WORSHIP BEGINS IN THE HEART……NOT THE LIPS

    By Pastor Mike Andrews

    Steps to prepare for authentic worship…..Internal preparation of heart: Every child of God carries the responsibility for personal preparation of his/her heart. If God calls us to worship him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), then we must constantly ask questions about the state of our spirit and readiness of our hearts. We have an obligation to do a spiritual check list over our own lives. A great place to do that is found in (Gal 5:22-23) Where do I need to change in order to exemplify these fruits in my life and in the body of Christ? Self-examination is vital part of the Christian life: Psalm 139:23-24; Job13:23; 2 Cor 13:5; Luke 15:17-24; 1 Cor 11:27-31; Matt 7:5. God promises that if we are willing to admit that we have been walking our own way and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing, He will empower us through His Spirit to live above ourselves and live the abundant life for which He has created us. (I John 1:5-10)

    Pre-arrival preparation: We can learn from the Jews who believe the Sabbath begins at sundown the evening before. So our Saturday night and Sunday morning activities before we gather have a formative affect, positively or negatively, on our readiness for worship. What are you doing Saturday night to prepare your heart for worship? Is it! Listening to sermons, reading the passage we are studying next on Sunday. Memorizing your verses, praying for the church family and your pastor. Are you coming with a readiness of excitement to study the Scriptures? (Acts 17:11)

    Pre-service preparation: That short period of time between our arrival at church and the beginning of the worship service is also critical. How we interact with others reminds us that we are here as part of a body. Intentionally quieting our spirits before the service begins will also enable us to set distractions aside and again focus our corporate attention on God. For this one purpose! Rev 4:11; 1 Tim 1;17; Psalm 18:3; Rev 5:1-12. And since worship does not start when we enter the worship service, it should not stop when we leave.

    Post-service continuation: Worship should continue as we leave the service. Rev 4:8; Heb 13:15; Acts 16:25-26 It can happen in our homes, and through our work. It can’t be contained in a single location, context, culture, style, artistic expression or vehicle of communication. So it doesn’t matter how good our worship is when we gather, it is incomplete until it continues when we scatter.

    R  C Sproul said “The worship to which we are called in our renewed state is far too important to be left to personal preferences, whims, or marketing strategies. Pleasing God is at the heart of worship. Therefore, our worship must be informed at every point by the Word of God as we seek God’s own instructions for worship that is pleasing to Him.”

    “The best public worship is that which produces the best private Christianity. The best Church Services for the congregation are those which make its individual members most holy at home and alone. If we want to know whether our own public worship is doing us good, let us try it by these tests. Does it quicken our conscience? Does it send us to Christ? Does it add to our knowledge? Does it sanctify our life? If it does, we may depend on it, it is worship of which we have no cause to be ashamed.”

    J.C. Ryle

    Online contributions can be made to:

    www.calvarygiving@outlook.com

     
    Our ultimate desire at Calvary Baptist Church is first and foremost to bring glory and praise to the Sovereign LORD [Father, Son, & Holy Spirit] and to raise up mature believers so that we can fulfill the Great Commission. We will seek to achieve this by following the guidelines that God has put in place for prayer, worship, communion, Christian fellowship, Bible Study, and most of all the expository teaching of God's Word.  We desire to provide the proper teaching of God's Word so that fellow believers can grow together and edify one another with love and compassion.      Please come, and join us,     as we look into how God has composed a unique storyfor each of our lives.CBC is a place to call home as we ......Magnify the Lord, Mature the Believers, Make prayer a priority, Meet the lost with Christ

    Our Church Service Time @ 9:30am.

    We now broadcast on 97.5FM in your car, or home, for those who are unable to come in person. We do encourgage you to attend if possible first!


    We are located @
    148 Queen Street,
    Killaloe Ontario
    613-585-0096     


     

    In Adam or In Christ

    Pastor Jonny Ardavanis

    Do you want to know why so many Christians have difficulty overcoming temptation? Do you want to know why so many Christians are riddled with doubt about their identity? Do you want to know why so many Christians are sapped of spiritual strength? It is because they are ignorant of—or have forgotten—who they are in Christ.

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    Wisdom of the Day: "If Satan can keep us ignorant, he can keep us impotent." – John Wearsby
    Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12, 17-19; 2 Corinthians 5:17

    "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive."

    "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ."

    "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation."

    Every single person reading this—every single person you have ever met or will ever meet—is in one of two categories. They are either in Adam or they are in Christ. There is no spiritual Switzerland.

    Romans 5:12: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." That word for one is used eleven times in Romans 5. This is a real historical man at a real point in history. Adam. And every single person born into this world is born in Adam—sharing the same fate, the same status of doom.

    How do we know we are born in Adam? Because we all sin and we all die. The Bible is the only book that makes any logical sense of the world in which we live.

    Think about Genesis 5 - it begins by saying, "Here are the generations of Adam." And then over and over again throughout the chapter you read, "and then he died... and then he died... and then he died." All of Adam's sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, what? Die. You could live as long as Methuselah—and then you're going to die. The Bible wants you to grasp something obvious: people die because they are born in sin.

    But here is the grand story of Scripture. The Old Testament begins with "the generations of Adam"—and ends with a curse. The New Testament begins with "the generations of Jesus"—and ends by saying the curse is no more.

    Because there is a second Adam. One who does what the first Adam failed to do. He obeys God perfectly. Adam ushers in death. Jesus ushers in life. Adam ushers in condemnation and judgment. Jesus brings in resurrection, justification, sanctification, glorification.

    And the gospel is this: those who are in Adam can now be in Christ.

    Second Corinthians 5:17—"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." Not just clean. Not just reformed. Not just rinsed. Absolutely, totally, radically new.

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    Reflection Questions:1. Are you in Adam or in Christ? That is not a question to answer casually—your eternal destiny hinges on it.2. Do you truly understand that by nature you are born in Adam—not neutral, but under condemnation?3. Have you come to Jesus Christ—the second Adam—who breaks the curse and clothes you with His righteousness?
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    Write this on your heart: By nature I am in Adam. By grace through faith I am in Christ. The old me is dead. The curse is broken. The second Adam has won.