(#043) 1 Corinthians 9 - The Lord Appreciates Congregations that Support Their Pastor Financially

If you're good at something never do it for free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!  

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  

 

Colossians, Chapter 3, Verse 16 says…

 

COLOSSIANS 3:16

Let the word of the Lord richly dwell within you…and with all this wisdom keep on teaching and counseling one another…and let psalms and hymns and spiritual songs come from within you, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God the Father.

 

Comfort comes to those believers in Christ who hear the Word of God and regard it as a foundational part of their lives.  God is not out to get us…He’s out to love us.  Welcome to the lesson!

 

At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God.  As the Lord He is 100% Deity…He is God the Son, a member of the Triune Godhead.  He is also 100% human just like you and me, and His name is Jesus Christ.  The Lord…God the Son…became flesh…Jesus Christ...and lived among us.  He is the uniquely born One…100% God and 100% man in one Person forever.  He is the Sovereign God of the Universe.  He is the Jewish Messiah.  The Lord was not sent by God the Father to judge the world, but that the world would be saved through Him.  He died on a Cross to make the ONLY perfect payment for sin in the eyes of God the Father through the shedding of His blood.  As a result of His strategic victory at the Cross, we are fully and forever forgiven of our sins. 

 

As those who make Barah Ministries our spiritual home, we are Christians.    Being a Christian means we believe in the DEITY of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with Him.  You heard it right…Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.  The Lord Jesus Christ is a Person … He is not a “thing” … and He is not a concept.  Just as we do with anyone whom we love, we spend time getting to know the Lord.  Since the Bible is His exact thinking, we come together to learn about Him through the study of His mind, the Word of God.

 

God has an enemy, Satan, “the ruler of this world.” He is a liar who deceives the whole world, including you.  He doesn’t want you to get to know God, and he interferes with your chance to know God. 

 

The Word of God is the truth…and it keeps us aware of Satan’s insidious deceptions.  As believers in Christ, we are in union with Christ, and we have the victory over Satan through our Lord, who has overcome the world. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Appreciates Congregations that Support Their Pastor Financially 

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

Believe it or not, being a Pastor is a job.  When people work in the secular world, they get paid a wage for their labor.  When people work in the spiritual world, many times there is not enough money to make a living.  For Pastors who can’t make a living from their pastoral work, they get second jobs to make ends meet.  I am such a Pastor.  The Lord provides abundantly in my consulting career.

 

Because being a Pastor is a sacrifice, and because it involves benevolence, the desire to help others, Satan inspires the thought that being a Pastor should be done free of charge.  The Lord does not agree.  As we continue our study of First Corinthians in Chapter 9, Paul uses Pastors as an example to teach how not exercising a right is a sign of maturity.  We looked at an overview of this part of the passage a couple of weeks ago…now we will study the passage verse-by-verse.

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

There are a lot of things God does for us that we refuse to do for ourselves.

Are you gracious with yourself when you make mistakes?  God is…check

Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 20 and 21 combined with Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 1 and 2…

 

ROMANS 5:20 

The Mosaic Law came in alongside sin so that the transgression (lawbreaking) would abound…but where sin (lawbreaking) abounded, God's grace overflowed all the more…

 

ROMANS 5:21 

…(the Lord provided grace abundantly in the presence of sin) so that, as sin reigned (as king) in spiritual death (our "in Adam" status at physical birth)…even so, through God's grace we believers in Christ would reign as kings through righteousness (our "in Christ" status at the spiritual birth) to eternal life (the resurrection life) through our union with Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

ROMANS 6:1 

What shall we believers in Christ say then (face-to-face with these things)? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?

 

ROMANS 6:2 

May it never be! How shall such ones as we believers in Christ...the children of a King…children who died to sin as an established fact at the moment of our salvation…still live in sin as if sin is still our master?

 

Don’t be silly!  We shall not!  Here’s Chris Tomlin telling the truth about our God in his song…YOUR GRACE IS ENOUGH!

