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FOREVER FAITHFUL In 1 Timothy 6:18-19, Paul says that if you use your resources well, you will lay for yourselves a firm foundation for this age and the age to come. Today, we continue our sermon series on the Biblical charge to clarity, unity and charity which is a call upon every disciple of the Lord.

WELCOME!­

These things are central to the Christian faith and it is a charge that has been given to us by the living God through the Word of God. Therefore, we need to be people who are Forever Faithful to the things of God.

The following prayer may be used as you prepare for worship:

O Lord Almighty; We come to You this day as ones who have been hasty and short in our love and knowledge of you. Make us hungry, Lord. Keep us from robbing You of the true worship which Your glory requires and which our hearts so urgently need. Wipe out our sins, known and unknown, felt and unfelt, remembered and forgotten. ‘ Let us shake off our guilty fears and hunger for You and seek You with such a passion that we would follow hard after you day by day... and You would be pleased to pour out revival among us... even now in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sanctuary Services THE CHURCH IN CORPORATE WORSHIP MAY 17, 2015 REFLECTION





My flesh is tired of seeking God, But on my knees I’ll stay. I want to be a pleasing child, Until that final day.



My mind is full of many thoughts That clutter and confuse. But standing firm, I will prevail, In faith that I’ll be used.



Amen! I’m asking once again. Won’t you help me my friend, Lord Jesus. Holy Lord Spirit, set us free, From chains we cannot see, Come release us.



I wrestle not with flesh and blood, My fight is with the one, Who lost the keys of hell and death, To God’s most precious Son.



One sleepless night of anguished prayer, I triumphed over sin. One battle in the Holy war, God’s promised me to win.

My flesh is tired of seeking God, But on my knees I’ll stay. I want to be a pleasing child, Until that final day. -- Keith Green

Equipping people to pursue Jesus Christ passionately as they impact the culture. eastcooperbaptist.com

To be a Christian is to be obliged to engage the world, pursuing God’s restorative purposes over all of life, individual and corporate, public and private. -- James Davison Hunter



361 Egypt Road Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 843.856.3222

Heaven rightly perceived results not in retreat from this world’s concerns but in wholehearted commitment to the purposes of God. When we rest assured of future blessing and present security, there is nothing to hold us back from committing ourselves fully to the work of ministry. -- Bryan Chapell

Morning Welcome COME PRAISE AND GLORIFY THE LORD

CALL TO WORSHIP

2011 SOVEREIGN GRACE MUSIC

Biblical worship is always a response to God’s gracious revelation of himself to his people.

Come praise and glorify our God The Father of our Lord In Christ He has in heav’nly realms His blessings on us poured For pure and blameless in His sight He destined us to be And now we’ve been adopted through His Son eternally To the praise of Your glory To the praise of Your mercy and grace To the praise of Your glory You are the God who saves

Hence, our worship services usually begin with a scripturally based “call to worship” (that is, the content of the “call” comes from God’s own Word quoted by the leader or quoted or sung by the congregation or choir).

Come praise and glorify our God Who gives His grace in Christ In Him our sins are washed away Redeemed through sacrifice In Him God has made known to us The myst’ry of His will That Christ should be the head of all His purpose to fulfill Come praise and glorify our God For we’ve believed the Word And through our faith we have a seal The Spirit of the Lord The Spirit guarantees our hope Until redemption’s done Until we join in endless praise To God, the Three in One

In this “call” we are reminded that God always takes the initiative.

COME BEHOLD THE WONDROUS MYSTERY

He always comes toward his people first, in grace.

MATT BOSWELL, MATT PAPA

Come behold the wondrous mystery In the dawning of the King He the theme of heaven’s praises Robed in frail humanity In our longing, in our darkness Now the light of life has come Look to Christ, who condescended Took on flesh to ransom us

Our worship is a reflexive and deliberate response to his gracious call. We are promised that when we worship him correctly, he is glorified and the dislocations of our lives are healed.

Come behold the wondrous mystery He the perfect Son of Man In His living, in His suffering Never trace nor stain of sin See the true and better Adam Come to save the hell-bound man Christ the great and sure fulfillment Of the law; in Him we stand



Join us in joyfully singing our call to worship this morning - a call to “Come praise and glorify the Lord!”

