

to form a Baptist Church in Princeton.

Okay, cutting the mileage down on the horse.

The history of the Leominster Church properly dates from the formation of the Princeton Church 52 years ago

in that those days.

For the record of the Princeton Church shows that immediately upon its organization the members living in Leominster

were constituted a Baptist Church With the privilege of sustaining the ministry of the gospel among themselves.

For 15 years the branch existed as first constituted Exercising all the functions of an independent church

a part of the time having regularly settled pastors a part of the time depending on temporary supplies.

When neither of these could be obtained deacon Crocker Samuel Crocker came back and served as the interim pastor

in April of 1824 in virtue of a warrant that was previously issued for the purpose.

David Allen Jonah Rice Oliver Haskell Peter Wilder William Parker Samuel Crocker

Thomas Wilder Tyler Coolidge Joseph Smith and Thomas Warner.

Met at the building owned by widow a Eunice Richardson, which is where the post office currently is.

At where they previously had worshipped so before even they organized they had been meeting there and worshipping.

Thomas Wilder was chosen clerk of the parish Peter Wilder the moderator and Oliver Haskell and David Allen assessors

William Parker the treasurer and Tyler Coolidge the collector.

The first pastor of this branch was Reverend Elisha Andrews.

Who is one of the fathers of the Baptist Churches in the Worcester Association?

He was installed up as the pastor of temple the church in Templeton in 1800.

Where he remained for 13 years?

Through his labors the church in Holden was started in 1807.

In 1809 he preached for part of the time in West Boylston and from 1827 to 1832 He was back in Templeton

as their pastor again.

In 1826 Asif Miriam was chosen as our pastor at a salary of $4 per week.

In 1824 to 1830 the church worshipped in room previously, but used by John Richardson as a tailor shop.

So that was where the church met.

The church was supplied in event in addition to the two above by Reverend John Walker Nicholas branch Elisha's McGregory.

In your John Walker the guy who come came up and baptized those people in the National River.

He served as an interim pastor.

He was born in Holden and he was baptized by Elisha Andrews.

The first meeting house of the society was built in 1831 at a cost of eight hundred thirty four dollars and a land given by

Calvin Jocelyn and it served its purpose till 1842.

That building now being used as a carpenter shop in a stable that building still exists by the way.

And we are getting access to it the present House of Worship.

In other words, the building was here before this one.

Was erected in 1851 on May in May of 37.

Members of the branch as they were still called met after the close of the Sabbath services.

To deliberate on the expediency of becoming a distinct church.

They chose a committee to visit the parent church in Princeton examined their records and ascertained whether they were actually a branch

thereof.

This measure being adopted on a suspicion that the main body in Princeton had not kept a fair record.

A.

Favorable report being made by this committee a council was called which met in June of 1930.

1837 To constitute this branch as a distinct and independent church.

Delegates being present from Holden Princeton Townsend Groton and Harvard.

28 persons Constituted the church when it was first formed.

There a large part who have entered into rest five.

As of this writing Moses Richardson and Henry Perry and sisters Evelyn

Perry Brenda Smith and Susan Farnsworth were still alive.

So imagine being able to talk to those people.

Who were there when it was founded?

Pastor Mason.

This was a part of a much longer history.

But he ended it with these words.

Thus we are brought to the close of the first 50 years of this church in Lemonster.

We have mentioned a few names taken from the roll call of the dead and a few from the role of the living.

And what more shall we say for time would fail us to tell of the holy men and women.

Whose names are familiar to you and of all those among them who use their office of Deacon?

Well.

Who through faith have subdued kingdoms?

Wrought righteousness obtained promises and these all having attained a good report through faith.

Compass as a cloud of witnesses whose beckoning forms invite us to run with patience.

The race was set before us.

So those are the words of a pastor Mason who was pastor back in 1874.

Well, we'll go to our Lord in prayer and ask his blessing upon our worship service at this time.

I might just interject this one more announcement Next Lord's Day.

We're going to begin a class on the book of Hebrews in Sunday school downstairs.

And so at 9 a .m Next next Sunday, if any of you would like to participate in that we

would welcome you.

Well, let's pray.

How God we're mindful of your great grace and mercy to us as a church the Church of

Jesus Christ our God.

We're attempting to serve you faithfully in the world in which you've placed us our God.

All these past folks who showed forth their faithfulness and devotion to you of long since past

and here We are today our God.

We pray that you would help us equip us our God empower us to be true and faithful to you as a

church it declared the gospel of Jesus Christ our God to our world and We thank

you our God for this occasion for this privilege this opportunity and Responsibility we have to

gather together in the name of your son our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you father for receiving us in your presence.

May you bless our efforts to worship you in spirit and in truth help each of us our

God.

Glorify yourself to us and through us and we pray our God for anyone here That may be a

stranger to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that you'd be very merciful and gracious to

that soul today open the eyes of their understanding our God to see the glory of

Yourself and of salvation through your son Jesus in whose name we do pray.

Amen.

All right.

So Dale is going to help in leading the first two hymns in between.

We have our baptism of two young men Joseph we're and Matthew none.

And so if you'll turn to page 92 and your red hymnal.

Familiar

him

a

mighty

fortress

is

our

God.

He's

right.

Please

be

seated.

Baptism is one of two ordinances.

The Lord Jesus has given to his church baptism, of course and then the Lord's Supper.

Baptism is a command of the Great Commission.

Jesus said all authority is given me in heaven and earth.

Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Baptism is a beautiful portrayal both of the death barrel resurrection of the Lord Jesus

but also the passing of old life into new life for the Christian and.

