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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

November 19, 2015

God is the source, the means, and the end of all things. By him all things are. Through his wisdom, power and goodness all things are brought to pass, directed, and governed. And to his glory all things shall terminate (Romans 11:36).

Daily Readings for the Week of November 19-26, 2017

Sunday Acts 27-28 Thursday Romans 9-11

Monday Romans 1-2 Friday Romans 12-15

Tuesday Romans 3-5 Saturday Romans 16-1 Cor. 3

Wednesday Romans 6-8 Sunday 1 Corinthians 4-7

· We will have our Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner together next Sunday following the morning worship service. There will be no evening service on that Sunday.

Nursery Duty This Week

Shante’ Birchum (AM) — Stephanie Wilkerson (PM) Tuesday: Diane Campbell

Thanksgiving to Our God — Don Fortner

(Tune: This Is My Father’s World #39 SMD)

1. Thanksgiving to our God,

We bring with hearts of praise,

For all the wondrous thingsYou’ve done,

For mercy, love and grace!

You, from our mothers’ womb,

Have carried us along,

And promised through old age that You

Will not forsake Your own!

2. Thanksgiving to our God,

The mighty Three-in-One,

The Father, and the Spirit, and

Christ Jesus, God the Son!

The Triune God we praise

For all His works of grace;

Chosen, redeemed, and called, we are

Trophies of sov’reign grace!

3. Thanksgiving to our God!

With hearts and voices too,

As ransomed sinners saved by grace,

We give our God His due!

While in this world we live,

Let us live for our God,

And may our dying breath express

Thanksgiving to our God!

God’s World Established and Immoveable

Psalm 93:1-5

The 93^rd Psalm is a short, but blessed and instructive song of praise to our all-glorious Christ, celebrating the person, glory, and majesty of our great King and his Gospel Kingdom, the Church. The psalmist teaches us to sing here, not about God’s kingdom of nature, but his kingdom of grace.

Absolute Dominion

Our Savior’s dominion over his vast creation is absolute. “The LORD reigneth!” He reigns everywhere at all times. Every creature is under his absolute dominion. “He is clothed with majesty.” God our Savior wears royalty. A crown of pure gold is on his head. The scepter of righteousness is in his hand, and the garments of salvation are his.

Omnipotent Grace

“The LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself.” Travelling in the greatness of his strength, mighty to save, he obtained eternal redemption for us by his obedience unto death as our Substitute and took his seat on the right hand of the Majesty on High. By the omnipotent strength of his grace, he binds the strong man armed in the hearts of his redeemed, dispossessing him, and sets himself upon the throne in the city of Mansoul. By that same omnipotence, he goes forth by the Gospel through all the earth, conquering and to conquer.

Purpose Unalterable

“The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.” Those words, obviously, do not mean that the earth does not move in a literal sense. I’ve seen it and felt it move in earthquakes, tornadoes, sandstorms, and floods. All who are sensible know that the earth rotates upon its axis and revolves around the sun in its orbit. But God our Savior, who “stretched out the north over the empty place and hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7), has established its purpose from which it cannot be moved. Because Christ reigns, everything is stable, immoveable, and sure, “according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). That is exactly what the psalmist was inspired to declare in the second verse of this great hymn. — “Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting!”

Impotent Opposition

Floods of opposition lift up their voice against Christ, his church, and his Gospel. Mighty waves of enmity roar against God’s cause, God’s church, and God’s people. But all are impotent before him who is our King, the Captain of Our Salvation! That is the sweet, joyful message of verses 3 and 4.

Testimonies Sure

“Thy testimonies are very sure.” The Word of God, being sure and true, may be confidently believed. And the promises of God are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus, our Lord. “The beauty of holiness,” with which he clothes his saints and is becoming to his house, that “holiness without which no man can see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14), is Christ our Sanctification.

Reprobation and Grace

“But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:26)

What unspeakably solemn words those are! Reprobation is clearly taught in Holy Scripture. It is a doctrine which should fill our hearts with praise to God our Savior, the Triune Jehovah. Election is God’s choice of some to eternal salvation in Christ. Reprobation is God passing by, not choosing others. Predestination is God’s sovereign, eternal purpose of grace toward and for his elect. Reprobation is God leaving all others to themselves. Salvation is God’s mighty, wondrous works and operations of grace for, in, and upon his chosen. Reprobation is God abandoning others to themselves. Election is God loving Jacob and all the sons and daughters of Jacob. Reprobation is God hating Esau and all the children of Esau. Eternal life is God refusing to leave you alone. Reprobation is God leaving you alone. Salvation is God not leaving you to your will, your choice, and your way. Reprobation is God leaving you to your will, your choice, and your way.

Our Lord’s assertion of reprobation should inspire praise and thanksgiving in the hearts of his elect. The Lord God could have left us to ourselves. He could have abandoned us. But he chose us to salvation! Every time we think about God’s just judgment upon poor reprobates, lost forever, forever abandoned by God, let us lift our hearts in praise to our great and glorious Lord God, the God of all grace, the Father of mercies, who has saved us by his grace (2 Thessalonians 2:11-14; 1 Corinthians 4:7).

Happy Thanksgiving!

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

As we gather with our families this week, let us each encourage genuine thanksgiving to the Lord our God for all his boundless free grace in Christ Jesus. On Thanksgiving Day, let us acknowledge God’s sovereign dominion over all the affairs of providence (Romans 8:28; 11:36), knowing that “all things are of God.” Give thanks to him for bountiful harvests, because he sends the sunshine and the rain. Thank him for peace and prosperity, because he makes peace and creates evil. Thank him for life and health, because they are his gifts. Let us also thank him when the barns are empty, the nation is at war, the economy is ruined, and death is at hand, because he who is our God is too wise to err, too strong to fail, and too good to do wrong. His will is best. So, we give thanks to him “in everything.” Be sure to acknowledge and give thanks to our God for his bountiful, saving grace in Christ. When you gather with your families Thursday, do not fail to give thanks to God for “his unspeakable gift,” the Lord Jesus Christ and his great salvation. Make mention of his electing love, redeeming blood, regenerating power, justifying grace, forgiving mercy, and covenant faithfulness. Let us acknowledge to him and to all who will hear us that we are what we are by the grace of God. If we are saved, he saved us. If we are righteous, he made us righteous. If we are sanctified, he sanctified us. If we persevere in faith, we are kept by his power. I trust you will have a Happy Thanksgiving.

The Grace Bulletin

November 19, 2017

Grace Baptist Church of Danville

2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438

Telephone (859) 576-3400 — 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