I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a son and shield. The Lord bestows favour and honour. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the one.
who trusts in you. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this chance to come together as your people again. At the end of this. Lord's Day and worship you.
We invite your presence now. We pray that that presence would be made manifest among us as we Sing hymns and psalms of worship and praise to you. As we hear your word proclaimed from this pulpit, as we speak to you in prayer, as we take vows before you. May all of this be to your honor and glory. May it bring your people joy and build us up.
and equip us for the tasks to which you have called us in this world. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we welcome you now in this place. And it is in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Let's begin with this wonderful hymn of the faith, the hymn of the Reformation, a paraphrase of Psalm 46.
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark, a shield, a fortress, never failing. Let's sing to him. Almighty fortress is our God, a board never failing, our helper he amid the flood, of mortal elves prevailing. For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe, his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel pain. On earth is not his ignorance.
Did we in our own strength? Confine our striving would be loose. Were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Just ask who that may be, Christ Jesus in his feet, Lord sum of his name from age to age the same, and he must win the battle. And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God.
Hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness brim. We tremble not for him. His rage we can endure for all his doom is sure. One little word shall fail above all earth be powerful, thanks to them abidest the Spirit and the Is all ours through him who with us sighteth let goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body they may kill God's truth abiding still his kingdom is forever Amen ask you to remain standing in of God's word.
as we read it together tonight. Have your Bibles with you? Turn with me if you would to 2 Timothy chapter 4. Yeah. Verses 6 through 8 this evening.
For I am now ready to be offered. and the time of my departure is at hand. I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. which the LORD the righteous Judge shall give me at that day. And not to me only. But unto all them also That love is appearing. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for loving us. We thank you and praise you for sending Jesus to die for us. for we are undeserving sinners. We thank you, Lord, for the call. that you have on Steve McCullough's life.
We thank you, Lord, for bringing him to grace. leading him in our direction. Father, tonight is a new start for him. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would use this night in a special way in his life. that he might be encouraged in the ministry.
Two Forge ahead. and be everything that you have called him to be as a pastor. I pray, Lord, that you would keep him close to your heart. I pray, Heavenly Father, that you would help him to walk in your paths. to walk holy before you.
And I pray, Heavenly Father, that you would help him not only with his congregation. But with his family, that as a family man he might bring honour and glory to you as well as a pastor. Guide us and direct us through this passage tonight. May Jesus be uplifted and exalted through it, and may this congregation be edified by it. And it's in Jesus' holy and precious name that we pray.
Amen. You may be seated. Steve, tonight you are being ordained into the gospel ministry. Everything is fresh. Everything is new.
Everything is just getting started. But let me remind you of this. In the blink of an eye, it's going to all be over with. I've been pastoring now for 43 years. And it seems like as I was ordained yesterday.
So, in the light of that, what I want you to do tonight is I want you to think ahead about 45 or 50 years into the future. And ask yourself, What's my story going to be? What will be my ministerial task? Testimony. 45 or 50 years from now.
Tonight we're looking at 2 Timothy chapter 4 and what we have in this passage is the ministerial testimony of the Apostle Paul. This was the last letter that Paul wrote.
Now there are a lot of scholars who believe that Paul actually finished this letter on the day that he died. He wrote it from a place called the Maritime Prison. It was a prison that was set aside for condemned criminals who were awaiting their execution. It was a horrible place. It was a place where the cells were so small that you couldn't stretch yourself out, but you had to kind of curl yourself around the walls.
There were no bathroom facilities, so the floor and the walls were just covered with filth and stench. The rats and the vermin ran wild. There were no windows in it. There were no doors in it. The only opening was a hole in the ceiling where they lowered the prisoner down through the use of a rope.
If a man was a prisoner and he was going to do any reading or writing, he couldn't do it at night because there was no light. The only time he could do it was when a little bit of light would shine down through the hole in the top of the ceiling and he'd position himself under that hole. This was the home for the Apostle Paul in the last few months of his life. I want you to picture him there, if you can, for just a moment. Paul is thin and weak and emaciated.
He's an old man by this time. His body is absolutely covered with scars, scars from his beatings and his floggings and his stonings.
So he's sitting there in the maritime prison in this cell. He's got his pen in his hand, and he's thinking about what's going to happen to him. He knows that execution is coming, that he is soon going to die.
So he thinks back to his life as a Christian. And then he thinks ahead to his soon coming death. And he writes out what I would call a ministerial testimony. What I would call a spiritual Obituary. Who's he writing it to?
is writing specifically to his understudy, Timothy. Timothy is a man who he loves very much. They have a father-son type relationship.
