Eph 3:14-21 - Rooted, Grounded, and Growing in Love

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Amen.

Thank you all.

I love that song.

It's a reminder that the calling of God on Peter's life that we celebrate today is a

unique one.

It's also one that many aspects of are for all of us too.

Not just for the preacher, but for all of us following Christ to make his name great.

What a great joy that we get to be a part of that together.

We are celebrating Peter's ordination here in just a few minutes.

Part of that celebration is getting to invite a pastor who's a friend of yours to come and

open God's word for us.

Peter obviously didn't know many.

He picked someone who's been to Oxford, Mississippi and Columbia, South Carolina.

So apparently the pickings were slim.

We're sorry about that.

But that's not the only places Justin has lived.

He also overlapped with us in seminary in St. Louis.

So he and his wife Missy are friends of me and Christy.

But he and Peter go back to Maryland.

None of those other terrible places where Justin served on staff at that church with Peter.

And so they're friends.

And we're so excited.

As much as I would like to give Justin a hard time for his football history, he's a great

pastor and a great friend.

And I'm delighted for you to get to hear God's word from him this morning.

Thank you, Justin.

Thanks, Paul.

Appreciate it.

I invite you to open your copy of God's word if you have one to Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Ephesians 3.

And in just a moment, I'll read verses 14 through 21.

Ephesians 3, 14 through 21.

And before diving in, I do just want to say that I am deeply humbled by and thankful for

the opportunity to preach this morning.

As Will alluded, Peter and I go back to around 2010.

That's when I was called out of seminary to serve as an assistant pastor at Providence

Presbyterian Church in Salisbury, Maryland, which is where Peter and Emily were members.

And it's the church in which Peter also spent many of his formative years along with his

family there.

And when I got there, Peter was a part-time, if memory serves, volunteer youth director.

And so I got to know him a little bit in that relationship.

And after about a year, Peter was hired to be the full-time youth director there, which

meant that the door to his study was about eight feet away from the door to my study.

And so I feel for those of you who have to work in close proximity with Peter for reasons

that perhaps have already become obvious.

And if they haven't, I assure you they will.

There's nothing like having the doorknob to your study tied to the doorknob of the closet

across the hall so that you can't get out of your own study, among many other things.

And after about a year of that, Peter in his full-time capacity, I talked him into going

to seminary because I just couldn't take it anymore.

And so he and Emily moved to St. Louis.

No, he and Emily made the very prayerful decision to go to Covenant Seminary in St.

Louis to pursue training for further ministry.

And that was a decision that I, and more importantly, the leadership of the church, were happy to

affirm and are excited to see how the Lord has led since then and has faithfully brought

you to this point this morning.

Peter, after getting over the initial elation of being invited to preach this service, my

attention quickly turned to the text that I would be preaching from.

And that decision took all of about two seconds because it was merely a matter of asking, what

is the text that has most profoundly impacted me personally and pastorally since my own ordination

to the ministry?

And I can say without reservation and without hesitation that it's Ephesians 3, beginning at

verse 14, where the apostle Paul writes, and God's word says,

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and

on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened

with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts

through faith.

That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the

saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth.

And to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the

fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to

the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,

forever and ever.

Amen.

This is God's holy word.

May he add his blessing to the reading and the preaching of it.

I invite you to pray with me as we open his word together.

Our gracious God and heavenly Father, we come and we ask that by your Spirit you'd use the

reading and the preaching of your word to convince and to convert anyone here who might not know

you this morning.

We pray that you would use your word in the lives of your kids to build them up in holiness

and comfort through our faith in your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.

Amen.

Well, the context of this passage will help us to see why it's such an appropriate text

for an occasion like this one this morning.

We're at the end of Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Paul has spent these first three chapters extolling all of the glories of God's grace toward his

people in the gospel of his Son, Jesus Christ.

The way that he has sovereignly loved them, his electing grace toward them, his adoption of

them, the riches that are theirs by virtue of their union with his Son, Jesus, and on and on

we could go.

And in the verse immediately following our passage this morning, Paul turns his attention

to how God's people are to live their lives in light of God's grace toward them in the gospel.

The way that he says it is he's going to tell them how to walk in a manner worthy of the calling

with which they've been called.

And he devotes his attention to that throughout the end of his letter.

And after focusing on God's grace in that way, again, he tells them how they're to live lives

of obedience by doing, you know, really pretty easy things like maintaining unity in the body

and speaking the truth in love and living lives of holiness and righteousness.

