Ascension Presbyterian Lord's Day Worship

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We don't usually do announcements, but I wanted to first off say I know there are many guests coming today and we want you to know that we are very glad that you're here and I want you to feel absolutely comfortable and relaxed that you're here with us.
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You are guests and you're honored among us We're very thankful that you're here with us There are certain elements of liturgy that may seem foreign to you
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Please just follow along for instructions about the Lord's Supper. Those are given on the back of the bulletin
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If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are welcome to come and partake with us
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If you are unsure of that, you should not come if your family is
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Uncomfortable because your members of another church coming we understand that you're welcome to stay Dad will serve you over there.
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Is that okay? For here mark, we're gonna serve him because of his issue if anybody has any other special needs, please
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Let us know. Okay Let's take a moment and prepare our hearts for this great day of worship
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Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ Welcome to the corporate worship of our great
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God, please stand Brethren, you have come to Mount Zion in The city of the
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Living God the heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels to the
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General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn who are registered in heaven to God the judge of all to the spirits of just men made perfect to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant
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Into the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel Come now, let us come into his presence and worship him.
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Please pray with me father son and Holy Spirit We your people
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Hearken and hear and come when you call us. We are Delighted to come into your presence.
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Oh Lord We pray that our worship would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight
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And though we are frail and feeble in our efforts We have a great mediator the
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Lord Jesus Christ We know that our worship is acceptable because of him and in this we rejoice.
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Oh Lord Strengthen and bless your people today. We pray in Jesus name Amen, as you are able, please kneel for the corporate confession of sin
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Let us now confess our sins in unison Almighty Father God of gods and Lord of lords
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Our sins to Jesus death and amend our ways by the power of your
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Lord's Resurrection Please stand What is utterly lost in our time is a sense of the majesty and holiness of God and We have come into the presence of a holy
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God. So we are obligated to confess our sins But instead of shrieking away and running out the door
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We have boldness because we have Christ and we have salvation in him If you be in Christ take great heart today, your sins are forgiven receive this the assurance of pardon
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Seek the Lord while he may be found Call upon him while he is near Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts
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Let him return to the Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our
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God for he will abundantly pardon For my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways my way says the
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Lord For as the heavens are higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts
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Than your thoughts Oh people of God take heart today if you be in Christ, your sins are forgiven.
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Amen Let us respond with great joyful singing and number 32 take up the red hem.
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No and let us sing together Great is thy faithfulness number 32
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Please remain standing for the reading of the word from the book of Revelation and chapter 12
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Revelation 12 Now a great sign appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the
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Sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a garland of 12 stars then being with child she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth and Another sign appeared in heaven
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Behold a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth and The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born
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She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron
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And her child was caught up to God and his throne Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1 ,260 days and War broke out in heaven
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Michael and his angels fought with a dragon and the dragon and his angels fought but they did not prevail
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Nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer So the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world
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He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now
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Salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our
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God day and night has been cast down and They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to death
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Therefore rejoice so heavens and you who dwell in them Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down to you having great wrath
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Because he knows that he has a short time Now when the dragon saw that he has he had been cast to the earth
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He persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child But the woman was given two wings of great of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place
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Where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time From the presence of the serpent
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So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood
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But the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth and The dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring
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Who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ? This is the word of the
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Lord We are a local church we are a
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Presbyterian Church But we are part of the larger body of Christ and that includes people who are not part of our denomination
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People who have lived in the past and Christians who will live in the future Therefore we sing together the
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Apostles Creed. Let us begin I believe in God the
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Almighty, in Jesus Christ, his only begotten
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Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, for I believe in the
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Holy Spirit. I believe in the Holy Catholic Church.
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Please be seated many of you have come here today for this purpose to witness the covenant baptism of Calvin Jacob Breno and We rejoice in this great occasion.
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I have a similar formula that I follow In baptisms today, there is a minor departure only for the purpose of instruction and teaching our
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Westminster standards have great things to say about the sacrament and Covenant baptism in particular.