So this is Paul's testimony. And I've got two points that I want to share with you this evening. First of all, the review. And then second, I want us to look at his reward. First of all, the review, and we see that in verse 7.
For I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Paul looks back over his Christian life and he describes it in three ways. First of all, he says that he fought as a warrior. He says, I have fought a good fight. When Paul describes his Christian life, he describes it as a fight, not a frolic.
He describes it as a cross, not a cushion. That shouldn't surprise us. Jesus told us about the same thing. Jesus said, If any man be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Jesus told us that the Christian life would not be easy, that it would be tough.
And you study Paul's life, and it's absolutely amazing to come to an understanding of the hardships this man had to endure. He was beaten 195 lashes across his bare back. He was shipwrecked and left in the ocean for 36 hours. He was stoned and left for death. When he went into a town, he didn't ask around to find out where the hotels were.
He just asked where the jail was because he knew that that's what was coming for him. He knew things were going to be tough. If anybody ever had a right to say, I have fought a good fight, The Apostle Paul had that right to say it. Paul looked at the Christian life as a fight. Boy, that's not what Christianity is described as today, is it?
Today, you've got preachers that are telling everybody: you come to Jesus, and everything's going to be easier, everything's going to be great.
Well, brothers and sisters, I want you to know that that's not true.
Sometimes it gets very, very tough.
Now, if you come to be a Christian, then you're going to have peace and you're going to have joy and you're going to have assurance of salvation. But let me tell you something. This life as a Christian is an absolute war. And in the culture that we are living in right now, persecution's coming and things are going to get tougher and tougher. The Apostle Paul said that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
It was Peter who said, Beloved, think it not strange when these fiery trials come upon you, as if some strange thing has happened to you, but rejoice in that you are counted worthy to suffer. For Christ's sake. Paul said, I have fought a good fight. From the day that he met Jesus on the Damascus road until the day that he died, He stood in a toe-to-toe battle with Satan. Every single day.
Secondly, Paul said that he finished as an athlete. He said, I have finished my course. As Paul writes the conclusion of his letter, he thinks back 35 years before to the day that the Lord Jesus stepped out in front of him on the Damascus Road. And Paul asked him a question. He said, Lord, what would you have me to do?
He didn't say, Lord, what would you have others to do? Or Lord, what would others have me to do? He said, Lord, what would you have me to do? And Jesus put him on a course. He put him on a course.
He called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He said, Paul, I want you to take the gospel to the Gentile world. And Paul got on that course, and once he got on that course, all the demons in hell could not stop him. I'll tell you, if Paul could see some of our modern-day Christians who gripe about everything that happens that they don't like. Who get frustrated with something that takes place and they just want to quit and give up.
or who get their feelings hurt and just want to quit. Paul would have a fit. They saw what was going on today. What is the best motivation for not quitting? for finishing the race.
For putting your hand to the plow. and forging on. I believe this is the great greatest motivation. I think the greatest motivation is this. To come to this understanding, that it will be worth it all.
when we see Jesus. Let me illustrate this. Before I went into ministry, I work for Associated Grocers Mutual in the meat division. And we had a guy. That would come by about once a week to buy supplies.
He was working at a slaughterhouse. And one week he came by and he said, Doug, he said, I won't be by here anymore. I'm quitting my job. I said, why are you quitting your job? He said, well, I'm quitting my job because our company started a new policy.
And said, we've always had a policy there in my company of just killing cows and pigs. He said, it was my responsibility to stand at the end of this long chute. And it said they would send the cows and the pigs down to me one at a time. And said the cows and the pigs would come about halfway down that chute. They'd sense the danger and they'd start fighting and biting and scratching and doing whatever they could to get away.
He said finally they get down to me and said it was such a fight, I'd just take the head of that cow or the pig, I'd pull it up, I'd take my sharp knife, I'd slit their throat, send them to the next station, and he said it never bothered me at all. He said I didn't think anything about it. He said last week we started a new policy of killing lambs. And he said, That first little lamb came walking down to me. And he said he never bleeded, he never tried to get away, he never fought, never tried to bite, nothing.
He said he just walked right up to me and said, looked up at me with these big tender eyes. Brown eyes. And he said, I reached down and I took his little jaw in my hand. I lifted his jaw up. And he said, I took my sharp knife and I slit his throat.
He said, Still, that lamb didn't bleat. He didn't fuss, he didn't fight, didn't try to get away nothing. And he said, I hold held his little jaw in my hand and said that life blood was gushing forth out of that open wound. And he said, I watched that little lamb, and his eyes got weaker and weaker and weaker. And then, right before he breathed his last breath, He reached over and licked my hand.
and died. He said, after that, I had to quit my job. because I knew I could never do that again. As soon as he shared that story with me, all I could think about was Jesus. For in Isaiah chapter 53, Isaiah is prophesying the crucifixion of Christ.
