CALL TO WORSHIP
(Tune: Brethren, We Have Met)

Lord, we've met to see Thy beauty
And to worship at Thy feet;
May we ask to see more clearly
Grace and glory, rich and sweet.

Tell us more of Christ our Savior,
In Him all Thy people bless;
Let us dwell with Thee forever
In the LORD OUR RIGHT¬EOUSNESS.

Christ our Light and our Salvation,
God is just to justify;
By His merits we're forgiven,
"God is gracious," is our cry.

Confidence in God our Savior,
Free to serve and worship now;
We shall reign with Christ in glory;
At the throne of grace we bow.

Bible Study: "The Burning Fields" - II Samuel 14:21-33

Today's Speaker: Brother Jim Casey will conduct the 11:00 am service today. Pray for him as he delivers God's word.

Television Broadcast: Our Reign of Grace Television program is being broadcast on WFXL Fox 31, Channel 4. The program will air every Sunday morning at 11 AM. Pray that God will use it for His glory.

Radio Broadcast: Sunday morning at 9:30am on 98.7 FM -WISK. You can also hear the sermons on your computer. Just click on www.americusradio.com
Birthdays: Elizabeth "Mills" Fuller - March 31st.

WHAT IS A GOOD WORK?

(1). A good work is a work God does in and through His people (sinners saved by grace, born again by the Spirit; those who believe and rest in Christ, His blood and righteousness, for all salvation), as His chosen, justified, redeemed, and regenerated children. So a good work is Christ living in and through us by His Spirit and His Word. It is not our work but HIS. We do not produce good works, but God produces them in us.(John 3:21; Gal. 2:20; 5:22-23; Php. 1:6; 2:13; Heb. 13:20-21)
(2). A good work is a work sprinkled by the blood of Christ so as to be presented as acceptable unto God. Even though these works are the operation of God, the fruit of the Spirit, and as produced by God they are perfect, when they come through us (our minds, affections, and wills), they are contaminated by the flesh. Our best works are still tainted with remaining sin, and though we who are in Christ cannot be condemned (Rom. 8:1,33-34), we are not yet perfect in ourselves (Rom. 7:14-25). We are still in need of continual cleansing by His blood (1 John 2:1-2). Those who would deny this must deny the warfare of the flesh and the Spirit and the fact that because of the flesh we cannot be or do as we desire - perfectly conformed to Christ (Gal. 5:17).
(3). A good work is the fruit of God's grace in Christ, and it is inspired and energized by the presence, power, and influence of the Holy Spirit according to the guidelines of God's revealed Word (the Scriptures). It is therefore motivated by grace, gratitude, and love for Christ, not legal threats and mercenary promises of earned rewards. (John 15:1-8; Rom. 7:4-6; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Tim. 3:14-17)
(4). A good work is aimed towards the glory of God in Christ and not to bring attention or glory to ourselves. Works aimed at exalting ourselves are dead works and fruit unto death. Good works will always, ultimately, point sinners away from self and to Christ. (Isa. 61:3; Matt. 5:16; John 3:30; 15:8; 1 Cor. 10:31; Php. 1:11; 2 Thess. 1:11-12; 1 Pet. 2:12)
(5). A good work is a work of truth, grace, love, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, and faithfulness, in hopes that God will use them to bring lost sinners to the truth and to edify His church. A good work is a testimony, as it is viewed in light of the Gospel, that our righteousness before God is not our works but Christ and Him crucified. (Matt. 5:13-16; Gal. 5:6, 13-14; Col. 4:5; 1 Tim. 6:18; Titus 3:8; Heb. 6:10-11; 10:24-25; 1 Pet. 3:1-2)

Pastor Bill Parker

GOD'S HUMBLING GRACE IN CHRIST

For any who are under the false illusion that they are somehow growing in perfection and holiness, consider carefully the following excerpt taken from a letter by John Newton (preacher and author of the hymn, "Amazing Grace") to a friend, written on Nov. 23, 1774. "I have no idea of any permanent state in this life, that shall make my experience cease to be a state of warfare and humiliation. At my first setting out, indeed, I thought to be better, and to feel myself better, from year to year. I expected, by degrees, to attain everything that I then comprised in my idea of a saint. I thought my grain of grace, by much diligence and careful improvement, would, in time, amount to a pound. That pound, in a farther space of time, to a talent, and then I hoped to increase from one talent to many, so that supposing the Lord should spare me a competent number of years, I pleased myself with the thoughts of dying rich. But, alas! These golden expectations have been like South Sea dreams. I have lived hitherto a poor sinner, and I believe I shall die one. Have I then gained nothing by waiting upon the Lord? Yes, I have gained that which proofs of the deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of my heart, as I hope, by the Lord's blessing, have, in some measure, taught me to know what I mean, when I say, ‘Behold, I am vile!' In connection with this, I have gained such experience of the wisdom, power, and compassion of my Redeemer, the need, the worth of His blood, righteousness, ascension, and intercession, the glory that He displays in pardoning iniquity and sin, and passing by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage, that my soul cannot but cry out, "Who is a God like unto Thee?'"

By John Newton

A FAITHFUL MINISTER

A faithful minister of Christ is one that sincerely desires His Master's glory, not his own. He delivers the whole counsel of God, not his own theories and ideas. He proclaims the pure gospel of grace, not a watered-down counterfeit that appeases the flesh. He boldly declares that salvation, from beginning to end, is of God, and of Him only. He sets forth the unchanging truth of God without apology. He always points His hearers to the Lord Jesus, the only Savior of sinners. His message can be condensed into these words of another preacher of days gone by, "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord" (2 Corinthians 4:5).