So as these two men are lowered into the water They are signifying their faith in Jesus Christ and

his death and his burial and as they're raised out of the water they're there are proclaiming their

Reliance their trust and their commitment to the risen Lord Jesus Christ as Savior as Lord of their lives.

They are also confessing that their former life without Christ is gone.

It's over.

They're dead to it.

And now they are rising to new life in Jesus Christ.

Baptism doesn't save anybody but it is a testimony.

It's a declaration.

It's a confession of one's faith in Christ as Lord and Savior and the Lord

Jesus promised his people those who confessed me Before men, I will confess him before

my father in heaven Referring to the day of judgment.

And so it's our privilege our joy to baptize these two young men and the first one is

Matthew.

None.

Matthew has only been coming to church for a couple months now and.

He.

Heard the gospel.

He was Attending class coming to service and the Lord dealt with him

convicted him of his sin.

His need for Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.

Matthew is it sure?

Is it your resolve to trust the Lord Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Yes, and you purpose to live for him as his disciple.

Yes among us as a church.

Well, then it's our privilege and joy Matthew to baptize you in the name of the Father the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Joey is one of these privileged young men who grew up in a Christian home.

The born we watched him, you know grow up from infancy and he'd never known a time when

he hasn't believed in what he had been taught and Yet he's standing here

confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Joey God bless you for your confession of Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

And you purpose to live for him as his disciple among us his church.

Well, God bless you.

It's our privilege and joy to baptize you our brother in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Let's pray for these young men.

Thank you father for these young men that have come forward to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

and Resolve to live for you.

God this world needs more young men committed to Christ.

Help them our God help us as a church to encourage them and instruct them in the way they should go.

We pray you preserve them and protect them in the faith our God.

Bless them our God help them to be a wonderful faithful witness for Jesus Christ throughout

their lives.

We pray these things father in Jesus name.

Amen

our next hymn will be great is thy faithfulness.

Number 32 in the Red Hymnal.

Please stand.

Responsive

reading

this

morning

is.

Psalm 19. This is on page 790 in your red hymn books.

Psalm 19.

I do the regular text you do the bold.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Night after night they display.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard

in the heavens.

He has pitched a tent for the Sun which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion

like a champion.

Rejoicing to run its course.

The law of the Lord

is perfect.

Reviving the soul

the precepts of the Lord are right giving joy to the heart.

The fear of the Lord is pure enduring forever.

Organs, they are more precious than

gold than much pure gold.

By them is your servant warned in keeping them.

There is great reward.

Keep your servant also from willful sins.

May they may they not rule over me.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight.

Oh Lord my rock and my Redeemer.

Well prayer concerns.

Number.

676.

Alan wishes he could be here leading singing but it falls on us and so stand up

and Sing out if you would.

Let's

be

seated.

And

at

this time,

we'll

take

up

our

morning

offering.

It's a

part

of

our

worship.

And if you're a visitor you filled out that card if you put that in the offering plate, that's all we ask of you.

And we'll send you some information about our church.

And

let's

see

the

choir

has

us

as

a

special

at

this

time,

amen,

god

bless

you.

Let's

be

seated,

please.

I.

Think because of the time will forego this is next him and we'll have pastor Jason come and read for us

and He's going to read lamentations

Chapter 3 verses 1 through 27.

Lamentations.

Which follows immediately after Jeremiah, of course.

Lamentations chapter 3 1 through 27 and this is the passage.

It will be given attention to here shortly because it speaks about the faithfulness of God and.

Of course.

That's what our intention is our desire to glorify God today for his faithfulness to us over these

last 200 years.

Pastor Jason, please.

Lamentations 3.

I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light.

Surely he has turned his hand against me time and time again throughout the day.

He has aged my flesh and my skin and broken my bones.

He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe.

He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago.

He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out.

He has made my chain heavy.

Even when I cry and shout he shuts out my prayer.

He has blocked my ways with hewn stone.

He has made my paths crooked.

He has been to me a bear lying in wait like a lion in ambush.

He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces.

He has made me desolate.

He has bent his bow and set me up as a target for the arrow.

He has caused the arrows of his quiver to pierce my loins.

I Have become the ridicule of all my people.

They're taunting song all the day.

He has filled me with bitterness.

He has made me drink wormwood.

He has also broken my teeth with gravel and covered me with ashes.

You have moved my soul far from peace.

I have forgotten prosperity and I said my strength and my hope have perished

from the Lord.

Remember my affliction and roaming the wormwood and the gall.

My soul still remembers and sinks within.

This I recall to my mind therefore I have hope Through

the Lord's mercies.

We are not consumed because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion says my soul.

Therefore. I hope in him.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.

Let's pray our Heavenly Father.

You are so very very good and you are so very very faithful

even when we are faithless and Lord we rejoice and exalt in who you

are in what you've done and Lord we pray that as we continue to worship you through the

preaching of the sermon.

We pray Lord that we would be attentive to what your word says.

We pray that you would teach us.

Help us to understand this truth.

Help us to apply this truth and help us to glory in who you are.

Thank you Lord in Jesus name.

Amen.

We're pausing today from our study of the gospel of Luke To express our gratefulness

to our God for his kindness to us This Church of Jesus Christ

and so today We commemorate our 200th anniversary the founding of this.

Church.

First Baptist Church of Leominster.

The preserving and sustaining mercy of grace of God has been evident through the history of this church.

And we will attempt to emphasize our Lord's kindness this morning in two ways.

First we'll provide an overview of history of Baptist churches in New England attempting to

provide an historical context in which our church has existed

and Emerged to what it is today.

