CALL TO WORSHIP

(Tune – This is My Father’s World – p. 39)

I bless the Christ of God, I rest on love divine,

And with unfaltering lip and heart, I call the Savior mine.

His cross dispels each doubt, I bury in His tomb,

Each thought of unbelief and fear,

Each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of peace, I trust His truth and might,

He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my Joy, my Light.

In Him is only good, in me is only ill,

My ill but draws His goodness forth,

And me He loveth still.

‘Tis He Who saveth me, and freely pardon gives,

I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

My life with Him is hid, my death has passed away;

My clouds have melted into light,

My midnight into day.

TODAY’S SERVICES – Messages by Pastor Bill Parker

BIBLE CLASS – 10:00 a.m. –

Death in Adam; Life in Christ (1) – Romans 5:12-16

MORNING WORSHIP – 11:00 a.m –

• OPENING – 1 Peter 4:10-11

• CALL TO WORSHIP (above)

• HYMN – Blessed Assurance – p. 255

• READING – 1 Peter 4:12-19

• MESSAGE – Peace and Holiness (2) – Hebrews 12:14

• CLOSING HYMN – Under His Wings – p. 269

Birthdays: Harold Riggins – Jan. 17^th | Jerry Wages – Jan. 17^th
Javon Jones – Jan. 18^th

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him. (Psalm 28:7)

ETERNAL LOVE

Eternal love was the high impulsive cause of the glorious economy of our salvation; and is the grand source whence all the sublime and endless blessings of grace and glory flow. It was the sovereign cause, and is the everlasting bond of our union with Christ; that union is, therefore, indissoluble: who or what shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Shall life, or death, or angels, or principalities, or powers, things present, or things to come, or height, or depth, or any other creature? No; never, never. While God is God, and Christ is Christ, we must dwell in Him and dwell in love. —copied

“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10). Believer, the death of our physical bodies is the consequence of our fall in Adam and our own personal sinfulness, but it in no way indicates the wrath of God upon us. Though we all deserve God’s wrath, we have never been under that wrath because Christ stood as our Surety and took upon Himself the wrath of God for us. In Christ, we have always been “vessels of mercy, which He [God] had afore prepared unto glory (Romans 9:23). And if Christ took God’s wrath upon Himself for us, we have righteousness imputed to us whereby we stand right with God – “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Furthermore, if we stand accepted with God in Christ (washed in His blood and clothed in His righteousness imputed), it is certain that in time Christ will take up permanent residence within our hearts by giving us spiritual life through the work of the Holy Spirit as He sovereignly and invincibly applies the Word of God in our new birth. Because of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, the Holy Spirit raises us from the dead spiritually and eternally. Because of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, He gives us new hearts and new spirits. By His death, Christ has conquered all death for His people – all whom God brings to saving faith in Christ and true repentance of sin and dead works. —Pastor Bill Parker

FOUR THINGS REGARDING GOD’S GRACE

I read the following article in a church bulletin, and I have a very serious problem with it. Here it is exactly as it appeared in that bulletin –

THREE THINGS REGARDING GOD’S GRACE

1. Grace is always sovereign –“Therefore, hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.” Romans 9:18)

2. Grace is always free –“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24)

3. Grace is always saving –“By grace are ye saved.” (Ephesians 2:8) God’s grace is not an offer up for man’s acceptance or rejection. His grace sovereignly saves! We cannot believe grace without believing these three things regarding grace.

I whole-heartedly agree with and believe these three great Scriptural truths concerning God’s grace. And I agree with the author that we cannot truly believe grace without believing these truths regarding grace. What, then, is my problem? My problem lies in WHAT IS MISSING of essential truth concerning God’s grace. It is THE MISSING NOTE in much of what is called gospel preaching today. It is the truth that –

4. Grace is always just – “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:21)

Some may argue that this point is implied in Point #2 of the article in question. But considering that by nature people are so spiritually dead and ignorant that they have no idea of the reality of God’s grace until the Holy Spirit reveals it to them and gives them a new heart and spiritual eyes to see, are we simply to IMPLY Gospel truth? Or, are we to preach it plainly, clearly, and often? The apostle wrote, “Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech” (2 Corinthians 3:12). The Bible tells us that people by nature are ignorant of God’s righteousness (justice) attained by His grace through Jesus Christ (Romans 10:1-4), and that the Gospel is the very revelation of this truth (Romans 1:16-17; 3:24-27). Let us be diligent to preach the whole truth regarding God’s grace.