May 27^th. 2018 .

10:00 am ----------------------------------------------------- Message by Gabe Stalnaker

*** LUNCH FOLLOWING SERVICE THIS MORNING

Wednesday: 7:30 pm ------------------------------------------Faith And Virtue – 2 Peter 1

It has been a joy and a blessing having Gabe and Hannah Stalnaker back with us. May the Lord bless Gabe as he preaches today and bless the church there in Kinsport for years to come.

Four Things Comfort The Child Of God In Trials And Afflictions -- by Gabe Stalnaker

1. We can trust the God who appoints them. (1 Thess. 3:3)
2. We can trust that He knows our frame. (Psalm 103:14)
3. We can trust that good will always be waiting at the end of the trial. (Romans 8:28)
4. We can trust that one day soon He will “…stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” (1 Thess. 3:13)

The Gospel Rule of Life– From William Gadsby’s Catechism, 1809

Question: Is the gospel, in all its branches, a sufficient rule of life to a believer in Christ?

Answer: Yes; for through the life-giving power of the Spirit, faith lives upon Christ, the Living Head, and the gospel precepts (commands) are the believer’s rule in the world, in the family, in the church, and in case of personal offences.

(Jn.14:21; Rom.6:14 & 8:9-11, 14; 2 Cor.9:8; Gal.6:14-16; Phil.3:16; Col.3:1-3)

Taking Sides With God Against Ourselves

“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good” (Romans 7:15-16)

Paul says, “For what I would, that I do not.” That word “would” in this verse means to “choose and determine.” What Paul is saying is this, “What I want to do, desire to do, what I would choose, determine and prefer to do, I don’t do! Paul adds further, “But what I hate, that do I.” Paul is saying, “I want to do what’s right.” “I would prefer to do what’s right.” “In my mind, I choose and determine to do what’s right.” BUT I DON’T DO IT, and I HATE IT THAT I DON’T!

Paul continues and says, “If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.” It is here that Paul takes sides with the law of God. Paul condemns his evil. Paul mourns his transgressions. He consents that the law is good, and that God is right! Let me give you an illustration. If a man commits a crime and the law finds him guilty, he is judged by the law. He is found guilty according to the justice of the law. He is sentenced according to the parameters of the law. His condemnation, according to the law, results in him being put behind bars. Will that condemned man dare say that the law is the reason that he is incarcerated? It isn’t the law that put him there, it is his offence, his crime, and his sin that did.

The law of God is good. God is right and just. Aren’t you glad that Christ died the “JUST” for the “unjust,” to bring you to God? Do you see that it is YOUR sin that condemns you before God? It is then that the saved sinner will do as Paul did. He will take sides with God against himself and plead and beg for His mercy.

– David Eddmenson

“ We better praise God that He saves ANY than charge Him with injustice because He saves so few.”