SHREVEPORT GRACE CHURCH
2970 Baird Rd., Shreveport, LA 71118
CHRIST ALONE - SCRIPTURE ALONE - GRACE ALONE
April 13, 2008
SUNDAY
Scripture Reading/Prayer: Psalm 94 (Mike)
Call to Worship: ‘Precious Jesus, Friend of Sinners’
Scripture Reading/Prayer: 1 Thessalonians 2 (Layne)
Hymn: # 205- ‘Once For All!’
Message: ‘LET US WALK IN THE LIGHT’- Isaiah 2:5
Hymn: # 212- ‘Nothing But the Blood’
Hymn: #- 442- ‘Praise Him! Praise Him!
Scripture Reading/Prayer: Job 12 (Jim Pennywell)
Hymn: # 329- ‘Sitting At the Feet of Jesus’
Message: THE TWO TABLES OF STONE - Deuteronomy 5:16-22
Hymn: # 485- ‘Revive Us Again’
WEDNESDAY
7:00 PM - Mid-week meeting
Nursery care available during all services; for ages 4 and younger.
Ken Wimer, Pastor- ( (318) 687-4943
E-mail: pastor@shrevegrace.org
Web Site: http://www.shrevegrace.org
Audio Messages Available On-Line; Updated weekly
Radio Broadcast: 9:00 AM (CST) Sunday on KWKH;
AM Radio 1130, Shreveport, LA area or LIVE streaming at http://www.kwkhonline.com/common/gap_streamer.php
Call to Worship
(Tune: #291-‘Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah’)
1 – Precious Jesus! Friend of sinners;
We, as such, to Thee draw near;
Let Thy Spirit now dwell in us,
And with love our souls inspire;
Fill, O fill us, Fill, O Fill us
With that love which casts out fear (Repeat)
2 – Matchless Savior! Let us view Thee
As the Lord our Righteousness;
Cause each soul to cleave unto Thee,
Come, and with Thy presence bless.
Dear Immanuel, Dear Immanuel,
Feast us with Thy sovereign grace (Repeat)
3 – Open now Thy precious treasure:
Let the blessings freely flow;
Give to each a gracious measure
Of Thy glory here below;
Loving Bridegroom, Loving Bridegroom,
‘Tis Thyself we want to know (Repeat).
4 – Come, and claim us as Thy portion,
And let us lay claim to Thee;
Leave us not to empty notion,
But from bondage set us free;
King of glory! King of glory!
We would live and reign with Thee (Repeat)
THE SINNER’S ONLY HOPE
Poor sinners have nothing else to look to for hope. Pardon and peace can be had from no other object, but the blood of Jesus. Of this we can never glory too much; nor can our confidence be too strong, our expectations too great, our triumphs in Jesus over sin, Satan, the law and death, be at any time unseasonable. These precious truths are our never failing springs of consolation. “The blood of Jesus, cleanseth from all sin,” 1 John 1:7. “If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father,” 1 John 2:1. W. MASON
A FINISHED REDEMPTION
“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, ‘it is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19:30
Anyone who has ever had a house built for them knows the joy of hearing the contractor say, ‘It is finished.’ All of the time of planning, purchasing, and preparing is completed, and now there remains only the entering into what was accomplished, dwelling there, and enjoying the fruits of the contractor’s work.
Such an illustration pales in comparison to our Lord’s victorious last words from the cross- ‘It is finished.’ He did not exclaim them in defeat, nor in weakness, but for all the world to hear and know the truth that what the Father had purposed Him to accomplish from eternity, He had indeed FINISHED, in exact accordance with all that the Father’s will and justice had determined should be done, John 10:18 This same Lord Jesus, who in the beginning finished the creation of the heavens and earth in six days, and declared it good, resting the seventh day, has here laid the foundation of the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) at Calvary, and declared it finished. For thousands of years the Scriptures served notice of His work in types and pictures, and for more than thirty years the Lord Christ personally worked toward it on earth in meticulous obedience to the law, culminating it all with laying down His life as the chief cornerstone in Zion, exclaiming-‘It is finished.’
O! The joy, comfort and consolation of these words to any of the Lord’s elect, redeemed, and called out ones. Here is a redemption that is complete, and there remains nothing but for us as the Lord’s children to enter into that REST (our Sabbath- Hebrews 4:10, 11), dwell there, and enjoy the fruits of Christ’s labor on behalf of His own. His sufferings are finished, having suffered once for all, Hebrews 9:26. The great sacrifice for sin is accomplished. The satisfaction of God’s law and justice is completed, and therefore, God’s chosen sinners have been forever justified, through His glorious finished redemption, Romans 3:24. He has opened the new and living way to God. Our great High Priest has entered in once for all with His own precious blood, and therefore we are exhorted to come boldly before His throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need- Hebrews 10:19-21.
‘It is finished,’ also declares the final conquest of the powers of darkness. Satan thought to prevail, bruising our Savior’s heel (Genesis 3:15), but has been crushed under the foot of our all victorious Captain of Salvation. Much like the Philistines who thought to have prevailed over Samson, only to be brought to ruin by him seizing the pillars and bringing the roof of their temple of false worship in on them, so Christ, while the powers of darkness prematurely exulted over Him, seized the pillars of sin and death, and brought down the temple of Satan upon him. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1. What a glorious, finished redemption!
KEN WIMER
THE BLESSING OF CANCELLED GUILT
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him,” Romans 5:8, 9.
No language can be more expressive. Christ died for the ungodly (for those that were without strength). When they were sinners and enemies, such was the love of God that Christ died for them, and those for whom He died ARE JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, which removeth all their guilt. This is exactly parallel to Colossians 1:14: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Here, having redemption through His blood is synonymous with the forgiveness of sins.
We are said to be justified by grace, by Christ, by faith; and here believers are said to be justified by His blood—His sacrifice, which is at once the great object of faith, and the channel through which faith and every other spiritual blessing is imparted to the people of God. It has been already observed, that nothing but guilt prevents the love of God from flowing to His creatures.
Christ cancelled the guilt of His people—redeemed them from the curse, and the never failing consequence is, their inheriting a blessing; their guilt is expiated, and being justified by His blood, much more shall they be saved from wrath through Him; for all power in heaven and in earth is committed to Him, that He may give eternal life to those whom He has ransomed with His blood. For them He is seated on His mediatorial throne, and in their successive generations He calls them by His grace, guides them by His counsel, and afterwards receives them to His glory
JAMES HALDANE, 1847
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
Is your heart pressed down even to despondency, under the guilt of sin, so that you cry, ‘How can such a sinner as I be pardoned? My sin is greater than can be forgiven.’ “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Remember that no sin can stand before the efficacy of His blood. ‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin,” 1 John 1:7. This sacrifice made full satisfaction to God!
JOHN FLAVEL