July 10, 2016
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
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NURSERY
We have a nursery equipped with a digital flat screen television broadcasting all services live, for children four and under.
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All articles by the pastor unless otherwise noted. As you read the bulletin at home with your children be sure to look up the scripture references.
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God’s church does not beg for handouts or pressure folks into giving or ask everyone to gang up on God in prayer to get him to provide for us. If God is in the work he will provide without a cheer leader. But if God is not in the work, when it does not come to pass, our public begging would have only made those around us think our God is a failure. Therefore, we pray in secret, ask God’s will be done on the matter, with contentment of knowing his will shall be done.
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A STRAW MAN
“Election is not the cause of anybody going to hell, for election is unto salvation (2 Thessalonians 2: 13). Neither is non-election responsible for the damnation of sinners. Sin is the thing that sends men to hell, and all men are sinners by nature and practice; sinners altogether apart from election or non-election. It does not follow that because election is unto salvation that non-election is unto damnation. Sin is the damning element in human life, election harms nobody. C. D. Cole
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ABOUT CASUAL WORSHIP
“I believe that our thoughts of God are reflected in every part of our worship service. What part will the preaching of the Word of God have in the service? Will the truth of Christ and His saving work be the message? Are the hymns that we sing such that glorify God? Are the words true to Scripture? Are we faithful to join with God's people? Do we come on time? If late, do we come in quietly? Do we dress appropriately?
We do not set rules, and would never want to say anything that would keep anyone from coming to hear the Gospel. However, we live in a time when everyone wants to be casual, but there is nothing casual about the worship of God Almighty.” Pastor Milton Howard
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EVERY DAY ALIKE
When teaching believers to wait on Christ to teach our weak brethren, through Paul, God wrote, “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike.” (Rom 14: 5) This verse declares plainly that believers are not under any obligation to observe any day as a sabbath rest. It is plain because God says the believer who “esteemeth” the precepts of the old covenant is a weak believer. (Rom 14: 1-5) He “esteemeth one day above another” because he is weak in faith’s understanding of liberty from the law which all saints have in Christ. The believer who “esteemeth every day alike” is strong because he knows all sabbath days pictured Christ, our true Sabbath rest. (Col 2: 16-17)
Some object that only the sabbaths under the law of Moses typified Christ but not the seventh day of creation in which God rested when all his works were finished. Therefore, they “esteem one day above another.” But when God says the strong believer “esteemeth every day alike” it means he esteems even the seventh day sabbath of creation to have no special significance any more than any other day. The strong believer understands that when God rested on that seventh day it was because all his creation works were finished, typifying Christ sitting down at God’s right hand because all his works of making his people a new creation were finished. Therefore, those strong in faith only esteem Christ to be rest from all their works. They rest in Christ “every day alike” not on a special day of the week. They remember Christ to keep the Sabbath holy.
Brethren, if Christ has strengthened you in faith to know your liberty in him then do not disregard the primary point of this passage. Christ our Master alone is able to teach his servants. Therefore, as Christ gives opportunity use gentleness and meekness of wisdom to teach weak brethren the joy of liberty in Christ. It must be of faith given by Christ not by our fleshly compelling. So let us wait on Christ to make “every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” (Rom 14: 5)
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When the Spaniards went over to South America, they treated the poor natives so badly that the Indians did not wish to know anything about the Spaniards’ god, for they thought, from the cruelties they had suffered, that he must be a devil! And there are certain sorts of professors who are so unkind—they have such an absence of everything gentle and generous about them—that one does not want to know anything about their god, for if they are like he, he probably is the devil! Charles Spurgeon
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UNSEARCHABLE RICHES
Ephesians 3:8: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
This world’s riches give a false sense of security. Those with riches are like the man in Christ’s parable, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Lu 12: 19-21; Mt 19:24) Die without Christ and the riches we kept hoarded up to be our security shall at last be a witness against us, “Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.” (Ja 5: 3)
All the riches of this world combined are worthless compared to the riches of Christ. Eternal security is priceless. The riches of Christ are “unsearchable” to all for whom Christ died. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2 Cor 8: 9) God give us grace to heed Christ’s words, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich.” (Rev 3: 17-18)