May 17, 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
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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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ANNOUNCEMENTS
·
Until further notice our online live
broadcast begins each Sunday at 9am. No
Friday night bible classes until further notice.
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Proverbs 14: 30: A sound heart is the life of the flesh:
but envy the rottenness of the bones.
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COMFORTING
TRUTH
“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for
ever. Amen.” (Rom. 11:36).
There is nothing more comforting to believers than
God’s sovereignty over all things (Rom. 11:36).
Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, we
believe that God has ordained our afflictions, that God overrules them, and
that God will sanctify them for our good and His glory.
There is
nothing for which we ought to contend more earnestly than the truth of God’s
rule and reign over all things, all creatures, and all their actions (Psalm
135:5-6). The Throne of God, His right
to sit on that Throne, and His right to do with His own what He will is what we
believe and what we preach. Let us be accused of over-emphasizing the majesty
and power of the living God, but never let it be said that we underestimate His
glory.
Pastor Henry T. Mahan
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GOD WAS IN CHRIST
2
Corinthians 5: 18: And all
things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; 19: To wit, that
GOD WAS IN CHRIST, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them;…
The Son of God made flesh was GOD IN CHRIST reconciling the world
of his elect unto himself. “Abraham
said, “My son, GOD will provide HIMSELF a LAMB for a burnt offering” (Gen
22:8). Christ Jesus is GOD providing HIMSELF
a LAMB and GOD HIMSELF IS THAT LAMB.
Paul called the church “the church OF GOD, which HE hath purchased WITH
HIS OWN BLOOD.” (Acts 20: 28) Think on
that, brethren! God dwelt among us. God made himself the Lamb our
Substitute. And God accomplished
reconciling his elect unto himself WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. What a statement!
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Things That Promote Peace – By Henry Mahan
“Let us therefore follow after the things which
promote peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” --
Romans 14:19
1. Be careful to LOVE one another with a true
heart. “Love covers a multitude of sins.”
2. Avoid a spirit of ARGUMENT AND DEBATE.
One may win an argument and lose a friend.
3. Beware of JEALOUSY. Jealousy destroys
happiness and builds suspicion.
4. Beware of ENVY. Let us learn to rejoice in another’s gifts,
blessings, and happiness. God gives as
HE will!
5. Do not MEDDLE in the private lives and domestic
affairs of others.
6. Guard against a TOUCHY TEMPER: “For every trifling thing to take
offense shows either great pride or little sense.”
7. Learn to KEEP A CONFIDENCE. “He that
repeateth a matter separateth very friends.”
8. Strive to HEAL DIFFERENCES. “Blessed
are the peacemakers.”
9. Be always ready to FORGIVE ANYTHING. “Forgive
us our sins AS we forgive those who sin against us.”
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Not
To Take For Granted – [This was written by an unknown brother in another
local assembly in the midst of the quarantine we are under from the Corona
Virus] Merriam Webster defines HUG
as: a close embrace with the arms especially as a sign of affection: and HANDSHAKE
as: a clasping usually of right hands by two people (as in greeting or
farewell).
I
never realized how much I missed these two things until yesterday when I saw
the two of you! Oh my goodness, the
things that I take for granted! I have
taken for granted the pure and simplistic yet oh so important ability to be
ABLE to come to Church! I have taken for
granted what it feels like to have the warm embrace of someone that loves you
(and the occasional lipstick left on your cheek by a sweet kiss!!!!). I have taken for granted being able to freely sit and hear the Gospel being
preached!! I have taken for granted what
it sounds like to hear the singing of hymns by my brothers and sisters!
I
felt like I had been doing such a “good job” of keeping my faith that the Lord
was going to see us through all of this, but I must admit that my time frame
has been completely different than His time frame for this to be over with. I have listened (at work) to the different
theories so many people have about it, I sat down and made 100 face masks to
donate, I have read so many different articles, watched a few news stories…but
at the end of the day, I fully realize that it does not matter on conspiracies,
theories, face masks or articles! It
matters when the Lord sees fit for this to end IF and when He chooses! I appreciate you with the way we have handled
services, I pray for you daily and I look forward to being able to get that
hug, hand shake and kiss on the cheek! I
pray for myself that I would learn not to
take so many things for granted
and would truly appreciate the freedoms I have to be able to worship the way I
choose to worship.
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JUST SHUT UP AND QUIT PREACHING
This is what the Jewish leaders told Peter and John to do;
"And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded
that they should not speak in the name of Jesus..." (Acts 4:17; 5:40).
This is the main goal of the devil's plotting against the poor preachers of
Christ – “'Just shut up and quit preaching.”
Satan has many devices by which he seeks to accomplish this
goal, threats are only one of them. Poor Moses was tempted not to stand
before Pharaoh and say, “Thus sayest the Lord,”' and we are told why - and
Moses complained to the Lord about it; "Since I came to Pharaoh to
speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people" (Exodus
5:23). The preaching of the gospel is apt to start the threat of
persecution of some kind where it never existed before. Is it worth it to shut
up and preach Christ no longer just to secure our own safety?
Young Jeremiah was so intimated by seeing the disappointment on
the faces of those he preached to, the Lord had to warn him more than once to
pay no mind to it less he yield to the temptation just to shut up and quit
preaching (Jer.1:8,17). Are the disapproving faces of man enough to make us
shut up and speak no more in the name of Jesus? Oh, how many of us have felt
like throwing in the towel right in the middle of a sermon because of it!
There are the feelings of being so inadequate. "Ah,
Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child" (Jer.1:6). I sometimes
think of myself, that after studying the Scriptures for over forty years, I
know so little as I ought to know; how can I go on preaching? The knowledge I
have could be put in a thimble and a large cork put in it. I feel like I should
just sit down and shut up and let the more learned do the preaching.
There are the misstatements. Saying things we should never have
said, or saying it in a way that was absolutely wrong and therefore completely
misunderstood or taken offense to. Poor Moses complained of this, "I am
not eloquent," but it was worse than that, 'I can't even get the words out,
he said,' "I am slow of speech" (Exod.4:10). If you think this wasn't
a great hindrance to Moses in his being unwilling to preach, read what a time
(I say with reverence) the Lord had in sending that man to preach in Exodus
chapter four.
Then, there are those times when the preacher sees his own
personal failing and falling into sin. There are times when the brethren see
some of his faults too, and even they discourage him from continuing to preach.
One man told me the apostle Peter was never the preacher after he denied the
Lord that he was before. What nonsense! I imagine Satan told Peter that since
he had fallen and brought such shame on the Lord, that he might as well shut up
and leave the preaching to others. No one is excusing Peter's fall, but it only
served to make a better preacher out of him. King David used his awful fall and
restoration to encourage himself to teach transgressors the way of the Lord,
and even believed that sinners would be converted under his ministry
(Ps.51:13).
I think it is a standing
miracle that any preacher of the gospel continues to preach for any length of
time - considering how Satan tempts them to shut up and speak no more. God give
all his preachers grace to say with Peter; 'We cannot but speak the things which
we have seen and heard,' and to be like those early preachers who, instead of
just shutting up and sitting down, or getting a job they felt like they were
good at, 'went everywhere preaching the word' (Acts 8:4). Our great
Savior is worthy. Spread his fame in spite of all opposition within and
without.
Are we experiencing
persecution? Do we see the disappointment of some and the disapproval of
others? Do we feel our own lack of ability? Are we reminded of our own faults
and fallings. And add to this we see so little fruit of our preaching. Yet,
"Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace," (Acts
18:9). Pastor
Bruce Crabtree
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