December 13^th - 2020

9:30 am--------------------The Kingdom of God, Like Mustard Seed/Tree – Luke 13:18-19

10:00 am ---------------------------------Christ In You, The Hope of Glory – Colossians 1:27

Men . . . for over 30 years now the men of this church have been meeting in the study every Wednesday night before service to read God’s Word and pray for His blessing upon our gathering. I encourage every man to meet with us. You do not have to be a reader or lead in prayer but you will be a helper in asking the Lord’s blessing and presence. Come join us.

The Door -- “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.” John 10:7

I love how the Lord always teaches His people through things that they can understand. We all know what a door is. It is a way of access. It is a way of entrance. A door is used to let someone in. A door is the means to keep some in and shut others out. How beautiful a ‘door’ illustrates who and what Christ is to the believing sinner. Christ is not just ‘a door,’ He is ‘the door.’ There is no other door. He is the only door. “There is only one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Christ is the door of the sheep. He is not the door for goats. He is not the door for the whole world. He is the only access that the sheep have to God. He said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved…” We can only enter in “by Him.” (John 10:9) Sinners cannot enter of themselves; they are dead in trespasses and sin and are totally helpless. There is no spiritual life apart from “entering in” through Christ the Door. Christ doesn’t just show us the way; He is the Way that leads to life. Christ doesn’t just teach us the truth; He is the Truth. Christ not only gives us life; He is the Life. Did He not say, “No man cometh to the Father but by me?” (John 14:6) Christ is the door of the sheep, and all His sheep will enter in and be saved. – Gabe Stalnaker

What Makes For Good Preaching?

What is it that makes a sermon or message to be a good one, a blessing, profitable and enjoyable to the hearers?

There are many things to consider in this thing of preaching. Certainly the principle thing (One) required for the message to be blessed of God is the Spirit of God. He must bless God’s Word to the preacher and people alike. God’s Spirit must reveal the Word, He must apply the Word, He must use the Word as a sword in the hearts of the preacher and hearer alike. Without Him we will get nothing from the preached Word. That is why we desperately need to pray for His presence in the preaching services. And certainly the preaching must be from the Word of God (It is the only thing God uses and blesses). “Preach the Word”, was the charge of the old apostle to the young preacher Timothy. And if it is Holy Spirit blessed preaching from the Word of God, it will most assuredly be the Gospel of the Glory of God, the Person and work of God’s Son, and will convict us of our sins and point us to Christ. A preacher once said, “It is always a good message if God is Glorified, man is humbled, and Christ exalted.” And let me give you this one key ingredient that makes for good preaching, or makes preaching good . . . HUNGER!

Years ago a dear sister came to the study with some food for my lunch. One thing she brought me was a bowl of cucumbers. Now, I never had liked cucumbers before. I’d heard others rave about them, but I never did care for them. Well, while the rest of the food was warming in the microwave; because I was so hungry I decided to try those cucumbers. Lo, and behold . . . I loved them! I ate them all! What made the cucumbers good to me was hunger. Hunger made something that normally didn’t appeal to me, to be very good indeed. It is the same with preaching. One who has no hunger for the Word will not come to hear It. But those who do are blessed and shall be filled. “Blessed are they that do hunger . . . they shall be filled” (Mt.5:6). “Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it” (Ps.81:10).

I remember as a young believer, hearing many sermons and reading many sermons and books by gospel preachers, and nearly everything I heard and read blessed me. If the preacher or author just said, ‘Mercy’ or ‘Grace’, or ‘God Reigns’ . . . if Christ was exalted, I rejoiced and thought it was the best sermon or book ever. Why? . . . Because I was hungry for Truth! As our Lord said, we need to hear the Word ‘as a little child.’

May the Lord give us all that hunger and thirst for the ‘sincere milk of the Word.’ It may be that the message will be the best you’ve ever tasted, and you might think the preacher to be a better preacher than you thought.

“The Gospel is the clear manifestation of the mystery of Christ.” – John Calvin

“Faith is the marriage of the soul to Christ.” – Richard Sibbes

“Faith is reason at rest in God.” – Charles Spurgeon