And he said that when Jesus would come, he would be as a lamb led to the slaughter. And yet he would open not his mouth. Folks, the best reason to finish the race, to live out the Christian life, is to come to an understanding of what Jesus Christ has done for you on the cross. That Jesus died on the cross, and if He loved us that deeply, then how can we not serve him? Paul thought back over his life and said, Lord, I have finished my course.
He said, Lord, they whipped me, I kept going. Lord, they beat me, I kept going. Lord, they flogged me, I kept going. Come hell or high water, I would not quit. quit.
Thirdly, Paul said that he was faithful as a steward. He said, I have kept the faith. There in that prison cell, as he was preparing for death, Paul was able to say. I have been faithful to Jesus. I have lived a holy life.
I preached the whole counsel of God. I was not swayed by the religious folks. I was not swayed by the pagans. I have been faithful to Jesus. and to his word.
It's time for the men of God in this country. To quit worrying about trying to please political leaders and backslidden Christians. and just get worried about pleasing God. Folks Paul said he was faithful. as a steward.
All right, lastly. Paul looks into the future and he sees his reward. Verse 8 says this. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. Which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also who love his appearing.
I want you for just a minute, if you will, to use a little bit of sanctified imagination. Just imagine that you're watching the Apostle Paul. He is in the Maritime Prison. His pen is in his hand. He is finishing up this last letter that he would ever write.
The letter that we call second Timothy. He's writing that letter. He's just finished it up. He rolls the scroll up, and he hears some noise up above him. He realizes that noise is the executioner.
Who is who is just sharpened in his lethal acts. In a moment, he sees a shadow over the hole that was at the top. of his jail cell. He looks up. And there's the guard with the rope.
And the guard said, Paul, I'm going to lower this rope down to you. I want you to take it and tie it around your waist. Then I'm going to lift you up. It's time for you to go. And so Paul ties the rope around his waist.
The guard lifts him up out of the hole. And they take off together, walking to go out of the gate, out of the prison. I want you to Think about the contrast there. Here's this executioner. He's big, he's stout.
Strong, he's tough. And here's Paul. He's old. Stin and weak. His hair is grey and matted, and As they walk out that gate, his eyes are squinting for the light's so bright he hasn't seen the sun.
in several months. They walk together to the bank of the Tiber River, that river that will drink Paul's blood when his head is severed from his body. And as they're walking, the guard turns around to Paul and says, Paul, what's that noise you're making? Are you singing? And Paul says, yes, it's a little song that we sing at our church.
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. They get down to the Tiber River's bank and there is a chopping block. And the executioner takes Paul and he pushes him down on his knees. He says, Paul, we always give our prisoners an opportunity to make a final statement. Is there anything you'd like to say?
And Paul said, yeah, one thing. He says, what is it? He says, Jesus Christ. is lord The executioner takes Paul's head. and he pushes it down on the chopping block.
He takes his axe and the lethal axe and he lifts it up over his head, and then with one swing, swoosh! that axe flies through the air. and Paul's head is severed from his body. The next scene. is glory.
2 Corinthians 5.8 says, For the Christian to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And we don't know exactly what happened at that time, but I think I know. I believe that Paul looked up and he saw King Jesus in all of his glory. And he said to the Lord, Lord, I know that I wasn't big, and I know that I stammered when I talked, and I wasn't much to look at, and I made a lot of mistakes. But, Lord, I fought a good fight.
I finished my course. I kept the faith. And we don't know exactly what happened then, but I think I know. I believe Jesus stepped off the throne. And he said to Paul, Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Enter now into the joy of the Lord. And then he reached back behind him, and he behind the throne, and he took out something in his hands that was shining and glittering like the noonday sun. It was a crayon. A crown of righteousness. And I can see Jesus as he walks over to Paul.
Paul's on his knees. And he takes that crown and takes And very gingerly. places it on the head of the Apostle Paul. And we don't know exactly what happened then, but I think I know. I can see Paul just Crying Just tears of great joy.
And he's and he he's crying and then all of a sudden he reaches up and he pulls that crown off of his head. He looks at it for just a moment. And then he gets up and he walks over to Jesus. And he kneels down before him. And he takes that crown.
And he lays it. at the feet of Jesus. An act of pure Unadulterated worship. And Paul's thinking about all this. And he looks over at Jesus and he said, Lord, this was the most beautiful, most glorious thing that I've ever seen.
