March 31, 2019
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
MEETING LOCATION
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08368
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Clay@FreeGraceMedia.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
7 Birch Street
Pennington, NJ, 08538
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.
All
articles by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The videos are now listed as individual
sermons, as well as full services—click here.
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Proverbs
13: 2: A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of
the transgressors shall eat violence.
Christ
said, “A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of
the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Lu 6:45) The man God has given
a new heart speaks out of the abundance of his new heart ministering good fruit
to those who hear him. But while he
speaks the truth, ministering grace and comfort to others, he also eats that good
fruit himself. Yet, the transgressor, whose
pleasure is violence toward others, shall eat the same violence himself. On the day of Judgment the Lord Jesus said, “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Mt 12: 37). A believer who speaks for Christ against
himself, confessing that all his hope of justification and acceptance with God
is Christ’s righteousness freely imputed to him through faith, shall eat the
fruit of his mouth when God declares him justified according to his own
words. But the transgressor who speaks
against Christ for himself, boasting that he does not need Christ but is saved
by his own works, shall eat the violence of his own mouth when God declares him
condemned according to his own words.
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As a pastor I would be greatly discouraged at
times when I see professing believers forsake assembling together with God’s
people were it not for God’s word that assures me that God puts his own love
for Christ into the new hearts of his people making us love God and our brethren
by believing on Christ Jesus our Lord. It is only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
that we love our brethren who are born of God.
Only by God’s preserving grace making us persevere in faith in Christ do
we continue assembling with our brethren, entrusting our brethren to Christ to
make them stand, and forgiving one another for Christ’s sake even as God has
forgiven us for his sake.
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Those who hate the election of God seem to
think that those who love it are proud and puffed up because God chose them. There is nothing that will humble a believing
sinner more than the glorious truth that they were chosen of God, “neither having done any good or evil, that
the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him
that calleth.” (Romans 9:11) Their humility is magnified further when they
see that all their sin is against God and that they can do no good at all, but
ONLY evil in God’s sight! (Psalm 51:4) No, you will find no proud sinner in
heaven’s glory! There you will discover only broken, thankful, redeemed wretches,
conformed perfectly to the image of God’s Son, grateful and humbled that He
chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4) Pastor
David Eddmenson
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EVERYTHING OFFENSIVE
2 John 1: 9: Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and
the Son. 10: If there come any
unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,
neither bid him God speed: 11:
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
I
read an invitation to a conference that some church leader sent to me which
read, “At this conference there will be
nothing preached or done that is controversial or offensive.” In other words, the gospel will not be
preached. God keeping us, everything we
preach from this pulpit will be offensive.
We will not try to be offensive. But declaring sinners ruined by the fall so that none can save himself is offensive to
proud sinners. Declaring the necessity
of redemption by Christ who redeemed
his particular people alone offends the self-righteous. Declaring the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit by which
sinners are effectually called to faith is offensive to the will-worshipper. But if we would love our brethren, even
strangers (among whom may be Christ’s lost sheep), we must declare salvation by
the will and work of God who saves whom he will, apart from our works. Many think it is love to receive and unite
with those who preach and believe false doctrine. They say don’t tell them that God first loved
his people and only his people or that God first chose his people and only his
people; don’t tell them Christ is the Wisdom, Righteousness Sanctification and
Redemption of his people so that none can glory save in Christ alone. But those who say such things have not
experienced the “hammer that breaketh the
rock in pieces” or else they would know that God saves through the gospel (Jere
23:29-32). Does the Holy Spirit teach us
to receive liars? “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him
not into your house, neither
bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil
deeds.” That is not being mean, it is
being truthful. But if we receive eternity
bound sinners as brethren who believe lies, it is pure hatred! To love is to remain faithful to Christ, as
we speak the doctrine of Christ in truth and love, declaring that sinners are
saved by Christ’s works and not our own!
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THE PURPOSE AND USE OF OUR INTERNET BROADCAST
Our live internet broadcast is, first, for our
elderly members (some who come from as far as 2 hours away) whose infirmities
prevent them from assembling as often as they would. Also, it is for our members who live so far
away that it is impossible to get here after work for the midweek service. Of course, it is also for our members who are
too sick to be here. In each of these
cases, I encourage you to join us via the live broadcast, as opposed to choosing
a prerecorded sermon (see below). The
rest of the time, the prerecorded sermons
are to be a supplement but never a substitute for being here.
Secondly,
our live internet broadcast is for those living where God has not raised up a
local church within a day’s driving distance.
I encourage you to join us consistently each service the same as you
would if you lived near enough to assemble in person. In this case, it is better to join us via the
live broadcast rather than choosing a prerecorded sermon. When we chose a prerecorded sermon, we tend to
pick what we want to hear. The live broadcast
is better because then you get to hear the message the Lord has given for that service
for that hour. Also, by joining us consistently
via our live broadcast you get to go verse by verse through the books of the
Bible that we are going through each week. Since nothing is as good as assembling
together with brethren in person, if there is a church near enough for you to
attend over a long weekend, I encourage you to do so as often as possible. You will get the added benefit of fellowship with
brethren. Also, I encourage you to attend
one or more of the annual weekend conferences held by our sister churches in
various parts of the country. For a schedule
of some of the upcoming conferences, check our website www.FreeGraceMedia.com or check
the “Events” section on our sermon audio website.
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BELIEVERS WITHOUT A LOCAL CHURCH
Almost weekly, I receive letters from
believers who God gave faith after they had already established a home far from
where the gospel is preached. They always
tell me how grateful they are that you provide the broadcast online. But though they are grateful to have it, they
hunger to assemble with brethren to hear Christ preached in person. It is amazing that God uses them to remind us to
be thankful for this gift God has given us and to never take for granted assembling
each time the gospel is preached.
Someone
might ask, “Why don’t they just move?” That is easier said than done. Some have lived in their hometowns their
whole lives. Families, occupations, and
responsibilities are roots that run deep. When any believer does as Abraham when he left
Ur and went out, not knowing where he went, it is by God graciously giving them
faith and moving them. All our obstacles
are no obstacles at all to God. But they
are to us. Throughout his word, when God’s
child moves it is by God strengthening faith within them, enabling them to loosen
every tender tie so they go where God has established his gospel. By experience, I bear witness that when God gives
faith, God opens the way and makes every provision for his child. When I moved my family from Tennessee to New
Jersey my income decreased over half and my cost of living tripled. It was only by God strengthening faith in me to
look to him alone that I was able to move. Then it was as easy as packing a moving truck and
impossible not to. And the Lord has provided.
But until God strengthens our faith, sanctifying
himself in our hearts far above the obstacles, it is impossible for us to pack the first box.
Therefore, the best thing we can do for
our brethren in that situation is ask God to do with them as he will. When it is God’s will to move us, he usually gives
us a heart so that it is impossible for us not to. We always have our doubting flesh. But God convinces our hearts that he will
open the way and provide. Even when we
encounter difficulties, God keeps our heart stayed on him. But if we do not know what God would have us
to do, the best thing is to do nothing. It
is so in any decision.
To my brethren who are without a church, continue
faithfully assembling with us online each time we meet via the live broadcast. And if the Lord gives you a heart to move
where the gospel is preached, as you encounter difficulties (which you are sure
to encounter), do not loose heart, but remember, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always
having all sufficiency in all things, may
abound to every good work.” (2 Cor 9: 8)