It is not merely claiming to be a Christian that makes us Christians.
There is a difference between a profession and an actual possession of saving faith. This Sunday we are going to look at a story in Luke 7:1-10 that gets at the heart of that difference.
Please be praying that God will use His Word to comfort those who need comforting and challenge those who need challenging.
Joshua
For the younger children this Sunday, you can have them listen for the word, “centurion.” To encourage them, Marda will have some treats afterward.
All Christians grow spiritually. But they grow at different paces. Sometimes we can become discouraged as we look at our spiritual growth, especially when we compare it with others. This can be especially discouraging for Christians who are especially introspective. If this is true for you, I thought you might be encouraged by these 5 considerations for evaluating yourself from Thomas Goodwin.
“Our growing in grace is a mystery to be apprehended by faith rather than by sense; our spiritual life is carried along by faith, much more than the discerning the increase of it.”
I think what he means here is that God is growing you if you are a Christian and you will receive more comfort in trusting that He will be faithful to His Word than looking at how much you have or haven’t grown.
“The eager desire that many Christians have to have more grace, together with their going on to discern more and more their wants, which in some respect is a growth, these do keep them from thinking that indeed they grow…looking still to what they want, and not to what they have, they are complaining and unthankful. If you would discern your growth, do not compare the copy with your writing but rather your writing now with your writing at first. For this is a sure rule, that the better you learn to write, the better copy does God daily show you, that is, gives you to see more strictness in the rule, and so you may still think that you want so much and are as falling as far short as you did at first, if you compare yourself with nothing but the sight of the rule itself.”
So, you want to grow and you keep seeing how much you need to grow. Recognize that is growing! It may be that your problem is really unthankfulness. Sometimes we fail to see how much we have grown, because we have actually grown and are able to see better how holy God is. These are times to stop and give praise to God for how He has changed you already so that you can be motivated to keep moving forward.
“If growth at any time be made sensible and be discerned by sense, yet so after a while it is not so discernible as that great change which was made upon man’s first conversion.”
When you are first saved, you went from dead to alive. That’s a big change. Now that you are alive, of course, you are still growing, but it may not be always as obvious. It’s like if you were in prison and then you were given a kingdom. That’s huge. But if you already have a bunch of kingdoms and you get one more, it might not seem quite as significant, even though it really is something special.
“To discern your growth, there must be time allowed…Things most excellent have the slowest growth. Weeds grow quickly. Oaks take time.”
“There may be a great difference in growth in different men. You heard that every man has a measure appointed to which he must grow; but men are brought to this fullness several ways which makes a difference in their growth.”
Sometimes people grew up in Christians homes and had a lot of training in God’s Word. They are starting out at a different place than someone who didn’t grow up with a father or mother who discipled them.
Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 6th. Don't forget to adjust your clocks back an hour so you don't arrive an hour early on Sunday!
Women of the Word. Ladies, join us on November 12th at 9 a.m. as we continue to study the lives of the women from the Bible and their great God. Guests and students 7th grade and up are welcome.
Baptism Service. Sunday, November 13th, 5 p.m. Come and hear what God is doing in the lives of those He’s saved as they publicly confess their allegiance to Christ and obey His command to be baptized.
Member’s Meeting. On Sunday, November 20th, 1:00 p.m. Please plan on joining us after communion lunch for a member’s meeting. As members of Cornerstone BIble Church, we strive to serve together, pray together, make disciples together and pursue God’s glory together. The Member’s Meeting is where we emphasize the together of CBC so that our hearts beat as one… in love for one another and in passion for God’s glory! (There will be no Equipping Hour or CM on November 20th.)
CBC Annual Retreat. Mark your calendars and start saving for our annual CBC Retreat: February 17-20, 2023 at Oak Glen Christian Conference Center.
Bible Reading Project. Thursdays at 6:30 a.m. (There will be no Bible Reading Project on November 17th.)
What a privilege to pray to our Father with our brother and sisters because of Jesus’ work on the cross! Prayer is God’s chosen means to accomplish His will…and we get to be part of that.
Equipping Hour, Fall Series returns next Sunday. When God saves someone through faith in Jesus Christ, he does a miracle in their lives. Paul's two-word summary of the change that follows is "in Christ" or "in Him." The more you grasp the extent of the miracle of being "in Christ", the more you will glorify Christ with your life. On November 13th, we’ll explore our adoption in Christ! Find recordings for previous sessions here.
Order of Service
Welcome and Call to Worship
Singing
Announcements
Missions Spotlight: Myanmar
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 46
Pastoral Prayer
Sermon: What Amazes Jesus - Luke 7:1-10
Singing