Perfect in Christ Jesus.
Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye, weeps imperfection; every harsh word which proceeds from your lip, mutters imperfection. You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you-you are perfect in Christ Jesus. In God's sight, you are complete in him; even now you are accepted in the Beloved. But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, which is sure to all the seed. Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure, that not even the eye of Omniscience will see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious, that Hart did not go beyond the truth when he said-
With my Saviour's garments on,
Holy as the Holy One.
Then shall we know, and taste, and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, Complete in Christ. Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus. Doth not thy heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Black as thou art, thou shalt be white one day; filthy as thou art, thou shalt be clean. Oh, it is a marvellous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a black and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in his glory, peerless in his beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of perfection in Christ.
Sent from the Morning and Evening Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
We are a Christ centred, cross focused community of believers united by the good news of salvation by grace through faith!
This week is our annual business meeting which will be followed by a brief gospel message,
Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!
A Christian is righteous and a sinner at the same time—both a friend and an enemy of God. The philosophers will not admit this paradox because they don't accept the right way of becoming justified. That's why they demand that people keep on doing good works until they don't feel sin anymore. This teaching has caused many people to become very distraught, because they have strived as much as they could to become completely righteous but could never achieve it. Even among those who spread this godless teaching, countless numbers of them have fallen into despair in their hour of death. This would have happened to me if Christ hadn't mercifully looked upon me and freed me from this error.
In contrast, we teach and comfort troubled sinners this way: Dear brothers and sisters, it's impossible for you to become so righteous in this life that you won't feel sin anymore. It's impossible for your body to become as bright and spotless as the sun. Though you still have wrinkles and spots, in spite of this, you are holy. But you may wonder, "How can I be holy since I sin and feel sinful?" Recognizing and feeling your sin is good. Thank God, and don't despair. It's a step toward health whenever a sick person recognizes his disease. "But how can I be freed from sin?" you wonder. Run to Christ, the Physician who heals the broken-hearted (Psalm 147:3). He makes sinners holy.
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
We are a Christ centred, cross focused community of believers united by the good news of salvation by grace through faith!
Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!
Matthew 2:14-15; Matthew 13:34-35; Luke 22:34-36; John 19:28-30; Luke 24:37-47; Luke 24:25-32; 1 Corinthians 4:15-16; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-11; Ephesians 3:6-8; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:8
We are so glad you have joined us this morning at DCC.
Enjoy the worship and fellowship along with the preaching of the Word of God by special guest speaker Pastor Brian Hamilton.
Thanks again for joining us.
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
How does the God-centeredness of God relate to his love for sinners like us?
How is God's passion for His glory an act of love?
This morning we will see that God's love for us keeps HIM at the center because it has to!
Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!
Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1Corinthians 10:31; Revelation 4:11; Psalm 144:15; Philippians 4:4; Revelation 21:3-4; Job 1:8-22; John 11:1-6; Matthew 11:2-6;Isaiah 61:1
All of us should use the gospel to evaluate ourselves. How near or far are we from Christ? How are we doing in faith and love? Many become inflamed with dreamy devotion when they hear about how impoverished Christ was when he was born. They grow furious at the people of Bethlehem and criticize their blindness and ingratitude. They think that if they had been there, they would have served the Lord and his mother. They wouldn't have allowed them to be so miserable. But these people don't even notice their own neighbors who are nearby and need their help. They ignore them and leave them as they are. Who on earth doesn't have miserable, sick, blundering, or sinful people around them? Why don't they show their love to these people? Why don't they do for their neighbors what Christ did for them?
Don't deceive yourself by thinking you would have treated Christ well when you don't presently do anything for your neighbor. If you had been at Bethlehem, you would have paid just as little attention to him as everyone else did. You only want to serve him because you know who he is. Let's say that he were to come, lie in the manger, and let you know that he is the one you now know so much about. Of course you would want to do something to help. But before that, you wouldn't have done anything.
Similarly, if you could see your neighbors now as they will be in the future, and if they were lying in front of you, then you certainly would take care of them. But because you only see them for what they are now, you ignore them. You fail to recognize Christ in your neighbors.
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
Today at DCC Pastor Dan will address the horrific events that took place in Connecticut on Friday morning and how they impact our celebration of the “joy” of advent.
Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!
