June 15, 2014
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
Be sure to check the order of service, announcements,
nursery schedule, etc., in the attachment.
All articles in the bulletin are by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
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So that there are no distractions
during the preaching of the glory of God in Christ Jesus but so that the
children can hear the gospel preached, we have a nursery equipped with a
digital flat screen television broadcasting all services live, for children 4
and under. Also, please bring no drinks
or food into the service.
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Isaac Watts wrote this verse about being with Christ in
glory for all eternity:
“Millions
of years my wondering eyes
Shall
o’er thy beauties rove;
And
endless ages I’ll adore
The
glories of thy love.”
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When will we sinners believe the Lord? We will believe when the Lord makes us
see we have nothing good in us but that Christ is All. We will cast our care into the hand of the
Lord when the Lord makes us see that we cannot provide for ourselves but that
he careth for you. We will be strong only when the Lord makes us know we are utterly
weak but that Christ is all our strength.
This is so in things spiritual and temporal. The LORD provides all. We have no sufficiency
in ourselves for anything.
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Have We Learned Christ?
Ephesians 4: 20-21
The believer is a person who has undergone and is undergoing a divine
work of grace within. This work began
and continues by the hearing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In verse 21, of our text, plainly states, "if so be that ye have heard him, and have
been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus." This hearing is not the common hearing of
men but the hearing of the gospel in power and in demonstration of the Holy
Spirit. In I Corinthians 2: 4, where
this is stated, the word demonstration means an inward manifestation of the
gospel. God, the Holy Spirit,
demonstrates the mercy and grace of Christ within the hearing sinner and he is
sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
(Ephesians 1: 13) Those who truly
hear know that both the messenger and his message is from the Lord. John said, "we are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of
God heareth not us. Hereby, know we the
spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (I John 4: 6)
All those who hear the gospel, in power, are born of God and given
the ability, the right, and the privilege to become sons of God. (John 1:
12-13) They have, by the gracious gift
of the Father, been "made meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." (Colossians 1: 12) Those who truly hear, keep on hearing, and
never lose their appetite for the gospel.
In Hebrews 10: 39, Paul says, "we
are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul."
The
believer is a person who has undergone a divine transformation; a divine work
of grace within. He is not what he was
and not yet what he hopes to be, but is what he is by the grace of God; a new
creature in Christ Jesus. "For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that he should walk in them."
(Ephesians2: 8-10) The believer is
rather like a woman shopping who sees a garment and thinks to herself how good
she would look with it on. So she finds
a way to get it. Believers do not
continue to walk in the vanity of their minds but have seen with spiritual eyes
the beauty and majesty of Christ. "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and
make not provision for the flesh." (Romans 13: 14) Apart from this inward work of grace all
else is folly. Darvin Pruitt, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Taylor, Ar
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Not Eloquent, Why?
Exodus 4: 10-11
The LORD made Moses slow of speech. Think of all God had given Moses
since birth: he delivered Moses out of the river, raised Moses in Pharaoh’s
house, directed his steps to where he was now, gave him all these sure promises. The LORD could have given Moses eloquence but
he did not. Why? The glory in delivering his people is the
Lord’s. “This is the word of the LORD…Not by might, nor by power, but by my
spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zech 4: 6)
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One Pressing Question
Every time I get into a discussion with a person over the differences in
our faith it inevitably comes down to the same question; “What is the gospel?”
In short, the gospel is a Person. The content of our faith is completely tied
to the True Person and True Work of the Lord Jesus Christ; who He is and what
He did is everything in the gospel. The Word of God is our only source of light
and truth in answering this most pressing question. 'Sanctify them through thy
truth, thy word is truth.' Jn. 17:17 God's word is a revelation of the person
and work of Christ. However, using biblical terms to answer
these questions is not sufficient IF one is guilty of changing the meaning of
those terms. Truth is, if words have meaning, and they do, God's word must be
believed for what it means. To say I believe all men are sinners because the
bible says so, and then give those same men the ability to accept Christ by
their own free will, is to deny what a sinner is. To say I believe that Jesus
is the Christ because the bible says so, but then to deny His success in
accomplishing the full salvation of all Israel is to change the title Christ to
'christ wannabe'. To say I believe that Christ kept the law of God perfectly
because the bible says so, and then to use that same law as a standard to prove
men's salvation, is to deny that Christ is in fact the end of the law for
righteousness. To say I believe salvation is of grace and not of works and then
to make the accomplished work of Christ contingent on something I do, is to
change grace to works. To say I believe Christ raised from the dead because the
bible says so, and then to suggest in any way that there is something left for
us to do in order to secure our salvation, is to change the glorious truth of
the resurrection from a declaration of Divine satisfaction to a mere historical
event. We could go on to every precious truth declared in God's word about the
Lord Jesus Christ. Only when Christ is preached according to the scriptures
does the gospel become the power of God unto salvation. God has never used a
false prophet’s preaching to effect the salvation of one of His children. Satan
is a counterfeiter by nature. The Lord said he was a 'wolf in
sheep’s clothing', an 'angel of light' a 'minister of righteousness'. We ought
not be surprised that he would use God's word to spread his lies. All he has to
do is change it's meaning a little. A little leaven leaveneth the whole
loaf.
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. It destroys the gospel. Greg Elmquist, pastor of Grace Gospel Church
in Apopka, FL