CALL TO WORSHIP
(Tune – Majestic Sweetness – p. 52)
(Words by Pastor Jim Byrd)

Christ left His high and lofty throne,
To die upon a tree;
And by His sacrificial death,
He set the captives free. (Repeat)

Our many sins on Him were laid,
And justice dealt its blow;
When Jesus shed His precious blood,
He paid the debt we owed. (Repeat)

His blood has cleansed us from all stain,
It's power, who can tell?
It saved our souls from sin and death,
From judgment and from hell. (Repeat)

Christ is our kind and gracious Friend,
So full of tenderness;
He is our Priest and Advocate,
Our perfect Righteousness. (Repeat)

TODAY’S SERVICES – Messages by Pastor Bill Parker
BIBLE CLASS – 10:00 a.m. –
Love and Fulfilling the Law – Romans 13:8-11

MORNING WORSHIP – 11:00 a.m –

• OPENING – John 16:8-11
  CALL TO WORSHIP (above)
  HYMN – Take the Name of Jesus With You – p. 63
  READING – Philippians 3:1-11
  MESSAGE – The Way to Repentance – Php. 3:1-11
  CLOSING HYMN – I Need Thee Every Hour – p. 318

We welcome our brother and sister in Christ, David and Edith Tennyson, into the fellowship of our local church body. Brother David will profess his faith in Christ in believer’s baptism following the worship services this morning. Sister Edith comes into our fellowship by statement of her faith in Christ. We thank the Lord for our fellowship with these dear brethren and pray that the Lord will make us a blessing to them in days to come.

The preaching of the Gospel of Christ is the great weapon the Lord uses for "the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4). It will pull down the hugest blocks of stone the enemy can pile together. Preach the Gospel, the gates of hell shake. Preach the Gospel, prodigals return. Preach the Gospel to every creature; it is the Master's mandate and the Master's power to everyone who believes. —Copied

THE WORK OF CHRIST ALONE!

Faith in Christ and repentance of dead works are great, miraculous, and powerful gifts from God to His people through the Lord Jesus Christ. By these graces of the Holy Spirit, an unbelieving, rebellious sinner is enabled to flee to Christ for all salvation and to turn from self and the dead works of legal and mercenary religion. But as great as these blessings are, because of one of Satan’s greatest deceptions in our day, we must make the following distinction – Neither faith nor repentance can put away sins and make us righteous before Holy God. This is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our Surety, Substitute, and Redeemer, “Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had BY HIMSELF purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). It is not Christ plus faith that purges our sins away. It is not Christ plus repentance that makes us righteous before God. It is CHRIST ALONE, and it is HIS WORK ON THE CROSS ALONE that purges away our sins and fully provides the righteousness by which God justifies us in His sight. Both the gifts of faith and repentance are gifts from God that come to His people based on, and by the power of the glorious Person and finished work of Christ for them. True faith sees and believes in Christ alone for salvation. True repentance turns away from thinking otherwise. —Pastor Bill Parker

RETHINK CHURCH?

We see a lot of religious gatherings today using the slogan on their signs or in their advertisements – “LET US HELP YOU RETHINK CHURCH.” What most of them are saying is that their religious gatherings will not be a place where people dress up and participate in boring services, singing outdated hymns, and hearing dry sermons. Their way of thinking is that the “church” is a place where you “come as you are,” even if you are in your pajamas. Just be comfortable and “rock on with us” or sit around with the warm fuzzies singing “Kumbaya.” They boast that their services are contemporary and keep people from going to sleep. They mistakenly call this the presence of the Spirit.

Well, one thing that I do agree with them is that they should all rethink “church,” but not in the ways described above. What is the church as defined in God’s Word? It is not a building or denomination. It is not even just a religious gathering of religious people. The true church consists of God’s elect, chosen before the foundation of the world, whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (1 Pet. 1:2; 2:7-9). It is the church that Christ has built against which the gates of hell will not prevail (Matt. 16:18). It is the redeemed of the Lord, purchased by Him with His own precious blood (Acts 20:28). It is the bride of Christ, united to Him and clothed in the wedding garment of His righteousness imputed (Isa. 61:10; Rev. 19:7-9). The true “church” is those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit, called to faith in Jesus Christ and repentance of dead works (2 Thess. 2:13-14; 2 Pet. 1:1-4,10). Christ’s church is the witness of His Gospel to honor, worship, and point sinners to Him for all salvation (Matt. 5:16; 1 Tim. 3:15).

Where the church is gathered to worship God in Christ, there is a hospital for sinners, not a social or religious country club where people can display their wealth, works, or fashion, and not an emotional concert aimed to entertain and please the flesh. It is not just religious people doing religious things. And though it is true that the issue is not what we wear or even the style of music we sing, the issue for the true church is reverence and respect for God Almighty, the Savior of our souls. When you come to worship, dress appropriately, not to draw attention to yourself, but to participate in worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Sing hymns, not to entertain the masses or get caught up in the beat, but to express your love, gratitude, and respect for the Lord Jesus Christ. And, mainly, when you come to worship, come to hear the good news of how God saves sinners by His grace in Christ and to hear the Word of God, not the pleasing words of men.