Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleWeekly Bulletin 4-19-2020
Bible TextJames 1:19-20
Date18-Apr-2020
Article Type Sermon Notes
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
 

April 19, 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

 

?-----------------------------?

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.

?-----------------------------?

 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The videos are now listed as individual sermons, as well as full servicesclick here.

 

?-----------------------------?

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·       Until further notice our online live broadcast begins each Sunday at 9am

·       No Friday night bible classes until further notice. 

?-----------------------------?

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·       Until further notice our online live broadcast begins each Sunday at 9am.

·       No Friday night bible classes until further notice. 

?-----------------------------?

 

Proverbs 14:27: The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

 

?-----------------------------?

 

SWIFT TO HEAR

 

One of the worst places a child of God can be is when he thinks that everything preached, everything written, is directed at him personally.  The devil has a heyday when that is the case.  It feeds our flesh.  It makes us ignore the very thing we need most—the word of God.  Therefore, if I find myself in that place let me ask myself a few questions about what is preached and written.  One, is it true according to God’s word?  Two, is it preached and written in love with my best interest and the best interest of my brethren at heart?  If the answer to those first two questions is yes then let me ask myself this third question, why am I offended?  Could it be that it is not my brother who is preaching or writing to me but rather God?  If so am I better off to disregard the word or am I better off to hear and believe?  The devil is real foe.  He would like nothing better than for us to disregard the word of God.  I wonder if the brethren thought it was merely the apostle James writing to them or did they receive it as it is in truth the word of Christ who says to us, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (Ja 1: 19-20). 

 ?-----------------------------?

 

CHRIST’S LOVE FOR US

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ vowed to God in the covenant of grace to love his bride everlastingly.  When we trespassed in Adam, Christ loved us. When we came forth speaking lies, Christ loved us. All the days of our rebellion, Christ loved us. When we tried to resist his call, Christ loved us. Every day since, though we sin against him, Christ loves us.  No sinner redeemed by Christ’s precious blood shall ever reach a point where God says, “You have sinned too much: no more mercy, no more forgiveness for you.”  He continues to love us, continues to shower us in mercy, continues to forgive us without limit for the sake of Christ.  This is one reason our merciful Lord Jesus teaches us to forgive one another without limit (Mt 18: 21-35).  It is one reason Christ says, “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mt 6:14-15).  Knowing how far our sins against God surpasses the sins of others against us and knowing how God unceasingly showers us in mercy and free forgiveness for Christ’s sake, nothing could be more reasonable.  This is the love of Christ that constrains us to love one another by rejoicing in mercy rather than judgment.

 

?-----------------------------?

 

LIFELOCK

 

“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father,

and ye in me, and I in you.” John 14:20

 

     Recently I received an advertisement from a company called “LifeLock.” It is a company that provides security against “identity theft.” Identity theft has undoubtedly become a real issue and problem in today’s world. Crooks and thieves steal your identity and run up debt in your name. As I read over that advertisement, I was thinking how the Lord Jesus did that to His people in reverse. Without their permission, He assumed the believer’s identity. He stepped into their personal business, the business between them and God and He took their place. (1 Timothy 2:5) He took control of their account and made it His own. He didn’t take control of their identity to add debt like a thief does. NO! He took control of the believer’s account in order to pay the debt of sin that they had accumulated. He took my debt and paid it in full as a rich friend might do. O what a rich friend Christ is. He is rich in love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. How many friends do you have that would die to pay the debt you owe? Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. Now, I have His perfect identity, and I am eternally life-locked to Him. Pastor David Eddmenson

 

?-----------------------------?

 

WHEN A BROTHER DOESN’T ACT LIKE A BROTHER

 

Every child of God may pass through seasons where our sin-nature overcomes us.  Though never without sin there are times when God permits our sin-nature to bring our inward man into captivity in a more obvious way.  This captivity may involve some sin of immorality as king David was allowed to commit.  It may involve an unforgiving, unmerciful spirit between brethren such as overcame Paul and Barnabas when they disagreed over Mark.  A child of God may even go so far as to appear to deny the Lord as did the apostle Peter.  But whatever the case, if we are truly a child of God, our great High Priest shall intercede for us so that our faith fails not.  Eventually, God shall bring us to ourselves like the prodigal, so that we cry out to God and turn from ourselves.  This is one of the ways that God continues to teach his child that we have no strength in ourselves to overcome our sin-nature.  By this painful process God brings us to see a little more clearly how utterly dependent we are upon the Spirit of God to keep us from doing the things we otherwise would if left to ourselves.  It is one of the ways God grows us in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we rejoice in free justification and in God’s preserving hand.

 

     Therefore, knowing that God works in this way, if we behold a brother overcome, let us not doubt whether he be a child of God or not.  Instead, let us be patient and wait on God.  If he is God’s child then he knows he is wrong; God is at work in his conscious.  Therefore, let us not interfere by putting our hand to the work by being unnecessarily harsh and judgmental.  Instead, let us go to God on his behalf.  Let the brother know that we are there for him, that we love him and that we want to help bear his burden.  As God opens the door, point him to our great High Priest encouraging him to flee to Christ’s throne of grace for help in his time of need.  We can be sure that if the brother be God’s elect, redeemed and regenerated by everlasting love, then God shall break his heart and bring him to Christ’s feet in time.  Then not only will our brother be thankful to God, he will also be thankful to us and love us with a sweeter love.  In the end we shall find that it was not only for the profit of our brother but for ours as well. Once again we shall all find that God’s grace is, indeed, sufficient.

 

?-----------------------------?