ZEBULON BAPTIST CHURCH
Weekly Bulletin
Sunday, May 25th, 2008

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Psalm 66:16-19

PASTOR'S NOTE
We welcome our dear friends, Henry and Doris Mahan to our worship service. Pastor Mahan will bring the Lord's message for us today.

TRUE GODLINESS
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Romans 14:17-18.

Men are so prone to cling to the externals in religious worship (1 Tim. 4:1-4). These things have nothing to do with eternal life. But the righteousness of Christ (imputed and imparted), the joy communicated by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the peace purchased by His blood have everything to do with eternal life. He that in these things (righteousness, joy, and peace) serves Christ and is a bondslave of Jesus Christ is accepted in the Beloved and approved by those who know God. True believers recognize true godliness. Pastor Henry Mahan

THE SIN OF SINS
When we think of conviction of sin, we usually think of strong feeling of guilt or remorse over things we have done. But when the Lord tells us what true conviction of sin is, He says of sin, "because they believe not on me" (John 16:9). The sin of sins is to not trust Christ for salvation. You have experienced Holy Spirit conviction when you see the wickedness of attempting to come into God's presence any other way than the way of Christ alone. Pastor Todd Nibert

JUSTIFICATION
Justification, as it is revealed in Holy Scripture, is much more than a mere forensic (legal) standing. It is a state of being (Rom. 5:1-11). It is more than a judicial declaration. Justification is the real emancipation of our souls in Christ. To be justified before God is to be free of guilt in your conscience by the sprinkling of Christ's blood, that is by the Spirit's application of Christ's atonement (Heb. 9:14). Pastor Don Fortner

FAITH
The gospel is concerning Christ, who He is and what He did on behalf of sinners. Salvation comes when a sinner, by God-given faith, hears of Christ, falls in love with HIM and lays claim to His righteousness and sin offering, by the grace of God. This same faith is that with which we daily walk before God. This faith always looks to and depends upon Christ and His merits. Pastor Don Bell

UNLESS CHRIST
Unless the Spirit of God crosses my path and gives me an understanding of the preciousness of Christ and the glory of His blessed Gospel and creates within me a new heart, giving me a knowledge of Who He is, I will be forever lost. Unless Christ intervenes, He will never be any more to me than someone else recorded in history who walked this earth. When the gospel is preached it will be nothing more to me than a boring hour of the same message heard last week; the songs of praise will be to me nothing more than a different way of singing eighth notes; and when I hear those who call themselves believers witness of Him, their conversation will only grate on the already frayed ends of my nerves.

But if my cold heart is removed and God Himself creates within me a new heart, I will find myself in awe of His mercy. I will not be able to thank Him enough, to praise Him enough, to worship Him enough, or to hear His gospel enough. As Mr. Barnard said, "I'll find myself somewhere between total ecstasy and despair."

Still, even with that new heart, sometimes I will seemingly feel so indifferent to Christ's message. But I will not despair at my feelings-He is greater than my feelings! I must not rest in my feelings. I must rest in Him, in His Word, in His promises. Pastor Marvin Stalnaker

WHAT IS TRUE FAITH?
It is not true faith to trust Christ ONLY when you FEEL you are saved. True faith is to trust Christ AT ALL TIMES, whether you feel like you are saved or not, when you have a deep consciousness of your sin and when you don't, when you have assurance of faith and when your faith is so weak you wonder if you have faith at all. A person is not saved because he feels saved nor because he is aware of his sinfulness. A person is saved when he trusts Christ-His blood for redemption and forgiveness of sin, His righteousness for acceptance with God, when he commits all to Him as the "AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH." Our feelings may change by the hour, but our salvation is not dependent on our feelings; it is dependent solely on Him who never changes-"JESUS CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER!" Pastor Charles Pennington

Bible Study 10:30 A.M.
Morning Service 11:15 A.M.
Kingsport service 6:00 P.M.
Wednesday Worship 7:00 P.M.

Radio (Sundays):
WXCC 96.5 & 98.1 FM (new time and staion) 8:15 A.M each week