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Grace Baptist Church of Danville January 4, 2009 ÒWhat a
congregation stands for is not what its forbearers believed a hundred years
ago, but what is preached and taught in the pulpit now.Ó Pastor
Peter Meney Daily
Readings for the Week of January 4-11 Sunday Genesis
12-16 Thursday Genesis
26-27 Monday Genesis
17-19 Friday Genesis
28-30 Tuesday Genesis
20-23 Saturday Genesis
31-32 Wednesday Genesis
24-25 Sunday Genesis
33-35 HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Laura
Peterson-4th
Bob Poncer-5th Emily Rice-8th NURSERY DUTY
THIS WEEK Today: Jenny Bartley (AM) Emily Rice (PM) Tuesday:
Laura Peterson With the New
Year that is Dawning — Don
Fortner (Tune: #294 — Savior, Like a
Shepherd Lead Us — 87.87.87) 1. With
the New Year that is dawning, Rise, my
soul, to new delights: From the
world (O heed the warning!) Flee away
while Christ invites. Nothing
earthly, nothing earthly, Can compare
with heavÕnÕs delights! 2. Like
the winterÕs earth is frozen, So how often
is my heart! But my
Savior, to His chosen, Will
celestial fire impart. Oh, to feel
it! Oh, to feel it! Burning now
to melt my heart! 3. Should
the year thatÕs now commencing Bring me
sorrow, pain and woe, Christ, my
Savior, grace dispensing, Will His
promised aid bestow! And His
presence (Blessed presence!) Will protect
from every foe! 4. Oh,
for grace each day increasing Faith, and
hope, and godly fear: — Grace to
praise You without ceasing Through each
swift revolving year, Till in
glory, till in glory, With my
Jesus I appear! Made
of God unto You Righteousness Both
in redemption and in regeneration Christ is made of God unto every believing
sinner righteousness. He is the believerÕs only righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6;
33:16). ChristÕs
obedience unto death is the righteousness of God imputed to GodÕs elect in
free justification (Romans 3:24; 5:19). Christ,
who is our Righteousness, is formed in (imparted to) redeemed sinners in the
new birth. He could not be formed in us except he be imparted to us. Thus, in
the new birth, God the Holy Spirit makes regenerate sinners new creatures,
partakers of the divine nature and possessors of that holiness without which
no man shall see the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 1:27; Hebrews
12:14; 2 Peter 1:4). Christ
is that new man created in (imparted to) every saved sinner. He could not be
created in us except he be imparted to us. He is that new man created in us in
righteousness and true holiness, that is born of God and cannot sin, making
every heaven born soul in this world one who possesses two distinct, warring
natures: the one flesh the other spirit (Romans 7:14-23; Galatians 5:17-23;
Ephesians 4:24; 1 John 3:5). ÒRemember the
Name of the Lord Our GodÓ
— Psalm 20:7
Pastor
Tom Harding
We are
instructed in this Scripture to remember the name of our Lord. What a sweet
delight and a pleasant task to meditate upon the one Who is Òaltogether
lovely.Ó What better way could we use to
ponder upon His character than to think upon the names given to our Lord
throughout Scripture. These names describe who He is and what He did for His
sheep. LetÕs consider some of His glorious names: Emmanuel, The Foundation,
Great Shepherd, High Priest. Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23) — Someone has
said, ÒBy the light of nature we see God above us, by the light of the Law we
see God against us, but in the light of the gospel we see God with us.Ó The
one who saved us from our sin is both God and man: God who satisfied and man
who suffered (1 Peter 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21). The
Foundation (Isa. 28:18) — God has
provided for His people a sure, safe and everlasting refuge upon which we can
rest our souls. Jesus Christ is that foundation, alone and always. The hymn
writer wrote, ÒOn Jesus Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is
sinking sandÓ (Matt. 7:24-27; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 3:11). Great
Shepherd of the Sheep (Heb. 13:20)
— Our Lord is called the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for the
sheep (John 10:15). He is called the Chief Shepherd that will soon come again
to receive and take His sheep to glory (1 Pet.5:4). And the Great Shepherd,
who secured all spiritual blessings for the elect through His blood sacrifice
offered unto God (Eph. 5:2; 1 Cor. 1:30). High
Priest (Heb. 4:14) — Believers are
not searching for someone to be their High Priest; we have the designated and
decreed Priest that God has appointed and exalted to His right hand (Heb.
