July 7, 2013
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST
CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd
Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
Order of service, announcements, nursery schedule, etc.,
are in attachment. All articles in the
bulletin are by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
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"And hath put all things under his feet." Ephesians
1:22
How vast, how
numerous, how complicated are the various events and circumstances which attend
the Church of God here below, as she travels onward to her heavenly home! But
if all things as well as all persons are put under Jesus' feet,
there cannot be a single circumstance over which he has not supreme control.
Everything in providence and everything in grace are alike subject to his
disposal. There is not a trial or temptation, an affliction of body or soul, a
loss, a cross, a painful bereavement, a vexation, grief or disappointment, a
case, state or condition, which is not put under Jesus' feet. He has sovereign,
supreme disposal over all events and circumstances. As possessed of infinite
knowledge he sees them, as possessed of infinite wisdom he can manage them, and
as possessed of infinite power he can dispose and direct them for our good and
his own glory. How much trouble and anxiety should we save ourselves, could we
firmly believe, realize, and act on this! If we could see by the eye of faith
that every foe and every fear, every difficulty and perplexity, every trying or
painful circumstance, every looked-for or unlooked-for event, every source of
care, whether at present or in prospect, are all, as put under his feet, at his
sovereign disposal, what a load of anxiety and care would be often taken off
our shoulders! JC Philpot
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O WHAT A WRETCHED THING THIS FLESH IS!
O
wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 7:24, 25) For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary
the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Galatians
5:17)
Oh what a wretched thing this flesh
is! It is the residence of corruption,
unbelief, hate, deceit, and every other evil known to man. Who would want such neighbors living next to
them? Yet, these vile tenants are not
mere neighbors to the believer. No, they
are much closer than mere neighbors: they occupy the same duplex. The believer is of two natures joined into
one person: flesh and spirit.
Spiritually, he is a new man, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness. But he still
possesses the same flesh he was born with, and the same “people” live there.
These occupants of the fleshly side
of our “duplex” are not considerate at all, having no respect whatsoever for
the occupants of the spiritual side of the duplex. No sooner does the spirit mow the grass and
weed the flower bed than the flesh dumps a bag of stinking garbage on the
lawn. No sooner does the spirit sit down
for an evening of quiet reflection and prayer than the flesh will throw a
party, turning up the stereo of vile thoughts.
Neither side of the duplex will ever find full satisfaction, nor will
there be any compromise. It will be a
constant state of war for as long as the believer lives in this flesh.
No wonder Paul wrote, “O, wretched
man that I am.” Thanks to God through
Christ, He shall someday throw out the occupants on the other side, knock down
the wall that separates the two sides, and the fruit of the Spirit, the
occupants of the believer’s soul, shall reside in BOTH sides, in one harmonious
household! Joe Terrell, pastor in Rock
Valley, Iowa, USA
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THE BREAD, THE WINE, THE TAKING and
EATING
1 Corinthians 11: 24-26
The Bread
The broken bread represents Christ’s body which
was broken for his people. When we read “he was bruised for our
iniquities” (Is 53: 5) the word “bruised” means “to beat” as bread corn is
ground by a pestle in a mortar. (Nu 11: 8)
Christ was so made sin for his people that with the iniquities of his
people laid on him, God justly bruised and broke our Substitute as a corn of
wheat is bruised. Thereby, Christ forever satisfied divine justice for his
people. Believer, try to put everything out of your thoughts and hear Christ
say to you personally, this is “my body, which is broken for you.”
The Wine
The wine represents Christ shed blood by
which he put away forever all the sins of his people. (Lev
17: 11; Heb 1:…3; 9: 2, 14; Eph 1: 7) Salvation
is not in your works, but in Christ’s blood.
Justification is not by your good deeds, but in Christ’s finished work.
(Ro 5: 9, 3: 24-28) Believer, remember
this wine represents the blood of the everlasting covenant whereby all God’s
mercies to you are sure in Christ.
The Taking and Eating
The taking and eating of these elements symbolizes
our receiving Christ through faith, along with all
spiritual blessings God blessed us with when he chose us in him, as well as our
living upon Christ like we do our common bread.
(Jn 6: 53-55, 57) All is a gift. (Ro 6: 23) Someone might say, “I don’t feel
worthy to come to the Lord’s Table because of my sin.” Was their sin in those believers at the
Lord’s Table that night? Yes. Was any
worthiness in them to take? No. Their worthiness to take was Christ, who put
away their sin and justified them and commanded them, “Take and eat.” So it is
that no sinner can receive Christ by faith or partake of his table, who thinks
he has made himself worthy to receive Christ. (Lu 5: 32) Before any sinner
takes Christ by faith, the Spirit of God makes us examine ourselves to find all
unworthiness in us and makes us to discern the Lord’s body in who we find our
only worthiness. (Jn 6: 56; Gal 2:20; Is 55: 2; 1 John 1:3; Luke 12: 37) The same is true of those who come to the
Lord’s Table.