Articles

Bulletin - April 24, 2022

Hymn of the Day

(tune: "O, Worship the King, pg. 1)

 

Though troubles assail, and dangers affright;

Though friends should all fail, and foes all unite;

Yet one thing secures us whatever betide,

The Scriptures assure us THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!

 

The birds without barn, or storehouse are fed,

From them let us learn, to trust for our bread;

God's saints, what is fitting, shall ne'er be denied,

So long as 'tis written, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!

 

No strength of our own, nor goodness we claim,

Yet since we have known, the Savior's great Name;

In this our strong tower for safety we hide,

The Lord is our power, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!

 

When life sinks apace, and death is in view;

The word of His grace shall lead us safe through.

No fearing or doubting with Christ by our side,

We hope to die shouting, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!

 

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Today’s Hymns

Alas and Did My Savior Bleed? - #110 ~ Jesus Paid It All - #125 Blessed Redeemer - #112

 

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Special Dates:

Cindy Hasche – 20 ~ Jake Van Der Brink – 21

James Koedam – 23 ~ Zach Drenth – 23

Helen Vlastuin – 28 ~ Kylee Riebeling - 30

 

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But the LORD is in His holy temple:

let all the earth keep silence before Him. -Habakkuk. 2:20.

 

There is an arresting truth set forth in this verse: The omnipresent LORD is His holy temple, in heaven (Psalm 11:4). There, He reigns, and none can stay His hand (Daniel 4:35). Knowing then that His counsel shall stand (Proverbs 19:21), that He has mercy and compassion on whomsoever He will (Exodus 33:19), and knowing that He shall judge the earth in righteousness (Psalm 9:8), “Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” And by the grace of God, there are some plucked from the bondage of sin and unbelief who are silent before Him - silent in reverential submission and subjection unto Him, in Christ Jesus the Lord. -Marvin Stalnaker

 

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So great is the depravity of unregenerate man that, although there is nothing that he needs more than the Gospel, there is nothing that he desires less.   -Milton Howard

 

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For the love of Christ constraineth us. ~2 Corinthians 5:14

 

Love cannot be forced. No man was ever frightened into love, and, therefore, no man was ever frightened into holiness. But thrice blessed be God! He has invented a way more powerful than hell and all its terrors, an argument mightier far than even a sight of those torments. He has invented a way of drawing us to obedience. By showing us the love of His son, He calls forth our love and obedience. He knew our frame; He remembers that we are dust; He knew all the peculiarities of our treacherous hearts, and therefore, he suited His way of sanctifying to the creature who is to be sanctified. Thus, the Spirit does not make use of legal terror to sanctify us, but of love: "The love of Christ constraineth us." he draws us by the "cords of a man, with bands of love," (Hosea.11:4). What parent does not know that the true way to gain the obedience of a child is to gain the affections of the child? And do you think that God, who gave us this wisdom, does not Himself know? Do you think He would set about obtaining the obedience of His children without first of all gaining their affections? To gain our affections that, by nature, rove over the face of the world and center anywhere but in Him, God has sent His Son into the world to bear the curse of our sins. "Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Cor.8:9).    -Robert Murray McCheyne

 

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Faith is a secondary thing compared to Christ. We must have faith to be as the finger with which we touch the hem of the Master’s garment, but the finger does not work the cure. Shall I refuse to touch because I have not washed my finger clean, or it has no gold ring on it? To attach so much importance to the finger as to refuse to touch Christ’s garment with it would be insanity. Do not mind your finger; touch the garment’s hem! Get to Christ somehow, anyhow, for if you get to Him you shall live. It is not the greatness nor the perfection of your faith, it is His greatness and His perfection which is to be depended on.   -C.H. Spurgeon

 

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The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Psalm 111.10

 

Once Job and his three friends had spoken, they were rebuked by Elihu and then by God, Himself. The essence of Elihu’s and God’s response to all that had been said by Job and his three friends is this: God is the Maker and Sovereign Sustainer of all things. Powers beyond your imagination are at His beck and call. Who are you?

 

There is no fault in man that cannot be traced back to his lack of reverence or “the fear of the Lord.” Paul concluded his prosecution of all mankind with, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” In some, this lack of the fear of God results in outright atheism; in others, it results in a form of religion in which the works and/or will of men are the deciding factor in their eternal condition. Some would say that the pride of man is the source of all sin and error, and they would be correct in saying that. But we can go back even one more step, for the pride of man arises only in a heart that is devoid of the fear of the Lord.

 

No amount of intellectual, theological training can give a man the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom, not the end of it. Only God can teach the fear of God. And I believe that His classroom for all His lessons on this subject is the cross of Christ. Wherever this lesson is God-taught, mouths are shut, hearts are subdued, wills are broken, knees are bowed, and repentance and faith flow freely.  And the answer to, “Who are you?” is “I am nobody; Christ is all.”  -Joe