August 25, 2013

We are blessed to have Pastor Gene Harmon and his wife Judy from Rescue, CA. with us today.

Lord, Teach Us To Pray

Our Father, which is in heaven,
Shall give good gifts to His sheep.
Ask Him and it shall be given;
Promised to those who doth seek.
Knock and it shall be ope'd to you,
They of the Cov'nant of Grace.
Christ died for our sins, not a few.
Our Substitute took our place.

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Great and hallow'd be Thy name.
Thy will is done in the heavens.
Be it done on earth the same.
Thy kingdom, that's sure and ever,
Came to us in Christ, our Lord.
His own He will leave, no, never;
Calls us by the spoken Word.

Our dear Savior taught us to pray.
"Father, give our daily bread;
Please, forgive us our sins today,
As we forgive (as you said).
Lead us not into temptation.
Deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom certain,
And the pow'r and glory, all."

By Gary Spreacker, Tune: Holy Manna Pg.15

But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble . Unto , O my strength, thee will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy. Ps. 59:16-17

~~~ O ~~~

Your weakness is your strength, your strength is your weakness. Be nothing, for only then can you be anything. Be poor in spirit, for only then can you be rich toward God.

-C.H. Spurgeon

~~~ O ~~~

He is not good who desires not to be better; he is not gracious who would not desire to be more gracious. You know not the light if you do not desire more light.

-C.H. Spurgeon

~~~ O ~~~

MY SUBSTITUTE

Christ Jesus, in His human body, took what I deserve (God's wrath) so that He might give me what I don't deserve (God's righteousness). God made His Son to be sin for me. In other words, God the Father punished His own Holy Son as if he had actually committed all the sins that I am guilty of (past, present, and future). And not only my sins, but all the sins of His elect were laid on Him. He who is guiltless was a Substitute for the guilty - me! He who is Just became a Substitute for the unjust - me! And as my Substitute, He paid the price in full for all my sins. I am justified (just as if I had never sinned) by the precious blood of Jesus. He, Christ my Savior, BY HIMSELF, purged my sins. THEY'RE GONE! GONE! GONE! Never to be remembered against me anymore. As one of God's elect, one of His blood-bought children, no charges can be laid to my account.

- Pastor Gene Harmon

A PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we would be strong for this new day, and we wait upon You to renew our strength. We need spiritual strength for the day that is before us. We shall have burdens to carry, and battles to fight, and trials to endure, and duties to perform, and temptations to conquer, and conflicts with the evil world. We need strength for all these experiences. You alone can give us what we need. You are our refuge and our strength--a very present help in times of trouble. You have promised to be with us, and to strengthen us. You have said that as our days are--so shall our strength be; and that Your grace is sufficient for us. We accept these assurances, believing that we shall obtain help from You for every duty and every struggle this day.

We would lean our weakness on Your strength, our ignorance on Your wisdom, our trembling insecurity on Your unchangeableness. Restrain us from all excess, of whatever kind, from all extravagance of speech, from all foolish vanity, from inordinate affection and emotion. Make us thoughtful, serious, solemn, watchful, and prayerful. May we be stronger in faith, more earnest in purpose, more holy in thought and feeling because of our communion with You this day. We ask You for grace to perform our allotted tasks with diligence; to guide our affairs with discretion; to do all things, whatever we do, in the name of the Lord Jesus; and in all our ways to acknowledge You. Order our steps in Your Word and let not any iniquity have dominion over us. Take all the tangled threads of our lives into Your own hand, and unravel them, weaving them into a web of beauty. "Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength! They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint!" (Isaiah 40:31)