May 29, 2005

 

It is a sad and painful fact that brethren here are sometimes incapable of living and working together peaceably, a fact that reveals much about our fallen nature and depraved hearts, horribly dishonoring to our God, but a fact nonetheless. Blessed God, our Savior, hasten the day when every breach in Zion shall be healed.

 

Daily Readings for the Week of May 29-June 5

        Sunday            Nehemiah 8-10                        Thursday                Esther 5-8

        Monday          Nehemiah 11-12                      Friday             Esther 9-Job 2

        Tuesday          Nehemiah 13-Esther 1            Saturday          Job 3-7

        Wednesday     Esther 2-4                               Sunday            Job 8-11

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Audrey Grace Hacker-2nd

 

Anniversaries in June:

Rex & Debbie Bartley-1st    Don & Shelby Fortner-1st    Bill & Vicci Rolley-13th

David & Celeste Peterson-16th    Bob & Carole Pruitt-16th    Oscar & Nancy Bailey-18th

Ron & Pam Wood-22nd    Larry & Nancy Criss-26th

 

CHURCH CLEANING IN JUNE:  Sammy & Ruth Wall

 

NURSERY DUTY THIS WEEK

Today: Vicci Rolley (AM) Laura Peterson (PM)          Tuesday: Debbie Bartley

 

Who Can Describe the Joyful Scene? — Don Fortner

(Tune: #98 — I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day — LM)

 

1.        Who can describe the joyful scene, when ransomed souls are born again,

When a poor prodigal is turned, who has his Father’s love so spurned?

 

2.        With joy the Father runs to kiss the object of His love and grace!

The Son with satisfaction sees His soul’s travail and agonies!

 

3.        The Holy Spirit, joyful, too, beholds the soul by grace renewed!

God’s saints below and those above, sing for the conquest of God’s love!

 

The Doctrine of Christ

Pastor Donnie Bell

 

I remember a few years back someone sent a tape to several here in the congregation. The preacher had a lot to say about lost Calvinists, and preachers not dealing with the right issue, which was the imputed righteousness of Christ. Quite a few came to me about the tape and its message; they neither knew the preacher or the one who sent the tape. One said, “He is saying no one but him is preaching the righteousness of Christ, and I know that’s not true.” But the most pointed and poignant statement came from a young believer, who said, “It sounds to me like he is preaching the righteousness of Christ as the savior, instead of Christ who is righteous as the savior.”

 

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“The Servant of Jesus Christ”

 

“Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.”                                                (Jude 1:1)

 

The servant described in Exodus 21 is a voluntary slave. He is a life-long slave. He is a love slave. That is what Christ became to God for us, that he might save us (Isa. 50:5-7). And that is what Christ makes his people when he saves them by his grace. That’s what I want to be. — The bond-slave of Jesus Christ! — The willing, voluntary, lifelong bond-slave of my Savior! Let me show you from the Scriptures what it means to be “the servant of Jesus Christ.”

 

A Worshipper

 

The word “servant” implies worship (Judg. 2:7, 2 Chro. 30:8). All who are the servants of Jesus Christ call upon his name in worship, faith, and gratitude as their God and Savior (Rom. 10:9-13). Believers are men and women who are in a unique slave-master relationship. Being made free by him, freed from his law and freed by his law, we are bound to him in faith, gratitude, and love (Rom 6:18, 22; 2 Cor. 5:14), as willing slaves.

 

Totally Possessed

 

A slave is one who is owned, totally possessed, because he wants to be, by his Master. This is what Jude means. He was purchased and possessed by Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20). He was conquered by his Master’s grace and love. The servant of Christ lives and exists only for his Master. We have no other reason for existence. The servant has no rights of his own, no property of his own, no family of his own, no will, no ambition of his own. He belongs to his Master.

 

Servants Serve

 

The one thing that should be obvious is that servants serve. The servant of Christ lives for the purpose of serving Christ. He exists only for the purpose of doing his Master’s will. He is at his Master’s beck and call. He serves not himself, but his Master — His Master’s Cause — His Master’s Family — His Master’s Honor. May God give us grace ever to be completely subservient to our Redeemer. We owe everything to him. We owe him a debt we can never pay, but a debt we can never forget.

 

High Honor

 

The title “servant of Jesus Christ,” as I said before, implies the highest, most honored, most royal distinction in the world. Throughout history, those men who stand  out  as  the  greatest,  most  useful,  and  most  honored men have been the

 

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servants of God. This is the highest title of honor imaginable. The believer’s slavery to Jesus Christ is not a cringing, cowardly, shameful subjection. It is the position of highest honor — an honor that bestows upon us the great privileges and responsibilities of serving the King of kings and Lord of lords. Servants are privy to their Master’s secrets. — “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants” (Amos 3:7).

 

        Moses (Deut. 34:5; Mal. 4:4), Joshua (Josh. 24:29; Judg. 2:8), David (2 Sam. 3:18; Ps. 78:70), the prophets (Amos 3:7; Jer. 7:25), Paul (Rom 1:1; Tit 1:1), Timothy (Phil 1:1), Peter (2 Pet. 1:1), James (James 1:1), and Jude were all the servant of Jesus Christ (Jude 1). What a great honor it is to be ranked among such men!

 

Followers

 

Servants of Christ are followers of Christ. — “If any man serve me, let him follow me and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26). Christ’s servants are his attendants, his deacons, people who follow him to minister to and for him (Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 15:58; Col. 3:23-24). — “What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?” (Deut. 10:12) — “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28).

 

Whose servant are you? Whose servant am I? Our Master asks, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2:11). — “Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing” (Ps. 100:2). May God the Holy Spirit graciously make us the servants of Jesus Christ.

 

“Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.”

 

Loving and Serving Christ

Pastor Gary Shepard

 

If we know ourselves to be saved by Christ alone through His loving sacrifice and blood, would we not delight at the opportunity to embrace Him and tell Him of our love for Him? Would we not jump at the chance to bring Him a glass of water or help Him in any way? At present, this cannot happen literally. The next best thing is to express our love for Him through those He indwells! The Lord’s people in this world are the closest thing to Him that we can reach out to, embrace, express our love and be of service to. Furthermore, this is just what our gracious and wonderful Savior told us to do. We are to love them as He has loved us and given Himself for us. Oh, to hear our Beloved say in that day, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

 

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Grace Bulletin

 

May 29, 2005

 

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

 

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.sovereign-grace/gracechurch.htm

http://www.freegrace.net/danville/default.asp