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So I want to review a couple of those things and in just a moment We're going to invite the Brenos to the front.
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The first question to be answered is what is a sacrament a
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Sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his church
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To signify seal and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant of grace the benefits of his mediation to strengthen and increase their faith and all other graces to oblige them to obedience to testify and cherish their love and Communion with one another
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What are the parts of the sacrament well, there are two the one an outward and sensible sign
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Used according to Christ's own appointment the other and inward in spiritual grace thereby signified
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The outward sign today in baptism is the water How many sacraments have
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Christ instituted in his church in the New Testament Under the New Testament Christ have instituted in his church only two sacraments
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Baptism and the Lord's Supper We celebrate the Lord's Supper here every week and this week both sacraments will be administered.
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It's a great day for us Well question 165 is what is baptism?
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Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament Wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water in the name of the
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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit to be a sign and seal of ingrafting into himself of remission of sins by his blood and regeneration by his spirit of adoption and resurrection unto everlasting life and whereby the parties baptized are solemnly admitted into the visible church and enter into an open and professed engagement to hope be holy and only the
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Lord's Today in an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness in the keeping of his promises
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Callan Jacob Breno is running into the ark of Jesus Christ He's coming into the church
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He could not himself come in. He could not stand to be baptized and isn't this a beautiful picture of the gospel we passively
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Receive the grace of God and then we act in response to his gracious dealings with us.
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Even our faith is A gift of God. So the baptism of babies is a beautiful picture of the gospel
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Who is baptism to be administered unto Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church
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And so strangers from the covenant of promise till they profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him but infants
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Descending from parents either both or but one of them Professing faith in Christ in obedience to him are in that respect within the covenant and to be baptized
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The vast majority of you have been baptized and today I'm going to ask you to improve upon your baptism
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You can say well, how do we do that? Well our Standards have some guidance for you. So this isn't just for Callan There is a another covenant renewal today for us in baptism.
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We remember our baptisms How is our baptism to be proved improved by us?
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the needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism is to be performed by us all our lifelong especially in the time of temptation and when we are present at the administration of it to others and that's where you are today, but By serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it
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And of the ends for which Christ instituted it the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby and our own solemn vowed made therein by being humbled for our sinful defilement are falling short of and walking contrary to the grace of baptism in our
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Engagements by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin and all the other blessings sealed to us in the sacrament
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By drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ Into whom we are baptized for the mortifying of sin and the quickening of grace and by endeavoring to live by faith to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness as those that have therein given up their names to Christ And to walk in brotherly love
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As being baptized by the same Spirit into one body
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Please pray with me now. Oh Lord, I pray for your
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Blessing upon this joyous hour. I Pray O Lord that Callan Jacob Breno a
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Firstborn son who opened his mother's womb Would be consecrated for your service all the days of his life
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That he would bear much fruit in his kingdom service to you
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That he'd be a blessing to his parents that he would be a gift and an encouragement to the church and That even now
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Lord you'd be preparing him to be a Great husband and father that his children and his children after him would keep covenant as his parents
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Have on this day We ask all this in Jesus name
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Amen, I wanted to bring to mind one simple, but very powerful verse of Scripture that I'm gonna ask
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The Brenos to come up in Acts chapter 2 verse 39
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Peter says For the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are far off as Many as the
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Lord our God will call Brethren, I can attest today
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That the Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy and his grace has kept his covenant promises to me into my family
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My son Jacob has married in the Lord He and his wife walk in faith
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We have every confidence that Callan too will follow the example of his parents to be faithful followers
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Of Jesus Christ, so we joyfully Invite them to come and when I asked pastor Carly to come come on this side of the rail be careful on the steps
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Let us do this Congregation you have within your bulletin a list of vows your child's need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and The renewing grace of the
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Holy Spirit Do you do you trust in God's covenant promises on their behalf?
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And do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation as you do your own?
