April 5, 2009
Sunday 10:00am WLEX TV Channel 18

It is requested that all children under the age of five stay in our=2 0nursery
so there will be no distractions during the preaching of the Gospel.

HYMN OF THE DAY
Great God! Thy glory and Thy love
Our humble songs employ
In mercy from Thy throne above
Look down and aid our joy.

Thy presence and Thy glory, Lord
Fill all the realms of space
O let Thy presence, by Thy word
Divinely fill this place.

This hymn begins the solemn sound
Of holy worship here
May ev’ry saint with joy abound
And reverential fear.

Eternal Spirit! Heav’nly Dove!
Descend and fill this place
Reveal the Saviour’s matchless love
The wonders of His grace!

0A
(Tune: “O For A Thousand Tongues” p. 46)

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We will observe the Lord’s Table this evening.

Our meeting is April 17 – 19. Speakers will be Donnie Bell, Bruce Crabtree, and Jesse Gistand. We will serve dessert after the service on Friday night and will have a church dinner on Sunday. The church will provide the meat and20other items for the dinner. A sign-up sheet for items to bring and set-up and clean-up is in the foyer. Services will begin at 7:00pm Friday, 6:00pm Saturday, and 10:00 on Sunday morning. There will be no morning Bible study or evening service on Sunday, the 19th.

Birthdays
5th – Jessica Elliott 7th – Seth Daniel
8th – Joyc e Squires 11th – Mary Williams
“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” - Proverbs 13:10
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“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). Growth in grace is utterly unique. When anything else grows it gets bigger. When a Christian grows, he becomes smaller! Like John the Baptist said, “He must increase, I must decrease.” In a dark room, if a candle is but a flicker, it is all you see in the room. But if it is a strong flame, it lights up the room and you actually see less of the candle. As we grow, Christ will be seen more clearly and self will more and more take the background.


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IT COULD HAVE BEEN
We understand that everything that takes place in time, comes to pass because it was ordained by God in eternity. The scriptural phrase “it came to pass” means literally, it was required. It was caused. Our God is absolutely sovereign!
It is also true that God has all contingent knowledge. He knows what could have been if…. Christ said to Capernaum, “If the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.”(Matt. 11:23). God said in Psalms 81:13-14, “Oh that my people had hearkened unto Me, and Israel had walked in My ways. I should have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.” In both of these instances God talks about what would have been if….
While we believe in the absolute sovereignty of God, this belief does not produce a stoic fatalism. It is still true that if we do certain things prescribed in the word, we will enjoy God’s blessing, and if we d o not do what He tells us in His word, it will bring great sorrow into our lives! Oh, the blessings we could experience, the heartache we could avoid, if we would only obey. A poet once wrote:
“Of all the words of tongue or pen
None are sadder than it could have been.”

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God hath in Himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you. &n bsp; – Thomas Brooks
THE WORD OF GOD – THE PREACHER’S POWER
If we truly believe the word of God to be His power, then we will use it extensively. If we have felt its power personally, then we will know its sufficiency to do what we desire, ie, move the hearts of the hearers. Our messages should be from portions of God’s word, not from a dream or illustration (which we then attempt to prove from God’s word). HE SPEAKS THROUGH HIS WORD. Any message that does not come as a result of God’s speaking to us through His word IS NOT OF GOD!
&nb sp; When we say that God has impressed us with something other than His word, it is setting our experience above His word as sufficient to save sinners. He even said that He magnified His word above all His name. Our desire should be that the word of God make an impression on the hearers, not that they should be impressed with the outline or alliteration. God forbid that the people should forget the text but remember the outline.
So, “He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully” (in season and out, consistently, expositionally) (Jer. 23:28). God’s word is a fire and a hammer (Jer. 23:29). It alone can break the heart and purge the dross. – Pastor Paul Mahan
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Let us never diminish one aspect of our Savior’s work to make another appear more glorious. All that Christ is made to us and all that He does for us is vital. We cannot be saved without His work for us; and we cannot be saved without His work in us. Both are vital.
– Pastor Don Fortner

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Scripture largely and distinctly teaches that we are not justified by law; nor is the law our rule of life. That which can only curse can never justify, and that which can only kill can never be a rule of life. As well might a man attempt to make a fortune by a deed of bankruptcy20filed against him. – C. H. Mackintosh


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If any good comes to us, it < /SPAN>must be entirely on the ground of God’s grace freely given through the merits of Christ – not won by merit of our part. – C. H. Spurgeon