[Biblemat] Walking in the Light (5/6/07)

Sun May 6 10:01:02 CDT 2007

Walking in the Light

"For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."
"The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the
simple." 

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another...."
(Psalm 36:9; 119:130; 1 John 1:7a)

May 6, 2007

www.thetfordcountry.com <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> 

---

INFORMATION: My WEB Site  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com has just been updated to include the articles and
sermons listed below. All the sermons posted each week to my web site are in
.pdf format.  The PowerPoint charts are also included with ALL the sermons
that are posted to the web site. To access the sermons page, visit the site
and click on "Richard's Page" and then click on "sermons." Please visit the
"Reference Works" links page for updated links to various Bible study
resources. If you are a newcomer to the area or wanting information
concerning the Valley church of Christ here in Grand Junction, Colorado,
then click on the Valley church of Christ Web Site,
<http://www.valleychurchofchrist.net/> www.valleychurchofchrist.net. Thank
you for visiting my web site and as always, your comments are welcome. 

If you know of someone that would like to receive the "Walking in the Light"
electronic bulletin each week, please send an e-mail message to
<mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com  with their
name and e-mail address and I will add them to the list.

---

CONTENTS:

"The Plan of Salvation" (Richard Thetford)

"Be Steadfast" (Richard Thetford)

"Let's Turn Things Around" (Richard Thetford)

"Isn't It A Shame" (Selected)

---

THE PLAN OF SALVATION

Richard Thetford

There are many souls in the world that need to be saved today. The gospel
plan of salvation to save man is not difficult but it MUST be followed in
order for one to be saved. God loved man so much that he gave His only son
to die for all of us. In John 3:16 it says; "For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life". We can also see this in Romans 5:8-11. God
did his part for man by giving His son and then he ensured that all men
would be able to come to the knowledge of the truth by sending the Holy
Spirit upon the apostles, guiding them into all truth "But when He, the
Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will
not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and
He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:13). Therefore, it is now
up to each one of us to do our part if we really desire eternal salvation.
Man must hear the gospel (Rom 10:17; Acts 7:37), Believe it (Acts 16:31; Heb
11:6), Repent from past sins and make a determination to serve Christ from
this time forward (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30), Confess Jesus as the Son of God
(Rom 10:10; Matt 10:32), and be Baptized (Acts 2:38; 1 Pet 3:21; Acts
22:16). Once this has been done then one must continue to live the Christian
life and grow in the Christian characteristics (2 Pet 1:5-7). God has given
us the opportunity to be saved, now you and I must do our part to obey the
commands of God. What man can do, he MUST do!

---

BE STEADFAST

Richard Thetford

The child of God is encouraged by the apostle Paul to "be steadfast." He
writes: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord" (1 Cor 15:58). To be steadfast carries with it the meaning of
being "firm" or presenting a "solid front." Therefore, Paul is saying that
we should be "firm," presenting a "solid front" in the work of the Lord. The
word of God is also referred to as being steadfast in Hebrews 2:2-4. The
Hebrew writer says; "For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall
we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also
bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and
gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?" It is refreshing to
the Christian to know that God's Word is a "firm," or "solid" word. The
Christian has every right to expect the word to be steadfast so that we can
have an unwavering confidence in knowing exactly what our Father wants us to
become. But let us remember that just as we fully expect steadfastness in
the word of God, God fully expects steadfastness in us as we labor daily in
His kingdom. 

Why Should We Be Steadfast?

Paul's admonition to the Christian is by way of command in 1 Corinthians
15:58. Therefore, we are commanded to be steadfast. In order for us to be
approved of by God we must show steadfastness in our life. When we do, then
joy is produced as a result. Paul writes: "For though I am absent in the
flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the
steadfastness of your faith in Christ" (Col 2:5). It is so good to have
others say of us that we "are steadfast in our faith and service to the
Lord." When we are proving our steadfastness in our life by being obedient
to Christ, then we will be able to resist anything the devil throws our way.
It is that "steadfast faith" that helps us endure the evil one. Peter
writes: "Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same
sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world" (1 Pet 4:9).
Trials and tribulation will certainly come our way. But we can grow and
become stronger in our daily service to God when we overcome tribulations.
God's word says: "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character;
and character, hope" (Rom 5:3-4). May we all continue to be steadfast in our
service to God so that we may enter into Heaven's eternity. "For we have
become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end" (Heb 3:14).

---

LET'S TURN THINGS AROUND

Richard Thetford

Recently we learned that we can only gain faith by reading the word of God
(Rom 10:17). Once you have gained faith (belief) in Christ then you need to
be determined to turn your life around and DO what Christ asks of you. After
all, if we are going to practice religion wouldn't we want to practice one
that has Christ as it's head (Eph 5:23; 4:4)? What good is it to practice a
religion that does not DO all the things that Christ has commanded (Matt
28:18)? Of course the answer is that it would be foolish. Therefore, after
believing completely in Christ we will want to be determined within
ourselves to repent (turn around) from the things that we were doing that
were worldly, fleshly (Gal 5:19-21; 1 Cor 6:9-10), and start doing what
Christ tells us to do (Heb 5:8-9). If we say that we love Him, and believe
in Him then we will prove it by our total obedience in Him (Matt 15:8-9).
True repentance is determining within ourselves that we are going to forsake
all, even ourself and serve Christ first and foremost (Matt 10:32-39)! Have
you determined to turn things around in your life and follow Christ - not
man?

---

ISN'T IT A SHAME

Selected

1. Full jails and empty Bible classes.

2. A society that is more concerned with material accumulation than
spiritual growth. Things are more important than souls!

3. People with fancy clothes and filthy minds.

4. So-called Christians who must be invited and begged to worship God every
week.

5. Street after street of fine houses and miserable homes.

6. Parents who spend thousands of dollars on their children's secular
education and complain about contributing to their spiritual well-being.

7. Children who know more about TV programs than about Jesus Christ and
God's word.

8. People who spend two, three, or more hours a day watching television yet
cannot find time to read and study the world's best book, the Bible.

9. Many who wear the name of Christ and profess to be "Christians" but live
like the devil.

---

SERMONS

GOD'S JUDGMENT (with PowerPoint Charts)

Sermons can viewed at my web site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com

---

Valley

CHURCH OF CHRIST

Meets at:
491 Sparn Street
Grand Junction, CO   81504
(970) 245-5112

 <http://www.valleychurchofchrist.net/> www.valleychurchofchrist.net

ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE

SUNDAY
Bible Study..................9:45 A.M.
Morning Worship.......10:45 A.M.
Evening Worship.........5:00 P.M.

WEDNESDAY
Bible Study..................7:00 P.M.

Evangelist
Richard Thetford

Building: (970) 245-5112
Home:     (970) 314-7261

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

Web Site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> www.thetfordcountry.com

---

Richard Thetford

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

1918 Barberry Court, Grand Junction, CO  81506

Home: (970) 314-7261

Please visit my web site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com>
www.thetfordcountry.com

Evangelist, Valley church of Christ

 <http://www.valleychurchofchrist.net> www.valleychurchofchrist.net

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20070506/0f9b1030/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 154 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20070506/0f9b1030/attachment-0002.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 5253 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20070506/0f9b1030/attachment-0003.gif 