September 15, 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.
PUBLIC WORSHIP
My favorite days of the week are the days when public
worship services are scheduled. God is
to be worshiped every day, but public worship is so very necessary.
·
Our Lord Himself promised that He would be in
our midst during the public worship service.
(Matt 18:20)
·
The public worship service is where God’s
sheep are fed and edified (built up) through the preaching of the gospel. (Eph 4:12)
·
The public worship service is where believers
encourage each other and provoke each other to love and to good works. (Heb 10:24-25)
·
The public worship service gives us the
opportunity to sing the praises of our Redeemer and to make a joyful noise unto
the Lord.
I pray that we will never take the
blessed privilege of public worship for granted. God has not seen fit to put His gospel and a
true house of worship in every city and town, but in His mercy, He has given
that blessing to us, and we are thankful!
Since we won’t
do anything as important as public worship the rest of the week, I hope we will
prepare our hearts to worship by praying about the service in advance. Let’s ask the Lord to bless the preacher in
preaching and the hearers in hearing.
Let’s ask the Lord to enable us to worship Him in spirit and in truth
because that is the only way God can be worshiped. (John 4:24)
Frank Tate, pastor of
Hurricane Road Grace Church, Ashland, KY
*******
It is one of
the most unwise things under Heaven to comfort
people who have not yet closed with Christ in heart faith and confessed Him
publicly. When someone manifests an interest in the Gospel and gives ear to our
message, we must not allow our love for them and our zeal for their conversion
to lead us to offer them rest when they need strong words to shut them up to
Christ. Any friendship with the pastor and church-people which gives an unbeliever
cheer, fellowship, and ease, short of a union with Christ is dangerous. We are
telling them, without saying it, that everything is alright, when in fact, they
are in great danger! A sinner’s main business is to come to Christ HIMSELF, to
love Christ, and to rest with Christ. Then comes church fellowship, rest, and
the joys of the body. There is no halfway house before believing Christ! -
Henry Mahan
*******
Neutrality in this warfare is enmity.
Not to be on Christ's side is to be against Christ; not to be separate from
God's enemies is to be God's enemy; not to love him is to hate him, and not to
be his is to be Satan's. JC Philpot
*******
A Word
to Those with Unbelieving Loved Ones (Mk 5: 35-36, 39)
While God’s elect are dead and
unclean it may appear as a hopeless case to their loved ones. They came to tell Jairus’ his daughter had
died so trouble not the Master anymore. “As soon as Jesus heard the word that
was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only
believe.” Believer, you who are longing for Christ to heal your loved ones:
your fathers or mothers, sons or daughters, sisters or brothers, friends and
neighbors. Never give up hope no matter how hopeless it may appear. “Be not afraid, only believe.” With God all things are possible. He said of Jairus’ daughter, she is “not dead
but sleeping” (Mark 5: 39) Though God’s
elect are born into this world spiritually dead with this issue of blood,
because God put his elect in Christ, each of his spiritually dead elect shall
be made alive and cleansed by his touch.
This work is so sure, that even when in their spiritually dead state, it
may be said, “they are only asleep.” And
all who the Master has made willing to believe on him are every whit whole so
that though we die, physically, we only sleep.
Be not afraid, only believe.
*******
There is no such
thing as "chance", "luck", or "accident" in the
Christian journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God, and
all things are working together for the believer’s good." - J.C. Ryle
*******
That
is, In My Flesh
Ro
7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in
my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:
When the
apostle Paul said that no good dwelt in him, he qualified that statement with, “that
is, in my flesh.” This qualification is
of utmost importance for the glory of God.
The believers flesh is the nature
which is the product of fallen Adam. In
our flesh dwells nothing good because it is corrupt by sin. But the believer has another nature which is
created of God by the righteousness and holiness of Christ Jesus the Son of
God. The Holy Spirit plainly says that this
new man within the believer is “created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Eph
4: 24)
Therefore, Paul made the
distinction, saying, “that is in my flesh” because no one dare say that the
work of God’s hand is not good. Believers may be hesitant to speak of an
“imparted righteousness” because we do not want to be misunderstood or charged
with bragging on anything in us or done by us. We have nothing to boast of.
Entirely every aspect of our salvation—including our regeneration—is all the
work of God, not of us.
Yet, everything God makes is good and
we are commanded to glory in the Lord.
By the work of God’s hand, the new man within the believer is righteous
and holy. It may seem a paradox but this is the only reason the believer looks
out of himself to Christ only for righteousness and holiness. It is because God has put his Spirit in the
believer. Surely, the imparted Spirit is righteous. After all, it is God the
Holy Spirit. Christ is formed in the believer.
Certainly, Christ is righteous. In other
words, in the inner man the believer is made partaker of the Divine nature. Surely
the Divine nature is righteous and holy.
Paul made the distinction lest he be charged with calling God, and the
work of God within the believer, anything less than what it is—good.
Either a sinner has the Holy Spirit
of God imparted, whereby he has a new man within created of God in righteousness
and true holiness, which is the only nature in which a sinner is enabled of God
to worship and serve God, or the sinner is nothing but the dead corrupt flesh
of Adam in which dwells nothing good and in which no one ever worshipped and
served God