But Lord, I can't keep this. For you and you alone are worthy. You are worthy, Lord. It was your blood that purchased my salvation and washed away my sins. It was your sovereign grace that rescued me from an eternal hell.
And it was your spirit that changed my heart and brought me into the family of God. O Lord, take my worship. I want to give this to you. Enjoyful worship. Steve I don't know about you.
But that's what I want. I want a crown. Not to wear on my head. not to show off to my friends. but to lay it at the feet of Jesus.
an act of unadulterated worship. Steve preached the word. Be instant in season and out of season. Come to the end of your ministry. and be able to say I've fought a good fight.
I have finished my course. I've kept the faith. And I promise you this. It will be worth it all. When you see Jesus.
Would you stand again with me as we sing together? The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. There is one head of the church. And he has many undershepherds, many ruling elders, teaching elders, deacons, servants, but there is only one head. And he is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's sing to him. Roger, I think it's a very good idea. Which is one found. Gracious is Jesus Christ. She is his new creation by water and the word.
From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride with his own body water and for her life he died from every nation yet one for all he earth her charter of salvation one worth one faith one girl one holy name she blessed for takes one holy food and to one hope she Presence with every grace and due mid toil and tribulation and tunt of her war, she waits the consumation of peace forevermore, till with a vision glorious, her longing eyes are blessed, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she honours. With God, the three in one, and mystic sweet communion with those whose breast is one. O happy ones and holy, Lord give us grace that me like them, the meek and holy on thy babe dwell with me. Amen.
You can be seated. We're going to enter into our time of ordination now. And this is a worship service. It is also a business meeting. And the Catawba Valley Presbytery has appointed a commission of six.
teaching elders and ruling elders to oversee. The proceedings tonight, and so we're asking each one of those members of the commission to play a part in this service.
So, you'll see a number of guys come up here. We do have one guest. Let me just introduce him. Jeff Levinson is from Stonebridge. He's a ruling elder on the session at Stonebridge in Charlotte, and we welcome you.
Glad to have you part of this commission.
So, I'm gonna turn it over to Scott Starcher to begin our proceedings with prayer.
Well, Jeff, I'm As to uh Prayer, prayer of blessing for you. Um and um Steve, excuse me. When I read the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3, I look over and I see that an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and able to teach. And reading on to the Uh These qualifications when I think of you as a young man I've often told Nancy, I said, you're mature beyond your years. And to be a pastor, you're going to have to be mature beyond your years for the challenges that will come.
Some of these challenges will actually be blessings to you in the long run. And they will be uh Tough lessons, but they'll be lessons that you'll mature from and be able to minister going forward. And looking to those to mature you even further and grow you as a disciple of Christ.
So let's go to the Lord in prayer. Gracious and Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you. Tonight, to pray for Steve and Rachel. are married and couple and coming. Steve is coming as a teaching elder.
And Lord, we just ask that you would. Bless them, strengthen their marriage as they go through this. Help them to grow and mature through the the lessons they will learn through life as a pastor. And a pastor's wife, you've equipped Steve well. Lord, um Just uh Undergird them and strengthen them.
Let them spend time. in your word and uh Praying through the situations that arise, Lord. Bless them through those situations. May the love of the congregation undergird them and encourage them. May the love of the session, the teaching elders, and the ruling elders, uplift.
Steve. Just uh keep him Uh Strengthen him. And prepare him, Father. Lord. You have raised up this young man to serve you.
And Lord, we just ask that you would. continue his uh his growth Be with Rachel, strengthen her. We praise you for the birth of their son, Robert Samuel, and Help help Steve to uh Be a great father. be a great husband, and a great servant of Christ. Lord, just bless him in this ministry.
We give all thanks to you, and we praise you in Christ's name. Amen. Steve, I'm going to ask if you would come up. Stand right here.
So this is an interesting part of the service. Vows. And we know that in general, the scripture says pretty clear about your yes be yes and your no be no and don't really Take a lot of vows.
So, this is a very solemn occasion. And interestingly enough, I am an elder, has been said, at Stonebridge Church, and so we bring you greetings just down the road a piece. But the main reason I'm up here is because I'm on what's called the Presbytery Credentials Committee. And I've served on the Credentials Committee for, well, different ones for about 20 or 30 years, kind of a long time. And one of the things that some of you may not be aware is when these young men, or anybody, but in particular here, these young men come before the committee, there's a tremendous amount of testing that we do, really helping to demonstrate to us, they have to demonstrate to us that there are workmen approved.
To do the work of the gospel ministry. And the exams will cover Bible, theology, the book of church order, the sacraments, and other things as well. And so they spend years studying, and then they come before a committee for an hour, or two hours, or three hours, or however long the exam takes. And it's very grueling. And one of the things that Steve has proven by doing it is that he is very serious and has worked extremely hard to get to this point.