Genesis 6:5-8; Romans 7:21-25; Luke 18:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Deuteronomy 1:39-40; Mark 10:13-16
Romans 14:17-18; Matthew 6:9-10; Luke 12:32; Romans 14:1-10; Romans 8:1-4; Romans 4:23 – 5:2; Romans 12:9-21; Galatians 5:1; Galatians 5:22-23
The following illustration is overly simplistic, but it makes the birth of the Son of God a little easier to understand. As a human son receives his body and his very being from his father, so the Son of God, born of the Father, receives his divine essence and nature from the eternal Father. But this or any other illustration can never adequately describe how the divine majesty can be given to another, as when the Father gives his entire divine essence to the Son. A human father can't give his entire being to his son. This is where the comparison breaks down.
However, as far as the divine being is concerned, all of God's divine essence and nature passes into the Son. Yet the Son, who remains in the divine being together with the Father, is one God together with the Father. Likewise, the Holy Spirit has the same divine nature and majesty as the Father and the Son.
You must simply believe this. No matter how clever, sharp, or intelligent a person may be, the human mind will never be able to fully comprehend it. If human wisdom were able to grasp this, then God wouldn't have needed to reveal it from heaven or announce it through Holy Scripture. So you should say, "Even though I can't completely comprehend it, I believe and confess that there is one eternal God, who is also three distinct persons. Holy Scripture is God's Word and says that this is the way it is. I will live by what it says."
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
We are a Christ centred, cross focused community of believers united by the good news of salvation by grace through faith!
Thank-you for joining us this second Sunday in advent; our theme for today’s service and title of our message is: “Peace on Earth”
Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!
Luke 2:8-20; Colossians 2:6-15; 1 Corinthians 4:4-5; John 14:27
In this passage, Christ is offering us a remedy for the poison of arrogance, which is overestimating your own holiness. Jesus says this so none of us will think that our own suffering, apart from Christ, can attain forgiveness of sins or make us fruitful branches in the sight of God. Here's what usually happens: Someone does many good works and endures much suffering. That person becomes aware of producing fruit. In other words, they are aware of achieving something through preaching or some other method. Then that sweet poison begins to make the person think, "Oh, I have now done something that will make God notice me and be merciful to me." In this way, little wild branches begin growing alongside the true branches. These wild branches steal the sap and energy from the true branches so that they don't flourish. That is why the Gardener must be alert. He has to restrain such arrogance and presumption by constant application of the Word.
Christ is saying here, "You aren't clean because of what you do, what you suffer, or the fruit you produce. You wouldn't have done any of these things if you hadn't already been pruned and been made into good and true branches. Only God's Word can make you clean." It must be present at all times. The Father sends various kinds of suffering, danger, anxiety, need, and temptation to you so that you may hang on to God's Word tightly and so that it may work powerfully in you. In this way, he humbles you and teaches you that you can't make yourself clean. Your suffering doesn't make you clean before God. Yet it drives you to reach for God's Word and hold on to it more tightly and firmly. This is how God exercises your faith.
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
We are a Christ centred, cross focused community of believers united by the good news of salvation by grace through faith!
Thank-you for joining us this first Sunday in advent; our theme for today’s service and title of our message is: “Hope for the Season”
Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!
Isaiah 59:9-11; Ecclesiastes 3:9-14; Psalm 51:1-5; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Proverbs 13:12; 1 Timothy 1:1; John 4:13-14; Matthew 11:28-29
Wanting to be justified by our own works through the law is so wrong that the apostle Paul calls this throwing away God's grace. It shows not only ingratitude—which is extremely bad in itself— but also contempt, because we should eagerly seek God's grace. Instead, we shove aside his grace, which we receive free of charge. This is a serious error. Consider Paul's argument: "If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Paul confidently declares that either Christ's death was pointless, which is the highest blasphemy against God, or Christ's death was essential, and through the law we can have nothing but sin.
Some teachers categorize various kinds of righteousness using distinctions they have made up in their heads. If these teachers try to bring these ideas to theology, they should be kept far away from the Holy Scriptures. For these people say one kind is moral righteousness, another is righteousness of faith, and they describe others I don't even know about. Let civil government have its kind of righteousness, the philosophers have theirs, and each person have their own. But we must understand righteousness the way the Bible explains it. The apostle clearly says that there is no other righteousness than through faith in Jesus Christ. All other works, even those according to the holiest laws of God, do not offer righteousness. Not only that, but they are actually sins.
Our sins are so great and so far away from righteousness that it was necessary for the Son of God to die so that righteousness could be given to us. When discussing theology, don't call anything righteousness that is apart from faith in Christ.
