"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13-14)
********************************************* JESUS CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS Tune to "LOVE DIVINE" 8.7.8.7. double Words by JIM BYRD
1. God of grace and God of glory, Grant that we would worship Thee; Thou hast gathered us together, Now reveal Thy majesty. Send to us Thy sovereign Spirit, Speaking through Thy Word in might; Showing us the bless-ed Savior, Making Him our one Delight.
2. Prophet, Priest and reigning Monarch, Friend of sinners, what a Name; Word of God made flesh for sinners, Came to bear our awful shame. See the perfect, blameless Savior, Bearing guilt, sins not His own; Sacrifice of God most precious, For His sheep He died alone.
3. By the blood of the Redeemer, All our sins were washed away; He arose and death was conquered, For His sheep who went astray. Saints of God bow down and worship Him who purged our sinfulness; Let us joyfully adore Him, Jesus Christ our righteousness. ____________________________ SCRIPTURE READINGS TODAY: MORNING: JOHN 10:11-21 EVENING: LUKE 1:57-80 ____________________________ Daily Readings - May 15-21 Sunday - 1 Chron. 14-16 Monday - 1 Chron. 17-20 Tuesday - 1 Chron. 21-23 Wednesday- 1 Chron. 24-26 Thursday - 1 Chron. 27-29 Friday - 2 Chron. 1-3 Saturday - 2 Chron. 4-6 ______________________________________________________________________ Our Goal What is our goal as a congregation? What is the target at which we continually aim? Our business is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, maintaining the purity of this glorious message of redeeming grace, and in so doing, we glorify the name of our great God and King. We preach the truth, ever prayerful for the conversion of sinners. We declare that salvation is of the Lord, according to His eternal purpose of redemption. We proclaim Jesus Christ to be the mighty Savior Who, by His life, death and resurrection, satisfied all the requirements of divine justice for those for whom He was the Substitute. He reconciled His chosen people to God by His "obedience unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). He has, therefore, been exalted as Lord over all. We rely upon the Holy Spirit to apply the Word of grace to ransomed sinners. In short, we seek to glorify the Lord our God; all that we do is with this one goal in view. Having a larger congregation is not our goal. Making our church more appealing to the natural man is not our goal. We are not trying to manipulate or sneak up on the unsuspecting with the intent of getting them to make a religious decision. We have no interest in the approval of other preachers or churches. That which we seek is the glory of God. We declare His supremacy in creation, providence and in the kingdom of grace. We proclaim the preeminence of Jesus Christ. In His High Priestly prayer, our Savior said that as a reward for finishing the work the Father sent Him to do, "Thou hast given Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him" (John 17:2). It is our duty to preach the glorious person of Christ, His successful accomplishment of redemption, and command sinners to believe on the Name of the only begotten of the Father. We rely upon the Spirit of God to do His work in the hearts of the needy. It is by His power the spiritually dead are quickened and brought to rely on Christ for forgiveness of sins and a right standing before a holy God. If the Lord is pleased to reveal Himself to someone’s heart, we will ascribe all glory to Him for that salvation freely given through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Simply put, ours is a singular goal, to give God the glory for all things. -- Pastor Jim Byrd ______________________________________________________________________ When Will Christ Return? The date-setters are at it again. Some are insisting Christ will come back for His people on May 21st. They boldly make this prediction in spite of the Lord’s words, "of that day and hour no man knoweth" (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32). Christ declared, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power" (Acts 1:7). Only a fool would seek to know that which our Lord declares unknowable. The fact is, we are to live in perpetual anticipation of His return. Our Lord proclaimed, "Behold, I come quickly," and all of His people echo John’s reply, "Even so come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).
If you want my opinion as to whether His coming will be soon, I would state the obvious: it is nearer than it has ever been before. Of this much I am certain, Christ will not come again until all of His lost sheep have been gathered safely into the fold of salvation. As to His return, let us be content to embrace the simple, yet glorious promise of the Savior to His disciples; "I will come again and receive you unto Myself" (John 14:3). Until He returns may we be diligent to do what He called us to do, proclaim His glorious gospel. -- Pastor Jim Byrd
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