June 18, 2023
June 18 — 11 AM Worship
You can find the order of worship and songs here.
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Time to time I hear Christians say "I want to dig deeper into the Bible. I want to grow beyond the basics and be mature in my understanding of Scriptures." This is a very noble desire. It makes my heart beat a little faster with thrill whenever I hear such things.
I do, however, have a few questions. What do you suppose you will see if you dig deeper into Scriptures? What actually is a mature understanding of the Bible? These questions are actually easy to answer. The Old Testament prophets, who were closest to God's counsel, spoke of their hope in Christ to come. The New Testament apostles, both in their recorded deeds of ministry and in the letters they left behind, show us Jesus. And Jesus himself, he who knew the Scriptures better than anyone, said, ""O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:25–27) In other words, knowing Jesus is the fruit of mature and deep understanding of the Scriptures.
Jesus is everything.
Jesus is everything when we study the Bible. Jesus is everything when we worship. Jesus is everything when we preach. Jesus is everything to us, because Jesus is everything to God. It is for this reason God has given us word and sacraments. The word proclaims Christ and we hear, in a profound and mysterious way, God's own voice. The sacraments give us Jesus in visible and tangible ways. Through the sacraments we see, touch, and even smell and taste God's grace to us in Jesus. Because Jesus is everything to God, God would have Jesus be everything to us.
Is he? Is Jesus everything to you? But know this. When Jesus is not everything to you, it is not that you have traded him for something of greater or equal value. It doesn't work like that. When Jesus is not everything to us, we are bankrupt and poor. We have nothing when we don't have Jesus. But if Jesus is our everything, we are rich indeed!
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Growth Resources
This Year: Please see the full list of 2023 books as well as Bible reading plans on our church webpage: gracefallbrook.church/12-for-23
This Month: For June we are reading "The Legacy of John Calvin: His Influence on the Modern World" by David W. Hall.
This Week: We encourage you to make use of:
- Kevin DeYoung's "The Good News We Almost Forgot" pages 122–125, Lord's Day 25, for personal or family devotions.
- "Select Letters of John Newton," Letter 20 (pages 131–135), "Causes, Nature, and Marks of a Decline in Grace."
Hymn of the Week: "Rock of Ages When the Day Seems Long" by Sandra McCracken and Kevin Twit. I love the title of this song. Some days feel longer than others. And on those days we all need to be reminded of God's strong grace. So this song says, "Rock of Ages, when the day seems long, from this labor and this heartache, I have come. The skies will wear out, but you remain the same. Rock of Ages, I praise your name." YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify.
Last week's sermon is available on our church webpage: gracefallbrook.church/sermons.
Upcoming Events and Notices
June 25 (Lord's Day): Please join us for the "Essential Truths of the Christian Faith" for Sunday School lesson: Ch.8 "Interpreting the Bible." Also July 2.
July 31–August 3: The Southwest Reformed Youth Camp will take place at Palomar Christian Conference Center in Palomar Mountain. This Reformed Christian Youth Camp is for junior high and high school students.This year's focus will be on Christ - the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Thank you for your continued support of Grace Fallbrook (PCA). Your loving support makes the proclamation of the gospel and the building up of the saints possible. Please visit gracefallbrook.church/give and click on "Give Online Now." You will be directed to the PCA Foundation where you can give towards Grace Fallbrook (PCA).