And then secondly, we'll consider the record of God's dealings with his people in the Old Testament passage

that we just read Lamentations chapter 3 verses 1 through 27 in

which we will draw out several attributes of our God who has brought us through history to where we

are today and.

So let us begin by reading just a few words that were already read for us, but I want to reiterate these

Lamentations 3 22 through 27 through the Lord's mercies.

We are not consumed.

Because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness?

The Lord is my portion says my soul.

Therefore. I hope in him.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.

Let's consider then first again two parts this morning.

Let's consider first our church within the historical context of Baptist churches in these

northeastern United States.

It's quite remarkable that our church especially as a Baptist Church with a reform

confession and convictions exists and Experiences God's blessing in this corner of our nation at this

time in history.

It is not that common frankly it's clear that this church is not held to the

convictions which characterize us today in Comparison with those held espoused by this church throughout

much of its 200 year history.

Churches of course may experience periods of growth or diminishment in numbers

Phases of strengthening of biblical convictions, but sadly they may experience times of weakening

Deficiency and departures in their message and faithfulness from the truths of the Word of God.

Our Lord's letters to the churches of Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3 certainly testify to this.

But this is true throughout any stage of history.

But thank God that he also visits his people with his mercy and grace restoring and sustaining them

to his favor and blessing and Thankfully the Lord at times grants seasons of

renewal when he blots out the sins of his people so that times of refreshing may come from the

presence of the Lord as Luke wrote in Acts chapter 3 and thankfully he has

done so in the history of this church.

Now I'm not well informed of many specific details of the history of our church.

But it's quite clear that our church has not always been as true and faithful to the Lord as it could have been and should have

been through periods of the last 200 years and Perhaps

the best evidence for some of our sordid history if I can use that term.

Spiritually speaking maybe assume from our church's long affiliation and involvement with the

Northern Baptist denomination.

Since this church was an active participant within that denomination throughout most of the 19th century.

Really from its beginning 1824 and all of the 20th century.

Until we separated from that denomination in 2001.

To become an independent Baptist Church some conclusions can be drawn reasonably.

Regarding this church's faith and practice through consideration of the history of the denomination.

And so let's consider first the Northern Baptist in the early 19th century.

The Northern Baptist churches of the early 19th century were evangelical and Mission -minded and for

the most part reformed by the way in their theology and practice that is

From the 18th century onwards Baptist Church's practice and independence and autonomy the local church.

Each church is independent from others, although they may band together in associations.

The Baptist churches of the 18th century Were both Calvinistic and Arminian as well.

I won't go into detail to explain that right now.

But for the most part they were Calvinistic.

They seem to be predominant.

Which is reflected in the confessions of faith that the church is espoused.

During those early years Baptist churches had adopted confessions of faith

documents that summarize or set forth their belief as to what the scriptures taught

regarding God the Holy Trinity.

How God would have us believe what he would have us believe and how he would have us live for him in this world.

And so in that day the most popular confession was called the Philadelphia confession of faith.

It was really known as the Baptist confession in these 13 colonies.

It was really a restatement of the second London confession of 1689 the confession that this church

advocates today.

The New Hampshire Baptist confession of 1833 was a milder Calvinistic confession that was

formulated in order to refute and correct the growing Arminianism among Baptist churches here in the New

England region and New Hampshire was the regional all of New England region of Baptist

churches at that time.

And so it here is to a confession help keep historical continuity and commitment to essential doctrines and

practices through those early period Baptist history in the northern United States.

Baptist churches had grown in number and influence through the 18th century.

Isaac Bacchus who? Pastored over here in Middleborough who actually was born and raised in

Connecticut.

He was converted under George Whitefields ministry during the Great Awakening The 1740s and he

became a leading Baptist pastor and church planter having founded over 50 reformed Baptist

churches throughout much of southern New England.

So much so that by 1790 there were 35 Baptist associations groups of churches

approximately 560 ministers 750 churches and 60 ,000

members in Baptist churches in the u .s.

The Baptist churches joined together in their promotion and support of missions both domestic and foreign.

It was the English Baptist William Carey who had great influence on the founding of Baptist foreign

missions.

His work in India inspired and moved American Baptist to missionary efforts.

There was out of a Christian group of students at Williams College out here in Western, Massachusetts.

It came faint became famous for the haystack prayer meeting of 1808 which resulted in great

missionary enthusiasm among the students of that college and indeed that

haystack prayer meeting was a contributing factor to the organization of foreign missionary societies.

For out of such a revivalistic atmosphere came at an iron Judson a Very well

-known missionary and Luther writes.

Whose conversion from congregational to Baptistic principles prompted the Baptist to undertake a

national missionary? organization just six years later.

At an iron Judson set sail from New England for India to become a missionary in 1812

eventually serving in Burma for many years.

Luther Rice who had originally sailed with Judson returned from India to New England and he raised support

for foreign missions among Baptist churches and in 1814 Luther Rice

was instrumental in forming the general missionary convention of the Baptist Denomination the United States of

America for foreign missions.

They had long titles back then long names but this came to be known as the triennial

convention and Really the triennial convention was the one Baptist denomination of all

Baptist churches Both in the north and the south at that time.

Also formed in those early years was the home mission society established in New York City in

1832 to promote evangelism and planting of Baptist churches in the American West the American

Frontier and so its mission was declared to preach the gospel.

Established churches give support and ministry to the unchurched and the destitute and it had

a great missionary effort.

To.

Native Americans the Indians out west as well.

The triennial convention had no stated position on slavery until.

