CTK Lord's Day Worship

“Honor thy father and thy mother” reaches further than the home: it speaks to every place of authority God appoints. This Lord’s Day we considered the weight of leadership—how superiors can sin by neglecting their duties, using authority for themselves, provoking others unjustly, or modeling evil. The comfort is this: Jesus Christ is the perfectly faithful Superior, who leads with truth and gentleness and calls us to steward authority for the good of those entrusted to us.⁠ Title: The Calling of Superiors Series: Law Homilies Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: May 17, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

Purim is more than a Jewish holiday—it’s covenant memory: God overturning the lot, turning sorrow into joy, and teaching His people to remember His deliverance with thanksgiving, generosity, and care for the poor (Esther 9:20–10:3). And the book ends where all faithful deliverance points: with an exalted mediator who “speaks peace” to his people—foreshadowing the reign of Christ, enthroned and faithful to bless and keep His Church. Title: Purim as Culmination Series: Esther: The Invisible Hand of Providence Main Passage: Esther 9:20–10:3 Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: May 17, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

Honoring the Lord’s Day is a gift and a freedom for the people of God, given for us. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. In this homily, we consider where we may have omitted the duties required in the fourth commandment, where we’ve been “careless, negligent, or unprofitable in the performing of them, or grown weary of them.” And in our confession, we look to Christ to strengthen us in faith to joyfully trust Him and His good gifts to us. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁰ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." — Exodus 20:8-11 Title: Filling the Lord's Day Series: Law Homilies Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: May 10, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

This sermon on Exodus 2 unfolds the story of Moses’ birth and early years as a vivid display of the providence of God, who quietly orders every detail—even a desperate mother’s plan, a baby’s basket on the Nile, and the compassion of a pagan princess—to accomplish his saving purposes. Rather than focusing on human heroism, the message presses us to see how the Lord is at work precisely when his people feel most helpless and hidden, inviting us to trust that his timing is never late and his hand is never absent. As Moses is preserved, protected, and prepared in ways no one could have scripted, we are called to rest in the same covenant God, learning to entrust our fears, delays, and unmet expectations to the wise and fatherly providence that governs all things for the good of those who belong to Christ. Guest Preacher: Garrett Soucy Main Passage: Exodus 2 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

This week’s Law Homily returns to the Third Commandment (Ex. 20:7) and presses the question: where are we tempted to be ashamed of God’s truth, grace, and ways? In a culture that rewards apology and compromise, the warning still stands—God “will not hold him guiltless” who takes His name in vain. That sin isn’t only loud blasphemy; it can be the quieter posture of explaining away Scripture, softening hard edges, or living in ways that make us a shame to the truth we confess. The call is clear: don’t apologize for what God has said and done. Repent where fear of man has shaped obedience, pray for Christ’s Church to recover courage, and remember the gospel: Christ’s perfect obedience is credited to sinners by grace, so we can pursue joyful obedience without shame. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” — Exodus 20:7 Title: The Shame of Blasphemies Series: Law Homilies Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: May 3, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

In Esther 9, what was decreed for the destruction of God's people became the occasion of their total deliverance. Not because of human strategy, but because God exalted His anointed and put the fear of His name before kings, rulers, and entire provinces. God's counter-decree answered the decree of death — and it always does. Christ is the greater Mordecai — who waxes greater and greater, whose kingdom has no end, and who brings all of history to its appointed feast. Title: The Church Age Series: Esther: The Invisible Hand of Providence Main Passage: Esther 9:1–19 Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: May 3, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

This homily explores the Second Commandment and what it means to worship God rightly. It examines both the restrictions and duties of biblical worship, revealing how acts of worship profoundly affect not only individuals but their children and grandchildren. Discover why God cares so deeply about how He is approached, why cultural religious practices and worldly substitutes cannot replace biblical worship, and how the simplicity of God's covenantal means of grace are far more powerful than human ingenuity. Learn how the curse of false worship is reversed through Christ's work and new covenant, bringing generational blessing to all who love Him and keep His commandments. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” —Exodus 20:4-6 (KJV) Title: From Curse to Covenant Series: Law Homilies Preacher: Robert J. Hewitt III (Elder Candidate) Date: April 26, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