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Do you unreservedly Dedicate your child to God and promise and humble reliance upon divine grace
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That you will endeavor to set before them Christ and his gospel
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Provide a godly example that you will pray with and for them and that you will teach
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Callan the doctrines of your holy faith and that you will strive by all the means of God's appointment
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To bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Do you?
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congregation members of the We have Duties and responsibilities
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We have to uphold our side We have to support these parents and this child in the nurture and admonition of the
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Lord congregation of Ascension Presbyterian Church Do you as a church both?
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Her body undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child
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Jacob what is the Christian name of this child? Callan Jacob Reneau I baptize you in the name of the
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Father and of the Son and of the
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Holy Spirit Amen Brother Mark, would you please pray a prayer?
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Let us pray Our gracious God and Father we thank you for your covenantal faithfulness that we here are witnessing a natural bud on the olive tree
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Praising you almighty God for your sovereign grace in Jesus Christ Praying that the
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Lord will guide and protect this child That he will grow daily in the love and knowledge of Christ that he will serve
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God all his life and days For his glory and that he his parents rather will show wisdom
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Discernment and diligence as they seek to rear him in the nurture and admonition of the
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Lord that he will be He will live so as to be a credit to his family and church
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We ask all these things trusting in the one who has begun this good work in him
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For we ask in his glorious name the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen Please take up the hymnal and turn to number 467
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I'm gonna ask you to stand now as we sing the wonderful grace of Jesus 467
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Please make preparations now for the prayers of the people our
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People generally kneel in this time if you're unable to do that or not comfortable of that, it's fine after this manner therefore pray
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Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and Lead us not into temptation
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But deliver us for evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
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Pray that we may glorify God and all that we do as We live and work in the creation that displays his power
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And be pleased to dispose all things to his own glory Pray Pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced
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Ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it and the kingdom of glory hastened
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Pray that God for Christ's sake would freely pardon all our sins
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We are encouraged to ask this because by his grace we are able from the heart to forgive others
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Pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin or support and deliver us when we are tempted
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Our Father taking encouragement and prayer from you alone in our prayers
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We praise you ascribing kingdom power and glory to you and to testify of our desire and assurance
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To be heard we say together Please stand for the singing of the psalm of the month
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Inside your bulletin. It says be gracious unto me. Oh God. This is the psalm of the month for the month of February for us
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Just a moment now. Let us begin Please remain standing for the reading of the word from 2nd
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Corinthians chapter 5 This is
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God's authoritative Sufficient inerrant and infallible word 2nd
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Corinthians chapter 5 For we know that if our earthly house this tent is destroyed
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We have a building from God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens
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For in this we grown earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from heaven if Indeed having been clothed
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We shall not be found naked For we who are in this tent grown
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Being burdened not because we want to be unclothed but further clothed
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That mortality may be swallowed up by life Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is
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God Who also has given us the spirit as a guarantee?
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So we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the
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Lord For we walk by faith and not by sight We are confident
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Lord Therefore we make it our aim whether present or absent to be well -pleasing to him
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I want you to pay closer attention now because this verse figures prominently into the message
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For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ That each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad
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Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men but we are well known to God and I also trust our well -known in your consciences
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For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf
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That you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart
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For if we are beside ourselves it is for God Or if we are of sound mind, it's for you
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For the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus That if one died for all then all died and he died for all that those who live
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Should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again
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Therefore from now on we will regard no one according to the flesh Even though we have known
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Christ according to the flesh yet. We have known him thus no longer
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Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away
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Behold, all things have become new now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and Has given us the ministry of reconciliation
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That is that God was in Christ Reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses to them
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And has committed to us the word of reconciliation Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as Though God were pleading through us.
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We implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us
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That we might become the righteousness of God in him. Please pray with me now
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Oh Lord, we thank you for this great day We ask
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Oh Holy Spirit that you would illumine our understanding That you would turn
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Sinners back to yourself both believing today the ones who believe already and unbelieving that we might enjoy and bask and revel in the
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Reconciliation that you have supplied in our Lord Jesus Christ We ask this all in his name.