1844.

This allowed both abolitionists as well as slave promoters to participate in the one

large Baptist denomination from both the northern and southern states.

But in 1843 the abolition abolitionists in the north to their credit

Founded the Northern Baptist Mission Society which opposed slavery.

In the following year to their credit the home mission society refused to ordain a man from Georgia as a missionary

because he was a slave holder and in May of 1845 in Augusta, Georgia

the slavery supporters of the South broke with the Triennial Convention and founded the Southern

Baptist Convention.

The Triennial Baptists were thereafter Concentrated in the northern states.

You had Northern Baptist and Southern Baptist.

The abolitionists in the north became the sole inheritors of the Triennial Convention or of the

Baptist denomination of the northern states.

Now.

Northern Baptists were in some ways different from Southern Baptists in that Northern Baptists were supporters of

higher education much more so than the Baptist in the South in Contrast to

the earlier Great Awakening the Great Revival of 1740s.

It was characterized by great emotionalism and conviction of sin under Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

There came to pass what was known as the second Great Awakening that began around 1795 and continued

to 1840.

One once compared and contrasted these two revivals the Great Awakening and the second Great Awakening.

One of the chief differences between this period of revivals and the Great Awakening.

Apart from its longer duration was its general character.

Almost universally the scattered sparks of revival fire were fanned into flame by prayer.

Prayer is what characterized the second Great Awakening.

Education and sophistication were the principal forces which tended to restrain the emotional

element in religious experience.

The Baptist emphasis on education is evident by the multiplication of schools established by

1900.

There are dozen dozens and dozens of Baptist colleges and universities.

But it's in the arena of higher education So -called that the Northern Baptists began to depart from the faith and

practice that they had earlier universally espoused and because of the principle of soul

liberty the autonomous nature of the local churches Christian pastors and their churches had

embraced modern views of science and history.

Eventually dominated the growing number of churches among Northern Baptists through the middle and latter

decades of the 19th century the teachings of Darwinian evolution the newly conceived

geological ages.

And the higher criticism of the scriptures which had denial of the supernatural the miraculous

Became predominant beliefs that shaped the character and quality of the Baptist churches in the north.

The belief and conviction of inspiration and inerrancy of the scriptures were questioned and abandoned entirely.

They didn't believe the Bible was the Word of God.

The miracles recorded in the Bible were rationalized as embellished natural events.

The virgin birth of Christ was denied as was his resurrection and the teaching of his second coming.

He's not coming back a second time these liberal Northern Baptist churches taught.

Other essential beliefs were either de -emphasized or disregarded entirely.

There was a turning away of evangelism diminishment of teaching regarding original and personal sin.

The need for personal conversion waned and in its place arose an emphasis on societal

causes for the ills of society.

So the conversion of adults was becoming increasingly rare.

There was an emphasis on the social gospel.

It became the predominant concern which addressed issues of poverty and alcoholism and community.

Disintegration is really the means of recovery and restoring.

Society.

There were evangelicals and evangelical churches present here and there but the denomination was

increasingly dominated by modernists.

It was in the early 20th century that these differences grew to the point of being divisive.

The Northern Baptist Convention was founded and formally founded in Washington DC on May 17th

1907 Charles Van Hughes the governor of New York was its first

president.

He later became the chief justice of the US Supreme Court.

The purpose of the Northern Baptist Convention was to foster cooperation among the disparate Baptist churches

and ministries that existed.

In 1911 most of the churches of the of the Armenian denomination the Free Will Baptist

General Conference merged with the Northern Baptist which further resulted in deterioration of

doctrinal distinctives and clarity of a gospel message and then in 1920 the more

conservative Baptist churches and their leaders formed the Fundamentalist Federation.

Now, these were Baptist churches that were evangelical in the Northern Baptist Convention.

They produced a seven -point statement of their belief drawn from the Philadelphia earlier Philadelphia, New

Hampshire confessions.

And so this group sought to reform and restore the Baptist denomination to its historic and reformed convictions.

The Federation drafted proposed a confession of faith to be adopted by the churches of the denomination.

But the liberals declared to do so would violate historic Baptist principles of soul liberty.

And so it was in 1922 at their annual convention that the

Liberal preacher Harry Emerson Fosnick preached one of the most controversial sermons of the 20th

century.

His message was entitled shall the fundamentalist win it?

resulted in a national firestorm.

The result of the controversy was that the Northern Baptist Convention Rejected all forms of

required confession of faith by churches.

And so here's a description of that gathering.

Presiding over the gathering this year was Rochester's Helen Barrett Montgomery a Wellesley graduate

social reformer and Greek scholar.

She would in 1924 translate the whole New Testament the first American woman known to do so.

And Montgomery was the first female president of any American Protestant denomination.

She acknowledged in her opening address the tension in the room over a confession of faith and At the Northern

Baptist Convention had no authority to enforce a confession if it were adopted.

For us Baptist to have an official confession of faith would would would come seriously near to

abandoning one of our Fundamental principles she declared like many modernist Baptist

Montgomery viewed Confessionalism as a contradiction of Baptist principles.

She was wrong because the early Baptist churches were all confessional Philadelphia confession,

New Hampshire confession and others.

Well after the proposal to adopt a denomination wide confession of faith was made at this convention.

The liberal Baptist pastor Cornelius Wolfkin pastor of John D Rockefeller.

He was a Baptist opulent.

Park Avenue Baptist Church in New York City proposed a substitute motion in place of a

confession of faith.

He said that the Northern Baptist Convention affirmed the New Testament is the all -sufficient ground of faith and practice

and that We need no other.

