Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Wayne and Melinda Hintze and family at the passing of her father, Reuben Ness, on Sunday, March 28. Services were held in Hanover, PA.
THANK YOU: Thank you to everyone who has called, sent cards and messages to my mother, Myrtle Martin. Thank you for all of your continued prayers! Thank you to Pastor Rick for your calls and for meeting with her before her procedure and I know she appreciated that! Thank you also to Joyce and Harry Lindsey for driving her to appointments when needed. Thank you also to Brenda Taylor for her assistance, too! The Lord has definitely blessed us with a wonderful church family! We love you all! Rhonda Martin
HOUSING FOR NEW TEACHERS: CCS will be needing affordable apartments for new teachers coming the next school year. Please contact Mr. Reisberg at: mreisberg@carrollchristian.com
LOST AND FOUND: has moved to the Welcome Desk in the foyer. Please claim any previously lost items from the table in the foyer or they will be donated.
From My Heart
In I Cor. 15, the Apostle Paul explained the Bible doctrine of the resurrection from every angle imaginable. The resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. In v. 14, Paul argued, “And if Christ be not risen then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” The word, “vain” has the idea of “being empty.” If there is no resurrection of the dead, then somewhere over in the city of Jerusalem, the body of Jesus has decayed back to the dust of the earth. If there is no resurrection, then Jesus died on the Cross of Calvary, and He is still dead 2000 years later!
But the Scriptures tell us the body of the Lord Jesus did not see corruption. On the third day, He resurrected from the dead. Today, we do not serve a “dead” Savior, but a “living” Savior. An agnostic fellow asked a famous preacher of years gone by how he knew Jesus was alive and not dead! The preacher said, “I know He is alive because I spoke to Him this morning in prayer, and He spoke to me through His wonderful Word.”
Paul continued to argue in v.17-18, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep (those who have died in the past) in Christ are perished.” This part of Paul's explanation is so encouraging to those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus. In Romans 4:25, Paul said these words, speaking of the Lord Jesus, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” What is this saying to us?
It tells us the Lord Jesus was delivered to the Cross so He could pay the wages we all owe for our sin. “For the wages of sin is death….” (Rom. 6:23) and the Lord Jesus willingly went to the Cross and paid our wages that we owed for our sin. The Lord Jesus was “delivered” to the Cross! Oh, He could have stopped the whole matter in a second of time if He had so desired! But He allowed Himself to be delivered to the Cross in order to pay our wages.
The second part of that verse in Romans 4:25 says, “and was raised again for our justification.” In this verse we see the two main events that the Church has been celebrating each year since they occurred: The Crucifixion and the Resurrection. He went to the Cross to pay our sin debt (the Crucifixion) and then resurrected three days after His death to show that He was victorious over death and accomplished the task of paying our debt.
His resurrection guarantees me that I am justified by Him. Justification is the act whereby God declares a believing sinner to be righteous. The moment I trust the Lord Jesus as my Savior, God the Father declares me justified. He declares me just - just as if I had never sinned even one time. As the little song we sing in Sunday School says, “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone.” I am justified, or declared “just as if I had never sinned.”
Praise the Lord for the Cross, where our sin debt was paid in full; and praise the Lord for His resurrection from the grave. Have a great day!
Pastor Norris