Being angry but not sinning.

Not stealing but working honestly and sharing generously.

Speaking graciously to those you interact with.

Forgiving others as Christ has forgiven you.

Being sexually pure.

Being content and not covetous of other people.

Making the best use of the time that God has afforded you.

Men, loving your wives as Christ loved the church.

Wives, respecting your husbands.

Parents, diligently training up your children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.

And then how to be a diligent prayer warrior in Ephesians 6 as he closes out the letter.

Just easy stuff like that.

Are you kidding me?

How do you begin to do those things faithfully?

In some of those cases, how do you begin to even want to do some of those things faithfully?

To put a bit finer point on it this morning for you, Peter, in light of your calling to the ministry,

how are you going to live up to just this one vow that you're going to take in a few moments?

To engage, to be a faithful and diligent minister of the gospel in the exercise of all your duties as a Christian and as a minister.

Whether personal or relational, private or public.

And to endeavor to adorn the profession of the gospel in your manner of life.

And to walk with exemplary piety before the flock.

And for the rest of y'all, how are y'all going to faithfully receive the word of truth with meekness from Peter's mouth

and encourage him in his labors and assist him in his endeavors?

What's the secret to walking in a manner worthy of your respective callings?

Well, the secret is in Ephesians 1 through 3.

More specifically though, what do you need?

What do you need in order to do what sounds so very daunting?

And what you need is what Paul prays for you in our passage this morning.

That in verse 16, according to the riches of God's glory,

he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

That you, being rooted and grounded in love.

And we'll pause right there for just a moment.

Now some of that could potentially be confusing.

Because Paul has already affirmed back in chapter 1 that these people have already been sealed with his promised Holy Spirit.

But you'll notice there that he's not praying that they be granted the Holy Spirit.

He prays for them and by extension prays for you and me that through the Holy Spirit who's already in them,

that they would be given strength in their inner being.

And then our Bibles say,

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

What's interesting about that is that in the original language,

the words so that aren't there.

Not there.

Not there at all.

And so the way that it literally reads is,

Strengthen with power through his spirit in your inner being,

Christ to dwell or Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith.

So it's not that Christ dwelling in your heart through faith is the result of the spirit's strengthening of you,

but rather that the spirit dwelling in your inner being with power and Christ in your heart through faith are one and the same reality.

That the spirit is the spirit of Christ.

The spirit of God's son, as Paul describes in Galatians 4.

The spirit is the one who applies to you the redemption purchased by Christ.

Christ by working that faith in you.

And thereby unites you to Christ in your effectual calling,

as you remember, I'm sure, from the shorter catechism.

He unites you to the Christ who's the source of all the strength that you need.

And what's the result of that, does Paul say?

That those who the spirit has united to Christ by faith have been, as Paul says,

rooted and grounded in love.

You've been rooted and you've been grounded in love.

Y'all have been rooted and grounded in love.

It's the language of planting and of building.

And what Paul is saying here is that the foundation that stabilizes you

and the soil from which you derive nourishment as you individually and collectively grow

into all that God wants you to be in Christ is God's great love for you.

So what do you need to know to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called?

You need to know, brother, and y'all need to know beyond the shadow of a doubt,

that your heavenly Father loves you.

That if he could say nothing else, I think he would cup your collective faces

in his tender fatherly hands and look into your eyes and he would say,

I love you.

And that's what he wants you to know.

That's the fuel and that's the foundation of all your obedience to him.

And without that, you have little hope of walking worthy of your calling.

Will mentioned earlier my affiliation with the University of South Carolina

and your bulletin mentions that I played football there.

That's sort of true.

I was a walk-on on the football team for the four years I was there,

which means I practiced a lot.

I played somewhat sparingly.

And it's kind of pretty this morning.

The implications of the gospel are being played out before your very eyes.

I mean, Paul was right when he said,

here there is not Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,

barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, game cock, tiger,

tide, war eagle.

Well, we're all one in Christ.

It's a beautiful thing.

A very beautiful thing.

But anyway, I was on the football team there.

Coach Lou Holtz was our coach.

And one of the things that he incessantly drove into us

was the necessity to always be in what he called a football position.

Okay, that's your feet slightly wider than shoulder width,

your knees over your toes, your butt down, your back arch,

your head and shoulders back, your eyes up.

That was the foundation, that that was the position

from which you could best deliver a blow.

And that was the position from which you could best receive a blow.

And one day I got reminded of that the hard way.