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

YOUR GRACE IS ENOUGH

Chris Tomlin

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, thank you for the truth…thank you for allowing this COVID-19 farce so we can see just how true everything You say is…we are indeed living in a lost and dying world run by a tyrant…your enemy Satan…who is unfit to rule a free people…thank you for the deadness of this world right now which opens our eyes to all of the idols we employ in our lives to keep us out of touch with the spiritual realities in which we live…thank you for your patience in letting evil run its course so that it proves itself to be an unworthy alternative to the virtuous life of unconditional love You offer to all of us…

 

Father, show us how to have an amazing life during this slavery… the life of freedom You planned for us in eternity past…and help us to be a blessing to everyone we meet by spreading the truth of the gospel message…the truth concerning Your Son and our Lord Jesus Christ…the only real hope for the world…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Appreciates Congregations that Support Their Pastor Financially 

 

Thank you very much for doing as the Lord encourages congregations to do.  I appreciate your support!  As we begin today’s lesson, a few words of encouragement which are desperately needed in distressing times.  Let’s read from Luke, Chapter 16, Verses 19 to 31…

 

LUKE 16:19

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple (the color of royalty) and he habitually dressed in fine linen (expensive and elegant underwear)…joyously living in splendor every day.”

 

LUKE 16:20 

“And a poor man named Lazarus (a believer in Christ) was laying at the rich man’s gate, covered with sores (he was in bad health)…”

LUKE 16:21 

“…and Lazarus lay there longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table…besides, even the dogs were coming and licking Lazarus’s sores.” 

 

LUKE 16:22 

“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (in Paradise…in Hades…the place of residence for Old Testament believers before the Cross)…and the rich man also died and was buried (the fate of unbelievers…hell…Hades…the home of unbelievers before their Great White Throne Judgment).”

 

LUKE 16:23 

"In Hades, the rich man lifted up his eyes…being in torment (a place of constant and conscious torture)…and the rich man saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.” 

 

LUKE 16:24 

“And the rich man cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus (over here) so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue…for I am in agony in this flame.’” 

 

LUKE 16:25 

“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things (you had everything)…and likewise, Lazarus received bad things (he had nothing)…but now he is being comforted here…and you are in agony there.” 

 

LUKE 16:26 

“And besides all this, between us and you, there is a Great Chasm Fixed…so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able…and so that none may cross over from there to us.’” 

 

HADES SLIDE

 

LUKE 16:27 

“And the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, that you send Lazarus to my father’s house— ’ ” 

 

LUKE 16:28 

“‘…for I have five brothers—so that Lazarus may warn them…so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’” 

 

LUKE 16:29 

“But Abraham said, ‘They have (scripture from) Moses and the Prophets… let your brothers hear them.’” 

 

LUKE 16:30 

“But the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham…but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent (they’ll change their minds about having a relationship with Christ)!’” 

 

LUKE 16:31 

“But Abraham said to the rich man, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

 

Like Jesus.  Ahem!  Amen?  The rich man was just like the Pharisees.  Jesus said to the Pharisees and the Sadducees in Matthew, Chapter 16, Verse 4…

 

MATTHEW 16:4

"An evil and adulterous generation seek after a sign…and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And Jesus left them and went away.

 

The Pharisees claimed that a sign from heaven would be convincing when the biggest sign, standing in front of them, the Sovereign God of the Universe IN PERSON was not convincing.  Those who don’t believe Scripture won’t believe a sign.  The Pharisees ignored every sign Jesus performed.  For example, when Jesus raised another Lazarus from the dead, instead of convincing the Pharisees, it incited them to want to kill Jesus even more.

 

All at once, this story is sobering and comforting.

 

It is sobering because it is so real.  There are billions of people on this earth who do not have a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Eternity will not go well for them.  This global “farce-demic” has been sobering for people without a spiritual life.  They don’t know what to make out of what is going on.  

