WELCOME TO RESCUE BAPTIST CHURCH
Sunday Morning, August 23, 2015
_____________________________________________________
SCHEDULED MEETINGS
Sunday Morning Bible Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:00 AM
Sunday Morning Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:00 AM
Sunday Evening Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:30 PM
Friday Night Bible Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:30 PM
_____________________________________________________
OPENING HYMN
“Amazing Grace” Page 202
____________________
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 110
____________________
OFFERTORY
____________________
WORSHIP HYMN
“Grace Greater Than Our Sin” Page 201
____________________
SPECIAL MUSIC
To be announced.
____________________
Message Title
“Grow In Grace”
____________________
CLOSING HYMN
“Wonderful Grace of Jesus” Page 19
_____________________________________________________
‘By the grace of God I am what I am’
“This is my testimony. This is my confession of faith. This is my hope. ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ It is certain that I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I desire to be. And I am not what I hope to be. But blessed be God, I am not what I once was. God has mercifully brought me up out of the deep miry clay and set my feet upon the Rock, Christ Jesus. He has saved my soul. And now it is my desire to extol and honor his matchless, free, sovereign and distinguishing grace, because ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ It is my heart’s great joy to ascribe my salvation entirely to the grace of God.
This is my doctrinal confession. Do you want to know what is the sum and substance of my doctrine? Do you want to know the essence of all that I believe? It is just this: ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ Let me put it in such it way that you cannot mistake my meaning. Salvation is altogether the work of God’s grace. Salvation is not in any degree whatsoever the work of man. Salvation is not by man’s will, but by God’s will. Salvation is not man’s work, but God’s work. Salvation is not accomplished by man’s decision, but by the grace of God. Like Jonah, all of God’s people have learned that ‘salvation is of the Lord!’ (Jonah 2:9.) ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast’ Eph. 2:8 - 9). ‘[God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began’ (2Tim. 1:9). Grace elected me. Grace redeemed me. Grace sought me. Grace give me life. Grace revealed Christ in me. Grace gave me faith. Grace taught me to pray. Grace preserves me. From beginning to end, salvation is by the grace of God. With the apostle Paul, I freely and gladly renounce all human merit. I am not what I am as the result of any thing good which God foresaw would be in me. Like all other men, there is nothing good in me by nature. I am not what I am as the result of anything I have done. Like all men, I was without strength. But ‘By the grace of God I am what I am’.”
Pastor Don Fortner
_____________________________________________________
THE BURDEN OF THE GOSPEL
“I am often astounded at the way in which some who profess to be the servants of God make light of their work: they jest about their sermons as if they were so many comedies or farces. I read of one who said, ‘I got on very well for a year or two in my pulpit, for my great-uncle had left me a large store of manuscripts, which I read to my congregation.’ The Lord have mercy on his guilty soul! Did the Lord send him a sacred call to bring to light his uncle’s moldy manuscripts? Something less than a divine call might have achieved that purpose. Another is able to get on well with his preaching because he pays so much a quarter to a bookseller, and is regularly supplied with manuscript sermons. They cost more or less according to the space within which they will not be sold to another clerical cripple. I have seen the things, and have felt sick at the sorry spectacle. What must God think of such prophets as these? In the old times, those whom God sent did not borrow their messages. They had their message directly from God Himself and that message was weighty—so weighty that they called it “the burden of the Lord”. He that does not find his ministry a burden now will find it a burden hereafter, which will sink him lower than the lowest hell. A ministry that never burdens the heart and the conscience in this life will be like a millstone about a man’s neck in the world to come.
“The servants of God mean business; they do not play at preaching, but they plead with men. They do not talk for talking’s sake but they persuade for Jesus’ sake. They are not sent into the world to tickle men’s ears, nor to make a display of elocution, nor to quote poetry: theirs is an errand of life or death to souls immortal. They have a something to say which so presses upon them, that they must say it; “woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!” They burn with an inward fire, and the flame must have vent; for the Word of the Lord is as fire in their bones, consuming them. The truth presses them into its service, and they cannot escape from it. If, indeed, they be the servants of God they must speak the things that they have seen and heard. The servants of God have no feathers in their caps, but burdens on their heart.”
--C . H. Spurgeon (Excerpt)
_____________________________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Our worship service for this evening has been cancelled.
- I am scheduled to preach for Pastor David Eddmenson at Bible Baptist Church in Madisonville, KY next Sunday. The following week-end I am scheduled to preach at Pastor Don Fortner’s Annual Sovereign Grace Conference in Danville, KY. Judy and I will be leaving right after this morning’s worship service. We do appreciate your prayers for us.
