Our annual Bible Conference will be held April 20-22^nd.

The schedule of speakers is

Friday at 7 p.m.: John Chapman and Dan Culver

Saturday at 10 a.m.: Tom Harding and Todd Nibert

Sunday at 10 a.m.: Darvin Pruitt and Paul Mahan.

There will be a picnic following the services on Saturday in Simpson Valley and lunch at the church following the service Sunday.

Sign up sheets for food are in the vestibule.

Please pray our Lord bless the preaching of His gospel!

Proverbs 1:7: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge

Many things can be said about this statement without coming close to exhausting its importance. But one reason this is true is because the fear the LORD is reverence for the LORD with child-like affection and trust. When my son was seven, we were walking to pick up his sister from school. He wanted to ride his bike. But his helmet was wet from the rain. I told him it was wet. Then I held it out and let him feel it. About a block later, he said, “Daddy, you did not have to let me feel the helmet, I believe whatever you tell me.” Fear of the LORD is reverence for the LORD with a child’s affection and trust, convinced that the LORD will only do for you what is wise and good. When we fear the Lord, God is, himself, knowledge unto us. Then it is by him that we filter all other knowledge to discern whether it is true or false, good or evil, beneficial or harmful. Many more reasons can be given. But the first and the chief thing in attaining knowledge is the fear of the Lord.

Pastor Clay Curtis

GRACE TO SUBMIT

God is King. That is who God is. We are creatures made of dust. That is who we are. The only proper relationship the creature can have with God the Creator is to bow and submit to Him.

What do I do when God’s way of salvation by grace through faith in Christ crosses the desire of my flesh to be saved by works? If I would be saved I must SUBMIT. No one will be saved until they submit to God. “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” (Rom. 10:2-3)

What do I do when the way God has arranged the events of providence crosses the desire of my flesh and even hurts my flesh? I must SUBMIT. When the Lord killed the two sons of Aaron for offering strange fire before the Lord, “Aaron held his peace” and didn’t say a word. (Lev. 10:3) When the Lord sent word to Eli that He was going to kill both of Eli’s sons, Eli said, “It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.” (I Sam. 3:18) When the Lord took away nearly everything that Job had, Job said, “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21) Oh Lord, give me a submissive attitude!

You can have the Lamb, and keep it, and watch over it, and have feast days for it, but if it is not slain, the blood applied, and you feed on it, there is no benefit in that Lamb for you. When Jesus Christ said, "except ye eat my flesh, and drink my blood, ye have no life in you," there were some that said, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it?" And many from that time went back and walked no more with Him.

The believer does not live on Christ's righteousness, but on Christ. He does not live on Christ's pardon, but on Christ. It is not the doctrine of justification that does my heart good, it is Christ the Justifier. It is not pardon that makes the believer's heart rejoice, it is Christ the Pardoner. It is not election that I love, as my being chosen in Christ before the worlds began. It is not final perseverance that I love so much as the thought that in Christ my life is hid, and that since He "gives unto His sheep eternal life, they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of his hand.”