CALL TO WORSHIP

(Tune – Immortal, Invisible – p. 34)

(Words by Pastor Jim Byrd)

Christ Jesus the Savior came down from above,

In covenant mercy and infinite love;

The Lord of creation a Servant became,

To save all His people from sin, guilt and shame.

Enthroned in His beauty and all glorious,

The God of creation was made like to us;

The Word was made flesh and laid glory aside,

What grace and affection for His chosen bride.

Our Prophet, High Priest and our eternal King,

Descended from heaven salvation to bring;

Em-man-u-el came, the Lord with us on earth,

Behold a great myst’ry – the dear Savior’s birth.

O what a Redeemer is Jesus our Lord,

He paid all our sin-debt, to God we’re restored;

Redeemed by His blood, He our ransom has paid,

And clothed in His beauty His saints are arrayed.

All praise to the Savior, our Refuge is He,

In Christ we are safe throughout eternity;

Come now and adore Him Who made us His choice,

Let all of His people in Jesus rejoice.

TODAY’S SERVICES – Messages by Pastor Bill Parker

BIBLE CLASS – 10:00 a.m. –

Why We Need the Righteousness of God (1) – Romans 1:18-21

MORNING WORSHIP – 11:00 a.m –

• OPENING – Ephesians 5:1-2

• CALL TO WORSHIP (above)

• HYMN – There is a Fountain – p. 222

• READING – Colossians 1:1-13

• MESSAGE – Walking Worthy of the Lord – Colossians 1:10

• CLOSING HYMN – Whiter Than Snow – p. 310

Birthdays: Mary Margeson – Apr. 29^th | Jimmy Casey – Apr. 30^th

We will serve the LORD’S SUPPER following the morning messages. All believers are invited to partake of this blessed memorial supper to confess our total dependence upon Christ for our whole salvation. After our worship services, we will serve lunch in our fellowship hall. All are invited to eat with us and spend time visiting one another.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – This Wednesday (May 2) will be our last mid-week Bible study before we take our break for the summer. We will start back with these studies after school starts in August. The exact date will be announced.

A major part of true Christian living has to do with living our lives realizing that although we are perfectly righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ, based on His righteousness imputed to us by God, we are not at present righteous in ourselves and never will be while on this earth in “the body of this death” (Rom. 7:24). We will not be righteous in ourselves according to God’s perfect standard until we physically die and are taken into the presence of our Lord. Then, and only then, will we be not only legally free and dead to all sin, but we will also be spiritually free and dead to all sin. Then, and only then, will be totally free and dead to the remaining presence, influence, corruption, and contamination of sin that still plagues in this present life.

So true Christian living involves living as justified sinners in the sovereign preserving grace of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for our whole salvation. This means living in and by the Word of God as He causes us to persevere and fight the warfare of the Spirit against the flesh by clinging to and resting in Christ for all salvation and eternal life. This means being empowered and inspired by the Holy Spirit to grow in grace and in knowledge of Christ. This means living unto the Lord, for His glory and not our own. It means not trying to establish our own righteousness before God but living in His righteousness imputed to us and received by God-given faith as we have received Christ and rest in Him for all righteousness.

–Pastor Bill Parker

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:1-4)

One of the major distinctions between the many high priests under the Old Covenant and Christ, the only eternal High Priest of God’s elect under the everlasting Covenant of Grace is this – Those priests were sinful human beings who had to offer the sacrifice not only for the sins of the people whom they represented but also for themselves –

“For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, SO ALSO FOR HIMSELF, to offer for sins” (Heb. 5:1-3).

But Christ is both God and man in one Person, and He had not sins of His own for which to offer up the sacrifice. He was (and is) the perfect Godman, and He offered up the sacrifice of Himself only for the sins of those whom He represented imputed to Him –

“For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; WHO NEEDETH NOT DAILY, AS THOSE HIGH PRIESTS, TO OFFER UP SACRIFICE, FIRST FOR HIS OWN SINS, AND THEN FOR THE PEOPLE’S: for this he did once, when He offered up Himself” (Heb. 7:26-27).

Those who believe that Christ had to die first for His own sins deny these scriptures, seek to disqualify Christ from being the spotless Lamb of God, devalue His sacrifice, and deny the Gospel of substitution and satisfaction. We must view and trust Christ as God reveals Him to be. We must view the finished work of Christ as God reveals it to be. This is the essence of faith.