SHREVEPORT GRACE CHURCH
2970 Baird Rd., Shreveport, LA 71118
CHRIST ALONE-SCRIPTURE ALONE-GRACE ALONE
DECEMBER 2, 2007
SUNDAY
Scripture Reading/Prayer: Psalm 75 (Mike)
Call to worship: ‘Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies’
Scripture Reading/Prayer: Galatians 3 (David)
Hymn: # 67- ‘How Can It Be?
Message: CHRIST THE DOOR- John 10:6-10
Hymn: # 277- ‘O Thou, in Whose Presence’
THE LORD’S TABLE
Closing Hymn: #128- ‘Wounded For Me’
WEDNESDAY
7:00 PM- Mid-week Service
Nursery care available for all services for ages 4 and younger.
Ken Wimer, Pastor- ( (318) 687-4943
E-MAIL: pastor@shrevegrace.org
WEB SITE: http://www.shrevegrace.org Updated weekly with audio messages now available on-line.
RADIO BROADCASS: 9:00 AM (CST) Sunday on KWKH, 1130 AM, Shreveport, LA or live streaming at http://www.kwkhonline.com/common/gap_streamer.php
CALL TO WORSHIP
(Tune: #126 ‘Rock of Ages’)
Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Day-spring from on high, be near,
Day-star, in my heart appear.
Dark and cheerless is the morn,
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.
Visit, then, this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief
Fill me, Radiancy Divine!
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.
MOTIVE IS EVERYTHING
When it comes to the true obedience of a justified sinner, motive is everything. Think about Saul of Tarsus. What religious activities did he perform while in a state of lostness? “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”(Phil.3:5:6) After God regenerated and converted him, what did he say of these things that he once thought so important? He referred to them as “LOSS” and “DUNG.” Read Phil.3:7-10. Before Paul’s conversion, don’t you think he prayed, gave, studied, and sought converts? Yet all of it was an evidence of his natural ignorance of how God could be “a just God and a Savior”.
After his regeneration, you can be assured that he still prayed, gave, studied, evangelized, and eventually died for the God of His salvation. What made the difference? It was his motive. He no longer did any of these things to save himself, keep himself saved, or to even recommend himself to God. His motive for all obedience was gratitude to God for all that He had already given him through the Lord Jesus Christ’s obedience unto death. John wrote: “We love him, because he first loved us.”(I Jn.4:19) Those whom God has forgiven, whose sins were completely put away at Calvary, do indeed love Him, and seek to obey Him in every area of their lives. What’s your motive?
RICHARD WARMACK
HOW WE PARTAKE OF THE LORD’S TABLE
“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you…”
1 Corinthians 11:23
In mid-eastern culture, sharing a meal together with someone is a symbol of friendship, fellowship, and oneness, and is never to be treated lightly. How different in our culture where our meals are hurried, and typically have an agenda of meeting to talk about business, or negotiating deals.
As we consider the Scriptural teaching regarding coming together for the Lord’s table, it is truly to be unhurried and unencumbered with any other distractions than the worship of, and fellowship with the Lord, our Redeemer. How we need to get back to the basics in remembering with what simplicity our Lord instituted it with his own disciples on the eve of His sacrificial death. It was at the end of the old Passover meal that had other elements such as bitter herbs and the lamb. And yet, in instituting the Lord’s supper, all other elements were removed except for the bread and the wine (1 Corinthians 11:24, 25).
The bread is to be unleavened and baked, symbolizing the sinless perfection of our Lord, the Substitute, even unto death. Christ remained sinless to the end, even as the Sin-bearer of His people. Their sin in no way affected his nature, any more than darkness can in anyway affect light. It is just the opposite. It is that sinlessness that was required, all the while having been put to death for the sin of His people, that we celebrate in partaking of the bread. The notion that somehow Christ had to become a sinner in order for God to justly put Him to death is such an abhorrent doctrine, that it is unfathomable that any who know anything of Christ in truth today, could even introduce, entertain, or promote such a doctrine. ‘Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?’ I Corinthians 5:6
The wine is also just as important, because had Christ lived a perfect life to satisfy the precepts of the Law, without actually laying down His life in satisfaction of its penalty for the disobedience of His people, salvation would not be accomplished. It took the doing AND dying of Christ as the Substitute, and it is because He finished the work that salvation was accomplished for His own. Wine is a symbol of health, strength, joy, and cleansing. More importantly, it is the symbol that Christ instituted to represent His shed blood, in which is ALL the satisfaction of God, by which He has ONCE FOR ALL put away the sin of His elect, and forever justified them, the law being satisfied, and therefore no more condemnation, because Christ removed it by fulfilling it for them- Colossians 2:14.
It is a simple celebration, but a significant one for the Lord’s people, with Christ alone as our sole object of worship. “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:” 1 Corinthians 5:7.
KEN WIMER
REDEMPTION
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” Ephesians 1:7
The elect were not self-redeemed, nor were we redeemed by will/works, nor by truth itself but by blood itself. As Israel was redeemed from Egypt, as Hosea redeemed Gomer, as a slave was redeemed out of the slave market, God redeemed His elect by the price of Christ’s blood.
All redemption has these characteristics:
1. The object can do nothing to redeem himself.
2. When the redemption is paid, the object is redeemed.
3. When Christ paid the redemption price of His own blood, the elect were redeemed.
T. DAVID SIMPSON- Powell, TN
BY ONE OFFERING
“By one offering, Christ hath perfected for ever them who are sanctified,”
Hebrews 10:14
In what sense has Christ perfected them forever? My dear reader, it is for want of faith in this, that we feel so much distress in our consciences, so little love to Christ In our hearts, and enjoy no more peace with God in our souls. Sin causes all this. But Christ has perfected us forever. That is, He has taken away all our sins, fully and finally from before God. He has so perfectly freed us from all the charges of law and justice, that there is now, NOT ONE CONDEMNATION against us, no more than if we had never sinned.
How has Christ done this? ‘By one offering.’ Oh the love of Christ for sinners who deserved it not. Oh, the willingness of Christ in it! He gave Himself for our sins, Galatians 4:4. Oh the pains and agonies He endured for our salvation, and the glorious efficacy of His offering upon the cross! He made there by ONE oblation of Himself ONCE offered, a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for our sins.
WILLIAM MASON
NOTES
· CLEANING SCHEDULE: WIMERS (11.25.07-12.8.07)
· NURSERY: Freda Powell
· BIRTHDAYS: Ken Wimer-12/1; Hannah Carter-12/19 ANNIVERSARIES: Layne and Linda Denton-12/12; Mike and Pam Carter-12/18
· ANNUAL FELLOWSHIP MEAL- Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 6:00 PM at the Atchisons’, followed by a time of worship together in song and the Word.