And he is to be commended. And mom and dad, you should be very proud of him because that's very, it is not, Steve will tell you, it is not an easy process at all. We try to make it as warm and friendly as possible. And I think the fact that Steve has been gracious enough to invite one of us is good. Did you ask me to walk two miles at the end?
No, if that's over your head, just think about that a little bit. But I'm very happy to be here. And I would just say, mom and dad should be proud. And the session of Grace and all of you who support him. He did a wonderful job and really presented himself as a workman approved.
So that's good. And it's not easy.
So, Steve, let me ask you these questions, these vows, and you will say I do if you affirm them. And I'm one of those weird people that, whenever I listen to vows, A lot of them are very relevant to us. And as you hear them, you know, some of the richness of how God has engaged us and what He's left us with in terms of His Word and other things, they're very meaningful.
So they're particularly meaningful, obviously, to Steve. But as I say them, think about them maybe in your own heart and reflect on them. Steve, the first one is. Do you believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments 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 catechism of the 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 doctrine, you will, on your own initiative, make known to your presbytery the change which has taken place in your views 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? I did. Do you promise subjection to your brethren in the Lord? I did.
Have you been induced, as far as you know, in your own heart, To seek the office of the Holy Ministry from love to God and a 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? I did. 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 evidence 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 shall make you overseer. To the session of Grace Church, I'll ask if you all would stand.
I have some questions and would you answer we do? Do you, the session of Grace Church? Continue to profess your readiness to receive Steve McCullough as an assistant pastor at Grace Church. Do you promise to receive the word of truth from his mouth with meekness and love? Do you promise to encourage him in his labors and to assist his endeavors for your instruction and spiritual edification?
Do you engage to continue to him, while he was your assistant pastor, that competent worldly maintenance which you have promised, and to furnish him with whatever you may see needful for the honor of religion and for his comfort among you? Thank you. You may be seated. Eugene, would you come up? Patrick, I'm gonna use there.
We go. Can you hear me? Laying on of hands is an interesting biblical. Tradition, custom, and I just want to say a quick word about that before we proceed. There's nothing magical, there's nothing sacramental about this laying on of hands.
A call to ministry involves two parts. First of all, there's an internal call of the individual. At some point in Steve's life, he discerned within himself a desire, a draw to the ministry, and he began to take steps to pursue that call to ministry. But that in and of itself is not a full call to the ministry. That internal sense of calling from the Lord needs to also be accompanied by an external call, an external recognition by the church that this man indeed does possess the qualifications and the giftings to fulfill the call to ministry.
In a day and age when self-appointed pastors are rampant, I'm grateful for a denomination that requires both this internal sense of call as well as an external recognition. Recognition by the church that a man is duly called by the Lord. And so, this laying on of hands is a public acknowledgement on the part of the church that Steve McCullough is set apart for ministry because we have observed in him the qualifications and the giftings for that position. The way we're going to do this tonight, I'm going to ask Steve in just a moment to kneel down on the floor in front of the communion table. And I'm going to invite any ordained pastor, ruling elder, teaching elder, active or inactive, in the PCA or in some other evangelical denomination.
You're invited to come.
So, not just the session, not just this commission. I was looking out across the congregation tonight. John Jackson, ordained man in the ARP, you're welcome to come. Eric Campton, ruling elder in the PCA. Larry Oldham, ordained in the Southern Baptist Convention, and there may be others that I'm overlooking.
If you're ordained, you're welcome to come. Hands on Steve and pray for him as we, the church, acknowledge this man bears the qualifications and the giftings to fulfill this call to which he's being set apart tonight. Steve, I'm going to ask you to go and kneel. I'm going to ask our elders to come and line up here, and we'll just one by one lay hands on our brother Steve and pray for him.
So, that would pressure more often than the way that you choose to build your church. Use often conserve service adequate to model stuff. I would pray for seeding relationships along with you see these ministries and show up. We will love Jesus together with this information and hopefully it's something that you have to really have to do. Uh in the sermon by the road.
Whatever I am reading when I have I came with lost. Everything is lost because of my new working feast of the Lord. Yes, since I talk to the Lord of all things, and nothing but inordinate being Christ, and now in him, not having a righteousness of my own, but for the overall, that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God and His whole death, that I may know Him, and power His redemption, and may share His suffering, and by Him and His death, that by His means I may attain the resurrection from the dead. We pray that heart, we have ministry, I focus on the Lord. We cannot live the Holy Spirit's prayer and make fulfillment to us all.