That was a declaration or a proposal that was adopted.

By the Northern Baptist Convention the motion won the day.

It was a rejection of any and all statements of faith in 1922 and It was upon this

and after this that this Denomination seriously defected and departed from the historic faith and

practice that had characterized Baptist since the 17th century.

From then on until today. The denomination has become increasingly aberrant and apostate.

The Northern Baptist churches have been characterized by sinful compromise and great doctrinal error.

In 1950 the Northern Baptist Convention changed its name to American Baptist Convention and then in

1972 the name was changed to its present American Baptist Churches USA ABC

USA.

It was after the abandonment and rejection of sound statements of faith or doctrinal confession of faith and practice.

The denomination slid on that slippery slope into error and abandonment of truth.

It's one thing to claim that the Bible is a sole source for truth.

But it's absolutely essential to declare what that truth is what that source of truth the Bible teaches

and what God would have us believe in practice as the denomination departed from biblical truth

evangelical Baptist churches began to depart from the Denomination in large numbers the

General Association of Regular Baptists the GRB.

In one of those out in California it was formed in 1932 coming out of the

Northern Baptist Convention and then in 1947 the Conservative Baptist Association they

came out of the Northern Baptist denomination and through the 20th century most of the churches of the

ABC USA became Increasingly apostate and so so -called Baptist churches have merged with

liberal congregational churches Federated churches and even joining with Unitarian

congregations.

Which deny the biblical teaching of our triune God they deny the Trinity and yet they claim to be

Baptists.

Their seminaries conferred decrees upon Unitarian ministers who've practiced and promoted Wiccan

paganism that was going on going on at Andover Newton Baptist seminary the

ABC USA promotes homosexual membership and leadership in their churches.

They endorse and perform homosexual marriages.

They excuse and promote sin of the most egregious nature.

They've long since departed from the biblical gospel.

There are no longer churches of Jesus Christ in my opinion.

The Lord has removed their lampstand from his presence.

Revelation 2 5.

Well, it's from this historical context that the Lord has recovered and restored our church.

There have been some efforts through the years by a few pastor to teach the scriptures.

But this church for the most part followed the course that his denomination had set before it.

Is it any wonder that when the Lord providentially moved this church to call Ken Doerr as its pastor in 1987?

He thought there were perhaps only three true Christians in this church.

He told me that but the Lord was faithful to his promise to bless the teaching and preaching of his word

and because of his faithfulness to bestow mercy upon those who repented their sin before him and

Believing upon Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The Lord has restored his name and presence to this church and he's made it into a place in which

currently dwells.

He dwells in power Along with many souls.

He's called to himself through the gospel.

Great is his faithfulness.

This church came out of that denomination, of course in 2001 and It was then that the Lord

really began to bless his gospel.

We began to see people converted on a more wide scale and he is blessed

wonderfully since then.

That's the history of our church in association with the denomination God is

merciful and God is gracious to us.

Now let's turn our attention to the Old Testament passage of Lamentations chapter 3 and Address the subject.

Lord great is your faithfulness.

The committee that's planned the events of this year's anniversary celebration asked if we would preach this morning upon this text

which Includes the affirmation that God great is your faithfulness.

So we'll do so.

And we purpose to explain the historic and literary context in which these words of Lamentations 3 are

proclaimed.

So here again are verses 22 to 27 and notice there's there's there's two strokes two

stanzas here.

Through the Lord's mercies were not consumed.

Because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion says my soul.

Therefore. I hope in him.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him this to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

It's good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.

First a few words about the historical context when Jeremiah wrote these words of

Lamentations 3.

Lamentations was written by the Prophet Jeremiah at the end of his public ministry that encompassed over

40 years.

Jeremiah began to serve in the days of King Josiah.

Judah, which was a glorious period of renewal and revival.

Josiah had reigned from 640 until his untimely death in 609 BC and

Afterward under the leadership of his sons.

However, there was significant decline and departure of Judah from God.

Jeremiah had foretold Jerusalem's destruction the Destruction of the temple and the

exile of his people to Babylon and Jeremiah continued to proclaim God's Word during the

reigns of the remaining kings of Judah and Through the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.

He was a first -hand witness and watched it decline Deteriorate and ultimately

destroyed under the judgment of God.

There were three deportations of Jews by the Babylonians back to Babylon.

He witnessed all three deportations who had survived the siege, but were taken captive by Babylon.

Jeremiah was in great distress in Greek while viewing the ruins of his city and the misery of his people.

He saw it all he saw it coming and then he saw it happen.

And the opening words of Lamentations 1 express his distress.

How lonely sits the city that was full of people.

How like a widow is she who was great among the nations.

The princess princess among the provinces has become a slave.

She weeps bitterly in the night.

Her tears are on her cheeks among all her lovers.

She has none to comfort her.

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her.

They've become her enemies.

Judah has gone into captivity.

Under affliction and hard servitude.

She dwells among the nation's Babylon.

She finds no rest and all her persecutors overtake her in dire straits

and so it was in the deepest of Sadness and near despair that Jeremiah penned the words

of this prophecy of Lamentations.

Whereas his prophecy in the book of Jeremiah foretold the fall of Jerusalem Lamentations expresses

the pain of the event itself as one rightly said.

Let's just stand back a little bit say a few words about the literary nature and major

themes of Lamentations as an entire book five chapters.

The book of Lamentations is a very sophisticated and beautiful literary document.

This can be seen in.

Considering the book contains five separate but related laments.

A lament is an expression of sorrow of sadness.

