March 25, 2018
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
MEETING LOCATION
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08368
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
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
?-----------------------------?
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
services—click here.
?-----------------------------?
SUNDAY’S
READING IN PROVERBS
Proverbs 11: 5: The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way:
but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. 6: The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but
transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
?-----------------------------?
Katy Baptist Church in Fairmont, WV where Brother Marvin
Stalnaker is pastor is scheduled to host their Annual Bible Conference March
30-April 1. The speakers will be pastors Don Fortner and Todd Nibert.
?-----------------------------?
I despise every attempt of men to make the worship of God a casual
matter. Preachers and churches urge people to come dressed any way they please
and do everything possible to make the worship of God a come as you are party.
Contemporary worship is contemptible worship. When we come to the house of God,
we ought to dress at least as formally and act at least as reverently as we
would if we were going to the White House to have dinner with the President. Pastor Don Fortner
?-----------------------------?
“If God, by His Divine Power, has given us ‘.. all things that pertain unto
life and godliness’ (2 Peter 1:3), can there be anything lacking? And, if God is the One who has given us all
things, is there any room for boasting on our part? In addition, if ‘.. all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose’ (Rom. 8:28), could there be anything that is not under God’s
sovereign control? Moreover, if God has
highly exalted His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and has ‘.. given all things into his hand’
(John 3:35), and has put ‘.. all things under his feet’ (Eph.
1:22), it is Jesus Christ Himself who is the Sovereign Ruler over this whole
universe and everything in it. It is
Jesus Christ, the God-man, Who upholds ‘.. all things by the word of his power’
(Heb. 1:3). Knowing this, knowing that
Jesus Christ is Lord of all, knowing that nothing happens apart from His
permissive will, knowing that Jesus Christ our Savior is working all things for
our good, and for His glory, shouldn’t we, as His blood-bought children, ‘Do
all things without murmurings and disputings’? (Phil. 2:14).”
Pastor Gene Harman
?-----------------------------?
DWELLING
TOGETHER IN UNITY
It is sad when worldly attachments prevent believers from living closer
to Christ’s people and from consistently hearing Christ preached. I have been there. But like as we need to
hear the gospel preached consistently, we also need to fellowship with one
another throughout the week, we need to experience being forgiven our offenses
and to forgive others theirs, we need to bear one another’s burdens and have
others bear our burdens, we need to love and to be loved by brethren. It is
difficult to explain the benefits to someone who has never done it. But Christ
declares these things to us in the gospel then Christ effectually works in
every member making them minister to the needs of every other member. (Eph 4:
16) By this he shows us how real the grace and love of Christ is toward and in
his people so that we “Behold, how good
and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps 133:
1)
?-----------------------------?
THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING
CHRIST
Philippians 3:1-11
I know that there are some
things that are important to us; there are some people that are important to
us. However, in light of our great need
of Christ nothing else is that important.
We need Him. As the woman with the
issue of blood said, ‘If I can but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be
made whole.’ Without Him we are lost,
undone, and unaccepted by the Father.
There is no material thing or human relationship that can supply my
spiritual need; however, in Christ we are complete. In Christ we have all that we need to stand
in God’s presence accepted. I cannot
express how important it is to know Christ; all material things will burn up,
and all fleshly relationships will be dissolved. However, our relationship with Christ will
never be dissolved nor diminished, and it will only grow sweeter. Judge the importance of everything in light
of Him.”
Pastor John Chapman
?-----------------------------?
PROVING CHRIST TRUE BY
DISAPPROVAL
John 15: 18: If the world hate you, ye know
that it hated me before it hated you.
Folks who oppose the believer for resting entirely in
Christ do exactly as the Pharisees did to Christ in their opposition of him. Without
knowing it, without intending it, in all their attacks on the believer they say
and do precisely what Christ said they would according to the scriptures. Their goal is to convince us the bible is
just another book and that Christ is just another man. Yet, by the very
arguments they deem so ingenious, they only prove to us that Christ is indeed
God our Savior and that every word of God is true. And while they endeavor to turn
us from Christ they only make us cling ever more tightly to our Lord and
Savior.
?-----------------------------?
WHICH WILL I EXALT? MY
REASONING OR GOD’S WILL?
Ruth 1: 1: Now it came to
pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land.
And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he,
and his wife, and his two sons. 2: And the name of the man was Elimelech, and
the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion,
Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. 3: And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she
was left, and her two sons. 4: And they took them wives of the women of Moab;
the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled
there about ten years. 5: And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and
the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Elimelech teaches us never to lean to our carnal understanding.
Instead, we should obey God’s will in his word, even when other ways appear
more reasonable.
Bethlehem-Judah was God’s
house of bread where he promised to meet with his people. It was God’s will
that around his house his dwell together in unity. They could fellowship
together, bear one another’s burdens and, most importantly, worship together as
one. On the other hand, Moab was the land where God’s curse rested. God’s will was that his people not dwell in Moab away from his house
and their brethren. There was no place
to worship God in Moab, only idolatry.
Then God sent a test. He sent famine into Bethlehem-Judah while making
Moab fruitful. Elimelech knew God’s will.
But he began to reason by natural sight. How do we reason when we judge by sight rather
than faith? It goes like this: “I know it is God’s will for me to dwell with
his people but it just makes more sense to move to Moab; I know Bethlehem is God’s house of bread but
my livelihood is in Moab; I know it is God’s will for his people to dwell
together and to consistently be under the preaching of the gospel but we can go
to the house of bread from time to time, we just want be near to bear our
brethren’s burdens or have them bear ours when we are in need.” So Elimelech moved to Moab.
Which of these will God
bless? Will God bless us exalting him by trusting that his house is the house
of Bread where he is able to provide for us against all carnal reasoning? Or
will God bless us exalting our understanding over his will, exalting our
earthly bread over Christ our Bread, choosing to live together with Christ-hating
rebels over God’s people? The answer is
found when we see God arrange his good providence so that what began as Elimilech’s temporary “sojourn” turned into him staying over ten years in Moab. We see the answer in that God killed Elimilech
in Moab. Then as their father taught them by his example, his two sons rebelled
against God by marrying Moabite women. Then God killed his two sons leaving
Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth with no man to provide, no brethren near to
help and, worst of all, no place to worship God. Oh, God saved Naomi and Ruth
because they were his elect. But Naomi
suffered much bitterness as God removed all the obstacles that were hindering
her and brought her back to Bethlehem-Judah.
Now, which will I exalt? My
carnal reasoning or God’s sovereign will?