All these are going to do all the articles and talk. Distributed off with each other on the mustache of God. If we do the body Christmas, you know, pieces of the body on the top, yeah, the whole body board through the event. All prayer for us. I have a pronouncement from Central Carolina Presbytery.
We may face the congregation. I'll now pronounce and declared that Steve McCullough has been regularly elected, ordained and installed. as an assistant pastor of this congregation. Agreeable to the Word of God and according to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America. and that as such he is entitled to all support Encouragement.
Honor and obedience in the Lord. In the name of the Father, And the sun. And the Holy Spirit. Amen. Elders Commission members.
Come and give him the right hand of fellowship. Steve, you can be seated. We're going to enter into a time of giving charges from Scripture. I'm going to charge Steve, and then I'm going to ask Jay Crestar to come and give a charge to the church, to the session. Um here at Grace.
Near the end of his life, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter from prison to a young pastor. Who needed encouragement and instruction as he fulfilled God's call on his life to be a pastor in the church? Of course, that young pastor's name was Timothy. Read part of that letter as Doug preached from 2 Timothy tonight. And Steve, my charge to you tonight comes from 2 Timothy chapter 2.
Verses 8 through 10, Paul says this. Remember Jesus Christ. Risen from the dead, the offspring of David. As preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. I want to follow Paul's logic through this passage, working backwards.
So, again, if you want to follow along with me, we're in 2 Timothy 2, verses 8 through 10.
So, first, notice that the end result of these verses is the salvation of the elect. That's where it builds to, that's where it ends. That's profound. The salvation of the elect. Whatever it is that Paul is saying here, it culminates in the salvation of the church.
Now, of course, Paul is addressing Timothy, a first-generation officer in the church. But this charge that he lays before the officers of his church hasn't changed. Steve, your pursuit, your objective as a teaching elder in the church is the salvation of those whom Christ came to save. That is the objective of your call to ministry.
So, how is it that you were to go about pursuing that objective? Backing up one thought, Paul tells us we pursue that objective by enduring everything for the sake. of the elect.
Now that's a loaded statement. Enduring everything for the sake of the elect. The word endure suggests that there is a burden to bear, there is something heavy to carry, there are things to be endured. I don't know what specific things you will have to bear in carrying out your calling, but I know the kinds of things you'll have to endure. You'll have to endure some measure of encroachment upon your time and energy.
You'll have to bear the burden of knowing about and dealing with secret sins in people's lives. You'll have to carry the weight of being responsible for decisions that. affect the spiritual well-being of many, many people. and actions that affect the public honor. of Christ.
Now, don't misunderstand. I don't mean to imply that everything involved in church leadership is drudgery and demands endurance. I don't think that's Paul's intent here either. There are plenty of causes in ministry for joy and delight. It's just that we don't usually have to be told to enjoy the enjoyable things, do we?
No, we have to be reminded to endure the things. the difficult things.
So, Paul tells us that our objective is the salvation of the elect, and the way we pursue that objective is going to involve endurance, stamina, perseverance.
Well, backing up yet another thought from that one, then we discover Paul's motivation in this endurance. What is it that drives him to stick with it even when the road is uphill and full of potholes and blocked by naysayers? His motivation is the eternal reality that the Word of God is not bound. The Word of God is not bound. And what an awesome motivation.
It's awesome because it'll never stop being true. The Word of God will never be bound. I have limitations. You have limitations. I have weaknesses.
I have infirmities. I fail even at the privileged calling of God on my life to be a leader in his church. But I must remember, I am not the power of God unto salvation. The gospel is. I am not The thing that is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit.
God's word is that, and God's word will always be that.
So I'm not called to preach me. Or persuade people to my opinion, or advance my vision, I'm called to protect and promote and proclaim something far more permanent and effectual than I am. It is God's word upon which we stand, and that word has never been, nor will ever be, limited or powerless, or ineffectual, or bound up by the whims of those who are at enmity with God.
So we endure every hardship in ministry precisely because we have the Word of God in our minds and in our hearts and in our mouths. But don't stop there, as so many officers in the church have done. Don't be fooled into thinking that the Word of God is nothing more than a list of propositions to be learned and disseminated to a congregation. It certainly does contain propositions, and those propositions are important. That's why you've spent the last several years studying theology.
But the propositions and narratives of the Bible, its prose and poetry, the Greek, the Hebrew, all of that is important. because it is pointing us to a person. This person Is Paul's starting point and ending point. This person is why we have pastors and elders and deacons in the church and why we even have a church at all. This person, of course, is Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of every gospel promise that's ever been given.
Steve, this then is your charge. Remember Jesus Christ. As you stand on the Word of God, enduring everything for the sake of the salvation of the elect, always remember and preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Amen. Church, we also get a charge tonight.