The poetic rhythm of the meter of the lines and the acrostic nature of its organization all

suggest that it's quite.

Literary.

It's sophisticated in quite a literary way.

First let's recognize that the book of Lamentations contains five chapters Which are five individual

laments expressed by its author.

Poetic laments in Scripture here and in the Psalms have some common characteristics.

First there's a complaint about adversity which the Lord either tolerated or caused.

We saw that Lamentations 1 verses 1 through 3.

Secondly, there's a confession of trust in a lament.

Third an appeal for deliverance on the grounds of the Lord's character and covenant and fourth certainty of

a hearing often with assurance that the enemies and persecutors Will in turn experience the wrath of

God.

God will be merciful and he will render Justice.

And these four qualities may be seen clearly in Lamentations.

Secondly the literary nature this book may also be seen in the poetic meter of the lines of the

verses.

Now whereas in English poetry, there's often a quality of rhyme among lines in Hebrew poetry

there The poetry is evident Through its cadence of meter of each

line or each verse.

That is there's a repetition pattern of the number of syllables in each line of the Hebrew text.

As one described it the clearest evidence for meter in Hebrew poetry is the book of Lamentations Which

seems to use a line of five beats divided three two.

My Hebrew professor in seminary was from China and so I was really messed up in my pronunciation of

Hebrew.

But he would make us when we read emphasize both the minor and the major accent so

we had us reading Hebrew like a cantor and.

So.

Somewhat familiar with the meter that they're talking about and there was a particular pattern of meter that was

true of laments and it conveyed the idea of sadness and even despair and.

So the clearest evidence of meter in Hebrew poetry is the book of Lamentations.

Which seems to use a line of five beats divided three two.

This meter is called keen up after the Hebrew name for lament.

It is most often found in poetry of this sorrowful kind.

There is sophistication in Jeremiah's authorship when considering the structure of the

five separate but related laments of Lamentations one may notice that the first two chapters

chapters 1 2 and the last two chapters 3 4 5 have 22

verses of text each.

However, the verses that are that are here in chapter 3 are 66 in number

three times the number in chapter 1 2 4 5 and.

The verses are set forth as an acrostic that is in each verse of chapters 1 2 4

5 each verse begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order in.

This third chapter three verses each begin with one of the 22 Hebrew letters which together

account for all 66 verses and so of this writing being employed as an acrostic.

It may be said this method may indicate that the poet is giving a complete treatment of the subject matter.

The acrostic also provides a form for the literary expression of grief.

Allowing the writer to impose a kind of order on the chaos that such a terrible tragedy brings.

I'll bring all this up to just to emphasize the literary Sophistication of the writers of the

Old Testament scriptures.

These were brilliant men granted inspired by God but they were intelligent reason

literary men and it certainly is reflected through Jeremiah's pen as he penned this book

of Lamentations.

When we consider six verses that we have read from Lamentations 3 We may see that verses 22

23 and 24 begin with the 8th Hebrew letter Yes.

And the next three verses 25 and 26 and 27 each begin with the 9th letter of the Hebrew

alpha alphabet Tess and we may see by these literary characteristics the depth and

sophistication Of Jeremiah's writing of these five chapters of Lamentations.

It's an incredible book a book of poetry.

Now let's consider the message of Lamentations 3.

When we read the first three verses of chapter 3, they reveal that that the author himself is speaking.

This is first person singular.

I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light.

Surely he has turned his hand against me time and time again throughout the day.

The author is speaking.

Jeremiah is writing.

However, although Jeremiah is alone speaking He's writing his sorrow on behalf of all the

surviving people of Judah there in Jerusalem of which he is just one.

As one wrote in this poem an individual expresses the grief of his community.

He expressed that he had witnessed the darkness of the Lord's judgment upon his people and upon his blessed city Jerusalem.

God's hand had been against him over a prolonged time as he expressed the wrath of God poured out upon

him by the Babylonians the instrument of God even described here as the rod of his wrath.

God was in control and in the following verses of Jeremiah of Lamentations 3

Jeremiah used a number of metaphors to describe the severity of God's judgment upon him.

This was God that judged his people.

He has aged my flesh and skin and broken my bones.

God has hedged me in so that I cannot get out.

He's made my chain heavy.

He has been to me a bear lying and wait like a lion in ambush.

So although it was the Babylonian armies that had afflicted and destroyed his land Jeremiah saw God

himself as the one who had come against him.

This happened to him.

Even though he had been God's faithful prophet to his people.

We read.

God has bent his bow and set me up as a target for the arrow.

He's caused the arrows of his quiver to pierce my loins.

I've become the ridicule of all my people their taunting song all the day.

He's filled me with bitterness.

He has made me drink wormwood.

The man is sorrowing in his difficulty.

But what is the specific message of Lamentations?

322 through 27 which seems to be a rather positive expression of faith on the part of the

prophet.

Well beginning with verse 22 we arrive at the near center of this poem of Lamentations 3 and.

Really?

It's the central message of the entire book of Lamentations.

There's a turning point in Jeremiah's thinking that is expressed first with a word regarding the mercies of

God and then by an expression of faith and hope that God would bring restoration to him and his people and.

So in verses 22 through 24 with each verse beginning with the Hebrew letter s

The writer expresses his knowledge and assurance.

It was only due to the mercies of God that they that any of his people including himself had

survived.

Jeremiah wrote through the Lord's mercies were not consumed because his compassions fail not there

new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion says my soul and therefore I hope in him.

The Hebrew word translated in English as mercies is the often employed Hebrew word of the Old

Testament Chesed.

