Psalm 10:4-7

Pastor Marvin Stalnaker will be with us to bring our gospel message on Wednesday.

Sovereign Grace and the Great Commission

Those who are elected to life in Christ shall be saved; “All that the Father giveth to Me shall come to me” but they shall be brought to Christ in genuine repentance and faith by God’s Spirit through the means He has appointed – THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL!

A belief in sovereign grace that discourages prayer for sinners, witnessing, and a sincere command for all men to bow to Christ NOW and to receive Him as Lord and Saviour is not of the Lord and is heresy.

I urge, persuade, and beseech you to be reconciled to God, for “He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1984)

THE LOCAL CHURCH

There is just one church: the church of God made up of all of the people of God (Acts 20:28, I Cor. 1:2). So when people ask, “Where do you go to church?” they are referring to the local church. I love the local church! It is the place the Gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace is preached. It is the place where God’s saints meet together with unified hearts to worship our God and Savior. It is the place where believers meet together to fellowship around the Gospel and to encourage one another. I love those times spent together with the children of God in the house of God!

Don’t be mistaken into thinking you can find a perfect local church. One doesn’t exist. All of the local churches in the New Testament had their own problems. No member is perfect and we should forgive the faults of our brethren (He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother should be our attitude). There are also tares among the wheat. But that won’t stop me from seeking out the place where God’s saints meet to preach the Gospel and worship the Lord. This is the only place our Savior promised to meet with His people and bless them with His presence. (Matt 18:20)

Pastor Frank Tate

The carnal heart will always try to give itself the honor, glory, and praise for accepting God’s offer while others refused... but one truly born from above will have this one confession…"Salvation is of the Lord." Pastor Marvin Stalnaker

DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isa. 46:9-10).

Almighty God has decreed, fixed, and settled the end of all things from the beginning. God's foreknowledge of all things is always based upon His eternal and immutable decree (Acts 15:18). God is omniscience in all things (Psa. 139:1-5), that is one of His many essential attributes. God's foreordination of all things is His deliberate act by which He accomplishes all His pleasure (Rom.11:36). Our sovereign Lord has decreed the end from the beginning of all things; here are some of them to meditate upon!

1). Christ Jesus is the end and fulfillment of all scripture prophecies and promises (Luke 24:25-27; 44-48).

All that was spoken and written by the Old Testament prophets concerning salvation in Christ (Acts 10:43; John 5:39); God had decreed from the beginning (Isa. 14:27; 2Peter 1:20-21). Our blessed Lord died for our sins according to the scriptures (1Cor. 15:1-4). Christ Jesus is the God-Man that executed all the purpose and counsel of God (Isa. 46:11; Isa. 44:28).

2). Christ Jesus appeared once in the end of the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Heb.9:26).

Our sovereign Lord has declared the end of our sin by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ from the beginning. Before Adam sinned, Christ stood as the Lamb slain from the beginning (Rev. 13:8; 1Peter 1:18-20). After Adam sinned God again declared the end of our sin in the beginning. Christ, the Seed of Woman would bruise, demolish Satan's head, obliterate sins penalty and power (Heb.2: 4; Gen.3:15).

3). Christ Jesus is the end of the law for righteousness (Rom. 10:4).

If a justifying righteousness could be produced by the sinner, why did the Lord Jesus Christ come into this world (Gal. 2:21)? Our blessed Lord came to honor the very law we had broken and by His perfect obedience established an everlasting righteousness for us (Matt.5:17; Isa.42:21). He not only provides a justifying righteousness for us, but also freely imputes that to us (Rom. 4:1-8).

4). God in Christ has declared the end of our salvation from the beginning (2 Thes.2:13; Eph. 1:3-6).