Central Bulletin, 8-24-14

Central Grace Church

3596 Franklin Street . Rocky Mount, Virginia

August 24^th, 2014

Today’s Services:

9:30 am ......................................................................................Unbelief and The Fear of Man -- Genesis 26:1-12

10:00 am .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... . Not One Little One Shall Perish -- Matthew 18:11-14

*** Our sincere sympathy and prayers are for Magaret Torrence and family, whose mother, Wilda Stone, passed away Tuesday. She was 88 years old.

Birthdays: AUGUST: 31^st -- Roberta Sword & Betty Hodges,

SEPTEMBER: 7^th-- Mindy Mahan (55), Mac Torrence (55)

Church Cleaning: This Week: Mahans

Nursery Today: 1^stService - Irene , 2^nd Service - Jennifer (Polly - alternate) Wednesday: Melanie

Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth… Psalm 39:5

Hold up your hand. Note the space across your four fingers. That is a handbreadth. God has made your days as short as your four fingers are broad. If you are a young person then that may not have much impact on you. While young we anticipate many things for which we must wait. It makes time seem to pass slowly. But think of the summer break, in between school classes, when you want time to last forever. In the blink of an eye summer is over. Your life is that summer break. In a moment, your life will be over—“and after this the judgment.” (Heb 9: 27)

Therefore, God tells you to take advantage of the time. (Eph 5: 16) Take advantage of the time by seriously seeking the truth of God’s salvation for sinners which is only by the doing and dying of Christ Jesus the Lord. The only way God will receive you is if you confess to God that you are a sinner deserving of God’s eternal wrath, turn from looking to you and your works, and believe Christ his Son has done everything necessary to justify you from your sins, to make you the righteousness of God, so that Christ is your only acceptance with holy God.

Does the thought cross your mind that these are things that you can put off till another day? Be sure you understand. Time is so short—your time is so short—that God commands you not even to depend upon tomorrow. God says, “Now, is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor 6: 2) God speaks of an hour when there shall be a great earthquake, when the sun shall become black, when the moon shall become red as blood, when the stars shall fall from heaven, when the heavens shall depart like a scroll, when every mountain and island shall be moved out of their places. God tells us the fear that will befall every person who is not resting in Christ in that day. He says when that time comes the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, every bound man and every free man, shall hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. They shall say to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev 6: 12-17)

What if this hour is that appointed time? Does Christ know you? Does Christ know you so as to represent you faultless to that Judge who will by no means clear the guilty? If not, then do not waste another second.

Hear the word of the LORD. Know how open God’s arms are. God says, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Is 55: 6-8)

The simple truth is: heed this word of God and you shall be saved; ignore this word of God and you shall be eternally and justly damned for all eternity! If you heed this word no one receives glory but God; if you ignore this word no one receives blame but you. Time is of the essence. Will you waste the precious seconds God has given you? No man can answer that question but you.

-- Clay Curtis, Princeton, NJ

This Do In Remembrance Of Me

The Lord gave His disciples a simple supper to remember Him by. The elements of the Lord's table represent His crucified body and shed blood for the remission of the sins of His people. The elements do not become the body and blood of Christ (as the catholic mass says), but simply represent His body and blood. Simple bread and wine which we eat and drink. The elements are taken into our inner being as a type of how the believer hungers and thirsts for Christ, needs Christ, believes Christ, receives Christ by faith in his heart, and becomes one with Him. The supper is a very personal thing; no one is to feed you the bread and wine (as so-called catholic priests do); but you are to eat it and drink it yourself. Salvation is not ministered to us by anyone except the Lord Himself; Who makes us hungry, thirsty, poor and in need of Him; willingly, thankfully, joyfully taking the salvation He gives us. The table takes some preparation, as do our hearts to worship. The bread is made, broken and eaten. The wine is made, poured and drunk. And then it is gone, soon forgotten, and must be prepared and eaten, again and again. We must feed upon our Lord daily. We must come to Him again and again. And we must partake of this table again and again. Sin and the world distract us and make us forget, thus the need for the command to "do this in remembrance of Him".