Providence Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Today we worshiped at Providence Presbyterian Church (PCA), 77 Phillips Lane, Robinson Township, PA 15136, 412.788.6100, www.providence-pca.net, Dr. Ray E. Heiple, Jr., Senior Pastor.

Scripture – NKJV

1 Peter 1:10-2:3 –

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.”

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

John 1:19-37 –

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

He said: “I am

‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,” ’

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

Bob’s thoughts:

At times I am so sure I have been at a church before: today from the time I heard the location and as we pulled into the parking lot, it was all too familiar...until we walked into the building and nothing looked familiar. There were new-construction odors of paint and adhesives and later learned the sanctuary is new. It is pleasant and tasteful with a large back-lit cross and comfortable seating. I was particularly pleased to watch the young children nearby.

Although not many acknowledged us, an Elder made a point of extending a greeting, unfortunately a rarity in Presbyterian churches of late.

I assume a lack of signage was due to fresh paint; a one point a man noticed our confusion and pointed the way to the social area.

The bulletin was an impressive 24 pages, although on some of the print I noticed my glasses must be getting weaker.

I was spellbound with the men’s choir, not only how great they sounded but how they led the entire congregation. It was refreshing to hear the church worshiping aloud in song.

The sermon, “Behold the Lamb of God,” made the connection between the Passover lamb in Exodus and Christ as the Passover Lamb in Communion. I enjoyed the pastor’s depth of understanding and style of teaching.

I was looking forward to partaking of Communion until we were admonished with the two part invite: “All who believe in Jesus Christ” followed by “and are members in good standing in any evangelical church.” This seemed to contradict the sermon message and meant I could not partake. I am afraid novice Christians could be driven away from the Table.

I am thankful we were able to exchange our views with the pastor after the service and I was also grateful that a member came out to check on us when we walked out during Communion.

Jan’s thoughts:

Since we arrived early, we had ample opportunity to wander around this sprawling building. It looked quite new and I would think the signage is still in process, but the restrooms were well marked.

We were greeted by one of the Elders and along the way several different Elders briefly directed us toward various points of interest include the donuts and coffee.

We located a seat and watched as a family sat across from us with a little one in a car seat. While mom and dad were nearby the little guy in the car seat watched the people and a number stopped to talk to him. It was sweet to watch.

The bulletin is a comprehensive work of art, easy to follow, containing all the Scripture, music, and prayers for the service as well as numerous announcements.

The large sanctuary is beautifully uncomplicated and adorned only by a striking wooden cross below a circular window. Currently there are no projection screens, though I have no way of knowing if there are plans for decorations or enhancements.

The choir consisted of the Men’s Voices of Providence along with a piano and, I believe, a flute; they sounded superb.

As the pastor is on vacation, the sermon was given by Dr. George Scipione, the director of the Biblical Counseling Institute at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a professor at RPTS.

Being Communion Sunday, the professor spotlighted the theological connections between the Exodus account of the first Passover and John’s telling of Christ’s final Passover meal with the disciples in the Upper Room.

He stated that when Jesus cleansed the Temple of the moneychangers, He was cleaning His house of leaven before the Passover, that the eating of Christ’s Body and drinking of His Blood hearkened to the first Passover when the eating of the body of that lamb gave the people the strength to flee Egypt and the blood of that lamb protected from death. Symbolically the same occurred when the Firstborn of God died in place of His people. The Lamb and the lamb made all the difference in the freedom of the people.

Communion was served, but I was disappointed not to be able to partake since it was clearly stated in the bulletin and again from the pulpit that “all who believe in Jesus Christ and are members in good standing in any evangelical church” were invited to the Table.

I admit I was emotional, and after hearing the pastor remind the congregation of the great privilege and meaning of Communion, the exclusion was a painful surprise. We exited the sanctuary, opting to wait there to speak with the preacher before we left, as we always do. One of the men from the congregation (who was not an Elder) witnessed us leaving and came out to speak with us. He was compassionate but firm, explaining these were the rules based on their beliefs.

Dr. Scipione took the time to speak with us. We understood the church’s position and were not angry, but in light of all the positives at this church, we would not want someone else who may be seeking a church home to find themselves being excluded from the Lord’s Table while in the midst of their search. Dr. Scipione was kind, stating he would consider our conversation.

Before we left we also spoke briefly with the Elder who had greeted us warmly and the gentleman who had followed us out of the sanctuary and we parted cordially.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray Your Church always puts You first in all they do. Open their eyes to Your call and may they be mighty in Your Name. Amen.