What the Lord asks of us is pretty easy.  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved from all of this.  Instead, we busy ourselves with meaningless things.  We lie to ourselves and we comfort ourselves with the thought that Jesus will bend the rules if we don’t believe in Him…but He won’t.  It wouldn’t be fair to those who believe.  

 

What the Lord asks of us in the scripture of the gospel message is easy to do.  The Pharisees were the powerful people of their day.  Today, there are rich and powerful people who think their wealth can buy anything.  But wealth can’t buy salvation.  Today’s global situation is making it obvious to those who are perplexed how important the spiritual life really is.

 

This is a  comforting time for those of us who have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are victorious forever!  We will go through the inconvenience of this world’s machinations…but we are not bothered at all because our eternal fate is glorious, and it is sealed.  Putting up with this world for eighty or ninety years is a small price for an eternity of spiritual wealth.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verses 16 to 18…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 4:16

Therefore, we believers in Christ do not lose heart, even though our outer man (the physical body) is decaying…yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 4:17 

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 4:18 

…and we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen…for the things which are seen are temporal…but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 

Even though the things in this world keep on being more dismal by the day, we must not forget the heavenly destiny we live in day-by-day.  We fix our eyes on Jesus and we don’t lose heart.  When we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take your offering, and then we’ll continue our study of First Corinthians, Chapter 9.

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Appreciates Congregations that Support Their Pastor Financially 

 

My four years at Northwestern University cost ,500 for four years of tuition alone, not including room and board.  Today it would be 0,000!  For a mother who made ,000 a year, ,500 was an astronomical sum that she could not pay.  She didn't have to pay for it.  Someone we didn't know, and still don't know to this day, paid the bill for her. This person’s contribution allowed me to have an academic scholarship.  This person’s generosity changed the trajectory of my life.  Don’t ever underestimate the power of your giving.  It could change a life or two or more.  Just because you don’t hear about how your generosity changed someone’s life while you are here on earth, know that God knows the impact you make and will share it with you in heaven.  Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with today’s offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:4-5

…do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also look out for the interests of others.  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

David Bauer, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Appreciates Congregations that Support Their Pastor Financially 

 

Welcome back!  The passage under study extends from First Corinthians, Chapter 8, Verse 1 to First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 1.  In First Corinthians, Chapter 8, the apostle Paul introduces the idea that the spiritually mature must forgo certain freedoms for the benefit of the immature.  First Corinthians, Chapter 8, Verse 13 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 8:13

Therefore, if food causes MY BROTHER (a fellow believer in Christ) to stumble, I (Paul) will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

 

Now in First Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verses 1 to 14, as we study it verse-by-verse, Paul gives a personal example…he has given up his right to be paid for his spiritual work so as not to cause a hinderance to the gospel message…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:1

Aren’t I free (to do as I please)? Aren’t I an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our resurrected Lord? Aren’t you my work in the Lord?

 

Paul knows that the Corinthian believers know the answer to each of these questions he is asking…a resounding YES to each question.  Paul begins his argument by calling attention to facts the Corinthian believers already know about Him.  Paul has rights just as the Corinthian believers do.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:2 

If to others (at different churches) I am not an apostle, at least I am (an apostle) to you…for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

 

Paul established the church at Corinth.  As part of the set-up of his argument, he’s reminding them that even if he is not all things to all people, to them he is the founder of their church…and they are the fruit of his labor.  The seal idea references his signature…his fingerprints are all over this church.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:3 

My defense to those who examine me is this…

 

Paul continues to lay out his argument using the rules of rhetoric.  He is

preparing them mentally to accept the things he is about to say about himself as facts rather than as boasting.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:4

…do we not have a right to receive support so we can eat and drink?

 

Paul argues that Pastors have a right to earn money for their work, especially for basic necessities like those needed to survive…food and drink.  Then Paul gives examples of people who are exercising their rights.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:5 

Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord (including) Cephas (Simon Peter) do?

