Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleWeekly Bulletin 4-7-2019
Bible TextIsaiah 58:5-7
Date06-Apr-2019
Article Type Bulletin
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
 

April 7, 2019

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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Proverbs 13: 3: He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

 

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“When Adam by transgression fell,

And conscious, fled his Maker’s face,

Linked in clandestine league with hell,

He ruined all his future race.

The seeds of evil once brought in,

Increased and filled the world with sin.

 

But lo! The Second Adam came,

The serpent’s subtle head to bruise;

He cancels his malicious claim,

And disappoints his devilish views;

Ransoms poor sinners with His blood,

And brings the sinner back to God.

 

[To understand these things aright,

This grand distinction should be known:

Though all are sinners in God’s sight,

There are but few so in their own.

To such as these our Lord was sent;

They’re only sinners who repent.]

 

[What comfort can a Savior bring

To those who never felt their woe?

A sinner is a sacred thing;

The Holy Ghost hath made him so.

New life from Him we must receive,

Before for sin we rightly grieve.]

 

This faithful saying let us own,

Well worthy ‘tis to be believed,

That Christ into the world came down,

That sinners might by Him be saved.

Sinners are high in His esteem,

And sinners highly value Him.” —Joseph Hart

 

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One of the old preachers is reported to have said, “I preach as one who may never preach again, as a dying man to dying men.”  How solemn a thought that is to those of us charged with preaching.  Let us not tickle the ears of dying men with the trifles of earthly issues and vain religion.  But does this principle not apply in some way to the man who listens?  Ought we not say every time we come to worship, “I listen as one who may never hear again, as a dying man among dying men”?  God grant us the same seriousness in hearing as we expect in preaching!    -Pastor Joe Terrell

 

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FAITH WHICH WORKETH BY LOVE

 

When Christ gives a new heart and sanctifies his people, our Lord teaches his child to love one another and live the rest of our days by faith, trusting the precious promises of God to be all fulfilled for us in Christ Jesus our Savior.  “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” (Gal 5: 6) Please understand what that verse means.  It is not your law keeping nor is it your absence of law keeping that has a bearing on whether or not you are saved.  Salvation is through faith in Christ.  It is Christ alone who makes his child to differ and saves all those given to him of the Father. 

   Also, those saved by grace are not motivated by law nor are they without law.  We do all from the single constraint of Christ’s love for us.  It is not our love for Christ that motivates us in the new heart, though we do love Christ by God giving us a new heart.  But it is Christ’s love for us that constrains the believer.  Beholding Christ loving me who am altogether unlovable by my sins and transgressions which are against him, I am constrained to love my brethren whose sins and transgressions against me are far less.

 

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OUR PERPETUAL FAST AND REST

 

The children of Jacob, like millions in our day, thought that they observed the Sabbath Day by fasting from their pleasures on one day out of the week.  God asked them this question, “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A DAY for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?” (Isa 58:5) They thought that by afflicting their soul and mourning and fasting from the pleasures of this world for one day, while forcing others to do the same, that they were pleasing God. 

 

     But God said, “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” (Is 58: 6-7) All these things are found only in Christ our Sabbath through faith.  Through faith in Christ the bands of the self-righteous, who bound us by the yoke of the law, are loosed from off us.  Through faith in Christ the curse of the law, as well as the oppression of the self-righteous, is removed from off us.  Through faith in Christ the Bread of life is dealt to us who are hungry sinners.  Through faith in Christ us poor sinners are brought to his house and enriched.  Through faith in Christ we who are naked and destitute of any righteousness of our own are covered in the righteousness of Christ alone. 

 

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DEALING OUR BREAD TO THE HUNGRY

 

By only the constraint of Christ’s love for us believers deal our bread to the hungry by telling others how Christ broke our yoke by bearing our sins on the cross.  We bring the poor to our house—Christ’s church—to hear the good news of our Redeemer.  The gospel is the means God has chosen to reveal that Christ is the covering for the nakedness of his people. (1 Cor 1: 21) Beholding what great things Christ has done for us in his great mercy and grace, we rejoice to show mercy rather than deal harshly with others.  When others deal harshly with us, Christ makes his child remember how mercifully and kind Christ deals with us constantly.  He says, “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Eph 4: 32); “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” (Col 3: 13)

 

     Also, believers take the physical burdens off others anyway we can.  We literally give them bread and a coat and whatever they need. Christ does it for us every day.  He says to every believer, And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind…your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” (Lu 12: 29-33)

 

     To rest in Christ from all our works, to use everything he has given us to promote his gospel, to sacrificially seek the good of his people, all the while trusting that Christ has and shall provide everything we need here and hereafter, this is living by faith, motivated only by Christ’s love.

 

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“I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints).” 1 Cor. 16:15  What an epitaph of the house of Stephanas…Christ was their Life, and the Holy Spirit moved them to be dedicated to the service of God’s people. Their obedience was obviously not merely for show but was done as unto the Lord Himself…”Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Matt. 25:40. They were enthusiastically obsessed with doing that which they could for the glory of God and the good of God’s people…O that we might truly be found with such a heart, not for the praise of men, but for His sake.       Pastor Marvin Stalnaker