Come behold the wondrous mystery Christ the Lord upon the tree In the stead of ruined sinners Hangs the Lamb in victory See the price of our redemption See the Father’s plan unfold Bringing many sons to glory Grace unmeasured, love untold Come behold the wondrous mystery Slain by death the God of life But no grave could e’er restrain Him Praise the Lord; He is alive! What a foretaste of deliverance How unwavering our hope Christ in power resurrected As we will be when he comes

O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING

Morning Anthem • Christ Is Risen! • ECBC Choir Christ is Risen! Now is Christ Risen from the dead! And become the firstfruits of them that Slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection from the dead. For this corruptible must put on incorruption And this mortal must put on impprtality. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Wesley wrote this hymn to commemorate the first anniversary of his conversion to Christ. This origin is reflected in the lyrics, “On this glad day the glorious Sun of Righteousness arose.”

O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING

Like with so many hymns, what we have in our hymnals is only part of the original hymn text. The stanza that begins “O for a thousand tongues to sing” is actually verse seven of Wesley’s original poem. Here are a few of the other 19 verses that do not appear in our hymnal:

AZMON

In Christ your Head, you then shall know, Shall feel your sins forgiven; Anticipate your heaven below, And own that love is heaven. Glory to God, and praise and love Be ever, ever given, By saints below and saints above, The church in earth and heaven. On this glad day the glorious Sun Of Righteousness arose; On my benighted soul He shone And filled it with repose.

Affirmation of Faith • Heidelberg Catechism Q. 27 and 28



LEADER: What do you understand by the providence of God? Sudden expired the legal strife, ’Twas then I ceased to grieve; ALL: Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he My second, real, living life upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them I then began to live. that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance Then with my heart but from his fatherly hand. I first believed, Believed with faith divine, LEADER: How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us? Power with the Holy Ghost received ALL: We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, To call the Savior mine. and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from his love. All creatures are so completely in his hand I felt my Lord’s atoning blood that without his will they can neither move nor be moved. Close to my soul applied; Me, me He loved, the Son of God, * The Heidelberg Catechism originated in Germany in 1562 under the authority of Elector Frederick III, who ruled the For me, for me He died! most important German province, the Palatinate, from his castle in Heidelberg. He commissioned the preparation of a new catechism for guiding ministers and teachers in instructing people in the Christian faith.

O MY SOUL ARISE

2012 SOVEREIGN GRACE MUSIC

THE LOVE OF CHRIST

Arise, my soul, arise Shake off your guilty fears The bleeding sacrifice On my behalf appears Before the throne my surety stands Before the throne my surety stands My name is written on His hands

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

He ever lives above For me to intercede His all redeeming love His precious blood to plead His blood atoned for every race His blood atoned for every race And sprinkles now the throne of grace O my soul, arise Behold the risen Christ Your Great High Priest Your spotless sacrifice O my soul, arise God owns you as His child Shake off your guilty fears My soul, arise

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

My God is reconciled His pard’ning voice I hear He owns me as His child I can no longer fear With confidence I now draw nigh With confidence I now draw nigh And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry

OFFERTORY PRAYER • Eddie Bostic, Deacon of the Day OFFERTORY • Overture of Praise • ECBC Orchestra CONGREGATIONAL GREETINGS THE MORNING SERMON • Conrad “Buster” Brown, Sr. Pastor THE BENEDICTION • from Revelation 1:5-6

LEADER: To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever!



ALL: Glory be to you, Lord Jesus.



LEADER: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.



ALL: Thanks be to God! Amen!



For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Five bleeding wounds He bears Received on Calvary They pour effectual prayers They strongly plead for me: “Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry “Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry “Don’t let that ransomed sinner die!”

THE POSTLUDE

MORNING MESSAGE

FOREVER FAITHFUL

Babies & Toddlers

In order to maintain a worshipful atmosphere and for the comfort of our little ones, we ask that parents exit the service with their crying babies and talkative toddlers. We would encourage parents to use our excellent nursery and trained staff to care for your children.

The Spoken Word

CD’s of today’s sermon ($3 each) may be special ordered through the church office during the week. The messages may also be heard online at the church website.

