"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (08-10JAN21) Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in SO GREAT SALVATION by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor - from their sins and from Hell: The Spirit Gives Life to the Message God’s preachers do not go forth alone into the world to persuade sinners to believe, love, and come to Christ by their own logic, rhetoric, and power of persuasion. The Holy Spirit goes before them and with them to quicken, awaken, and give sinners eyes to see the beauties of Christ, ears to hear Him, and hearts to understand the gospel of grace and love the Redeemer (Psalm 110:3) . The bride has been chosen (II Thessalonians 2:13) , the servant will endure all things (II Timothy 2:9-10) , the bride will hear the voice of her Beloved through the message of the servant (John 10:23-30) , and the bride will come (John 6:37-40) . -c...

"Thou hast kept the good wine until now." -John 2:10 [KJV] The good wine of the gospel must be Jesus Himself, for He, and He alone, trod the wine-press of His Father's wrath, when the Lord bruised Him and put Him to grief. This is the wine which, in scripture, is said to cheer both God and men; for when God's justice took the full draught of it for the sins of the redeemed, the Lord declared Himself well pleased. And when the poor sinner, by sovereign grace, is first made to drink of the blood of the Lamb, he feels constrained to say, the Lord had kept the good wine until now ; for never before had his soul been so satisfied.  Oh, precious Jesus' how sweet is the thought! Thy first miracle converted water into wine. Moses' ministry, under thy commission, was first manifested in turning water into blood. Yes, dear Lord! when once Thy grace hath wrought upon the heart of a sinner, Thou makest his most common mercies, like water, to become richer than wine. ...

Great Encouragement in Christ JESUS, “The LORD our righteousness!” There is a transcendent glory, and an ineffable sweetness in Christ. Jesus Christ has true excellency, and so great an excellency, that when you come to truly see Him, you look no further, but your mind rests there. You see that you had been pursuing shadows, but now you have found the S ubstance. You realize that you had been seeking happiness in the stream, but now you have found the O cean. The excellency of Christ is an object adequate to the natural cravings of the soul, and is sufficient to fill its capacity. Christ has an infinite excellency, such as the mind desires, in which it can find no bounds. The more the mind contemplates Him, the more excellent does He appear. Each new discovery of Christ makes His beauty appear more ravishing, and the mind can see no end to His excellency. There is room enough for the mind to go deeper and deeper, and never come to the bottom. Christ's excellency is always fres...

"One pearl of great price." -Matthew 13:46  [KJV] Great indeed, and but ONE! for salvation is in no other; neither is there any other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved. My soul, hast thou considered Jesus in this precious point of view? Hast thou beheld Him both in His divine and human nature, how unspeakably glorious in Himself, and how enriching to the souls of His people? Art thou a spiritual merchantman, seeking goodly pearls? And is Jesus the one, the only one, costly, precious, and so infinitely desirable in thine eye, that thou art willing to sell all, that thou wouldest part with millions of worlds, rather, than lose Christ? Hast thou found Him in the field of His scripture, and dost thou ask how shall I buy? Listen to His own most gracious words: counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. Yes, Thou generous Lord! I am come to buy of Thee without money and without price. For well I know, through Thy teachi...

"For verily H e took not on H im the nature of angels." -Hebrews 2:16 [KJV] Contemplate, my soul, the peculiar sweetness of that grace which was in thy Jesus, when, for the accomplishment of thy salvation, He passed by the nature of angels to take upon Him thy nature. There were but two sorts of transgressors in the creation of God; angels and men. But angels are left in everlasting chains, under darkness, to the judgment of the great day. And fallen, sinful, rebellious man, finds the grace of redemption. Had Jesus taken their nature, would not this have been nearer to His own? Would not their services have been vastly superior to ours? Would not the redemption of beings so much higher in rank and intellect, have opened a far larger revenue of praise to our adorable Redeemer? Pause over these thoughts, my soul, and then consider therefrom how our Jesus, in His unequaled condescension, hath thereby the more endeared Himself to thy love. And learn hence, that if Jesus nee...

  Prepositions and Pronouns by D.G. Miles McKee 1) PREPOSITIONS   “ Who gave Himself for our sins” -Galatians 1:4 [KJV] Nothing demonstrates God’s love more than Galatians 1:4. There’s a small word in that sentence, ‘FOR.’ It has only 3 letters but it’s mighty!  But what does it mean?  In this case, the prepostion ‘FOR’ means ‘instead of’ or ‘in place of’ or ‘on our behalf.’  So, our verse could be rendered,   He gave Himself instead of us, or  He gave Himself in place of us, or  He gave Himself on our behalf. There should be no confusion on the matter. This verse is clear … it insists that Christ Jesus became our substitute at the cross.  Thank you Jesus!  Your people are thrilled with this little preposition ‘FOR.’  His was a life which was lived for us.  Everything He did, He did for us. Isn’t He wonderful?  He has gone away to prepare a place for us but mark it down, He is returning soon to receiv...

"I am my B eloved's, and His desire is toward me." - Song of Solomon 7:10 [KJV]   Yes, dearest Jesus! I am truly Thine, by every tie which can make me Thine. I am Thine by the gift of GOD the FATHER; by Thine own betrothing me to Thyself; by the HOLY GHOST anointing me in Thee, and making me one with Thee, and in Thee, before the world. And I am thine in the recovery of the church from Adam's fall and transgression by the sacrifice of Thyself: for Thou hast bought me with Thy blood, and made me thereby the conquest of Thine HOLY SPIRIT. And now through Thy divine teaching I can and do discover, that from everlasting Thy desire was towards Thy redeemed ones, and even when dead in trespasses and sins, it was Thy desire to quicken them into life, and bring them to Thyself. And even now, notwithstanding all my backwardness to Thee, Thou restest in Thy love, and Thou art calling me by Thy grace, and seeking continual fellowship in ordinances, and by Thy word and provi...