I was playing fullback in a practice,

in a short yardage and goal line situation.

And my target was right off the tight end's backside.

And as soon as I got there,

there was supposed to be a linebacker waiting to meet me there.

And I was supposed to kick him out.

Well, the ball gets snapped.

And for one reason or another, I got off track.

May have been because the tight end didn't seal his block well enough.

More likely because I'm just not terribly athletic to begin with.

One way or another, when I arrived at the point of contact,

I was not in a football position.

I did not have the proper foundation underneath me.

And the linebacker was there.

And he blew me up.

I mean, I think the first thing that hit the ground

was probably my big numbers.

And once they did, to the great delight of the defense

and to many other onlookers,

the first two words out of this linebacker's mouth were,

football position.

A not so subtle reminder

that I was not ready for that

because I was not in a football position.

I did not have the proper foundation beneath me.

And so I couldn't do

what I had been called upon to do.

Walking in a manner

worthy of the calling to which you've been called

requires you remembering

that you have been rooted

and you have been grounded in love.

It's a fact of who you are

because of your union with Jesus.

But sometimes we forget it.

And we have to remember that.

You have to remember that.

That you have been rooted

and you have been grounded in love.

Not in guilt.

As though by some debtor's ethic

you could somehow repay

the debt of love that you owe the Father.

Not in fear.

As though he may one day reject you

or he may withhold love from you

because you haven't performed up to his standards

but you have been rooted

and you have been grounded

in his great love for you.

A love that is guaranteed

by your union with Christ

and by the working of the Spirit in you.

And as a brief but important aside

to those of you who are here this morning

who haven't yet trusted in Christ

those riches are all on offer to you as well.

If you'll turn from your sin

if you'll turn to Christ

and you'll place your faith in him

and plead forgiveness from him

and pledge allegiance to him

you'll be united to him

by his Spirit.

And you too will know

the riches of being rooted

and grounded

and the love that the Apostle Paul

speaks of here.

That's who you are.

But you have to remember it.

And often you'll be tempted to doubt it.

And perhaps never more so

than when you sin.

That's when Satan most likes to

as we sang a little while earlier

tempt you to despair.

When you sin you can question

the love that's there.

The reality is that

you are just as rooted

and grounded in God's love

when you sin as at any other time.

And there's a Puritan

who's helped me to remember this.

A guy named Thomas Goodwin.

He wrote a little book

called The Heart of Christ.

And in it he says

these scandalous words.

Your very sins

move him more to pity

than to anger.

Yea, his pity is increased

the more toward you

even as the heart of a father

is toward a child

that has some loathsome disease.

His hatred

shall all fall

and that

only upon the sin

to free you of it

by its ruin

and destruction.

And this

as much when you lie

under sin

as under any

other affliction

therefore fear not.

What shall separate us

from the love of God

in which you've been

rooted

and grounded?

Nothing.

Nothing can separate you

from that love.

His vast

unmeasured

boundless

love for you

is the only thing

that will sufficiently

stabilize you

and satiate you

as you seek to walk

in a manner

worthy of your calling

and as y'all seek to walk

in a manner worthy

of your

respective calling.

So know

that that love

is yours

in Christ

and know

that that's true

and that's what you

are rooted

and you're grounded in.

And as good as that news is

it gets even better

in the middle of verse 17

that you

he says

being rooted

and grounded

in love

may have strength

to comprehend

with all the saints

what is the breadth

and length

and height

and depth

and to know

the love of Christ

that surpasses knowledge

that you may be filled

with all the fullness

of God.

So not only does God

the Father

love you

but Christ

loves you.

Not only does Christ

love you

but the Spirit

is the one

who strengthens you

to know of that love

and by whom

that love

is poured

into your heart.

And not only does God

love you that way

Father, Son

and Holy Spirit

but he wants you

to know more

of that love

every single day.

You see

because this prayer

that's in Ephesians 3

is inspired by God

we know that it's not

just Paul's

personal sentiments

that he's praying

for this particular

congregation

though it's certainly

no less than that

because it's inspired

by God

we can know

that it actually

reflects God's

desires for his own

people.

It reflects God's

desire for you

that he wants you

to be strengthened

with power

through his Spirit

in your inner being

as it says

in verse 16

and that strength

is in verse 18

for you to be able

to comprehend

what is the breadth

and length

and height

and depth

and to know

the love of Christ

that surpasses

knowledge.

Now listen

we praise God

that a weak faith

can lay hold

of a strong Christ

for the salvation

of sinners.

