August 30, 2020
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
Meeting Location and Mailing Address
251
Green Lane
Ewing,
NJ, 08368
Clay
Curtis, pastor
Telephone:
615-513-4464
Clay@FreeGraceMedia.com
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
15: 9: The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him
that followeth after righteousness.
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There Shall
Be Showers of Blessing – Ezekiel 34:26
The other day I was feeling so down, so full of sorrow, doubt, fear, worry. . .
with my head hanging down. Then I lifted up my head and looked outside .
. . the gentle rain was falling, the blessed water of this life was coming
down, watering the earth, filling the pools; sweet, refreshing rain . . . while
I was mourning and worrying.
Scripture says, “He (Christ)
shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth”(Ps.72:6).
Yes, He came, the blessed Water of life, He heard the cries of His
people by reason of their captivity, sins, and sorrow, and He
came down to deliver them out . . . to bring them up out of the land unto a
good land” (Ex.3:7-8).
Scripture says, “There shall
be showers of BLESSING” . . . singular . . . Blessing,
the One thing needful . . . the One we need, Christ the Lord. There has
been, is now (while we sorrow and worry), and shall forever be, showers of
blessing . . . gospel promise after promise of His love, mercy,
grace, salvation, peace, protection, preservation, provisions and sure
hope in Christ.
So, let us lift up our
heads and bless the Lord, Who reigns and rules over all, Who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Yes, lift
up our heads . . . in spite of all our doubts and fears, His tender mercies are
falling and, bless His Name, our redemption draweth nigh . . . it’s
almost over . . . it’s all over but the shouting! Pastor Paul Mahan
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BE
STILL
Some preachers
want to arouse man’s activity. We want to kill it once and for all, to show him
that he is lost and ruined, and that his activities are not able to save him.
Some seek to make the man stand up. We seek to bring him down and make him feel
that he is in the hands of God and that his business is to submit to God, bow
to the claims of Christ, and cry, “Lord, save me or I perish.”
We hold that a man is never so near grace
as when he feels that he can do nothing at all but cry for mercy. But, when he
says, “I can pray, I can believe, I can do this or that,” the marks of
self-sufficiency are still on his brow.
Pastor
Henry Mahan
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“Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they
might be saved.” (Rom 10v1)
Believers pray for their sin to be forgiven. We pray
for our loved ones to hear the Gospel of free grace in Christ, and to be drawn
to Him. We pray for our brethren in Christ to be comforted. And we pray for God
to call out His elect in this generation. But do we pray for our enemies?
Paul was praying
for the salvation of his earthly kinsmen in Romans 9v3 & 10v1. Those Jews
viewed him as a traitor. One who changed sides during a holy war. They likely
referred to him only as Saul, and with a sour tone in their voices- mocking
him. They would torture and kill him if they could. But Paul earnestly prayed
for them to hear and to know Christ.
Our Master
told us to do just that in Matthew 5v44. He said to “pray for them that
despitefully use you”. Christ not only told us to pray for OUR enemies, but on
our behalf, He prayed for HIS enemies – “Father, forgive them; they know not
what they do.” (Luke 23v34). And He died for His sheep while we were ungodly
enemies against Him. (Rom 5v6-8)
May we be
given the grace to pray for the ones that hate us, despise us, and would kill
us if possible. That they too may know their sin and know the One who was made
sin for His people, The Lord Jesus Christ! Pastor Kevin Thacker
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GUILT
There are two sorts of guilt: condemning guilt and
correcting guilt. Condemning guilt is simply the knowledge that we have sinned
against a holy God and deserve His everlasting wrath because of it. It is the
sort of guilt that produces the fear of death and the bondage associated with
that fear. But it is written, “There is, therefore, now, no condemnation to
them who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 5.1). Therefore, condemning guilt has no
legitimate place in the mind of those who are in Christ. Whenever the believer
is made aware of his sin in such a way that he fears he has been rejected by
God and will suffer His wrath because of His sin, he can be certain that the
guilt he feels was not sent by God, for God has said, “I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” No, such fear inducing
reminders of the believer’s sin come from the Slanderer, that Accuser of the brethren,
and his fear-inducing accusation is silenced by the blood of the Lamb.
(Revelation 12.10, 11)
But
correcting guilt is a gift from God. It does not produce fear but grief. It is
revealed in such grief as Peter expressed when he locked eyes with the
Lord Jesus after his third denial of Christ, as it is written, “[Peter] went
out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22.61, 62). It was not the fear of wrath that
wrung those tears from his eyes; it was the knowledge that he had sinned
against his Lord – that by his denial, he had proved unfaithful to the One he
loved - even the One who loved him. When we see our guilt in this way, it
serves to correct our behavior for we are moved more by the pain of offending
our Lord than we are by the fear of death and judgment.
Grace
removes condemning guilt from our conscience so that we may live as free men
and women. But correcting guilt is one of God’s gracious means by which He
subdues the flesh of His beloved ones.
Pastor Joe Terrell
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