Come, ye sinners, poor & needy, weak & wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power.
Come, ye thirsty, come, & welcome, God’s free bounty glorify; True belief & true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh.
Refrain: I will arise & go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden, lost & ruined by the fall; If you tarry till you’re better, you will never come at all.
View Him prostrate in the garden; on the ground your Maker lies. On the bloody tree behold Him; sinner, will this not suffice?
Lo! th’incarnate God ascended, pleads the merit of His blood: Venture on Him, venture wholly, let no other trust intrude.
Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requireth is to see your need of Him.
TODAY’S SERVICES
BIBLE CLASS – 10:00 a.m. – Brother Jim Casey
Justified by Imputed Righteousness – Romans 4:5-8
MORNING WORSHIP – 11:00 a.m – Brother Mark Pannell
OPENING – Psalm 27:4-5
CALL TO WORSHIP (above)
HYMN – Rock of Ages – p. 126
CLOSING HYMN – I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord – p. 188
Birthdays: Jake McMillan – May 20th | Melissa Riggins – May 22nd
I am preaching today in Ruston, LA for Grace Baptist Church. The Lord willing, I will return home tomorrow. —Pastor Bill Parker
ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE
Have you ever stopped to think about this – The people on earth who have appeared the most zealous for God did not know Him and died in their sins. The apostle Paul used his own kinsmen after the flesh as an example of this sobering fact – “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3). We should remember this as we consider our religious family members, coworkers and friends around us who know nothing about and reject what they do know of the “gospel wherein the righteousness of God is revealed..” (Romans 1:16,17). But most of all, we should remember it when considering ourselves! —Pastor Gary Shepard
GOD KEEPS HIS PEOPLE IN PEACE
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace" (Isaiah 63:3). By the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, everlasting peace between a holy God and offending sinners has been established. "Having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven" (Colossians 1:20). This peace is the fruit of righteousness and, as we are brought by the Holy Spirit to believe Christ and submit to God’s way of grace through the substitutionary death of our Savior, we enter into the wonders of and the joys of this peace. This sweet repose is known to the degree that we believe the record God has given of His Son. The peace that God gives is rare. The world knows nothing of it for it is "perfect peace." It is a truthful, honest, enduring and real peace. As the people of God, we enjoy the continuation of peace, but, when we arrive safely in heaven, we will realize this peace in a way that we have not known here; yet the cause for and the basis of the peace will ever be the same. Christ has been wounded, bruised, crucified and raised again. This will always be the very foundation of God being at peace with us and ransomed sinners being at peace with Him. —Pastor Jim Byrd
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”
(2 Peter 3:18)
ARE WE GETTING BETTER?
One thing we need to consider seriously in this question is what do we mean by “getting better”? There is no question that we all need to improve in many areas of our lives, such as our love and appreciation of Christ, His Word, our brethren, our character, attitude, and conduct, our knowledge of and skillfulness in the Scriptures, our diligence in prayer, devotions, worship, and in our relationships with other people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. We ought to pray every day and make a serious effort continually to be better Christians in every way. We ought to strive to be like Christ and follow His example of holiness and righteousness. However, some who claim they are “getting better” imagine that their efforts in all these areas, and any improvements they see, contribute to their holiness and righteousness before God. Many of them speak of “getting better” as if the sinfulness of the flesh is dying more and more, the contamination and effects of sin rendered less and less powerful, so that they see themselves as getting holier and more righteous. But there are no degrees of holiness and righteousness. And our efforts to improve in the areas mentioned above, even when we do see some growth, do not make us holier or more righteous. OUR HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IS IN CHRIST ALONE, not in ourselves. The improvements we experience in these areas of Christ-likeness are the work of the Holy Spirit within us by the grace of God, and they are described in Scripture as growth “in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18; 1 Pet. 2:1-3). The fact is that the more we grow, the more we see our sinfulness and weakness, and the more we see the glory of Christ as the Lord our only righteousness. In Christ we can be no better than we are. We have His righteousness imputed to us. In ourselves, we can, by the grace of God, grow in all areas of being conformed to the image of Christ. So, let’s strive to better as we rest in Christ alone for all holiness and righteousness before God. —Pastor Bill Parker
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