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
Good morning!
Today we are turning our attention toward the coming holiday season. Many people look forward to Christmas all year while others dread the season as a reminder of past pain or disappointment. As believers we need to be able to celebrate the birth of Christ, no matter what else; good or bad, the season may dredge up for us.
This morning’s message is about how the gospel reveals God’s plan for a Merry Christmas!
Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.
Scripture for today’s sermon:
Isaiah 9:6-7; Deuteronomy 28:64-65; 1 Peter 2:1-3; Ephesians 5:25; Luke 6:30; 1 Corinthians 6:12-13; Acts 17:24-28; Colossians 3:15-16; Colossians 3:23; Hebrews 10:23-25
No matter what anyone says, this passage is clear. If Jesus had phrased this in the affirmative, "Whoever eats my flesh has life," then somebody could have challenged it by saying, "Those who don't eat it will also be saved." Some scoundrels also say, "Your teaching is correct, but ours is also correct. The Lord didn't mean to exclude other ways." They create many ways to receive eternal life, including praying to the saints, worshiping the Virgin Mary, or living in a monastery. But none of these ways can achieve eternal life. Christ excludes all other ways. They are all unacceptable.
Take a look at this from another angle. If I were to say, "Wittenberg beer quenches thirst. Annaberg beer also quenches thirst," then I don't exclude other beers. But it would be very different if I were to say, "If you don't drink Wittenberg beer, no other beer will quench your thirst." In the same way, Christ doesn't speak in the affirmative here. He excludes everything else when he says, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." If we despise his flesh, nothing else will prove helpful. I may call on Saint Mary or Saint Peter, but they cannot help me. It's out of the question. In a word, all other ways are rejected.
Life, grace, and salvation come to us by faith alone and not by good works. They become ours by believing and by eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ.
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
Good morning!
Today we are completing our study of Prophets, prophesy and New Testament prophetic ministry.
Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.
Scripture for today’s sermon:
1 Corinthians 13:8-27; 1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 Corinthians 14
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
Good morning!
Today we are completing our study of Prophets, prophesy and New Testament prophetic ministry.
Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.
Scripture for today’s sermon:
1 Corinthians 13:8-27; Acts 15:28-32; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 7; Deuteronomy 18:20-22; Jeremiah 23;29-32; Matthew 7:15; Matthew 24; 1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 Corinthians 14
Welcome to Dakota Community Church
Grace, Freedom, Laughter
Good morning!
Today we are continuing our study of the “5 fold ministry gifts” from Ephesians 4:11 with a look at Prophets and Prophetic Ministry.
I have asked a few of the folks from PCC to join us for an open forum Question and Answer time as part of today’s gathering.
Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.
Scripture for today’s sermon:
Acts 11:27-30; Acts 13:1-12; Acts 19:1-6; Acts 21:7-14; 1 Corinthians 14; 2 Timothy 4:1-6; Acts 21:8; ; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Cor. 12:27-31
Their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.
Prayer is the never-failing resort of the Christian in any case, in every plight. When you cannot use your sword you may take to the weapon of all-prayer. Your powder may be damp, your bow-string may be relaxed, but the weapon of all-prayer need never be out of order. Leviathan laughs at the javelin, but he trembles at prayer. Sword and spear need furbishing, but prayer never rusts, and when we think it most blunt it cuts the best. Prayer is an open door which none can shut. Devils may surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy's hand. We can never be taken by blockade, escalade, mine, or storm, so long as heavenly succours can come down to us by Jacob's ladder to relieve us in the time of our necessities. Prayer is never out of season: in summer and in winter its merchandise is precious. Prayer gains audience with heaven in the dead of night, in the midst of business, in the heat of noonday, in the shades of evening. In every condition, whether of poverty, or sickness, or obscurity, or slander, or doubt, your covenant God will welcome your prayer and answer it from his holy place. Nor is prayer ever futile. True prayer is evermore true power. You may not always get what you ask, but you shall always have your real wants supplied. When God does not answer his children according to the letter, he does so according to the spirit. If thou askest for coarse meal, wilt thou be angered because he gives thee the finest flour? If thou seekest bodily health, shouldst thou complain if instead thereof he makes thy sickness turn to the healing of spiritual maladies? Is it not better to have the cross sanctified than removed? This evening, my soul, forget not to offer thy petition and request, for the Lord is ready to grant thee thy desires.
Sent from the Morning and Evening Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com