This word conveys the thought of God's covenant love.

The ESV translates this word slightly differently the steadfast love of the Lord.

Never ceases his mercies never come to an end.

And so whereas the ESV rightly conveys the faithful loving action of the Lord toward his people by the word

steadfast Love the New King James Version rightly shows the plural number of the word.

The noun is plural the mercies which suggests many acts of God's love having been shown to his

people.

Even while his judgment was upon them.

Jeremiah wrote that the Lord's mercies are not consumed because his compassions fail not.

God is sovereign in his Determination on whom he will have mercy and on whom he will have compassion

when they are in his sin when they are in their sin.

When Paul was setting forth his reasoning for the sovereign grace of God in electing some sinners unto salvation

and Passing by all others.

He wrote these words to respond to a possible objector to God's sovereignty and salvation.

What should we say then.

Is there unrighteousness with God when he chooses some but not others?

Is there unrighteousness with God.

Certainly not for he God says to Moses I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy and I

will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.

So then it's not of him who wills.

You don't have salvation because you willed it.

Nor him who runs not because of anything you did do could do want to do but of God

who shows mercy.

For the scripture says to Pharaoh for this very purpose I raised you up that I may show my power on you and

that my name may be declared in all the earth.

And Therefore God he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills he hardens

In the eternal covenant that the three persons of the Holy Trinity had entered with one another before creation.

The father had elected those that he purposed to save from their sin out of fallen humanity.

He gifted those chosen ones to his son to redeem them unto himself and

Even when the elect were lost in their sin and under the wrath of God due to their sin God had

compassion upon his chosen people.

Even as they as he intended and purposed to save them from their sin.

He preserved his elect even while they were in their lost rebellious and sinful state.

Because he purposed to redeem them to himself through Jesus Christ.

And so the compassion of God for his people that Jeremiah described as his compassions failed.

Not must speak of the everlasting love that God had for his people even when they were in

their sin and under his wrath.

God had compassion for them and Desired and purpose to save them.

And if you're a Christian today Even before you became a Christian and you were steeped in rebellion and

sin and defiance of God and unbelief.

God had compassion upon you and purpose to show mercy upon you.

And so there was a time when he called you to salvation Because of his everlasting love for you and there was

nothing lovely about you.

There was nothing that he saw ahead of time in you that moved him to love you.

It was sovereign grace from first to last.

Matthew Henry wrote of this these streams followed up to the fountain.

It is the Lord's mercies.

Here are mercies in the plural number denoted the abundance and variety of those mercies.

God is an inexhaustible fountain of mercy.

The father of mercies.

No, we all owe it to the sparing mercy of God that were not consumed.

Others have been consumed round about us and we ourselves have been in the consuming and yet we are not consumed.

We're out of the grave.

We are out of hell had we been dealt with according to our sins.

We should have been consumed long ago.

But we've been dealt with according to God's mercies and we're bound to acknowledge it to his praise.

And then he went on to write that even in the depth of their affliction.

They still have experience of the tenderness of the divine pity and the truth of the divine promise.

They had several times complained that God had not pitied but here they correct themselves and own

that God's Compassions fail.

Not they do not really fail.

No not even when in anger.

He seems to have shut up his tender mercies.

These rivers of mercy run fully and constantly but never run dry.

No, they're new every morning every morning.

We have fresh instances of God's compassion towards us.

He visits us with them every morning every morning.

Does he bring his judgment to light when our comforts fail.

Yet God's compassions do not.

His compassions never fail.

And then Jeremiah made this glorious declaration in verse 23 and it's expressed to God notice.

Great is your faithfulness.

The reason that Jeremiah and the small remnant of Jews with him had been spared and saved Through the great calamity of

God's judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah was due to the faithfulness of God to his covenantal

Promises.

The faithfulness of God speaks of the immutability the unchangeableness of God.

Which is an aspect of God's goodness.

The psalmist wrote of this glorious attribute of God of old.

You laid the foundation of the earth of the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish but you will endure.

That's because God doesn't change.

Yes, they will all grow old like a garment like a cloak.

You will change them and they will be changed but you are the same and your years will have no end.

The children of your servants will continue and their descendants will be established before you.

God is true to his word of promise.

What he committed to do in his covenant with his people in Christ.

He will never withdraw or fail to bring to pass.

Great is thy faithfulness of God's immutability, which means his unchangeableness

assures us of God's promises because he changes not as The classic writer Stephen

Charnock wrote of the attributes of God thou art the same.

The essence of God with all the perfections of his nature pronounced the same.

Without any variation from eternity to eternity.

So that the text doth not only assert the eternal duration of God.

But his immutability in that duration his eternity is signified in that expression.

Thou shalt endure his immutability is this thou art the same.

To endure argues indeed this immutability as well as eternity for what endures is not

changed.

And what is changed does not endure but thou art the same.

He could not be the same if he could be changed into any other thing than what he is.

The psalmist therefore puts not thou has been or shall be but thou art the same without any

alteration.

Thou art the same that is the same God the same in essence and nature the same in will and purpose.

Thou doth change all other things as thou pleavest.

But thou art immutable in every respect and receive no shadow of change.

No, though never so light and small.

And then Jeremiah closed this triad of verses 22 to 24 with these words.

The Lord is my portion says my soul and therefore I hope in him.

Because God had declared his covenant that he would show regard and favor to his people.

Jeremiah even as he sat amid a ruined city with a destroyed temple and with

abandoned streets because of the exile.

Jeremiah had reason for hope and so he gave forth these same words of encouragement to those that were in

his hearing.

