CALL TO WORSHIP (Tune – O Little Town of Bethlehem – p. 92) (Words by Pastor Jim Byrd)
Sing praises to the Son of God, Who down from heaven came To save His people from their guilt, From misery and shame Down from His heav’nly glory The Savior came to earth And angels looked with fear and awe, upon Messiah’s birth.
God in the flesh, the Son of Man, our Prophet, Priest and King The Seed of woman came to earth, to save the perishing. In love and great compassion, the great Redeemer died He reconciled us to our God and we are justified.
Christ gave Himself, the ransom price, our debt of sin to pay The sword of justice pierced His heart, & guilt was washed away O’er sin and death He triumphed, His greatness let us own The Savior reigns forevermore, upon His sovereign throne.
Bow down & worship Christ the Lord – His wonders gladly tell The fullness of the Godhead three, in Christ the Savior dwell The only Mediator, on Him our hopes depend He is our Savior, God and King, our Advocate and Friend.
TODAY’S SERVICES – Messages by Pastor Bill Parker BIBLE CLASS – 10:00 a.m. – One Body in Christ – Romans 12:3-8
MORNING WORSHIP – 11:00 a.m – OPENING – Isaiah 9:6-7 CALL TO WORSHIP (above) HYMN – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – p. 93 READING – John 1:1-14; Hebrews 9:11-14 MESSAGE – Christ – Our Perfect Tabernacle – Heb. 9:11-14 CLOSING HYMN – O Come, All Ye Faithful – p. 100
I will be leaving this Tuesday for Kentucky to spend time with our family there. The Lord willing, Debbie and I will return home the next week. I pray you all have a safe and happy time with your families. Let’s all pray for the Lord’s blessings upon in the coming new year. —The Pastor
THE LORD’S SUPPER –SUNDAY – JANUARY 5, 2020
The Lord willing, we will bring in the New Year on Sunday, January 5, by concluding our worship services on that day by serving the blessed ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. I hope all of you can attend. We will have our usual fellowship dinner following these services.
CHRIST – THE WORD MADE FLESH
“And the WORD was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). What an awesome thought! The incarnation of Christ was truly a miracle of God’s power and grace. It encompasses our whole salvation in and by the Lord Jesus Christ Who was born to live, die, and rise again for His people. The word “dwelt” means “tabernacled” with us. “In HIM dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). What a fitting description of His life and His obedience unto death. It was in the tabernacle of old that the sin-offering was sacrificed unto death and where the blood of atonement was presented by the high priest within the holy of holies. This was all a picture of Christ, our sin-bearer and sin-offering, our great high priest, Who by Himself purged our sins by offering Himself without spot to God. The “WORD” had to be “made flesh” for Him, having our sins imputed (charged) to Him, to die justly under the wrath of God for our sins. His success and victory in all this were proven and exhibited in His resurrection from the dead for our justification. The righteousness upon and in which we stand before God is the righteousness of God the Son incarnate imputed (charged) to us and which, by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, we have received by faith in Christ. For all this to take place to the praise and glory of God’s grace in our salvation, “the WORD was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” —Pastor Bill Parker
As true believers, we do not celebrate these times and seasons as the world does – not knowing the truth of the glorious Person and redemptive work of Christ. But we do celebrate the birth of our Savior as we celebrate His whole life, death, and resurrection for our salvation. We celebrate this glorious truth every day of our lives. We thank God that “unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). There are some who focus upon the fact that unbelievers celebrate and magnify their idolatry in these times. But my advice to you who know the truth is this – Just as we meet every Lord’s day to worship and celebrate our dear Savior and the salvation that God has freely given us by virtue of the merits of His righteousness in spite of unbelievers meeting on this same day to worship their idols, let us enjoy this time of year with our families and celebrate the whole life of Christ, including His birth, in spite of what the unbelieving world does. —Pastor Bill Parker
GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON
Here is the greatest evidence that God’s promise of salvation has been and will be fulfilled for all His chosen people – “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). And, God “... spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all ...” (Rom. 8:32). The Father sent the Son into the world to work out the only righteousness whereby He could be just and justify the ungodly. The Father did not withhold the Son from all that He had to be, endure, suffer, and accomplish in order to take up our hopeless case and redeem us. He gave Christ to be our representative, sacrifice, sin-offering, and mediator. If God so loved His elect that He gave Christ, and Christ so loved them that He gave Himself, shall those for whom He lived and died not freely and abundantly receive all that He purchased for them? Did Christ suffer and die in vain? Perish the thought! His righteousness demands the salvation and final glory of every sinner He represented. They shall be saved! God sent forth His Son to do His great work so that His people “might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:5), and because they are His justified and redeemed sons, God sends forth the Holy Spirit into their heart in the new birth (Gal. 4:6). Someone may ask, “Could I be one of those whom Christ redeemed?” You have no mandate from God to ponder that question. Your mandate from the Lord is to SEEK HIM IN CHRIST and cry out for mercy.—Copied
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