November 23, 2008
Sunday 10:00am WLEX TV Channel 18
It is requested that all children under the age of five stay in our nursery
so there will be no distractions during the preaching of the Gospel.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Command Thy blessings from above
O God, on all assembled here!
Behold us with a Father’s love
While we look up with reverent fear.
Command Thy blessings, sovereign Lord
May we Thy true disciples be
Speak to each heart Thy mighty word
Say to the weakest, “Follow me!”
Command Thy blessings in this hour
Spirit of truth, and fill this place
With humbling and exalting pow’r
With quickening and confirming grace.
With Thee, O Lord, forever bound
May all who here in praise unite
With psalms and songs Thy throne surround
Rest in Thy love and reign in light.
(Tune: “Doxology”)
*****
The Holiday get-together for the adults will be on Friday, Dec. 12th at the
Cumberland Hills Clubhouse. Bring an appetizer or dessert.
Congratulations to Dave and Kristy Burton and Ben and Christy Small who both
recently added baby boys20to their families!
Birthdays
24th – Martin Weinstock 25th – Sarah Lynn
26th – Adam Charron 28th – Lydia Lynn
“The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he
beg in harvest, and have nothing.” - Proverb 20:4
Someone once said, “Christianity, if true, is of infinite importance:
if false, is of no importance. The one thing that it cannot be is moderately
important.” The same is true with regard to the truth of sovereign grace!
The same is true with regard to obedience to Christ. He is either all or nothing
to me. I am either 100% for Him or=2 0100% against Him. There really is no
middle ground. The person who seeks to stay in the middle of the road will
wind up in a head-on collision!
*****
The Apostle Peter wrote: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts;
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason
of the hope that i s in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15).
In Romans 8:31-35 you will find Paul’s reasons for our hope of eternal
life in the form of five questions.
1. “IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?” Can the law, justice,
or Satan defeat the purpose of our God?
2. “IF GOD SPARED NOT HIS OWN SON”, but delivered Him up for us
all, shall He not with Him also freely give us all things that Christ purchased
by His death?
3. “WHO SHALL LAY ANYTHING TO THE CHARGE OF GOD’S ELECT?”
They are justified by God – the almighty God and highest court!
4. “WHO I S HE THAT CONDEMNETH?” It is Christ who died, and the
fact that the Father raised Him from the grave and exalted Him to His right
hand as our forerunner and head assures us of that place.
5. “WHO CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD?” His love is an
everlasting, unchangeable love in Christ!
- Pastor Henry Mahan
*****
Please take the following words of wisdom to heart: One reason why the church
of Christ at this present moment has so little influence over the world is
because the world has so much influence over the church. Your duty as a Christian
is to stand fast in your place and stand out for God, hating even the garment
spotted by the flesh, resolving like one of another time, “Let others
do as they will; as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” -
Pastor Scott Richardson
I believe that all who come to our Redeemer in saving faith do so PERSONALLY.
I wish that I could believe God for my family; but unless a man in his own
heart believes on Christ, he will perish. Those who come to Christ will come
SINCERELY. A man is not only persuaded that Christ is the way, but in his
heart he lovingly and sincerely agrees with God’s terms of salvation.
“My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 23:26). It is the heart or
nothing in this heavenly marriage. Also those who come to Christ do so RATIONALLY,
in knowledge and understanding. They know WHAT He saved them from –
sin’s curse and condemnation. They know WHO save them – our Lord
Jesus Christ, the God-man. They know HOW He saved them – by His perfect
obedience and precious blood. They know WHY He saved them – “according
to the good pleasure of His own will” (grace, grace, and more grace).
And those who come to Christ come PERMENENTLY, with no intention of ever leaving
Him; and, by His grace, with no possibility of ever being forsaken by Him.
– Pastor Henry Mahan
*****
CHRIST OUR SURETY
My English dictionary defines a surety as “One who is legally liable
for the debt, default, or failure of another.” The Lord Jesus Christ
is the Surety of the everlasting covenant of grace (Heb. 7:22; 13:20). Before
the foundation of the world, He covenanted with the Father to be the Surety
for the elect (Rev. 13:8). From that time the Father looked to Him to answer
for those sinners, not as a mere co-signer, sponsor, or helper to make up
for their deficiencies, but to assume and fully discharge ALL of their debts
and obligations; for they were (are) totally bankrupt! From the very moment
that He, by covenant, agreed to be their Surety, the Father no longer looked
to them but to Him for all that they owed. He fully satisfied God in their
behalf. Therefore, they MUST be set free and enter into the glories of heaven.
What a message of hope this is to guilty sinners! Full, free, everlasting
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, their Surety, BY FAITH, TRUST, AND
CONFIDENCE IN HIM! - Pastor Maurice Montgomery