Central Grace Church
3596 Franklin Street . Rocky Mount, Virginia
December 3rd , 2017
9:30 am ------------------------------------To All The Beloved Saints – Romans 1:7-12
10:00 am -------------------------------------What Is Given To Christ And Us – John 17
Wednesday: 7:30 pm ---------------------------------------------The Glory – John 17:22
Birthdays: December 9th – Andrew Polk, 17th – Wendy Bobbitt, 25th – Earlene Sheesley
Cleaning: This Week – Pendrys, Next Week – Fannins / Nursery:
Listen to WYTI Radio, 1570 AM - 104.5 FM, Sundays 8:00 am
Listen to live audio of services on: www.mixlr.com/centralgracechurch Website: www.centralgracechurch.com
Which Is The Great Commandment ? – By David Eddmenson
There has never been a single moment in my life that I have loved the Lord as He ought to be loved. However, at the same time, there has never been a single moment in time when Christ did not love the Lord His God, His Father, with all His heart, soul, mind and strength.
In Christ, and with Him as my Substitute, I have kept the greatest commandment of all. Matter of fact, in Christ, I have kept “every commandment of God” perfectly and completely. My salvation has nothing to do with my works, my faithfulness, or my righteousness. My salvation has everything to do His!
“To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.”~ Philippians 3:1
We have gathered together to hear the same things. Nothing new or novel is needed. A part of the greatness of the Gospel is that the old, old, story is always new and fresh. There is nothing like that in this world. Everything in this world at some point will become old and stale. But not the Gospel! It is always News! It is still thrilling to hear of the character of the Living God, and how that salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Father when He elected a people in Christ before time began. This election was unconditional! Nothing in us that moved Him to choose us! Salvation is of the Son in redemption. Before time, He stood as the Surety of the elect and took full responsibility for their salvation. He came to this earth as their representative, kept the law for them, died to pay for their sins, and was raised because of their justification. Truly, He is All in salvation. Salvation is of the Spirit in regeneration. God the Holy Spirit comes in invincible power and gives life to those the Father chose and the Son redeemed, so that they believe the old, old story. The Gospel becomes good news indeed. They are given a new nature that loves God and perseveres in the faith, being preserved by the Spirit of God.
Paul said the repetition of it was not grievous. It only becomes grievous when you do not hear as a sinner! When we do not hear as a sinner, we have left our first love, and have fallen into a lukewarm state. Heavenly manna has become light bread. But if we hear as a sinner, the same things are not old and stale, but good news from a far country! Paul adds, “For you this is safe.” This only is safe. Any new message or method is treacherous! But the “same things” are safe. -- Todd Nibert
For The Wages Of Sin Is Death -- Romans 6:23
Sin is always very sinful, but in our prosperity we are not so aware of it. The dust of the world fills our eyes that we cannot see it clearly. God frequently uses affliction to teach his children the great evil that is in sin. It shows sin as an evil in itself. It not only brings evil, but is evil. It not only works bitterness, it is bitterness. It has a bitter root as well as bitter fruit. God leads the sinner by affliction to take notice not only of what sin does, but what it is. It is a pure, unmixed evil. The whole being of sin is evil. It has the devil for its author, and death for its end. Not only is it evil in itself, it is evil against God. It departs from God and turns to the world: ‘For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water’ Jer. 2:13. Sin is also a twisted multiplied evil. It is a departure from the fountain of life and glory, and a turning to a broken vessel, which leaks out as fast as it is poured into. There is an exceeding sinfulness in sin since it is an evil against God. God supported Israel with his everlasting arms; he led them, and provided for them, but without a cause, they forsook the Lord. They lacked nothing, but they willfully departed. Affliction is one of God’s tribunals where the sinner is arraigned, convicted, and condemned. Truly in affliction sin is laid open before a man’s eyes in such a way that he is forced to plead guilty. God sits as judge, conscience is witness, sin the indictment, and affliction both evidence and execution. Sooner or later the soul sees sin a greater evil than affliction, and forgetting its affliction, it begins to mourn only for the sin. Sin now lies heavier upon a man than all his sufferings, and he cries as Job cried in the dust: ‘I have sinned. What shall I do? (Job 7:20) --Thomas Case 1598-1682
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