And I'm sure

as you remember

from your recent readings

of the confession

that this saving faith

is different

in degrees

weak

or strong.

And one of the things

this text makes clear

is that God doesn't want

our faith to remain

weak.

He wants it to grow.

He wants it to strengthen

by the power

of his Holy Spirit

so that our conviction

that he loves us

will deepen

so that we'll believe it

more and more

that we are loved.

Because here's the truth

to the extent

that you believe

that Christ

loves you

you will

abandon yourself

to his will

and to his word

and to his ways.

To the degree

that you doubt

Christ's love

for you

you will withhold

affection

and allegiance

and obedience

to him.

That's why

Paul prays

that you would know

more and more

and more

of his love

for you.

It's why

old cold-blooded

John Calvin

could say something

like this

that the love

of Christ

is held out

to us

as the subject

which ought

to occupy

our daily

and nightly

meditations

and in which

we ought

to be wholly

plunged.

He who is

in possession

of this

alone

has enough.

He's effectively

saying

you can't

think too much

about how much

Christ loves you.

You can't meditate

on that truth

enough.

You can't pray

for it enough.

No matter how hard

you try in this life

even with the

strengthening help

of the Holy Spirit

there is no way

that you'll be able

to scale

its sky-surpassing

heights.

There's no way

you'll be able

to plumb

its fathomless

depths.

No way you'll be

able to reach

to its widest

widths.

No way that you'll

be able to run

to its limitless

lengths.

It's inexhaustible.

Paul says

it surpasses

knowledge

and yet he says

I want you

to know it.

How can you

know what

surpasses

knowledge?

Well in the

ultimate sense

you can't

on this side

of the world

but you can

do what

Paul does

in this passage.

You can pray.

I guess this

might be the

first point

of application

for you Peter

that you pray

even as Paul

does that God

would give you

strength to know

how much

he loves you.

this is a

three by five

card and

I keep a stack

of these

and at the

top of each

one is

the name of

someone for

whom I pray

regularly

and you've got

one in that

stack.

This one isn't

yours.

This is mine.

It just says

me at the

very top

and the very

first prayer

request on there

when I get

around to

praying for

myself is

this.

It says

enable me to

know how

much you

love me.

enable me to

know how

much you

love me.

Peter that's

worth praying

every single

day.

Not

God help me

to love you

more and

still less

not God

help me to

do better

but God

help me to

know how

much you

love me

which will

then enable

me to love

you more

and then

enable me to

go and do

better.

Knowing how

much Christ

loves you

is what will

enable you in

the course of

your ministry

to be

appropriately

gentle with

yourself

when you

fail to

meet your

own or

others

expectations.

Knowing how

much Christ

loves you

is what will

best enable

you to love

Emily.

Knowing how

much Christ

loves you

is what will

best enable

you to love

Charlie and

Hosea and

Miles and

Whit.

Knowing how

much Christ

loves you

is what will

best enable

you to love

your students

and their

families and

this congregation.

Knowing how

much Christ

loves you

is what will

enable you to

receive the

criticisms that

will come

without hating

either yourself

or your

critics.

Knowing how

much Christ

loves you

is what will

best enable

you to walk

in a manner

worthy of

the calling

to which

you've been

called.

So pray

it for

yourself

that daily

God would

give you

to know

more and

more how

very much

he loves

you.

The second

thing I

would say

is don't

just pray

it for

yourself

pray it

for your

people.

Pray it

for your

students,

their families

and for

this

congregation.

It's

exactly what

Paul did

for these

Ephesians

that God

would give

them an

ever deepening

apprehension of

his love

for them.

not only is

there no danger

in doing

that,

it's actually

a detriment

to them

if they

don't know

how much

God loves

them in

Christ.

Because again

to the degree

that these

people doubt

God's love

for them,

their obedience

to him is

going to be

short-circuited.

