August 2, 2009
Sundays 11:00 am Channel 36 WTVQ
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
As on the cross of Christ I thought, It seemed I heard one cry
Is all this nothing in your eyes, You who this day pass by?
Is not such suff’ring greater than
That which you’ve seen before?
And was there ever any man, Who grieved or suffered more?

I looked again, and what I saw, I cannot fully tell
It seemed within His very bones, There raged the fire of hell.
What caused you grief? I asked the man,
What crimes could you have done?
That God Jehovah, struck you down, And left you all alone?

His answer cut my heart like steel, And left me void of breath
‘ Tis for your sins this pain I feel, For you I go to death!
Your soul, before my Father’s throne
Could find no place to hide
This is the way God can be just, and you be justified.

Jehovah’s mercies never fail, each morning they are new
Great is His faithfulness and love
Therefore, we’re not consumed!
0A
Jehovah God, in Christ the Son, shall all my portion be
My soul shall, therefore, wait for Him, and live eternally.

(Tune: “There is a Fountain” p. 222)

*****

Joseph Murphy, Missionary to Mexico, will speak for us tonight.

All ladies are invited to a luncheon this Tuesday at Vina’s Restaurant on Leestown Road. Information is in the foyer.


Birthday
3rd – Tracy Coffey 6th – Shawn Benton 6 th – Kristen Hands
7th – Leti Anguiano 7th – Lee Anne Walmsley 7th – Aaron Wilson
“Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.” -Proverbs 20:18


*****


WHAT IS THE REPUTATION OF THIS CHURCH?
Local churches do have reputations. Those reputations are made by the speech and conduct of her individual members. It was said of the church at Rome, “Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” Paul said to the church at Corinth, “It hath been declared unto me….that there are contentions among you” and “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you.” Every local assembly has a reputation; good or bad. What is the reputation of this church? What would people gather by the conduct of her members? What kind of church would this be if everybody followed my example? Remember, we are ambassadors of Christ, and we are ambassadors of His church. Oh, that this church would be known for the Gospel we preach and our devotion to Christ, and not for anything else!


*****


IF BAPTISM DOES NOT SAVE, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
&nbs p; Baptism is a ceremony, and nothing more. There is no saving efficacy in it nor is it a means through which grace is conveyed. But, that does not take away from its importance. The marriage ceremony does not cause a man and woman to love one another. They love each other before they participated in the marriage ceremony. But if they refuse to participate in the marriage ceremony, and live together without it, they say by that, that they do not love one another enough to be totally committed to one another. This shows how important the marriage ceremony is. There is no true love without it. Baptism is the same. It does not cause salvation. It speaks of a relationship that was already there before the ceremony. And that relationship was caused by what baptism depicts: Union with Christ. For someone to refuse Baptism is like someone who refuses the marriage covenant and ceremony. That person says by their actions, “I do not love Christ enough to commit to Him.” Love like that is not love at all! < /SPAN>Yes, Baptism is important. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).
“SHALL NOT THE JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH DO RIGHT”
This is what Abraham said to the Lord when he found out the Lord was going to destroy Sodom. Abraham had prayed that Sodom might be preserved for the sake of ten righteous men. Abraham was sure of this….whatever the Lord does is right! He does not do it because it is right, it is right because He does it!
There are so many questions that arise in our mind. “Why did the Lord let that happen?” “Why does it seem that so fe w are saved?” “What happens to infants and mentally disabled people when they die?” We could go on and on with questions that arise in all of our minds. But there is no need to become stressed concerning any of them because we have this blessed assurance. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right.” Yes, He shall! Whatever he does is right. I may not understand what He is doing, but I do understand that whatever He does, and however He does it, is right!
*****
It is an amazing thing, to me, that people are so opposed to the doctrine of the Gospel that declares man to be absolutely depraved and God to be absolutely sovereign. Those who oppose such doctrine would do well to consider the alternative. If the Gospel is not for the “Totally Depraved”, then it must be that I am required to establish my own righteousness before God – a thing I know by experience is impossible for me. If my salvation did not come about by the sovereign, electing will of God, then my salvation is left up to my will which I know to be a perverse and changing thing. If my redemption was not utterly secured by Jesus Christ in such a fashion that His work cannot fail to save me, then I am left with the job of redeeming myself; a redemption which is far too high a price for me to pay. If my knowledge of the Gospel and faith in Christ is not by the omnipotent, and therefore, undeniable work of the Spirit of God, then I am left with the job of teaching myself and generating my own faith, a task which I tried and failed at for a long time. If my preservation and perseverance in the faith are not by the continual love of God for me, the continual, effectual intercession of Christ in my behalf, and the unlimited patience and power of the Holy Spirit to create and maintain life in me, then I am on my own from now until I reach heaven, and I know myself too weak for such a long and strenuous march. In short, if my salvation is not by the sovereign grace of God, then it is up to me. It is a head-shaking amazement to me that men demand the right to damn themselves if they choose to do so. I exult and magnify the sovereign, free, omnipotent grace of God which saved this depraved sinner, and rejoice in the Gospel of Isaiah (52:7) which says, “Thy God REIGNETH!” - Pastor Joe Terrell