- Brother Michael Smith will be bringing the Sunday morning messages in my absence. Brother John Reeves will be teaching the Adult Sunday School Class while we’re away. Lindsey Smith will be teaching the children’s Sunday School Class in Judy’s absence. Please pray for these dear ones as they have the honor of ministering to our precious church family while we are gone.
- Our Friday Night Bible Study and our Sunday evening services have been cancelled until further notice.
*** Cleaning duty this week: Russ Davis and Michael Smith ***
_______________________________________________
SUGGESTED BIBLE READINGS FOR THIS WEEK
Monday Wednesday Friday
Genesis 31 Psalm 25 Matthew 28
Genesis 32 Psalm 26 Mark 1
Genesis 33 Psalm 27 Mark 2
Acts 25 Acts 26 Acts 27
_______________________________________________
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
WE ARE WHAT WE ARE
“We are not desirous of honor, esteem and applause from men, for we are what we are by the grace of God. God can take away what we have as easily as He gave it. We do not despise and provoke one another with our piety; nor do we want to appear wiser, richer in grace, nor more gifted than others; for we are less than the least of the saints. Nor do we envy the gifts, abilities, or grace of another. God will enlighten us, equip us, and bless us as He sees fit to use us.”
Pastor Henry Mahan
* * * * * * *
Meeting To Worship Christ
“Never forget, we do not meet together to hear the preacher, but to hear from the Lord. It is of no consequence who is preaching or how they preach. What is important is the message, not the messenger.
We meet together to worship Christ; and hear Him exalted. That is our goal. I would rather have good tasting food served on a paper plate than bad food served on the most expensive china.
Spurgeon tells the story of a woman who heard a visiting preacher. She was so blessed by the man's sermon she determined to travel a great distance the following week to hear him at his home church. She was miserably disappointed! After the service the woman rather rudely told him so. "I was so blessed last week, but this week I got absolutely nothing!" The preacher wisely asked her this question, "Last week, why did you come to the service?" "To worship Christ," she replied. "Why did you come this week?" he asked. "To hear you," she answered. To that he replied, "You got what you came for then."
Pastor Todd Nibert
* * * * * * *
NO LIGHT IN THEM
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20)
“False religion has been rampant in every generation. Our current generation is no different. False prophets everywhere are saying religious sounding things but their message is not according to scripture. Their doctrines run contrary to the Word of God. They say and believe things contrary to the Word of God because there is no light of Christ in them. They are filled with the darkness of unbelief. They are not well meaning. They are not helpful to men in any way. They are blind leaders of the blind, leading men and women to hell.
My friend, try every preacher by the Word of God alone! If His message says what God’s Word says, then listen to him and pray God give you faith to believe that message. But if any preacher contradicts the Word of God, then flee from him. There is no light in him or his message. He will leave you in darkness and never bring you to Christ the Light of the world.
Pastor Frank Tate
* * * * * * *
There are times when God’s saints are asked this question, “What do you mean by these words, Sovereign Grace?” A good answer to that question would be, “We believe that God’s Grace REIGNS! (Romans 5:21). Jesus Christ, the very One who obtained eternal redemption for His own chosen people, is the risen, exalted God-man who is in sovereign control over all things in this whole universe. HE REIGNS as the Sovereign Monarch over ALL THINGS. Brethren, our risen Saviour is the God of all grace. If He reigns, and He does, His grace is Sovereign because Jesus Christ is Sovereign. Pastor.
* * * * * * *
"THERE THEY SHALL SEE ME" -- Matt. 28:10
“Here the Lord Jesus Christ calls His people "my brethren” gives instruction for them to meet Him, appoints a well-known place for them to meet and promises to be there! Who in their right mind would be absent from such a conference with the crucified and risen Master? And yet Christ does this same thing every week, and sinners are neglectful to attend. If our services are mere social gatherings with folks from the community to catch up on current events, then let's consider our time better spent elsewhere. If, however, they are worship services unto the Lord in which He Himself communes with and instructs us, then let us not only show up; but let us do so with joy, anticipation and great thanksgiving unto Him. Yea, let us fellowship heartily around the gospel and be edified, encouraged and comforted in Him.
What condescension on His part to gather with us, and yet it is His delight to do so. He "seeketh such" sinners to worship Him, who do so with prepared and anxious hearts. Marvelous grace for Him to say, ‘there shall they see me.’ How important is it to you to see the Master? You answer that question each week by your attendance as well as your attitude. It was so important to one woman that, weak and ill though she was, she broke through the pressing throng in order to touch His garment. Zaccheus climbed up a tree determined to catch a glimpse of this Great One. The two Mary's in our text came ‘as it began to dawn’ (Verse 1) to His tomb. When they learned He was risen and met Him, they ‘held Him by the feet and worshipped.’ Would to God we were all this desirous to see Him and this pleased when we do.”
Pastor Chris Cunningham