And it's a charge that goes to our session because we're calling Steve as an assistant pastor. It goes to the diaconate because your ministry in a mercy ministry is going to be needed for Steve in his role as assistant pastor and the body of grace we are called. As a body to do certain things.
So hear the word of the Lord, and this is God's. Charge, not Jay's or not the sessions. This is God's charge to us. We read in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Verses twelve and thirteen these words.
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. When we look at this these two short verses, the very first thing that jumps out to me. is when Paul addresses them he uses the term brothers.
When we read about what the church is, We see that we are the body of Christ, but we are a family. And within this family, God has set up a way. In which we can function the best, and that is with leaders in roles that we've called them to. Because we've seen God's working on their life. Steve has been called to a role over to lead us.
To teach us God's word, to admonish us, to exhort us. And church, when we look at that, he is a family member of ours, a brother in Christ, who God has put in a position for us. To grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We also see Paul tell the people of Thessalonica. The things that they are to do.
to respect those who labor among you, and to esteem them very highly in love. That's what we're called to. For Doug, for Eugene, for the session, for the diaconate, for Steve. We are called to respect Esteem to value highly In love. Paul finishes in verse 25 by saying this.
Brothers, pray for us. That is our charge church. Pray for Steve and his ministry. Pray for Steve and his family. Pray for Steve that Christ Jesus is the most important thing.
to him in everything that he does.
So, I'll take a deep breath here. And think about this. You're seeing the work of God. right in our midst. God calling.
A man to serve the church. An elder. To serve you. Think about that. You are witnesses to that today.
What a glorious thing that is. To see the promises of God. being fulfilled right in our midst. I'm looking around for Rachel. I don't see Rachel.
There she is. I also want you to know too that as your husband is being called to serve in this church. You also are being called. You and your family to serve Right alongside him. Supporting him.
Praying for him. As we pray for you and your family. About me in prayer. Father in heaven. Father.
Son and Holy Spirit, we give All praise, honor, and glory to you. for the work that you're doing right in our midst tonight. raising up a man to be called to serve you to serve your church. You bring Steve and Rachael and Robert. into our midst to minister to us, and to us to minister to them.
that they may bring salt and light in our midst, and into our community. That you raise him up with the gifts you have given him to serve us. That you keep him humble so that he depends upon your strength alone. For his call. that you would enable him, with the gifts you have given him, to serve well.
We thank you for the providence. and promises that you put on display here tonight. that you do the work that you said you would do right before us, that you've promised to establish your church so that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. We thank you for the promise to bring peace and purity into our church. that you would work your spirit in us to remind us of your word That you would energize that word so that we can be made holy that we would walk in your ways.
We pray also tonight that the session would receive him well. That we would be humble before him as he would be humble before us, and that we all would be humble before you. that you would work your will through us to establish and Um Sanctify your church through your word. We thank you for your gifts for us. We thank you for this church.
We thank you for your work of salvation in our lives. and in lives to be saved. in the ministry that we are called to. Father, we give you all Praise, honor, and glory. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for your work.
We do pray this in Jesus' name. Man. Here's me now. Again, I have a baptism homily and And uh I just want to thank Doug and Eugene and Will and the session. The church.
Of Grace Church, Grace Presbyterian. And uh Receiving me. Welcome, Arms. Um What do you think my I don't want to do any of this? I'd like to thank my parents for raising me in the church.
To love the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart. And to have faith in him and I'd like to thank my father-in-law, my mother-in-law. My brother and sister-in-law, my niece, my nephew, my family. But there. Faithfulness and encouragement to me.
It's an honor to serve here. And Thank you for watching. for letting me serve you in leadership here. Um I get to Baptize my son? And I'd like to speak on baptism.
I don't know if I can regain here. Um Going back to the Old Testament, we see God establishes a covenant. with his people. Covenant is an agreement. where God and man both have obligations to each other.
God makes a covenant with Abraham and says that he will make of him a great nation. Abraham is called to be faithful to God, and in response. Ah, to his promise that He gives Abraham the mark of the covenant, which is instituted to be a sign and seal of this Abrahamic covenant, is circumcision. God makes his covenant with Abraham and his children. Abraham believed first.
Just as I believe today, Abraham believed. And he received this sign of the covenant. His child did not yet. believe as Robert does not believe. But he s he too would receive a sign.
It's done. Isaac receives the sign. As well as his father Abraham. Ishmael receives the sign yet never believed, but he was part of the covenant. Community.
In Exodus chapter 4, God commands Moses to give all his children. the sign of the covenant. Under the threat that he might be killed. And so the command is clear. God wants and mandates That we mark our children with this covenant sign, which at the time in the old covenant was circumcision.