Clarity: Discerning the Will of the Lord Conrad “Buster” Brown, Sr. Pastor Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. “A renewed mind is concerned with those issues of life that are of lasting importance. By nature, our thoughts tend to dwell on the ephemeral. But that which passes quickly is normally inconsequential. As Paul said in another place: “What is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) The mind renewed enables us to discern the will of God. Released from the control of the world around us, we can come to know what God has in mind for us. We will find that his will is “good, pleasing, and perfect”. It is good because it brings about moral and spiritual growth. It is pleasing to God because it is an expression of his nature. It is perfect in that no one could possibly improve on what God desires to happen.” New American Commentary on Romans  In this passage, Paul implores, begs, commands the believers to be involved in glorious spiritual worship.  True spiritual worship happens as we are not conformed to this world but as we are continuously transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Responding to the Word

A renewed mind is centered on the glorious reality and magnificence of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6) and our personal need of ongoing transformation. “But knowledge of ourselves lies first in considering what we were given at creation and how generously God continues his favor toward us, in order to know how great our natural excellence would be if only it had remained unblemished… [And there arises within us] a new zeal to seek God, in whom each of us may RECOVER those GOOD THINGS which we have utterly and completely lost.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, II-I-1 “[The believer] should weigh his own abilities – or rather, lack of abilities. When he perceives this lack, he should like PROSTRATE in EXTREME CONFUSION…reduced to naught.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, II-I-4 The will of God: the sovereign will of God whereby God [secretly] works out all things for his ultimate glory. (Matthew 10:29, Ephesians 1:1) The will of God: the sovereign will of God whereby God [secretly] works out all things for his ultimate glory. (Matthew 10:29, Ephesians 1:1) The revealed will of God is God’s declared will concerning what we should do or what God commands us to do in scripture. (1 Thessalonians 4:3, Colossians 1:9) “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29



As we sit under the reading and teaching of Scripture, it calls for a response as we ask ourselves “what will we do with the truth presented today?” The Christian life is marked by the offering of one’s self to God to be shaped, empowered, directed and changed by God and His Word. In worship, God presents us with the costly self-offering of Jesus Christ. We are calmed by Christ and set free. In response to God’s love in Jesus Christ we offer our lives, our gifts, our time, our abilities and our material goods for God’s service, His glory, and our ultimate good.

Discerning God’s will today: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:1-3 “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:14 Two considerations: 1. God’s will is good (beneficial, useful), acceptable (pleasing), and perfect (complete, mature). 2. My intuitions are my intuitions.

How do you know the will of God? 1. To have our minds continuously transformed by the power of the word of God.

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“17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:17-18

SANCTUARY

“10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10b-11

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2. Prayer regarding the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit in my life. (Isaiah 40:31, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Isaiah 64:4) “When you don’t start with Jesus the Son, you end up with a different God who is not the Father. For the Son is the only Way to know God truly: only he reveals the Father. John Calvin once wrote that if we try to think about God without thinking about the Father, Son, and Spirit, then “only the bare and empty name of God flits about in our brains, to the exclusion of the true God.” (Institutes, II-XIII-2) He was quite right, for there is a vast world of difference between the triune God revealed by Jesus and all other gods.” Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity, p. 38 3. The community of the church/wise counsel. “So the best place to hear him now is in a gathered congregation of the body of Christ, where he is present to teach, comfort, warm, and guide all who believe. His speaking is not an inner experience but a shared event, just like the teaching and admonishing that happened when the New Testament church was filled with the Spirit.” Philip Cary, Good News for Anxious Christians (10 Practical Things You Don’t Have to Do), p. 16 ” For much of my Christian life and a portion of my ministry, I had no idea that my walk with God was a community project. I had no idea that the Christianity of the New Testament is distinctly relational, from beginning to end. I understood none of the dangers inherent in attempting to live the Christian life on my own. I had no awareness of the blinding power of remaining sin, which was discussed in the last chapter. I had no idea that I was living outside of God’s normal means of sightedness, encouragement, conviction, strength, and growth. I had no idea how much consumerism and how little true participation marked the body of Christ. I had no idea of the importance of the private ministry of the Word to the health of the believer. I had no idea. I have now come to understand that I need others in my life. I now know that I need to commit myself to living in intentionally intrusive, Christ-centered, grace-drive, redemptive community. I now know that it’s my job to seek this community out, to invite people to interrupt my private conversation, and to say things to me that I couldn’t or wouldn’t say to myself. I have realized how much I need warning, encouragement, rebuke, correction, protection, grace, and love. I now see myself as connected to others, not because I have made the choice but because of the wise design of the one who is the head of the body, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling, pp. 83-84 Recommended books:  Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something (Moody)  Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling (Crossway) (Chapter 6 – The Missing Community, pp. 89-96)  Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity, (IVP Academic) (Chapter 4 – The Christian Life: The Spirit Beautifies, pp. 85-108  John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (II.I.1-II.II.4)

