September 1, 2013
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST
CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd
Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
Order of service, announcements, nursery schedule, etc.,
are in attachment. All articles in the
bulletin are by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
NO SERVICE THISWEEK!
EVERY SERMON
Every sermon, no matter the text or subject, must be preached with the
awareness that there are sinners listening who do not know Christ, do not know
themselves to be ruined in sin, nor do they know that God saves sinners by
grace, through God’s gift of faith in Christ, altogether by the finished work
of Christ alone. Every sermon must be
preached with the awareness that the only way sinners, believers or otherwise,
are profited, reproved, corrected, and instructed in righteousness, and that by
the effectual grace of God, is by preaching Christ and him crucified—absolutely
no other way!
Therefore, every sermon must clearly declare who Christ is, why Christ came,
what Christ accomplished, where Christ is now and what Christ is doing
now. Every verse or passage is best
expounded by first, and as quickly as possible, declaring how Christ fulfilled
it, how Christ glorified the Father and how Christ accomplished the salvation
of the elect thereby. Then, if the verse or passage applies to the believers
walk, if God gives a spiritual understanding in the heart, the believer will be
comforted that Christ alone has made them the righteousness of God thereby;
their flesh will be mortified as they behold how far short they come of heeding
the instruction; and they will be given a desire in the inward man to heed the instruction
constrained only by the love of Christ for them—our only motive.
Before every sermon is preached it is best to ask oneself, “If I were a
lost sinner, after hearing this sermon will I be shut up to the truth that salvation
is by God’s sovereign grace alone, through God’s gift of life and faith in Christ
alone, and left with absolutely no room to conclude anything else but that my
flesh profits nothing.” If so the sermon will declare the one thing needful; if
not, it must be discarded for a sermon that does!
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Many would be scholars if they did not
think themselves so too soon—Thomas Manton
*******
"Short prayers are long enough.
There were but three words in the petition which Peter gasped out, but they
were sufficient for his purpose. Not length but strength is desirable. A sense
of need is a mighty teacher of brevity. If our prayers had less of the tail
feathers of pride and more wing they would be all the better."—C.H. Spurgeon
*******
CHILD BEARING IN TOUGH TIMES
Exodus 2: 1-10
While the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, Pharaoh sought to
prevent them from multiplying by ordering the mid-wives to kill their male babies.
(Ex 1: 17, 20; Ex 1: 22) Behind
Pharaoh’s evil, Satan’s purpose was to destroy God’s people to prevent the
woman’s Seed, Christ Jesus, from coming into the earth, glorifying God and saving
God’s elect. (Gen 3: 15)
Despite Pharaoh’s demands, a man named, Levi, and his wife, Jochebed, had
three children. God saved these three children from Pharaoh’s madness and used
all three to redeem Israel out of bondage (Mi 6: 4) In these three children, we see that
in all providence, God is ruling all things, even our enemies, to bring to pass
his eternal purpose of glorifying his name in the salvation of his people by
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Miriam
The first child born to this couple was Miriam. Her name
means “bitterness”, probably because she was born when
Pharaoh made their lives “bitter with hard bondage.” After the LORD delivered
Israel through the Red Sea, Miriam, being a prophetess, led the women in song,
praising God. In Miriam, we see a type
of Christ who leads the woman, his bride the church, in singing praises to God,
“For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of
one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will
declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing
praise unto thee.” (Ex 15: 20-21; Heb 2: 11-12) After we read of Christ bearing
the sin and chastisement of his people in Isaiah fifty-three, in verse one of
chapter fifty-four it is Christ who says to his bride, “Sing, O barren, thou
that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst
not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the
children of the married wife, saith the LORD.”
Aaron
The second child born to this couple was Aaron. His name means “bringer
of light”. Aaron was most likely saved
by the Hebrew mid-wives, each who had names that relate to “light.” During these tough times, defeating Pharaoh’s
plans, God brought forth this child to be high priest, showing how God defeated
all Satan’s plans by bringing forth Christ our High Priest, the bringer of
Light, who has entered the holies of holies and by one offering has perfected forever
all his people, who ever-lives to make intercession for us. (He 2: 17-18; 4:
14-16; 5: 1-5)
Moses
The last child born was Moses. He was born during the time when Pharaoh ordered all his people to cast every
male Hebrew child into the river as soon as they were born. (Ex 2: 2) His name means “drawn out” “because I drew
him out of the water.” (v10) God
overruled all things so that Moses was drawn from the river of death to be king
and prophet over God’s people even as God overruled all things and raised
Christ from the grave to the throne of God where our King and Prophet reigns
and teaches all his redeemed, invincibly making us willing to follow him.
(Psalm 2)
So brethren as you behold the evil desire and schemes of Pharaoh all
overruled and defeated by our God who saved these three children to show us
these beautiful types of our Prophet, Priest and King, rest assured that we
have nothing to fear. Even now in these
tough times, God is doing all things well for our good and his glory in the
face of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.