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Amen. Please be seated Chapter 5 would require about five to seven sermons to cover it
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So we're not going to be covering all of that material And I'd like us to focus on just one idea
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There are many precious jewels That we could examine in the treasury of Christ One of them is
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Reconciliation to God If you could imagine that I had a bag of diamonds in a black
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Velvet arrangement and I and I pulled one of those Diamonds up and and picked it up and held it before you and held it up to the light
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There are three questions that I'd like to answer at least partially The first is very basically what is
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Reconciliation the second would be how are we reconciled to God?
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And the third would be what should we do as those who have been reconciled
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The first thing I'd like us to consider today are a couple of certainties
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I Have in my life Experience as you know some death because a friend of mine has recently died with his two children
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I heard from a lady on Friday of a young man in his 40s Who was never sick who got sick and was dead within a couple of days wife and young children
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Death is Certain Death is coming for us
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We are going to die we have no promise of tomorrow any of us
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There is a certainty of death. It is coming That should give us some pause and live and a sober
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Circumspect life about the time that we have for the Lord here But the second thing that's outlined and it's touched on in our text today.
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That's that's really halting It is a terror to consider is that we are all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ there is a certainty of death and a certainty of judgment the third thing to consider is the certainty of Eternity After church asked my son
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Jameson about eternity. He'll give you a good answer about and explain it very well. I joke because Who can put their arms around?
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eternity We live but a short time. We've learned recently that life is but a vapor and James Death is certain
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Judgment is certain Eternity every one of us in our hearts.
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It's it's ingrained in who we are in the created order of things We know the little babies know there is an eternity.
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God has written it on our hearts The most compelling and burning question is how can
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I escape the judgment of God? How can
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I? face eternity How can I look at death and smile because of what's on the other side of that event?
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of death We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ brethren this book
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Is God's Holy Word and it's funny the the God that is revealed in this book and this
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God alone is the The God that the atheists do not believe in I think that's very interesting
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They're okay with the other gods This is the God that they are so adamant about not believing in And one of the reasons for that is in their natural mind
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They know there is accountability for everything that happens on this earth
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Children you get away with transgressing The law of your parents
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My mother and dad are here and they don't know all the bad things that I did And I hear reports.
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My children have done lots of bad things that we didn't know about But the scrolls are laid open our
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God keeps perfect records and all of our lives Our thoughts our actions our inactions all of them are well documented
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He knows it all One of the things that happens when people
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Come to church who are not part of church. They think that we're looking down on them and we're judging them
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I have news for you The people of God of all people know the desperate nature of their condition
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We are a bunch of sinners The only difference between us and you if you're unbelieving is that we have run to the
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Lord Jesus Christ for salvation That is it That's the difference now
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We hopefully are walking in newness of life, but there's no difference between us for all have sinned the scripture says short of the glory of God Jew Gentile black white woman man child
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Sinners Our first parents in the garden
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This is very important You may not like the economy of God you've already seen it.
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There's There's a representative nature. There's a federal covenant federalism in our
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God and his dealings with people and you and I our Our sinfulness is tied to our first father
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Adam And Adam fell in the garden and you have that working against you and I have that working against me
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And then you couple that with all of our actual transgressions That we have to take responsibility where we have ourselves committed these sins
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How can we escape? the righteous judge knows
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Well Today all of you. I want you to pay close attention And I want you to have one word
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Bouncing around in your head for the rest of today and I hope the Lord brings it to remembrance many days into the future
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One word alone. The whole of the message is this reconciliation
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I want Reconciliation to be the thought the only thought you take away from us.
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So the first question that has to be answered is what is Reconciliation I have a couple of definitions somewhere
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Reconciliation is the act of Reconciling parties at variance the parties at variance before us are
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The triune God the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit their perfect holiness and righteousness the perfect Objective standard of the law of God as revealed in Scripture in us
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To reconcile in the Greek literal sense is to call back into union
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You and I were created for communion with God so the reconciliation that has to happen has to Reunite us to God that we might commune with him.
