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- Written by Dr. Paul T. Murphy, Pastor
Dear Church Family,
With great expectation, I want to urge your attendance on Sunday, October 2 at 10:15 A.M. for the observance of the . I trust that everyone will come and remember the precious blood of the Lord Jesus through this ordinance. Our supreme aim is to honor Jesus Christ.
I pray that the observance of the Lord’s Table will be a highlight of our Christian experience this year. Please come early and be on time from 10:00 – 10:15 A.M. for a time of prayer and reflection. The service will be observed with some special additions that you will not want to miss. All the children who have received Christ and been baptized will want to be in this service in the Sanctuary with family members.
Now, please spiritually prepare your heart. Spend much time in prayer. The preparation materials available next Sunday contain some helpful Bible verses to assist you as well as a section to teach the children. Bring the whole family to church on that Sunday.
Consider these Scriptures:
Lk. 22:15 [MSG]. And said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering.
1 Cor. 11:28 [NIV]. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
May God bless you as you prepare to come to the Lord’s Table.
In Christ,
Paul T. Murphy, Pastor
P.S. In accordance with an ancient tradition, when we depart the service an offering for the poor and needy will be received. This will go to our World Hunger Fund.
- Details
- Written by Dr. Paul T. Murphy
Setting Goals for the Future.
A spiritual goal might be defined as an aim, objective, or purpose toward which God directs a believer to strive.
2 Cor. 5:9 [NCV]. Our only goal is to please God whether we live here or there.
Without goals, people tend to drift.
Job 6:11 [NLT]. But I do not have the strength to endure. I do not have a goal that encourages me to carry on.
A spiritual goal does not mean visioning, dream-ing, or engineering any design apart from the Lord.
Prov. 16:9 [GNB]. You may make your plans, but God directs your actions.
A spiritual goal might be interrupted and reshaped by God at any time.
Prov. 16:1 [GNB]. We may make our plans, but God has the last word.
Jesus walked without deterrence toward the cross God determined for Him.
Eph. 1:10 [NCV]. His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.
Paul lived the Christian life with the goal constantly in mind.
Phil. 3:14 [Weymouths]. With my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God’s heavenward call in Christ Jesus.
Setting Goals for this Summer. This summer we will organize our efforts around the theme SUMMER SURGE. We hope to surge not slump in Sunday School, Stewardship, Singing, Sharing, and Serving. I will bring a special series of studies around the disciplines of the Christian life, which we will call Summer Camp.
I look forward to a great day this Sunday!
Bro. Paul
- Details
- Written by Dr. Paul T. Murphy
Mt. 26:28. For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
“There ought to be such a preparation for any meeting with God, in any of His ordinances.”
“The bride decks herself with her garments for the bridegroom. We are to do so for the meeting with Christ in this ordinance, — to stir up all the graces God hath bestowed upon us, that we may be decked for
Christ.” (John Owen)
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper the night of the Passover feast (Ex. 12:1-28). For Christians this new ordinance symbolizes the atoning blood and the applied blood of Christ (1 Cor. 5:7). In the Lord’s Supper believers symbolically remember the body of Christ (Acts 2:46) and remember the blood of Christ.
Only baptized believers properly participate in this ordinance. A believer partakes of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner (1 Cor. 11:27) by discerning the great sacrifice of the Lord’s body (Heb. 10:29) and the precious blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19). In preparation for the
Lord’s Supper, a believer should ask “Lord, is it I?” Through this self-judgment and the confession of known sin, a Christian makes spiritual preparation to take the Lord’s Supper.
“And on the Lord’s own day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks, first confessing your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. And let no man having his dispute with his fellow join your assembly until they have been reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be defiled; for this sacrifice it is that was spoken of by the
Lord:” (The Teaching of the Apostles, 14; c.a. A.D. 125)
Let us break bread together on our knees, (on our knees)
Let us break bread together on our knees. (on our knees)
Let us drink the cup together on our knees, (on our knees)
Let us drink the cup together on our knees. (on our knees)
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.