So pray for

them that they

would be given

strength to

comprehend with

all the saints

what is the

breadth and

the length

and the height

and the depth

of the love

of Christ

for them

third thing

I would say

is this

don't just

pray it for

yourself

preach it

to yourself

mine

not just

this text

of scripture

but all

of the other

texts of

scripture

which repeatedly

remind you

and me

how much

God

loves us

in Christ

I don't

think there's

any truth

that Satan

more likes

to call

into question

than this

one

I don't

think there's

anything

about which

he more

likes to

say

did God

really

say

to which

you and I

and we

need to be

able to

respond by

saying yes

he really

said

for example

that the

mountains may

depart

and the

hills be

removed

but my

steadfast love

shall not

depart from

you

and my

covenant of

peace

shall not

be removed

says the

Lord

who has

compassion

on you

yes he

really did

say

I have

loved you

with an

everlasting

love

yes he

really did

say

I so

loved you

that I

gave my

son for

you

so that

by believing

in him

you might

not perish

but have

everlasting life

yes Satan

he really did

say that

so you can

go to

you can

get on

somewhere

he said

it

preach that

to yourself

remind yourself

of that

regularly

and then

preach it

to your

people

preach it

to your

family

preach it

to your

students

and their

families

as you

have

opportunity

preach it

to this

congregation

here

a preacher

that we

both know

and love

and respect

Dr. Brian

Chappell

writes this

about this

passage

he says

when Christian

leaders see

this wonderful

truth of

scripture

our calling

becomes

very clear

it is our

duty

our privilege

our delight

to engender

in those

that we want

to grow

in grace

and holiness

and ever

greater

love

for Christ

how do

we do

this

we engender

love

the way

that the

apostle

does

we proclaim

how great

is Christ

love

for us

preach

that

that's

what will

do your

people good

it's what

will best

enable them

to walk

worthy

of their

calling

despite

the claims

of some

to the

contrary

despite

what many

have said

throughout

the ages

and what

specifically

some said

to John

Bunyan

as he

was

in the

Bedford

jail

for 12

years

for his

refusal

to conform

to the

dictates

of the

church

of England

the story

is well

known

but it's

also well

worth

repeating

that there

were those

in prison

with Bunyan

who told

him

you can't

keep assuring

God's

people

of his

love

and his

mercy

and his

grace

toward them

if you

do that

they'll do

whatever

they want

to

which

Bunyan

very

wisely

replied

no

no

that's

not

true

of

God's

people

you

keep

reminding

God's

people

of his

love

for them

and assuring

them

of his

grace

toward

them

and his

mercy

toward

them

and then

they'll

do

whatever

he

wants

and then

you

and

and then

y'all

collectively

will begin

to be

all that

God

desires

you to

be

in Christ

or as the

apostle Paul

describes it

be filled

with all

the fullness

of God

in closing

there's a

great quote

that's painted

on the wall

of your offices

in there

saw it last

night

and I would

encourage you

to ponder it

as often

as you pass

by it

from C.S.