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This is the very purpose for which we were created this is a
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Reconciliation that creates a calling back into this union and friendship those affections which have been alienated to restore to us friendship or favor after this estrangement and to reconcile men or parties that have been at variance
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The Romans chapter 5 it says therefore justice through one man
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This is referring to Adam that representation is very important if there's going to be
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Reconciliation there has to be a representation You're not going to be able to do this on your own.
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You have to have a representative Adam our first father every one of us our first parents
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Adam fell into sin and sin entered the world and Death was introduced in the world through sin and Death spread to all men the certainty of death
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Is caused by Adam's sin The reason we struggle to labor and to get along It's so funny all of the societal ills are because of sin
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Which politician ever talks about that? Every problem in your marriage and your family and in this community in this nation is attributable to sin
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Don't ever talk about it later in that same chapter.
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It says Adam Who is a type of him referring to Christ who was to come?
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Christ brings something a free gift It's not like the offense
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For this is the language of Scripture if by one man's offense many died
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Much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man
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Jesus Christ abounded to many Therefore as through one man's offense judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation
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Even so through one man's righteous act The free gift came to all men
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Resulting in justification of life Now listen carefully children
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For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners Here it is
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So also by one man's obedience Many will be made righteous
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We are dead in Adam But we can be alive in Christ God has set up a system of representation and we have a glorious representative the
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Lord Jesus Christ to take away our sins Go back to our text now and want to skip down to the latter portion of the chapter so encouragement for you who are in Christ today some things for you to to hang on to If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation
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How wonderful it is that the creator of all things can refashion and remake the crowning achievement of his created order man
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If you are in Christ, there has been an entire renovation of your life
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Imperfectly as it may be applied to bring at peace those who were at odds
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And if you're a Christian He has given us the ministry of reconciliation
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We have the obligation to tell every man woman and child about this glorious salvation in Christ Many years ago.
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There was a guy who had a job and he was the town crier
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The town crier would run to the city square and he would say you've seen it on the movies here
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Hear ye and then give a message of some important news many times from the
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King The Church of Jesus Christ is the town crier to this lost world
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Hear ye hear ye Salvation has come in Christ Was that the with my family some of them?
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I don't know if all the kids were born. We went to a friend who was getting sworn in to the
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Supreme Court It's a great thing he can prosecute litigate cases before the
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Supreme Court and we went there and I saw a guy who actually the sergeant -at -arms for the
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House of Representatives And he does all the security and organizing for the Supreme Court justices and everyone else there in the
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Capitol at the State of the Union address He bursts for through the doors
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There's clamoring and there's talking all the senators and the Supreme Court justices the cabinet. They're all in in session
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They're all there the door bursts open and the sergeant -at -arms comes out and he says ladies and gentlemen the
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President of the United States and this is the grand entrance and the president comes in and the people clap the church is the town crier
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The church is the sergeant -at -arms We burst the doors open and say
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I present to you Ladies and gentlemen boys and girls the king of glory
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Who takes away the sins of the world? That's what we do
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We announce the good news of Jesus Christ We have been given this privilege that we can tell men women children boys and girls that They can be reconciled to God The question has to be asked
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How is this reconciliation accomplished look at verse 19? It says that God Was in Christ reconciling the world to himself
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Not imputing their trespasses to them Now this is a very powerful statement
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What's happened on the cross is this the king of glory an exemplary king
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He himself has gone to the front of the battle and he has vanquished the enemies of sin and death and Satan and He there on the cross
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Reconciles the world to himself taking on the sins of all who would believe in him
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You see God's justice must be executed remember all those sins I told you He knows them all there's going to be an accounting for them.
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This is the most loving message there in the world It's funny that we're called the most intolerant and all those things.
