Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleWeekly Bulletin 1-5-2020
Bible TextRomans 13:11
Date04-Jan-2020
Article Type Bulletin
 

January 5, 2020

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

 

Services Broadcast Live @ www.FreeGraceMedia.com/live

 

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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 servicesclick here.

 

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SAVE THE DATE
Friday, January 10, 2020, 7:00 pm—Friday night youth bible class.  Adults are welcome to watch sermon on TV in auditorium during class.

 

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Proverbs 14: 13: Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

 

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Come To Christ

Christ told us “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37). And “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Isaiah prophesied “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”  ANY, ALL, and EVERY ONE; come thirsty, tired and burdened. Come to Christ now, without any payment of your works, and enter into true rest! Pastor Kevin Thacker

 

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“Salvation is of the Lord.”  The word “salvation” means one is in such a dire straight that another must do everything involved to save him.  If I can contribute then I do not need salvation, I only need help.  But sinners are dead in sins.  We can do nothing to save ourselves; we cannot even contribute.  Thankfully, salvation is of the Lord.  The Lord does everything involved to save his people.  The Father chose who he would save by free grace.  The Son accomplished our redemption freeing us from the curse of the law, making us the righteousness of God in him.  The Spirit gives each redeemed child all things that pertain to life and godliness.  God which begins this work in his children shall continue it until each child is with him in glory.  Even our presentation to God in that day will be of Christ who shall present us holy, unblameable, unreprovable in God’s sight.

 

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HIGH TIME TO AWAKE

Romans 13: 11: And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep:

 

Have you ever been in a state physically where you were almost asleep but you were still awake?  Therefore, when you heard someone call for you, you made excuses to yourself why you can’t get up? 

     Believers do that same thing toward Christ.  We are awake spiritually; the Spirit of God has regenerated us.  But our flesh makes us sleep.  When we hear Christ speak, in our conscience, we justify ourselves in whatever we are doing contrary to his will.  But Christ puts his hand in through the door and awakens his bride—Song of Solomon 5: 2: I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. 3: I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? 4: My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. 5: I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

     When Christ awakens us then we see how far removed we are.  Christ sends his pastor—his watchman, the keeper of the walls—with a word from God through which Christ rebukes and chastens us.  Then the Spirit makes us long for Christ with great desire, urgency and love—6: I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7: The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.  8: I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

     Oh, that Christ would awaken us and make us sick for his love!  He said that we will find him when we seek for him with all our heart.  Thank God his preserving grace makes us yearn for him whole heartedly!  May Christ come now and do this work in his slumbering bride, teaching us “that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep!”

 

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PRIDE

 

Every time someone has offended me it was only the pride of my sinful flesh thinking that I deserve better.  Christ made himself the very least—from an infant in the virgin’s womb to separation from God on the cross to a dusty borrowed tomb.  Christ did this to save a wretch like me.  How dare I be bloated with self-conceit so as to think I deserve to be treated better by anyone?  My Savior teaches me that greatness in the kingdom of God is to make ourselves the least.

 

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SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND SICKNESS

We tend to think we are healthy spiritually so long as we assemble to hear the preaching of the gospel of Christ.  But if we have bitterness in our hearts toward a brother or sister then we are spiritually sick.  When God gives instruction to husbands and wives to be of meek and quiet spirit he gives this cause “that your prayers be not hindered” (1 Pet 3: 1-7).  God instructs us that when chastened we should look diligently unto Christ “lest any fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”  This root of bitterness is dire because the devil turns our focus from Christ to the flesh.  He would have us cast off our brethren in defense of ourselves. 

     But anything we want contrary to God’s word is not of God.  It is of our flesh.  James contrasts that which is of God with that which is of the devil and our flesh, saying, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (Jas 3:13-18) 

     Thankfully, God gives grace to his child which we so often withhold from our offenders.  He makes us put off our old man with his sinful deeds and put on the new man that we be spiritually healthy and follow Christ by being gracious and merciful to those who offend.