Hymn of the Day
(tune: "How Firm a Foundation" p.268)
With harps and with vials there stands a great throng,
In the presence of Jesus and sings this new song;
"To Him who hath loved us and washed us from sin,
To Him be the glory forever, Amen"
All these once were sinners, defiled in His sight,
Now arrayed in pure garments, There voices unite;
"To Him who hath loved us and washed us from sin,
To Him be the glory forever, Amen"
He maketh the rebel a priest and a king,
He hath bought us and taught us this new song to sing;
"To Him who hath loved us and washed us from sin,
To Him be the glory forever, Amen"
Aloud in His praises our voices shall ring,
So that others, believing, this new song shall sing;
"To Him who hath loved us and washed us from sin,
To Him be the glory forever, Amen"
-----0-----
Today’s Hymns
From Every Stormy Wind that Blows - #355
This Is My Father’s World - #39
He Surrendered All – cb12,
Brethren, We Have Met to Worship - #15,
The Solid Rock - #272
Special Dates
Katie Koedam – 31
James and Maria – 31
Garen and Jean Rozeboom – 1
-----0-----
“High Maintenance” relationships are very difficult. In time, we withdraw ourselves from friendships that require us to do all the work. Aren’t you glad that is not the case with our Lord? No relationship is more one sided than the one Christ has with His church. Even when we call on Him in faith, cry out to Him in repentance, rejoice in worship, or serve in gratitude, it is because He put it in our hearts to do so. He said, “I will never leave thee or forsake thee.” Heb. 13:5. “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Tim. 2:13. -Greg Elmquist
-----0-----
Grant, Almighty God, that since Thou hast designed in Thy mercy to gather us together as a church, that we may be blessed with Thy presence and power; for without Thee we can do nothing. -John Calvin
-----0-----
We are of God. He that knows God hears us. -1 John 4:6
John gives us several ways by which we may prove that we are of God: matters of both faith and practice. How can we know if others are of God? The answer is simple: those that know God are willing to hear us. They hear us with understanding, acknowledgement, and faith. It is not as though we are the standard. Rather, God's truth is the standard. But, if we are of God, it is certain we will tell the truth of God. Since we tell the truth of God, all others who are of God will rejoice in the gospel we preach. We do not need to examine the lives of others, nor delve deeply into their theology. We need only plainly proclaim what God has taught us. If he has taught them also (and all God's people are taught of God!) they will agree. If God has not taught them, they will not agree. -Joe
-----0-----
Beloved, let Christ always be the motive for your sanctification. Is it not strange that some professors should look to Christ alone for pardon and run to Moses for sanctification? They say, "The Christian is to be holy; because if He is not holy, he will fall from grace and perish." Do you not hear the crack of the old legal whip in all that? What is that but the yoke of the covenant which none of our fathers were able to bear? It is the bondage of Egypt, not the freedom of the children of God. How then should we urge the child of God to holiness? Should it not be in this way: "Thou art a child of God; walk worthy of Him who is thy Father"? -Henry Mahan
-----0-----
God's faithfulness performed what His grace promised. Grace drew the covenant; faithfulness keeps it. Grace called us; faithfulness will not cast us off.
All who are elect are vessels of grace; all who are regenerate are patterns of grace; all who are saved are monuments of grace; all the work of Heaven is to sing the loud praises of grace.
The goodness of God satisfies our emptiness; the mercy of God satisfies our sinfulness, and the grace of God satisfies our unworthiness. -William Mason
-----0-----
Those who are chronically homeless are generally in that condition due to some mental illness, for no one in their right mind would live like that. But if their minds are healed, they immediately desire to live differently. They are more concerned with cleanliness and hygiene. They desire to be productive in society – to work with their own hands to provide for themselves and help others. Once in their right mind, they find it astonishing that they could live as they once did.
So it is with the people of God. Before God saves them, they are content to live in filth. They have no interest in the things of God. They show contempt for those who have been saved, counting them nothing other than self-righteous bigots for describing man’s natural, sinful condition in the sight of God. But God’s application of His grace begins to heal their minds. They become aware of the filth of their selves and their circumstances. They begin to desire to be free of their filth. They start to desire better food and to long for a permanent home.
Just as the condition of the chronically homeless cannot be remedied apart from a change of mind, neither can the condition of the lost person be changed without a change of heart! And only God can do that! -Joe