vassal of the King

Adoption is an act of God, whereby he takes sinners, who were enemies to him and rebels against him—and constitutes them his children. It is an act of grace—of free and sovereign grace; for there was nothing in them, done by them, or expected from them, that could form a reason why this favor should be conferred upon them. It was in the mind of God from eternity! —James Smith

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 9] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. 3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages. 4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things. 5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church. 6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation. 7. CFBC weekly comes together for two corporate prayer services to pray for the church, revival, one another & the purity of the Church. 8. CFBC loves one another and willingly sacrifices time, resources, money, and effort to serve others in the flock. 9. CFBC endea

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 8] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. 3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages. 4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things. 5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church. 6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation. 7. CFBC weekly comes together for two corporate prayer services to pray for the church, revival, one another & the purity of the Church. 8. CFBC loves one another and willingly sacrifices time, resources, money, and effort to serve others in the flock. Jesus set the

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 7] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. 3.CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages. 4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things. 5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church. 6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation. 7. CFBC weekly comes together for two corporate prayer services to pray for the church, revival, one another & the purity of the Church. God’s people take hold of Him in prayer. They storm the throne of grace with the introduction granted by Christ. They ent

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 6] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. 3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages. 4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things. 5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church. 6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation. The greatest news in the entire universe is that God has made one way that hopeless and helpless sinners can be reconciled with Him; and this one way is found through Jesus Christ. The message of Christ and Him crucified, resurrected, ascended, interceding, and coming b

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 5] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. 3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages. 4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things. 5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church. The mission of CFBC is quite clear. CFBC exists to glorify God by preaching the Word, evangelizing the lost, discipling the saved, and obeying Jesus Christ — all by the power of the Spirit. And furthermore, the vision of CFBC is to be a disciple-making church. CFBC has the conviction that every Christian — every single one! — is a disciple of Christ and thus is called by

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 4] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. 3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages. 4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things. The Apostle Paul said that he labors and strives because he has fixed his hope on the living God who is the Savior of all men — especially of believers. He agonized for godliness. He took pains in his spiritual progress. People who have received God’s salvation, who have been set free from sin’s dominating grip, have become slaves of God which leads to sanctification and the outcome is eternal life. God’s people know this because the Word of God reveals this. A justifi

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 3] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. I hope to elaborate on just a few over the next few days. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. 3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages. Another reason why CFBC has so become so dear to me is that many different people have come together for one common reason — to worship and magnify Jesus Christ. Any body of believers can relate to this. All peoples, of all ages, of all backgrounds, of all nationalities join together in a mutual agreement of edification  to submit together under the authority of the Word of God and under the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ over His church. The unity amidst the diversity is glorious. The church has drawn folks from different races to worship Jesus Christ toge

From Spurgeon : Stand at the foot of the cross, and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed. See His thorn-crown; mark His scourged shoulders, still gushing with encrimsoned rills; see His hands and feet given up to the rough iron spikes, and His whole self to mockery and scorn; see the bitterness, and the pangs, and the throes of inward grief, showing themselves in His outward frame; hear the horrid shriek, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me!" If you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross—you have never seen it! If you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus—you do not know Him. You were so lost that nothing could save you—but the sacrifice of God's only begotten Son. Think of that, and as Jesus stooped for you—bow yourself in humility at His feet. A sense of Christ's amazing love to us—has a greater tendency to humble us, than even a consciousness of our own guilt. May the Lord bring us in contemplation, to Calvary. Then

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 2] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. I hope to elaborate on just a few over the next few days. 1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. 2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd. The Lord Jesus told His disciples to have love for one another and that in so doing all men would know that they are His disciples. One way that CFBC tangibly demonstrates this is in their love for me as their shepherd. Even in the formative and beginning stages of church planting as we have an off-site elder, the flock of God at CFBC has exuded love, prayer, and encouragement to the leadership. CFBC has provided for needs that have arisen, they have prayed for me diligently, they have cared for our family when a new baby was born. They continually encourage me in my labor and study in the Word of God. When I ask what I can pray for, they quickly reply with s

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church There are many reasons why I love CFBC. I hope to elaborate on just a few over the next few days. I. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture. I love CFBC because the people that God has brought to this flock hunger for God’s Word and love the truth of Scripture. The believers at CFBC have a yearning for more of God’s Word. They long to be fed from the pure milk of the Word. And they attend with great expectation to hear from God, from the Word of God, so they can be changed by God, resulting in the greater glory of God. Scripture predominates when CFBC gathers. The presiding authority is Jesus Christ and how He has revealed Himself in and through Scripture. And it is Scripture alone that tells God’s people how to worship. God not only cares that He is worshiped; he cares how He is worshiped. CFBC craves the Living Bread that is contained in the Bible. The flock of CFBC believes in the