1:3). Our Lord is the fulfillment of everything the Old Testament Priest only
pictured. He represents and presents us to God holy, unblameable and
unreproveable in His sight (Col. 1:22). He redeemed us from all our sin by
His sacrifice (Heb. 9:12). He reconciled us to God by His atonement (Heb.
2:17). Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the appointed sacrifice (Gal. 4:4), who
died the appointed death (Acts 2:23), to secure all appointed blessings (Rom.
8:32), for the appointed people (Acts 20:28). ÒChrist is
all.Ó Colossians 3:11 No one understands Holy Scripture who does not know the
meaning of these three words — ÒChrist is all.Ó In all the eternal purposes of
God, ÒChrist is allÓ (Romans 8:29-20; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:9). In all the Volume of
Inspiration, ÒChrist is allÓ (Luke 24:27, 44-47; John 1:45). In all the works of God,
ÒChrist is all.Ó
In creation (John 1:1-3), in providence (Romans 8:28), in redemption, grace
and salvation (1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:3-14), even in judgment (Acts
17:31), ÒChrist is all.Ó In an absolute, unlimited, universal sense, ÒChrist
is all!Ó However, in the context in which
this statement is found (Colossians 3) Paul is talking about the new
creation, the church and kingdom of God. He is telling us that among GodÕs
elect, in the hearts and lives of GodÕs saints, in the estimation of all true
faith, ÒChrist is all.Ó ÒChrist
is allÓ in the salvation of GodÕs
elect. Our election in
eternity was in Christ. God chose us in him as our covenant Head. In the
matter of our redemption, ÒChrist is all.Ó He alone is our Redeemer. He bore our sin. He
paid our debt. He satisfied the justice of God for us. And he did it all by
himself. ÒChrist is allÓ in our
justification, too. We stand accepted and acquitted before God only by his
righteousness and shed blood. His name is Òthe Lord our RighteousnessÓ. The quarrel between God and our souls was taken
up by Christ and settled by Christ. And ÒChrist is allÓ in sanctification. We are positionally sanctified
in Christ. We are kept in sanctification by the power of Christ. We shall be
perfectly sanctified by the glorification of our bodies and souls with
Christ. Salvation, from start to finish, is the work of Christ. ÒChrist
is allÓ in what we call practical
Christianity. Christ alone gives me comfort and hope before God.
Christ alone gives me strength for every trial and grace to persevere in the
faith. Christ is all to be known, all to be chosen, all to be loved, all to
be desired, all to be delighted in, all to be thought upon, all to be
followed and all to be obeyed. We need no law but Christ and the example he
has left for us to follow. Does any believer need a higher, more compelling motive
for anything than Christ himself? ÒChrist
is allÓ to be preached.
The Bible in its entirety is a Book about Jesus Christ. No doctrine and no
precept can be rightly understood apart from Christ. Christ is the key that
unlocks the treasure chest of Holy Scripture. ÒHe is the treasure in that
field, the marrow in that bone, the manna in that dew, the diamond in that
ring, the milk in that breast (John 5:39).Ó (Philip Henry) ÒChrist
is allÓ in heaven. The
foundation of that city is Christ. The gate to that city is Christ. The light
of that city is Christ. The joy, bliss and happiness of heaven is Christ. The
praises of the redeemed in heaven, for all eternity, are the praises of
Christ. The reward of GodÕs saints in heaven is Christ himself. Heaven is
Christ and Christ is heaven to my soul. — ÒChrist is all!Ó Grace Bulletin January 4, 2009 Grace Baptist Church of Danville 2734 Old Stanford
Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438 Telephone (859)
236-8235 - E-Mail don@donfortner.com Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor Schedule of
Regular Services Sunday 10:00 A.M. Bible
Classes 10:30 A.M. Morning
Worship Service 6:30 P.M. Evening Worship Service Tuesday 7:30 P.M. Mid-Week
Worship Service Television
Broadcasts in Danville Channel 6 - Sunday
Morning 8:00 A.M. Channel 6 -
Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M. Channel 6 - Friday
Evening 7:00 P.M. Web Pages http://www.donfortner.com http://www.freegraceradio.com http://www.sovereign-grace.com/gracechurch.htm Don Fortner Listen to sermons
at FreeGraceRadio.com |
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