Lewis

who said

this

to be loved

by God

not merely

pitied

but delighted

in

as an artist

delights

in his

work

or a

father

his son

it seems

impossible

a weight

or burden

of glory

which our

thoughts

can hardly

sustain

but it

is so

and because

our

thoughts

can hardly

sustain it

and your

hearts

can hardly

sustain it

as you

seek to

walk

in a

manner

worthy

of your

respective

callings

may God

give you

strength

to comprehend

what is the

breadth

and length

and height

and depth

and to know

the love

of Christ

which surpasses

knowledge

that you may

be filled

with all

the fullness

of God

and may

the deep

love

of Jesus

be to you

the love

of every

love

the best

may it be

to you

an ocean

vast

of blessing

and may it be

to you

a haven

sweet

of rest

let's pray

together

gracious God

and heavenly

father

how grateful

we are

for all

that you've

done

for us

in Christ

we thank you

that you don't

call us

to obedience

without first

rooting us

and grounding

us in your

great love

for us

in Christ

that we might

be sufficiently

sustained

and nourished

and strengthened

for the task

that you call

us to

please impress

these truths

indelibly

on Peter's

heart

as he enters

into the

ministry

that you've

called him

to

please impress

it indelibly

on the hearts

of all the

saints here

at Southwood

Presbyterian

Church

for your

great glory

and then

father

do far

more abundantly

than all

that we

could ask

or think

according to

the power

that's at

work

within us

and to

you be

the glory

in the

church

and in

Christ

Jesus

both now

and forever

more

amen

amen

thank you

Justin

as we

move into

the

ordination

portion

of this

service

I want

to introduce

to you

the

commission

of

Providence

Presbytery

that is

here

to

ordain

Peter

we are

a

church

that is

not

alone

but

connected

to

many

others

and our

presbytery

our geographical

grouping

of churches

is the

one where

your pastors

are members

the ones

we're

accountable

to

the men

who are

here

this morning

are teaching

elder

Ron Brady

who's

honorably

retired

teaching

elder

William

Plott

from Valley

Presbyterian

Church

and

three

ruling

elders

from

Southwood

along

with

me

ruling

elder

Todd

Gandy

ruling

elder

George

Mayer

and ruling

elder

Ray

Shepard

I want

to tell

you how

seriously

the

presbytery

feels

about a

man being

called

to steward

the mysteries

of God

to minister

God's word

to God's

people

that's a

big deal

presbytery

examined

Peter

in all

these

areas

his

testimony

and call

to the

ministry

his

personal

character

and

family

management

his

knowledge

of

Greek

and

Hebrew

his

knowledge

of

Bible

content

of

theology

of

the

sacraments

of

church

history

of

PCA

history

book

of

church

order

theological

paper

an

exegetical

paper

on a

particular

passage

a

sermon

having

examined

him

on

all

of

those

things

the

presbytery

enthusiastically

and

unanimously

approved

Peter

and God's

call

in his

life

to be

a

steward

of

the

mysteries

of

God

his

call

to

the

gospel

ministry

and so

it's

our

great

privilege

on

behalf

of

the

presbytery

to

celebrate

this

ordination

with

you

Peter

if

you'll

come

stand

up

front

and

session

of

Southwood

if you

will

come

as

well

and

sit

on

the

front

row

teaching

elder

plot

is

going

to

come

and

ask

both

of

you

some

questions

it's

great

to be

here

today

to

celebrate

with

you

Peter

this

is

a

culmination

of

your

calling

seminary

training

ordination

exams

this

will

be

your

final

and

easiest

exam

in

fact

I'm

going

to

give

you

the

answers

I

do

I

will

I

have

and

if

all

else

fails

just

say

Jesus

this

is

going

to

be

your

easiest

exam

but

your

most

important

as

the

words

have

been

already

alluded

to

this

morning

this

is

a

weighty

moment

in

your

life

and

I

have

the

joy

and

pleasure

of

asking

you

these

questions

so

consider

them

deeply

as

we

go

through

them

Peter

do

you

believe

the

scriptures

of the

Old

and

New

Testament

as

originally

given

to be

the

inerrant

word

of

God

the

only

infallible

rule

of

faith

and

practice

do

you

sincerely

receive

and

adopt

the

confession

of

faith

and

the

catechisms

of this

church

as

containing

the

system

of

doctrine

taught

in the

holy

scriptures

and

do you

further

promise

that if

at any

time

you find

yourself

out of

accord

with

any

of the

fundamentals

of this

system

of

doctrine

you

will

on your

own

initiative

make

known

to your

presbytery

the

change

which

has

taken

place

in your

view

since

the

assumption

of

this

ordination

vow

do

you

approve

of

the

form

of

government

and

discipline

of

the

presbyterian

church

in

America

in

conformity

with

the

general

principles

of

biblical

polity

do

you

promise

subjection

to

your

brethren

and

the

Lord

have

you

been

induced

as far

as you

know

your

own

heart

to

seek

the

office

of

the

holy

ministry

from

the

love

of

God

and

sincere

desire

to

promote

his

glory

in

the

gospel

of

his

son

do

you

promise

to

be

zealous

and

faithful

in

maintaining

the

truths

of

the

gospel

and

the

purity

and

peace

and

unity

of

the

church

whatever

persecution

or

opposition

may

arise

unto

you

on

that

account

and

finally

do

you

engage

to

be

faithful

and

diligent

in

the

exercise

of

all

your

duties

as

a

Christian

and

minister

of

the

gospel

whether

personal

or

relational

private

or

public

and

to

endeavor

by

the

grace

of

God

to

adorn

the

profession

of

the

gospel

in

your

manner

of

life

and

to

walk

with

exemplary

piety

before

the

flock

of

which

God

has

made

you

an

overseer

great

well

you may

be seated

for a

moment

I'm

going to

ask

the

members

of

the

session

to

just

stand

where

you

are

Peter

is being

called

as an

assistant

pastor

and

there's

a

unique

relationship

between

the

session

and

assistant

pastors

and so

these

questions

will go

to the

session

and through

you

to the

whole

congregation

but

your

session

is going

to respond

to these

questions

I'm not

giving you

guys the

answers

this

morning

all

right

here

are

the

questions

do

you

the

session

of

this

church

continue

to

profess

your

readiness

to receive

Peter

render

as

assistant

pastor

do

you

promise

to

receive

the

word

of

truth

from

his

mouth

with

meekness

and

love

do

you