 

The apostles have the right to take their wives, who are also believers in Christ, on missionary journeys and to receive financial support for themselves and their wives as well.  The Lord does not expect us to work for free.  When the Lord sent His apostles out to evangelize the world, He told them to take nothing with them…the Lord would provide for them through people.  The Lord expects and sanctions this provision.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:6 

Don’t Barnabas and I have a right to refrain from working to support ourselves?

 

Barnabas and Paul have second jobs…but they have the jobs because they have chosen, as spiritually mature believers, to waive their right to get paid for their work.  Now Paul points out the ridiculous…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:7 

Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not drink the milk of the flock?

 

The soldier…the vineyard owner…and the shepherd were analogies that were easily understood by the people of the day.  All three of these categories of people expected to enjoy the benefits of their work.  The Lord thinks it is fair to receive compensation for our labor.  The Lord is not a legalist.  Legalists expect from people things they cannot and should not do.  People who go to war expect to have their food, uniform, and weapons provided AND they expect to enjoy the spoils of war if they win.  Planters enjoy the spoils of the vineyard…shepherds draw nourishment from the milk of the flock.  We expect compensation for work and the Lord expects us to expect it.  Paul calls it to mind that this is not simply a human expectation… it is a divine expectation…and Paul cites the Mosaic Law.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:8 

I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Mosaic Law also say these things?

 

Paul offers a spiritual example…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:9 

For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox to prevent it from eating grain while he is threshing grain.” (By writing this into the Mosaic Law) God is not concerned primarily about oxen, is He?

 

Paul makes the point that the Lord uses stories and parable to help us understand complex Biblical issues.  Verse 9 is a reverse “a fortiori” argument…if God thinks oxen have a right to eat while they work…isn’t it an even stronger possibility that God thinks a Pastor has the right to eat while he works?

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:10 

Isn’t the Lord speaking altogether for our sake (as people)? Yes, for our sake it was written because the plowman has the right to plow in hope and the thresher has the right to thresh in hope of partaking of sharing in the crops.

 

The RIGHT!  God ordains that Pastors can be supported by those they teach.  Therefore, the conclusion…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:11 

If we (as Pastors) sowed spiritual things in you…is it too much to ask if we reap material things from you?

 

No Pastor wants to  work without getting paid.  Yet we do.  We are willing to forego our rights for the sake of the gospel message and for the sake of the Lord.     God is VERY concerned that His Pastors are compensated for their work.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:12 

If others (like Peter and the other apostles) partake of this right over you (to be compensated for their work)…should we not do so all the more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

 

The Corinthians thought Paul was stupid for foregoing his right to be supported so as not to hinder the gospel.  Paul thinks, as do I, that it’s important for unbelievers to know that the gospel message has no financial strings attached.  Here is the Barah Ministries financial policy…

 

BARAH MINISTREIS FINANCIAL POLICY

 

At Barah Ministries we choose not to charge for the things we provide to help you study the Word of God.  We wish to reflect God’s grace.

 

BARAH MINISTREIS FINANCIAL POLICY

 

Help yourselves to bibles, to music, to books, to pamphlets, to anything that would help you, or a family member, or a friend learn about God.

 

BARAH MINISTREIS FINANCIAL POLICY

 

No price appears on any material from Barah Ministries so that anyone who wants to learn about God can do so free of charge.

 

BARAH MINISTREIS FINANCIAL POLICY

 

Even though the materials are free of charge, they are not free of cost.  We appreciate your financial support.

 

We forgo charging for things so that people can have things for free.  It’s sad, but I think people would rather pay for things so they feel like they’re doing something to help themselves be saved.  It takes a while for people to develop a mature attitude about giving.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:13 

Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?

 

Paul says that even pagans know about being compensated for their work by eating of the food sacrificed to idols.

 

 FIRST CORINTHIANS 9:14

So also, the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living

from the gospel.

