One Glorious Day!!
Before the Throne of God Above
Looking forward to singing this with you guys tonight as we wind up teaching on the millennium!
A Helpful Word Regarding Roman Catholicism
Questions arise from time to time about whether persons in the Roman Catholic Church may be saved. Matt Slick offers a helpful word on the matter.
Baptisms and Church Anniversary
It could not be more fitting to celebrate another anniversary of God’s faithfulness in the life of Grace Community Church than by witnessing 4 men profess their faith in Christ through baptism. Twenty-four years ago God birthed this church and He is continuing to work mightily to our amazement that He would use us for as instruments for His glory. God bless Tony, Kevin, Mark, and Gene!
Burdened Beyond Strength
I am especially encouraged this morning by the words of the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 1.
“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again.” (2 Cor 1:8-10)
The Apostle Paul himself admits that God brought circumstances of hopelessness into his life so that he would not rely on himself. If Paul needed it, how much more you and me. Do not despair when everything around you is closing in and crumbling to pieces. Rather, rely on God; hope in him who raises the dead! In fact, do not wait for everything to crumble! Rely on Him right now. Hope in him right now!
It Will Cost You Everything . . . And He is Worth It!
A couple Sundays ago I mentioned Steve Lawson. You will not regret the 10 minutes it takes to listen to him on this powerful clip. This is the gospel!
Knowledge commended
Here is some excellent teaching from Scripture and Charles Spurgeon:
‘But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many.’ Daniel 11:32–33
Suggested Further Reading: Ezra 7:1–10
“Search the Scriptures. Do not merely read them—search them; look out the parallel passages; collate them; try to get the meaning of the Spirit upon any one truth by looking to all the texts which refer to it. Read the Bible consecutively: do not merely read a verse here and there—that is not fair. You would never know anything about John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress if you opened it every morning and read six lines in any part and then shut it up again; you must read it all through if you want to know anything about it. Get those books, say Mark or John; read Mark right through from beginning to end; do not stop with two or three verses, or a chapter, but try to know what Mark is aiming at. It is not fair to Paul to take his epistle to the Romans and read one chapter: we are obliged to do it in public service; but if you want to get at Paul’s meaning, read the whole epistle through as you would another letter. Read the Bible in a commonsense way. Pray after you have read it as much as you like. When you are reading it, if you come to a knotty point, do not skip it. You all have some Christian friend who knows more than you do; go to him and try to get the thing explained. Above all, when you have read any passage, and do understand it, act it out, and ask the Spirit of God to burn the meaning into your conscience till it is written on the fleshy tables of your heart.”
For thought and action: Daily readings should supplement Bible study, not replace it. Have you ever tried to read the Bible in a year? Try the reading schedule the Elders have chosen to help you. It may be hard work, especially the first time, but many have been so blessed that they have resolved to read the whole Bible every year. But beware of it becoming an academic exercise. Note Ezra’s example—his desire was to study God’s word, to do it and to teach it—in that order (Ezra 7: 10). His aim was not to practice what he preached, but to preach what he practiced!
Grace and Peace,
Elder Dale
Unity in Christ
A timely devotional from the pulpit of C.H. Spurgeon, edited by Terence Peter Crosby:
‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’ John 17:20–21
Suggested Further Reading: Ephesians 4:4–16
“If you would promote the unity of Christ’s church, look after his lost sheep, seek out wandering souls. If you ask what is to be your word, the answer is in the text—it is to be concerning Christ. They are to believe in him. Every soul that believes in Christ is built into the great gospel unity in its measure, and you will never see the church as a whole while there is one soul left unsaved for whom the Saviour shed his precious blood. Go out and teach his Word! Tell out the doctrines of grace as he has given you ability. Hold up Christ before the eyes of men, and you will be the means in God’s hand of bringing them to believe in him, and so the church shall be built up and made one. Here is work for the beginning of the year; here is work till the end of the year. Do not sit down and scheme and plot and plan how this denomination may melt into the other; you leave that alone. Your business is to go and ‘tell to sinners round what a dear Saviour you have found’, for that is God’s way of using you to complete the unity of his Church. Unless these be saved, the Church is not perfect. That is a wonderful text, ‘That they without us should not be made perfect.’ That is to say, saints in heaven cannot be perfect unless we get there. What! the blessed saints in heaven not perfect except the rest of believers come there? So the Scripture tells us, for they would be a part of the body and not a whole body; they cannot be perfect as a flock unless the rest of the sheep come there.”
For meditation: God’s instrument for furthering and completing true unity is spiritual—the ongoing addition of souls to his kingdom through the proclamation of Christ crucified. Man’s instrument for promoting organisational unity is political and carnal. Unity, just like the new birth, is ‘not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God’ (John 1:13).
Sermon no. 668, 7 January (1866), Metropolitan Tabernacle
Grace and Peace,
Elder Dale
