Stillwater Reformed Presbyterian Church

Since you have been raised with Christ, seek and set your minds on the things above, where Christ is.

Train your heart to deepen and develop wisdom.

Psalter selection: 88A.

Listen to wisdom and pursue it.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, get wisdom.

Let us respond to Jesus' Great Commission to make disciples of all the nations by going, baptizing, and teaching.

Since Christ has laid hold of you for a purpose, therefore, press on to lay hold of the prize.

Because you are a new creation in Christ, put off the old and put on the new.

Psalter selection 87B. Rev. Parnell, in Psalm 87, explains that the psalm reveals God's purpose to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth, beginning with His covenant love for the Jewish people, symbolized by His love for Jerusalem and His presence in the temple. God loves Zion because it is the city of His people, where He met with them and provided grace through the temple sacrifices, to which the people responded in worship ("all my springs are in you"). The middle verses were show that God's love also extends to non-Jewish peoples—including Israel's enemies such as Egypt (Rahab), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia—who are counted as "born" in Jerusalem among God's people. Rev. Parnell connects the census imagery to God recording and saving individuals by name, and points forward to Jesus Christ as the one who, through his sacrifice, brings people into the people of God. The meditation closes by referencing the Lamb's Book of Life as a final census still open to those who trust in Christ.

Since you are united to Christ in your salvation, put to death your old, sinful way of life.

Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith, therefore run the race of the Christian life with your ees fixed on Him.

God shows you mercy in Christ, who died for your sins, and was raised for your justification. Ask God for mercy and rest in Jesus.

The Lord Jesus Christ has entrusted the gospel to you. Guard it and proclaim it.

Raise your children up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

You cannot serve both God and money.

If God be for us, who can be against us? Encourage yourself in the Lord with His character and worship, and then you'll have not only the weapons to fight the good fight but the courage to use them.

Psalter selection: 84B. This meditation presents Psalm 84 as a pilgrimage psalm, expressing the soul's longing for the courts of the Lord and the presence of God made possible through Christ the Anointed One. The psalm describes the Christian life as a journey through valleys of tears toward the goal of appearing before God's face, strengthened by Jesus our great High Priest.

Be strengthened to persevere in faith by the promise of Jesus' Second Coming.

Because Jesus is our great High Priest, let us persevere in faith, confessing the good confession.

In baptism, we focus on and celebrate not what we have done to deserve Christ, but what God has done. He saves the helpless sinners like you and me.

Psalter selection: 83. This meditation addresses the confederacy of ten enemy nations aligned to destroy Israel, teaching believers to pray urgently against God's enemies for their defeat or conversion. The psalm prefigures Christ, who was surrounded by enemies plotting His destruction, yet through the cross defeated Satan, death, and the kingdom of darkness.

Fight the good fight of the faith.

Godliness with contentment is great gain.

Remember God's wonderful works as a foundation of assurance of your salvation now and for eternity.

Love of money and love of self can produce teachers who twist the truth to gain their own advantage. Withdraw from such false teachers.

Earthly worship is a participation in heavenly worship, joining the saints who have gone before and the heavenly angels all giving glory to the Lord.

You cannot stand against the enemy in your own strength, therefore be strong in the Lord who sends His angels to minister to you.

Like the angels in heaven, humble yourself before God who is holy, holy, holy. Humble yourself and He will cleanse you and lift you up to serve Him.

Psalter selection: 148A. Chosen to accompany the Advent season, this meditation traces Psalm 148's call for all creation to praise God, from angels and heavenly hosts through sun, moon, and stars, to earthly creatures and mankind. The high point is that redeemed men and women, created in God's image, join the angels in praising the Creator and Redeemer.

Listen and respond to the good news the angels announced - Jesus Christ has come into the world to save sinners.

Work so that God is glorified.

Take care of your shepherds and shepherd them.

Psalter selection: 82B. This meditation presents God as the supreme judge who holds earthly rulers accountable for perverting justice and neglecting the poor and fatherless. Jesus quoted this psalm in John 10 to defend His claim to be the Son of God, demonstrating His authority to judge and His works of mercy that confirm He is the Christ.

Proclaim the love of God by caring for the elderly in the family of faith.

The Church is the Temple of God, a primary means that Jesus uses to accomplish His great saving purpose. Therefore, as living stones, build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.

The church is the family of God, therefore, work faithfully to build one another up as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Be an example in Christian behavior by following the example of others, and by giving attention to God's Word.

Psalter selection: 81B. This meditation shows how Psalm 81 celebrates the Exodus and reveals Christ in Old Testament imagery: the Passover lamb, the water from the rock, manna from heaven, and the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai. God's invitation 'open your mouth wide and I will fill it' is a poetic call to come to Christ for salvation.

Our mighty God is a consuming fire, destroying His enemies and lovingly chastening His elect. Worship Him!

Exercise yourself towards godliness.

Don't be surprised and do not despair. The Spirit has said expressly that some will depart from the faith.

Praise the Lord who has stooped down to save sinners.

This passage gives something of a creed, a simple statement of faith, about the person and work of Jesus Christ. You are called to accept and believe these great truths about the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Deacons are servants of the church who care for the physical and mercy needs of the congregation. They may be women as well as men.

Christ gave elders to care for the church, therefore pray for men of godly character to serve as elders.