CALL TO WORSHIP

(Tune – Rock of Ages – p. 126)

(Words written by Augustus Toplady , 1759)

Surely Christ thy griefs hath borne,

Weeping soul, no longer mourn;

View Him bleeding on the tree,

Pouring out His life for thee;

There thy ev’ry sin He bore,

Weeping soul, lament no more.

Cast thy guilty soul on Him,

Find Him mighty to redeem;

At His feet thy burden lay,

Look thy doubts and cares away;

Now by faith the Son embrace,

Plead His promise, trust His grace.

Lord, Thy arm must be revealed,

Ere I can by faith be healed;

Since I scarce can look to Thee,

Cast a gracious eye on me;

At Thy feet myself I lay,

Shine, oh shine my fears away!

TODAY’S SERVICES – Messages by Pastor Bill Parker

BIBLE CLASS – 10:00 a.m. –

Who is Jesus Christ? – Romans 1

MORNING WORSHIP – 11:00 a.m –

• OPENING – Psalm 89:34-37

• CALL TO WORSHIP (above)

• HYMN – I Love to Tell the Story – p. 431

• READING – 1 John 5:1-13

• MESSAGE – The Witness of God – 1 John 5:6-13

• CLOSING HYMN – My Faith Looks Up to Thee – p. 359

MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY – WEDNESDAY – 6:30 P.M.

Due to Adam’s disobedience, I was legally considered and constituted by God to be a sinner. Due to Christ’s obedience unto death, I was legally considered and constituted by God to be a saint. I was made unrighteous in the one and I was made righteous in the Other (Romans 5:19). I am a sinner due to the fall of Adam; I am a saint due to the sacrifice of the last Adam. —Pastor Jim Byrd

The purpose and will of God is unchanging, the love of God everlasting, and the power of God unstoppable. Thus, He shall find and bring to Christ all His people. None can stop Him and nothing can hinder His carrying out of His purpose of grace which was given them in Christ before the world began. He will gather His Abrahams out of the idolatrous Urs of the Chaldees. He will gather His Pauls from the multitudes of the Pharisees. He will gather His fallen by the many Samaritan wells of this world and find them like Zaccheus in the trees of time. He will find them in the prisons like Onesimus, as the guards of the prisons like the Philippian jailor. As the great Shepherd He will seek and save all His lost ones. What a glorious thought, what a glorious God! --Pastor Gary Shepard

NOTHING BETTER THAN CHRIST!

If we could peer into heaven and see that great number of departed and glorified saints, I think we would see Abraham and his nephew Lot, Joshua and Rahab the harlot, Samuel and Samson, the penitent thief and the glorious Apostle Paul, ALL dressed in the very same raiment — that beautiful garment of salvation, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ which was freely given them (Isa. 61:10). After all, nothing less will make a sinner acceptable in God's sight and qualified for heaven! What more is there? Can anything be added to the righteousness of Christ? Can anything make a sinner more approved of God? The Lord Jesus Christ is ALL the believer's justifying righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21). --Copied

WHY IS GOD’S ELECTION OF GRACE NECESSARY?

Did God before the foundation of the world choose a people to save in and by the Lord Jesus Christ? The Bible says that He did (Eph. 1:1-11). Why is God’s sovereign election of grace necessary for the salvation of sinners? Consider the following reasons:

(1) God’s election of grace is necessary because God is holy and just, and He must punish all to whom sin is imputed. We are all sinners who deserve nothing from God but condemnation and death. The only way we can stand before God and not be charged with and condemned for our sins is to be found in a God-appointed, able and willing substitute who can satisfy the demands of God’s justice against us and work righteousness for us. The only God-appointed, able, and willing substitute is God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s election of grace is His wise and sovereign choice of sinners in Christ who became the surety of God’s people before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:1-11; 2 Tim. 1:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:1-2). It was upon the basis of the righteousness that Christ would come in time and accomplish in His obedience unto death as the Substitute of all the elect whom the Father had given to Christ. God imputed their sins to Christ, and He imputed Christ’s righteousness to them. God is just to justify them (the ungodly) by His grace in Christ!