September 4, 2005
Christ is made of God unto us both righteousness and sanctification. God declares his elect righteous by imputing the righteous obedience of Christ to us in justification. He makes us righteous by imparting Christ’s righteous nature to us in sanctification. Christ is that righteousness, that holiness we must have, without which no man shall see the Lord.
Daily Readings for the Week of September 4-11
Sunday Ezekiel 45-47 Thursday Daniel 6-8
Monday Ezekiel 48-Daniel 1 Friday Daniel 9-10
Tuesday Daniel 2-3 Saturday Daniel 11-Hosea 1
Wednesday Daniel 4-5 Sunday Hosea 2-7
no serviceS Tonight or Tuesday night.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Nancy Criss-5th Klaus Peterson-8th Evelyn Clark-10th
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY:
Lance & Robin Hellar David & Betty Burge-7th Bobby & Judy Estes
10:00: Regina Henson & Emily Rice 11:00: Vicci Rolley & Amy Coleman
Reign On, Great, Mighty, Sov’reign God — Don Fortner
(Tune: My Faith Has Found A Resting Place #228 CMD)
1. Great God! To worship You we’ve come, with reverent faith we pray
May God, the mighty Three-in-One His sovereign scepter sway.
Let grace triumphant o’er us reign, and Christ exalted be;
May sinners now be born again, and Your salvation see.
2. Father, make mercy, truth, and peace fill each believing soul,
And by the power of Your grace our raging lusts control!
May mutual love and harmony among Your saints abide,
Teach us to love and set us free from enmity and pride.
3. Reign on, great, mighty sov’reign God, and make Your wonders known,
Till every sinner bought by blood is made to trust Your Son!
Let Christ our Savior, God the Son, in saving power reign,
Till God’s elect arrive at home, never to part again!
Abraham Lincoln was often publicly criticized by those who opposed him. When asked why he did not answer his critics, he replied, “If I were to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
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“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
The door of this house is open, blessed Savior. Come, sup with us and cause us this day to sup with you! If you will come here today, and sit at your table, in your house, our spikenard shall send forth their smell, “because of the savor of thy good ointments” (Song 1:12, 3).
Mary gave a sweet, instructive testimony of her faith in, gratitude to, and love for the Son of God when she anointed his feet with her costly, fragrant spikenard. Our Savior accepted her worship and publicly honored her for it. As Mary broke open her alabaster box of ointment and the fragrance filled the room, so God’s servants break open the golden casket of Holy Scripture and the sweet aroma of Christ crucified fills his house. As Mary broke open her alabaster box just for Christ, purely for his honor, let us, this day, break open our hearts to him in the confession of our sin and his grace, our emptiness and his fullness, worshipping him, anointing him with praise, devotion, and love; and he will honor us with his manifest approval, visiting us with his grace.
God the Father anointed his dear Son as our Surety, Savior, Mediator, and King. Surely God’s Anointed should be our Anointed, his Chosen our Chosen, and his Delight our Delight!
Christ our King here spreads his table by the preaching of the gospel and calls his redeemed as his guests. While the King sits at his table, reigning in the hearts of ransomed sinners, his beloved, his graces will flow forth into our hearts by his Spirit. Where two or three gather in his name, there he is. While he sups with them and they with him, the spikenard of his grace flows forth to us and the spikenard of our love, devotion, faith, and deep gratitude flow forth to him. This is worship!
He says, “Eat, O friends; yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!” The table is his. Indeed, the table is Christ himself! He is our Bread of Life, our Water of Life, and the “Wine that maketh glad the heart.” May he be pleased this day to pour out his Spirit upon us and cause us to hear his voice and see his countenance, making “his name as ointment poured forth” to our hearts. Then (Blessed prospect!), eating his flesh and drinking his blood, possessing eternal life and salvation by his grace, our hearts shall pour forth the spikenard prepared for him. “Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.” Come into your garden, blessed Savior, to the beds of spices, gather your lilies and feed among them!
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I am scheduled to preach in the following places in the next few weeks.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, Jacksonville, NC — Gary Shepard, Pastor
Zebulon Baptist Church, Pikeville, KY — Tom Harding, Pastor
Grace Baptist Church, Dingess, WV — Gary Vance, Pastor
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, New Castle, IN — Bruce Crabtree, Pastor
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” (Psalms 133)
The unity of the brethren begins with a common faith: “There is one faith,” says the Scripture. But David speaks, not only of believing in unity, but of living in unity. This requires effort on our part, for there are natural differences among us, which war against the pleasant unity David so enjoyed. One’s temperament, upbringing, and life experiences give him a perspective on life that differs from those around him. This could prove helpful to the body of Christ as each contributes his level of wisdom to the whole. But more often than not, pride makes our differences into a wedge that divides us. Pride makes a god of our own opinions, and by that “god” we condemn those who differ from us and banish them from our close fellowship.
How sad! That which could prove so pleasant is forfeited so that we may cling to our self-aggrandizing ways! Oh, for a gracious dose of that humility that binds us to one another in that sweet and pleasant fellowship of God’s people! Such humility begins with recognizing that all men of the same faith are, indeed, brethren, despite what other differences may exist. Such humility allows us to rejoice in one another, enjoy one another, and fellowship with one another in a sweet and happy unity. Such humility breaks down the walls of suspicion and opens the way for open and free friendship. Such humility draws us out of the dark, cold places in which we hide from others for fear of being found out and brings us into the warm and inviting community of loving brethren who, with similar humility, dwell in peace with their brethren.
How the church is anointed with grace when such a spirit prevails! How the blessings of God flow down from heaven to us when we live with our brethren in unity! God grant it to be so. — Pastor Joe Terrell
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Grace Bulletin
September 4, 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
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
Channel 6 - Sunday Morning 8:00 A.M.
Channel 6 - Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M.
Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.
http://www.donfortner.com
http://www.sovereign-grace/gracechurch.htm
http://www.freegrace.net/danville/default.asp