 

The Lord expects and sanctions that congregations support their Pastor financially.  Thank you for doing it!  

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

The closing message of this study is the most important message of this study.  We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU. 

 

First and foremost, this message is for the benefit of believers in Christ.  First Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 15 says…

 

FIRST PETER 3:15

…believers…sanctify Christ as Lord (Deity) in your hearts…always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is in you (the absolute confidence provided by your faith in Christ)… and give the defense with gentleness and respect…

 

Second, this message is for unbelievers, so you can be saved.  Whether you

know it or not, you were born a sinner.  That’s bad news for you.  Sinners need a Savior.  The good news is that this gospel message offers you the chance to make the most important decision of your life, the one outlined in Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

What is going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life?  Will you go to heaven or will you go to hell?

 

Many think the key to getting to heaven is to be a “good person.”  According to this standard, a “bad person” goes to hell. The bible obliterates this delusion.  The bible says we’re all “bad people!”  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…

 

ROMANS 3:10

…it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous (before God at physical birth)…not even one…”

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

…all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

 

Your condition at physical birth IS NOT YOUR FAULT, but it is your circumstance.  

 

The good news is that the Lord Jesus Christ did something about your problem because He doesn’t want anyone to go to The Lake of Fire… Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 says…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead, He is patient toward unbelievers…not wishing for any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

The Lord provides us with the Bible to illuminate the path to heaven…John, Chapter 20, Verse 31…

 

JOHN 20:31 

…these things written here in the Bible have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (The Jewish Messiah) … the Son of God in human form … and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life in His name.

 

The Bible contains the Lord’s exact thinking.

 

So, how can you get to heaven?  Right where you sit, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ…in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4… 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance the gospel message I also received… that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…

 

Believing in Jesus Christ is your acknowledgment that you can't do a thing

to get to heaven on your own.  Being a “good person” does not get you to heaven.  You can’t work your way into heaven.  You can’t “good deed” your way into heaven.  Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6 says…  

 

ROMANS 11:6

But if salvation is by grace, and of course it is, it is no longer on the basis of your works…otherwise grace is no longer grace.

 

If you have to work for a gift then the work makes you deserve the gift.  In the matter of your salvation, there is no work you do that is impressive to God.  The Lord would never allow you to save yourself!  The ONE WAY… the ONLY way to get to heaven…is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ…John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life (eternal life)…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

 

It's wise to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind.  John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…

 

JOHN 10:28

“…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ, and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

 

So, heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

Are you ready to join me in heaven when you close your eyes in this life?  Make your choice!  Do it now!

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

In Second Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verses 7 to 9, the apostle Paul says…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 12:7

…to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me by God a thorn in the flesh…a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 12:8 

Concerning this thorn in the flesh, I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 12:9 

And the Lord has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you…for divine power is perfected in human weakness.”

 

Is there any wonder why we are amazed by God and amazed at grace!  God’s grace is perfect for us in every way and in every circumstance.  Here’s is June Murphy to sing a song she wrote and produced on her very first CD…I STAND AMAZED AT GRACE.

 

CLOSING SONG

I STAND AMAZED AT GRACE

June Murphy

 

CLOSING VERSES

 

         A Doxology of Praise to Our God

 

EPHESIANS 1:3

Worthy of praise is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us believers in Christ in eternity past with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (a place of permanence)…through our union with Christ…

 

God wants us to enjoy His gracious provisions…

 

EPHESIANS 1:7-8

In Jesus…we have redemption (deliverance from slavery to sin) through His blood…the forgiveness of our trespasses…according to the glorious wealth provided by His grace…which He lavished on us…including as a gift, wisdom and insight…

 

EPHESIANS 3:20

Now to God the Father…who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we could ask or imagine (more than is humanly possible) …according to the divine power (omnipotence) that works within us…

 

EPHESIANS 3:21

…to Him be the glory…through the church age believers in union with Christ Jesus…and to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

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Thanks for listening!

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