The signet ring of history is not on the finger of Caesar — it is on the hand of Jesus Christ." Esther 8 shows God's reversals are swift: the enemy overthrown, the righteous elevated, and the decree of deliverance sent to every province. Mordecai's exaltation from sackcloth to royal apparel foreshadows Christ's enthronement — already seated, already reigning, far above every power (Eph. 1:20–23), and bringing joy to His people. The Church doesn't wait for Christ to win; we live under the reign of One who already has. Title: Right Hand Man Series: Esther: The Invisible Hand of Providence Main Passage: Esther 8 Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: April 26, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

This sermon on Esther 7 illustrates how God delivers His people through often unseen yet purposeful providence, emphasizing that even when evil seems entrenched, God is actively working for a decisive reversal. It highlights five key moments: the king's question encourages bold prayer and action; Esther's plea showcases her solidarity with her people and contrasts fatalism with the belief that God uses means; the exposure of Haman reveals how evil falters in the light; Haman's desperate plea underscores the distinction between worldly sorrow and true repentance; and the climax of Haman's execution serves as a reminder that the wicked's schemes ultimately lead to their downfall, reinforcing the idea that God judges in His timing. The sermon connects these themes to Christ, portraying the cross as the ultimate reversal where apparent defeat became the foundation for salvation and judgment against evil, urging Christians to live with confidence and joy in God's faithful purpose. Title: The Beginning of Judgment Series: Esther: The Invisible Hand of Providence Main Passage: Esther 7 Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: April 19, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

The homily exhorts the congregation to approach the First Commandment (“You shall have no other gods before me”) as a positive call to center the whole heart on the living God—not merely avoiding idols. It describes the duties required as believing, trusting, hoping, delighting, and rejoicing in God, and warns that idolatry often shows up as inward loyalties like control, approval, comfort, reputation, or self-security. It then presses practical self-examination: when fear and uncertainty come, will we run to control and despair, or rest in God’s promises with joyful confidence? The homily calls Christians to be a joyful people now (not only someday in the fuller kingdom), and invites the congregation to kneel in confession—asking God to forgive their misplaced trusts and restore “the joy of Your salvation”—before standing to hear assurance of pardon from Psalm 23:3. “And God spake all these words, saying, ² I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³ Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” — Exodus 20:1-3 Title: Trusting & Delighting in Our God Series: Law Homilies Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: April 19, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

What if the most powerful inheritance you could leave your children has nothing to do with money? In this message, we explore how to pass down a legacy of faith to the next generation—and the one after that. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, or preparing for parenthood, discover what Deuteronomy 6 reveals about faithful discipleship in the home, why consistency matters more than perfection, and how God promises to bless families who diligently teach His Word. Watch to learn how your everyday moments with your children can shape their faith for eternity. Title: Leaving a Legacy of Faith Main Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1–9 Preacher: Robert J. Hewitt III (Elder Candidate) Date: April 12, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com

This law homily frames the tenth commandment as targeting “the sin beneath the sin”: coveting is a restless, inward refusal to trust God’s wise providence, and it becomes the seedbed of many other sins—making it impossible to truly honor God and love neighbor. It illustrates coveting through Ahab (who, despite having a kingdom, becomes “heavy and displeased” over Naboth’s vineyard) and Haman (who finds all his honors meaningless because Mordecai won’t bow), showing that coveting can be desire for things or for glory/control. The homily stresses that coveting never stays private; it bears deadly fruit in relationships, communities, and nations. Positively, the commandment calls Christians to contentment, charity, and quietness of spirit, and it offers pointed applications: name coveting honestly, refuse comparison, practice gratitude and generosity as “warfare,” and repent of entitlement. The hope of the gospel is that Christ did not covet, and Christ died even for the coveting heart—so believers can bring their discontent to Christ and learn to say in sincerity, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” — Exodus 20:17 Title: The Sin Beneath the Sin Series: Law Homilies Preacher: Derrick Taylor Date: April 12, 2026 For more information about Christ the King Reformed Church please visit our website: https://ctkreformed.com