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We have the most loving message in the world is that God reconciles sinners to himself in Christ You don't clean your life up Christ cleans your life up He does it out of his love and his mercy and grace we contribute nothing he does it to the church he's committed this word of Reconciliation verse 21 said this is how it's accomplished
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He made him Who knew no sin? To be sin for us
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That we might become the righteousness of God and him The sinner comes to Christ clothed in filthy rags
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Inwardly and outwardly he is profane and unholy And Christ there says come here my child and let me clothe you in my righteousness
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Come here my child and let me take away all of your sin
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Come here my child come into my arms. Come be a part of my body.
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I take you to be my bride This is how men
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Women and children are reconciled to God. Well church if we are to be
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Sergeant -at -arms in the King's army and if we are the town crier then verse 20 is very important to us and We have to recognize that we are ambassadors for Christ We have to live in such a way that our our life reflects this ambassadorship
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We speak on behalf of the king and our message is simple And it's oh
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Paul says God we're pleading through us we implore you today I implore you if you'd be not a believer in the
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Lord Jesus Christ be reconciled to God Come to Christ now be reconciled to him.
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Your sins will be paid for you will be washed It's either true or it's not.
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I Don't like this as a line of reasoning, but I want to appeal to something for you
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I don't know why I felt led to do this, but I feel I feel led If I'm wrong about this
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I've wasted some time, but I've had a really wonderful life If I'm wrong, there's no way
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I'm wrong, but if I was wrong if You're wrong about this
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The certainty of death the certainty of judgment the certainty of eternity
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That's a costly mistake That is a willfully ignorant and even rebellious
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Tragedy that you would reject this salvation How will we escape?
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If we neglect so great a salvation Of how much sorer punishment suppose you shall he be thought worthy
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Was trodden underfoot the Son of God And has counted the blood of the
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Covenant Wherein with he was sanctified and unholy thing
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For we know that he has said vengeance belongs unto me
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I will recompense saith the Lord the Lord shall judge his people It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
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Living God Hebrews chapter 10 Now I want to take you back one verse
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We'll close here this question of reconciliation.
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How does it work verse 10? For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ Now what you may not know
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You may know about the man Jesus Christ, but do you know that he is the
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Creator God himself? Do you know that he is the righteous judge?
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So we're appearing before the judgment seat of the one who came to rescue humanity from its sin and its death
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How are we reconciled to God when you get there if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you smile and you rejoice
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And you say I've been reconciled to God because of you You are the righteous judge you have decided to take away all of my sin therefore
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I can come and stand in your judgment because you have taken the guilt of my sin
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I Don't know about you, but I would not want to go into eternity unsure about where I stood regarding my sin
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I Don't know if you've ever seen a defendant tried to defend himself in court
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But he looks like an idiot He needs an advocate
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He needs a mediator. He needs a Savior and you and I if we believe in Christ we enter into the presence of God in judgment and we smile because Christ has done it
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He's reconciled us to God and therefore we can be reconciled to everyone and everything else in this world
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I implore you if you do not know Jesus Christ Believe on him today
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That you might be reconciled to God Reconciliation is possible forgiveness is possible
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It's only found in him What glorious news we have to share
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Church Take this news out into the streets of Longwood into your neighborhood into your workplace and tell everyone
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The best news that have ever been cried about or heralded in this world that Jesus Christ came in the world to reconcile sinners
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Amen Let's pray together Lord we thank you for a simple message
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We thank you for the reconciliation we enjoy in Christ And oh
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Lord, I pray that you would move in the hearts of those who do not know you And they would see the beauty and the love and the winsomeness of your gospel and they would come running
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Take delight to be a part of your family. Oh Lord. We asked you to move and to grant this gift
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Lord we ask that you would make the church take serious their Need to be ambassadors to wear the proper attire of Christ's righteousness and tell the truth
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To the world about sin and salvation in Christ. Oh Lord. Help us in these things.
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We pray in Jesus name Let's continue our worship through the presentation of our tithes and offerings.
