Sermon Notes / Transcript

Hebrews 13:17 — Questions to the Pastor and Congregation

Speaker: Tim Wegener
Date: 2025-11-02

Introduction

I'd like you to give me a little bit of an indulgence here. Not the kind from the Pope. We'll get to that, actually. I see a number of gray hairs out there.

There's a very select group of people in this world that gets to call me Gramps. And I have a daughter that played on that. She had some of her daughters, my granddaughters, whom she wanted to learn church history this year. And she came to me and said, “Dad, would you teach my girls church history?”

Now, that wasn't my plan for the year. But they're my granddaughters. And because it really doesn't take that much extra, I've got some students here, over here in the front row, that are in that same class.

The church is over 2,000 years old. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. We can look and see how things have been done in the past.

So at this time I'm going to ask some questions to Daniel. And then I'm going to ask some questions to you.

Now, the questions we use are over a hundred years old. I don't know if you've ever read old books, but sometimes it sounds odd, or it's just a little hard to read. Now, when it comes to Daniel, I'm not worried about that because he went to school to learn how to speak Old English, if you will.

For the rest of us, one of the other things that we're going to get to this week in church history is God's Word in the vernacular, God's Word in everyday speech. And so, when it comes to your questions, I'm going to try to update them to the way we speak today.

And there'll be four of those. Okay. So Daniel, would you come here? Actually, right about there. So there are eight questions for Daniel and four questions for you all.

Questions to Daniel

1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as originally given, to be the infallible Word of God, which is the only infallible rule of faith and practice?

   Daniel: I do.

2. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith, Catechisms, and Doctrinal Declarations of this church as 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 these fundamentals, you will, on your own initiative, make known to your Presbytery the change that has taken place in your views since the assumption of these ordination vows?

   Daniel: I do, and I will.

   Thank you.

3. Do you approve of the government and discipline of Evangel Presbytery as being in conformity with the general principles of biblical polity?

   Daniel: I do.

4. Do you promise subjection to your brethren?

   Daniel: I do.

5. Have you, so far as you know your own heart, been induced to seek the office of this holy ministry for the love of God and a sincere desire to promote His glory in the Gospel of His Son?

   Daniel: Yes, I have.

6. 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 persecutions or opposition may arise on that account?

7. Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of your duties as a Christian minister and a 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 God over whom He has made you an overseer?

   Daniel: I do.

8. Are you now willing to take charge of this church, agreeable to your declaration when accepting the call?

   Daniel: I am.

   Do you, relying on God's strength, promise to discharge its duties as a pastor?

   Daniel: I do.

Questions to the Congregation

Now these questions are for you, the people of the church. And I want to paraphrase them just a little bit.

One of them, actually, I want to just ask if you'll obey a verse of Scripture.

1. Will you have Daniel Coughlin as your minister here at this church?

   I want to read a verse out of Hebrews, the thirteenth chapter, and ask if you will obey this. In verse seventeen it says:

   “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do so with joy and not with groaning. For that would be of no advantage to you.”

   Hebrews 13:17

   If so, say, “We will.”

2. Do you promise to be an encouragement to Daniel? To assist him in the work that he's doing? And with meekness to understand the instruction that he gives?

   If so, say, “We will.”

3. And lastly, do you agree now to help Daniel financially the way you said you would in his call?

   If so, say, “We will.”

Okay. Now we have a charge.