In the New Covenant, it is a bloodless sign. We've been washed in the blood of Christ, and now the sign of the covenant is baptism. Colossians 2 speaks of this continuity between the Old Covenant circumcision and the New Covenant baptism. And this is a greater covenant. Paul speaks of the New Testament sacrament of baptism as a more expansive.
Covenant This is Confirmed in the language of Peter in Acts chapter 2. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off. Every one of Everyone whom the LORD your God has called to himself.
You and your children are Israelites and their children, identical to the Abrahamic covenant. This language is of Abraham. Those who are far off are Gentiles that are grafted into This Abrahamic covenant promise. This is confirmed in Galatians 3: there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither slave nor free. There's n no mail.
or female, for you are all one in Christ. And if you are Christ's Then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. The promise of Abraham offered offspring, land, personal blessing to Abraham, and the blessing of the nations. And so here we have this fulfillment of these Promises the nations will be blessed. Gentiles, the nations have been included into God's covenant people.
with the expansion of the Abrahamic covenant. And so as a believing parent whom the Lord our God has called to himself the children of believers also, receive the sign of the new covenant. Covenant of Baptism. The warning to all covenant children here. You must see the warning and the folly of Israel that they received the sign.
Of circumcision, they thought that they were saved, and we must not presume that we are saved. Although they received the sign, they did still reject the grace and mercy of God they sought to work their way into heaven. in rejecting God's grace and mercy. In doing so, they would break God's covenant and reject the substance of what this promise today points to. Which is salvation by grace.
This sign of baptism does not. Save. But what this sign gives Robert and every other covenant child is the sign and seal. of a covenantal promise. That if he would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
the physical sign of baptism will be a spiritual reality. That he might receive the washing and regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. much like an engagement ring which signifies and seals the promise of a wedding one day, This baptism is a sign of a promise that belongs to God. To all covenant children, all who receive this sign and believe in the promises of God. will one day be united with Christ by faith.
and ultimately will be in communion with God. For eternity. I'm going to take over for a moment while we administer some vows to Steve and Rachel. This is baby Robert. He is beautiful.
And it's good to see him in the flesh tonight. Steve and Rachel, I'm going to ask you three questions and ask if you affirm these, that you respond by saying we do. Do you acknowledge your child's need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit? We did it. Do you claim God's covenant promises in Robert's behalf, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation as you do for your own?
And do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before Robert a godly example, that you will pray with and for him, that you will teach him the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive by all the means of God's appointment to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We do. Church, the McCullas are a part of this covenant community, and so we have a responsibility to these parents and to this child to seek their spiritual good.
So, do you, as a congregation, undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child? If you do, would you respond by saying amen? Robert Samuel McCullough, I baptize you. Just in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let me pray for Robert, for Steve, and Rachel. Father, we thank you for this sweet sign that has been given to this covenant child. Lord, we pray that you would confirm the efficacy of that sign in time, that Robert would give. Incredible profession one day of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that you would save him, that you would take him home to be with you in glory for all eternity. Because of what Jesus Christ has done on the cross.
Father, give grace to Steve and Rachel as they seek to fulfill the very vows they've just taken, to raise Robert in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Give them wisdom in that process. Lord, give them effectiveness in it. That they may know the joy of seeing their son repent of his sin and run to Christ in faith. Thank you for family.
Thank you that you work within the context of the home and that your salvation. Reaches to us all. We thank you for your goodness and grace to us in Christ, and it is in His name we pray. Amen. Thank you.
You can be seated. There is a gift that the Uh ladies in the church typically present Um I'm sorry we'll do it later, but woo. We have a Bible, First New Testament, from the church to Robert, and we'll make sure that gets taken care of. We're going to close this beautiful service with a psalm. It's a psalm that speaks of unity, of the unity of the church.
We've seen that demonstrated here tonight. We've had a presbytery present. We've had a baptism of a new covenant child. And we're reminded of Paul declaring that we have one faith, one baptism, one Lord, and God, Father of us all. There is one Christian faith, one gospel, and we've seen that on display here tonight.
And so we're going to close with the Psalm of unity. Psalm 1:33. If you would stand with me, our tune is: 04,000 tongues to sing. Let's sing it together. Behold.
How good a thing it is, and how becoming well when those that brethren are delight in unity to dwell for it is like the precious soul. Oil poured out on Aaron's hand, and going down upon his beard, upon his garment spread like ermins to upon the hills of Zion that descends. The Lord commands his blessing there, in life that never ends. Receive now the benediction. The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and you give you peace.