We read in verses 25 to 27.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him.

Think of the audience to whom he's addressing these words in their misery perhaps starving in

ragged clothes.

Their homes destroyed the temple completely abandoned and destroyed to the soul who

seeks him.

It's good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

It's good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.

And so it's our privilege and even duty to enter to center our hope on God.

Who's promised his favor to rest upon us in Jesus Christ?

He did not disregard or destroy us even when we were living in disregard and defiance of

him.

And so we must take our comfort in him alone and in what he has promised to us through his son Our Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ.

If I could just throw one additional lesson into this do not assess God and your relation to him

based upon what you see.

Happening to you.

Can you imagine if Jeremiah had done that?

No, we are to see our relationship with God based solely upon Jesus Christ.

Who he is and what he's done and what he's promised to do.

Several lessons of this regarding our church and our Lord's gracious dealings with us.

And then we'll close.

After considering the history of the Baptist denomination of which this church was apart through its entire existence until

2001.

When we severed our formal ties with it, we can assert several truths that the Lord has confirmed to us.

First there is great value and importance for a church to hold a clearly stated biblically

based confession of faith.

Our Baptist confession of faith of 1689 is not an infallible document.

Nor is it an authoritative document except to the degree it accurately sets forth the truth of

the Holy Scriptures.

The Bible is the only objective source for spiritual truth that God has given us in this world.

All else is subjective and.

Flawed.

But it's great error to assume that as the Northern Baptist have done to this day.

They confessing the Bible to be the inspired Word of God alone is all that's required.

For cooperation and fellowship between churches the Bible God's Word teaches us the substance of

God's truth What were to believe and how were to live before him and therefore it's not just the Bible itself

But what the Bible teaches that is to be the basis of fellowship and cooperation of churches with one

another.

Paul declared it was a truth and Content of the gospel that was to be the basis of

cooperation and fellowship with other churches.

He wrote even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we preach

to you Let him be accursed.

You can't have fellowship with those who teach another gospel and as we've said before so now I say again if anyone

preaches any other gospel to you than what you've received let him be accursed.

A Confession of faith is a tool Employed in the life of a church.

How is a church confession of faith to be used.

Charles Spurgeon wrote these words?

He actually recovered the Baptist Confession of 1689 and applied it to his church.

And he prefaced that confession with these words.

This little volume is not issued as an authoritative rule or code of faith whereby you're to be

fettered but as an assistance to you in controversy a Confirmation and faith and a means

of edification and righteousness.

Here the younger members of our church will have a body of divinity and small compass and by means of scriptural

proofs Will be ready to give an account for the hope that is in them.

Be not ashamed of your faith.

Remember, it's the ancient gospel of martyrs confessors reformers and saints and above all it's the truth of

God against which the gates of hell Cannot prevail.

Let your lives adorn your faith.

Let your example adorn your creed.

Above all live in Christ Jesus and walk in him giving credence to no teaching.

But that which is manifestly approved of him owned by the Holy Spirit cleave fast to the Word of God.

Which is here that is in the confession mapped out for you.

There is great value and importance of a confession of faith and when the ABC USA abandoned

confessions of faith They went off the deep end into ruin.

Secondly the Word of God sets forth the spiritual principle of separation from evil in order to

experience the blessing of God throughout the scriptures.

God commands and expects his people to separate themselves from evil people and Influences that would lead them to

compromise or defect from him and the truth of his word.

He commanded Abram to get away from his family as homeland after which God would reveal himself to

Abram.

The Israelites were to separate themselves from the Canaanites lest their faith and practice be corrupted.

God had instructed Kings not to marry foreign women for they would turn the heart of the king from the Lord.

And in the New Testament Christians are warned to avoid corrupting influences in people.

Paul wrote do not be deceived.

Evil company corrupts good habits.

You're gonna become like those you run with.

God will withhold his blessing and refuse to bestow his grace on people who refuse to depart from

evil.

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth.

Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

For what fellowship has righteousness with unright with lawlessness none.

And what communion has light with darkness none.

And What accord or cordon says Christ with Belial with the devil or what part has a

believer with an unbeliever?

What agreement has the temple of God with idols?

You're the temple of the Living God.

As God said, I'll dwell among them.

Therefore come out from among them and be separate says the Lord.

Do not touch What is unclean.

And then we have the promise of God if they obey that and I will receive you and I will be a

father To you and you should be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty.

Our Lord our church had failed and refused to separate from an apostate Denomination in which many of their

churches and ministry denied the essentials of the Christian faith.

This church was guilty of its sinful tolerance and refusal to stand true and strong for the gospel

and for other essentials of the Word of God.

Separating ourselves from that communion of churches put us in a place in which we could receive God's

richest blessings.

And I would argue that that's really when it began to take place when we did so and Lastly and we

conclude with this.

Certainly the blessing of God upon us is not due to any credit or any righteousness on our part.

The blessing of God that he's bestowed upon this church after having separated from its former corrupt Denomination

was solely due to the mercies of God's sovereign unchangeable grace.

It was his doing that brought this church out of its former state and restored it to a place of his favor and blessing.

It is because he had said his love upon this people.

So he purposed to deliver them from that which was defiling and damning Bringing his people under the authority and

blessing of hearing and doing his word Each of us can save ourselves and we can save our

church through the Lord's mercies.

We're not consumed because his compassions fail not they're new every morning great is your

faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion says my soul and therefore I hope in him.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, normally Alan comes up here, but.

It's left to us.

Let's turn to 599, please and Sing this concluding hymn.

Savior like a shepherd lead us.

Let's stand please.