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Grace Baptist Church of Danville April 20, 2014
Adam lives in us by birth. By natural generation we are made partakers of Adam’s nature. Christ lives in us by the new birth. By regeneration we are made” partakers of the divine nature.”
Daily Readings for the Week of April 20-27, 2014 Sunday 1 Kings 20-21 Thursday 2 Kings 8-9 Monday 1 Kings 22-2 Kings 1 Friday 2 Kings 10-12 Tuesday 2 Kings 2-4 Saturday 2 Kings 13-14 Wednesday 2 Kings 5-7 Sunday 2 Kings 15-17
· We will have a fellowship dinner following our worship service this morning. There will be no service here tonight. · Bro. Larry Criss, pastor of Fairmont Grace Church in Sylacauga, AL, will be here to preach the Gospel to you on Tuesday night.
Nursery Duty this Week: Today: Shante’ Birchum — Tuesday: Debbie Bartley
That Glorious Better Part — Don Fortner (Tune: #66 — Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts - LM) 1. This is that glorious better part, Most dear to each believer’s heart: — Christ Jesus dwelling in the soul, The sovereign Monarch of the whole. He comes in mercy from above, And enters by almighty grace, The hearts of all His chosen race. 3. His Spirit plants His grace within; There He subdues the power of sin, Renews, transforms, and stores it well! — And there He shall for ever dwell. 4. Does Christ the Savior dwell in me? — Then I shall endless glory see! He is my Hope, in Him I rest, In Christ I am for ever blest!
The Scripture never speaks of God’s acceptance of His people as being a”maybe” acceptance based upon the sinner’s ability and carnal work. God’s acceptance of the saints in Christ Jesus is a blessing spoken of as being according to God’s will and purpose and a blessing that has been eternally done…”accepted in the Beloved.” Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, redeemed by His precious blood and robed in His glorious righteousness, the Lord’s people are highly favored objects of His mercy accepted in the Lord Jesus Christ. — Pastor Marvin Stalnaker “Consider” Luke 12:24-27
Our Savior here calls us away from the care of the world to faith in our God, calling us to honor God by believing him. He does so by pointing out some things that ought to be obvious to every kindergarten child. They may seem to be simple, insignificant, almost trivial lessons to carnal minds; but after studying this Book every day for the past 47 years, after reading hundreds of volumes of theology, I find the things mentioned in this passage to be matters of deepest importance. The more I ponder them, the weightier they become. The more I study them, the more profound they appear. Here is the “strong meat” of the Word of God.
Consider the Ravens “Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” — If God Almighty condescends to provide for the needs of a bird, a raven at that, if he orders the affairs of providence to give the ravens their daily food, is it ever reasonable for us to imagine that he might fail to provide for us?
Consider Yourself “And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?” — The word here translated “stature” should probably be translated “life,” or “age,” as it is in John 9:21 and 23 and Hebrews 11:11. What our Lord is saying here is that none of us can, by any means, add one bit to the height of our frames, the maturity of our years, or the days of our lives.
Consider the Lilies “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?” — If the Lord God every year provides the lilies with fresh foliage and fresh blooms, how absurd it is for us to imagine that he might fail to clothe us today, or tomorrow.
Consider the Heathen “For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.” — What a shame it is for God’s people to grovel like the heathen of this world after the things of the world. If God is my Father and Christ my Savior and the Holy Spirit my Comforter, if heaven is my home and eternity is the span of my life, I ought not find it difficult to live above the cares and anxieties of the heathen. Faith in Christ ought to make my heart light. The light of eternity ought to make the things of earth grow dim. Heavenly glory ought to make the baubles of earth utterly insignificant to me.
Consider Your Father “Your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.” — This fact alone ought to make us perfectly content. All our needs in this world are perfectly known to our Father, the Lord of heaven and earth. He can relieve our needs whenever he sees fit; and he will relieve our needs whenever it is best for us that they be relieved. He who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up to death to ransom our souls, he who gave us his darling Son will not fail to give us everything we need (Romans 8:32). Oh, for fresh supplies of grace, day by day, hour by hour, and moment by moment, to trust him implicitly!
The Pastor’s UK Itinerary
Shelby and I are scheduled to leave for England late this afternoon. As the Lord enables you, pray for his blessings upon the preaching of the Gospel in England and N. Ireland.
Norman Wheeler, Pastor
New Focus Conference Peter Meney, Pastor
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“Behold, I and the Children” Pastor Larry Criss
“And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.” (Hebrews 2:13)
There are three parties spoken of in the verse above. There is God the Father. There are the children which he gave. And there is the One to whom he gave them, his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Captain of their salvation, the Firstborn among many brethren. It is he, the Lord Jesus, who is speaking these words. And what wondrous words they are to consider, to ponder, to ‘Behold.’
Behold the Giver — God the Father is that One who gave the children to Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-5). This is why God sent forth his Son into the world, and why he was made of a woman, and became like his brethren, that he could redeem them and that they might receive the adoption of sons. Yes, Christ came here on purpose, being sent by his Father, who entrusted all his chosen, his children, into the hands of Christ, their great Surety and Mediator. He said himself that this was why he came, to do the Father’s will, to do all his Father required of him in bringing many sons to glory. And bless his name, he did not and he shall not fail!
Behold those Given — They are called his children, his brethren, the sons of God! What titles, what descriptions, what blessed realities! And yet, they each are only sinners, every one. They are nothing, have nothing, and claim nothing that they have not received. They have been taught of God. Therefore they know and are thankful to confess that they’re only sinners saved by grace. Why would God the Father choose me? Why would God the Son suffer and die for me? I can only answer: “Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be.”
Behold to Whom Given — Without Christ, there would be no election to salvation. Without Christ, there would be no redemption. Without Christ, there would be no mercy of God justly bestowed, no grace ever experienced, no sons ever brought to glory, no salvation, and no heaven. But thank God, we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, that he should taste death for every son God gave him. This is why he says: ‘Behold I and the children.’ He will not be in glory without his redeemed, without his bride, without all his children that he will present back to his Father and our Father, without a spot, wrinkle or any such thing. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
The Grace Bulletin
April 20, 2014
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 7:45 A.M. Channel 6 - Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M. Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.
Television Broadcasts in Harrodsburg Channel 6 - Sunday Afternoon 3:00 P.M. Channel 6 - Friday Evening 6:00 P.M.
Web Pages http://www.DonFortner.com http://www.FreegraceRadio.com http://www.Grace-eBooks.com
Don Fortner
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Pastor Fortner’s
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