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Please stand and let us pray our gracious God and Father From the moment that we came into this worship service really from the moment of the beginning of our lives even to this day
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Have been a testimony to your faithfulness You have promised to meet all of our needs and as we have just heard preached even our greatest need and now father we are thankful that you have given us in our worship service an
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Opportunity to return that Back a portion of what you have given us
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That as you have faithfully met our needs and and more that you have blessed us beyond measure that our cup indeed
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Overflows we pray father that we have given cheerfully We pray dear
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Lord that those entrusted with the care of these gifts would administer it Practically according to your word for the benefit of this local congregation and your people
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And we pray all these things in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord Amen Let us glorify our great
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God in the singing of the Gloria Patria The Lord be with you
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Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the
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Lord It is right and a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places
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Give thanks to you. Oh, holy Lord father almighty everlasting
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God Because you sent your beloved son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life
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That when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world
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We may without shame or fear Rejoice to behold his appearing
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Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we praise and magnify your glorious name
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Evermore praising you in singing. Amen.
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Please be seated We are about to come to the table. And before we pray,
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I just wanted to make reference to something every true church
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The elders of those churches are commanded to do certain things.
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One is the faithful preaching of God's Word Also, we are to do the faithful administration of church discipline
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But also the faithful administration of the sacraments part of that faithful administration is to ensure that the recipients of those sacraments are
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In accordance with God's Word I Know we have many visitors here today, and I would like to call your attention to the back of the order of service
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The communion meal is one that shows the unity of God's people
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But it is a covenantal meal It all it is for those who are covenant members
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On the back of the bulletin it references the Lord's Day observances. I Would like to encourage you all for a moment just to take a look at what it says here
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We welcome all those who are covenant members baptized members
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Those who are accountable members of a
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Bible believing evangelical church that can agree with the statement of faith noted below That are not under church discipline
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We would welcome all of you, but I wanted to remind you that this is indeed a covenant meal
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So as we approach the table and as we celebrate this time of our unity in Christ, please consider these words
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Let us pray Almighty God our
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Heavenly Father Who of your tender mercy gave your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption?
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Who made there by his one oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient sacrifice?
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oblation and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole world and it Institute and in his
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Holy Gospel Command us to continue a perpetual memory of that is precious death until his coming again
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Hear us Oh merciful father. We beseech you to grant that we receiving these creatures of bread and wine according to your son our
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Savior Jesus Christ Holy Institution in Remembrance of his death and passion may we be partakers of his most blessed body and blood
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We ask this in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord Amen In the night in which our
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Lord was betrayed He took bread And when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying hey eat
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This is my body which is broken for you Likewise after supper he took the cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to him saying drink this all of you
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This is the new covenant in my blood As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the
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Lord's death until he comes Therefore we proclaim the faith Let us pray together
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We do not presume to come to this your table. Oh merciful Lord Trusting in our own righteousness
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But in your manifold and great mercies We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs on your table
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But you are the same Lord who always shows mercy Grant us therefore gracious Lord So deep the flesh of your dear son
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Jesus Christ and the drink of his blood That our sinful bodies may be cleaned by his body and our souls washed through his most precious blood
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Christ our
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Passover was sacrificed for us the gifts of God for the people of God As We have been fed
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By the hearing and preaching of God's Word has as we have been fed at the table
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Let us now make this prayer of commitment together by praying Almighty and ever -living
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God Thank you for feeding us spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of your son our
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Savior Jesus Christ and For assuring us of these holy mysteries
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We are living members of the body of your son and heirs of your eternal kingdom
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And Oh Lord grant us this other benefit You will never allow us to forget these things
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But having them imprinted on our hearts may we grow and increase daily
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Faith which is at work in every good deed and now father send us out to do the work you have given us to do
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To love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord to him to you and to the
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Holy Spirit the honor and glory now and forever Amen, please stand.
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He's God from whom all blessings flow
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Raise him all creatures here below Raise him
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Receive now the blessing the Lord blessed you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you