Membership Does Matter in Christ’s Church Why is Membership Important? Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church 1. Membership Accurately Pictures the Unity of the Body of Christ. The body of Christ is made up of many members inextricably bound together through the redemptive work of Christ. And just as they make up the universal body of Christ, God has given to each individual spiritual gifts with which they can — and must — obediently employ in the upbuilding of the believers. This takes place in a localized assembly of gathered believers. 2. Membership Willingly Identifies with Others in the Body of Christ. A believer in Christ should desire to identify with other believers through a covenant of discipline and witness. To identify with Christ and refuse to identify with Christ’s people is contradictory and must be confronted as sinful. A mark of true salvation is that a child of God loves those who are born of God. This includes an eager willingness to associate with t

Learn from the Prince of Preachers on pleading with sinners to come to Christ for salvation: Oh! my dear hearers, my beloved hearers, I cannot bring you to Christ. Christ has brought some of you himself, but I cannot bring you to Christ. How often have I tried to do it! I have tried to preach my Saviour's love, and this day I have preached my Father's wrath; but I feel I cannot bring you to Christ. I may preach God's law; but that will not affright you, unless God sends it home to your heart; I may preach my Saviour's love, but that will not woo you, unless my Father draw you. I am sometimes tempted to wish that I could draw you myself—that I could save you. Sure, if I could, ye should soon be saved! But ah! remember, your minister can do but little; he can do nothing else but preach to you. Do pray that God would bless that little, I beseech you, ye who can pray. If I could do more, I would do it; but it is very little I can do for a sinner's salvatio

From Thomas Watson : To consider how dearly our sins cost Christ, may cause tears to distill from our eyes. Christ is called the Rock (1 Cor. 10:4). When his hands were pierced with nails, and the spear thrust in his side, then was this Rock smitten, and there came out water and blood. And all this Christ endured for us: "the Messiah shall be cut off—but not for himself" (Dan. 9:26). We tasted the apple—and he drank the vinegar and gall. We sinned in every faculty—and he bled in every vein! Can we look upon a suffering Savior with dry eyes? Shall we not be sorry for those sins—which made Christ a man of sorrow? Shall not our enormities, which drew blood from Christ—draw tears from us? Shall we sport any more with sin and so rake in Christ's wounds? Oh that by repentance we could crucify our sins afresh! The Jews said to Pilate, "If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend" (John 19:12).

Join us at CFBC for the Strange Fire Conference viewing party this week!  We plan to live-stream four of the sessions. Though there are many more (which you can watch at home, at work, etc.), we will only be viewing four together in the upstairs fellowship hall at Church. Some chili & drinks will be provided. Feel free to bring lunches, etc. during the sessions!  Here are the four sessions we’ll live-stream at the church. *All times are Central time* Wednesday, October 16 12pm - Session #1 (John MacArthur preaching) 5:15pm - Session #3 (Steve Lawson preaching) Thursday, October 17 11am - Session #5 (John MacArthur preaching) Friday, October 18 11am - Session #8 (Conrad Mbewe preaching) To watch & live-stream the conference, go HERE . For the full schedule, go HERE .

The Desperate Need for More Faithful Heralds! Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church 1 Timothy 2:7 — For this I myself was appointed a preacher [εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην ἐγὼ κῆρυξ]. The desperate need in the times of our day is for more heralds to rise up who will confidently, courageously, and unflinchingly proclaim God’s message, to God’s people, using God’s method, for God’s glory. What is it that characterizes a faithful herald? What is a God-glorifying preacher? What is it to preach? To herald? This brief essay will help define what a faithful herald is. A faithful herald is one who faithfully, regularly, confidently, and courageously manifests each of these following six characteristics. 1. Courageously Stands to Herald the Sovereign’s Message. A faithful herald stands with courage obeying the Master’s mandate to herald the message that has been entrusted to him to faithfully impart to others. The content does not change the mandate to herald. To herald is to faithfully anno

From Thomas Brooks ( Heaven on Earth , 1667): A great motive to provoke you to the mortifying of your darling sins, is solemnly to consider, that the conquest and effectual mortifying of one bosom sin, will yield a Christian more glorious joy, comfort, and peace--than ever he has found in the gratifying and committing of all other sins.

Spurgeon says this (from Psalm 50): True praise glorifieth God. I must confess that I do not particularly like to hear voices that jar in the singing, but I should not like to stop one voice, certainly not if it stopped one heart. I think it is said of Mr. Rowland Hill, that an old lady once sat upon his pulpit-stairs who sang so very bad a voice that the good gentleman really could not feel that he could worship while he had her voice in his ear, and he said, “Do be quiet, my good soul.” She answered, “I sing from my heart, Mr. Hill.” “Sing away!” said he, “and I beg your pardon. I will not stop you.” And I think I could beg the pardon of the most cracked voice I ever heard if it is really accompanied with a real loving, grateful heart. God gets same of his richest praise amidst dying groans, and he gets delightful music from his people’s triumphant ones.

John Wesley provides some Instructions on Singing . That this part of divine worship may be more acceptable to God, as well as more profitable to yourself and others, be careful to observe the following directions:  1. SING ALL   See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find a blessing.   2. SING LUSTILY AND WITH A GOOD COURAGE   Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being, heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.   3. SING MODESTLY   Do not bawl, so as to be heard above, or distinct from, the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices togeth