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Prayer Line: 856-3222 ext. PRAY(7729) Please list your prayer requests and/or names (with detailed information) of people in need. Thank you! ___Confidential (distributed only to Pastors)

ECBC FEATURED EVENTS

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK ON THE BANNER AT EASTCOOPERBAPTIST.COM...

Forever Faithful Event Plans are underway for the Forever Faithful celebration event Sunday, May 31.

On this Sunday, we will have two combined services in the Worship Center at 9:30am and 11:00am. There will be no SMBC for middle school and up. The gym will be setup to help answer any questions regarding the plans for the New Sanctuary. More details on this event to follow.

TODAY ocean baptism - If you are interested in being baptized, please register for a baptism date. An ECBC pastor will then contact you to schedule an interview prior to your baptism date. The next baptism date is: August 30.

NOW Immersion Mission Program- Are you willing to host a teenager from Spain from June 29 - July 27? A total of 13 male and female students ages 13-16 are looking for host homes to provide room and board. Students will be involved in an English program Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm and will spend nights and weekends with their host family. Email Jennie Santucci at [email protected] or call 843-830-9961 for more information.

NOW help support msm - Join us at Chick-Fil-A near Publix on Wednesday, May 20th from 5:00-8:00pm to support the middle school ministry’s mis-

sion trip to Spartanburg, SC. Tell them you are from ECBC and 20% of your order will be given to the mission trip fund. Thanks for your support!

NOW hsm senior events- There are many upcoming events planned for HSM Seniors from seminars to banquets leading up to Senior Recognition Sunday on June 7. Visit the HSM webpage for all the information or contact Larkin Shaw at [email protected].

ELDER NOMINEES

The Elders and Deacons have affirmed the following slate of men to serve as new elders for the 2015-2019 term: Robert Nagy and Scott Broome. The congregation will vote May 10 and May 17 to confirm these men. If you are a member of East Cooper Baptist Church and are 18 years or older, we ask that you vote on today’s tear-off. Please PRINT name on reverse. _____YES, I approve these men to serve as elders in the church. _____NO, I do not approve these men to serve as elders in the church. Signed________________________________________

NOW VBS CHILD REGISTRATION - Child registration is now open for Vacation Bible School this summer. VBS will be held the weeks of June 8-12 and June 15-19, 2015. Join in on the journey as we still need adult volunteers!

NOW SUMMER SUNDAYS - Our Summer Sundays ministry is your opportunity to help us continue our spiritual instruction by volunteering to serve for 4 Sundays, several more Sundays or for the entire 13 Sundays this summer.

Giving

ecbc pastoral staff

361 Egypt Road MP, SC 29464 Main Office 856-3222 Emergency Line ext. 7777 Fax 856-1136 Web eastcooperbaptist.com

Van Barnhill Danny Beech Andy Boyer Conrad Brown Leland Brown Dave Bruner Craig Harris Dean Henderson Carl Schooling Steve Tuck

Current church Finances as of April 28: Income YTD $ 4,076,600 Expenses YTD $ 3,725,289

856-3222

High School ext. 2016 Young Adults ext. 2027 Equipping ext. 2022 Senior Pastor ext. 2006 Middle School ext. 2034 Global Impact ext. 2027 Shepherding ext. 2012 Worship ext. 2040 Pastoral Care ext. 2003 Children & Family ext. 2028