September 20, 2009
Sundays 11:00 am Channel 36 WTVQ
It is20requested 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
Expand, my soul, arise and sing
The matchless grace of Zion’s King
His love, as ancient as His name
Let all Thy powers aloud proclaim.

Chosen of old, of old approved
In Christ eternally beloved
Adopted too, and children made
Ere sin its baleful poison spread.

Though sin and guilt infest them here
In Christ they all complete appear
The whole that justice e’re demands
Received full payment from His hands.

In Him the Father never saw
The least transgression of His law
Perfection, then, in Him we view
His saints in Him are perfect too.

Then let our souls in Him rejoice
As favored objects of His choice
Redeemed, and saved by grace, we sing
Eternal praise to Christ our King.

(Tune: “Doxology”)

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Thank you so much for the 50th Birthday party! I greatly enjoyed the evening and appreciate the love and generosity you show to me. I am blessed to be your pastor and friend.

Mike Farmer will confess Christ in believer’s baptism after the service this morning.

Birthdays
23rd – Christian Warta


”He that oppresseth the poor to incease his riches, and he that giveth to the rich shall surely come to want.” - Proverb 22:16

*****
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh:
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” - John 3:8
You cannot rise above or sink below your nature. The reason a natural man cannot be holy is he has a sinful nature that makes all he does sin (I John 1:8,10). But that which is born of the Spirit, the new man, is spirit. It cannot sin. Sin is against his nature (I John 3:9). The natural man has only one nature - flesh. The believer still has the flesh. And the flesh never rises above its nature. But he also has a new nature – born of the Spirit. That holy nature never sinks below its nature. It never sins. If you only have one nature, you cannot understand this. If you have these two natures, you understand by experience.

*****
A CHEERFUL GIVER
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
II Corinthians 9:7
&nbs p; What is cheerful giving? It is giving that is not done unwillingly, as a sense of duty. Giving like that is grudge giving. It is not giving merely because there are needs. There are needs, but that is not why we give. The Lord does not need our gifts. It is giving cheerfully; the word is literally hilariously. It is giving as unto the Lord. How you love somebody is seen only in how you give to them. Our love to Christ Himself is seen in our giving. When giving is not uppermost in our minds and hearts, it says so much about how we really feel toward Christ. Giving is not about duty and needs…although it is duty and needs do need to be met. Giving is about love. WE are the ones who benefit in giving! Truly, “It is more blessed to give then to receive.” God loves a cheerful giver!

*****
When our brethren are weak, when it appears that they are ready to quit the race, let us refresh and strengthen them with love, sympathizing with them, speaking comfortable to them, and bearing their burdens. That is what brothers and sisters do for one another. It is called “love” (Galatians 6:1-3). - Copied


I heard someone say, “I get so weary of TRYING NOT TO OFFEND PEOPLE. It seems as if I am forever on guard and upset lest I SAY something, DO something, or HAVE something which OFFENDS SOMEONE!” Beloved, this ought not to be said about believes. But I can identify with what my friend said; for the one thing I dislike about the ministry, and the one thing that will one day cause me to rejoice when I am no longer involved daily in it, is the constant pressure of “trying to be all things to all people” (I Cor. 9:19-23). The people of the world are naturally offended by our Gospel, by our strong commitment to sovereign grace, and by the fact that we cannot walk with them in their religious and other activities. But the love believers share “doth NOT behave itself unbecomingly, is NOT self-seeking, is NOT easily provoked, touchy, fretful, and offended” (I Cor. 13:5). Am I? Are you a problem-child? A cause for tension, pressure, and sleepless nights? Or are we an encouragement, comfort, and delight to be around? Paul said in Ephesians 4:5, “Let us all GROW UP INTO HIM in all things.” - Pastor Henry Mahan


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If God saved you in light of His consideration of something in you, no matter how small, it could not be grace! No amount of immorality can hinder God in His work of grace, and no amount of morality can commend one’s self to God. If one sin or one thousand of them can hinder a soul in the reception of grace, it ceases to be grace. If any amount of morality can commend one to God, it ceases to be grace.
- A. D. Muse