October 29, 2017
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
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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.
SUBSCRIBE
TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: watch videos of
our full services—click here.
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SUNDAY’S
READING IN PROVERBS
Proverbs 10:
11: The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence
covereth the mouth of the wicked.
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COME UNTO
CHRIST
Are you laboring under the burden of the law? Christ
fulfilled the law for his people. He is the end of the law for righteousness to
all who believe. Christ says, “Come unto
me and I will give you rest!” (Mt 11: 28) Are you heavy laden under the heavy load of guilt from your sin?
Christ put away the sin of his people on the cross. Christ says, “Come unto me and I will give your rest!” Are
you under the weight of your old fleshly man? The old sinful man in Christ’s
people was crucified when Christ was crucified. So Christ says, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” Are
you loaded down with the burden of this life? To those who come to Christ, he
says “My peace I give unto you: not as
the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid….in me ye have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but
be of good cheer; I have overcome the world…” (Jn 14: 27; 16: 33)
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WHAT A CONTRAST
Acts 7:54-60
What a demonstration of contrast between the way of the
wicked flesh and the way of sovereign grace in Christ. When God’s servant, Stephen was being stoned
to death for the gospel’s sake; the enemies of the gospel were filled with
rage, Stephen was filled with joy in the Lord (Acts 7: 56; Phil. 3:3). They
were occupied with hatred; Stephen was bursting with the love of God shed
abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). They were packed with fear;
Stephen was occupied with faith (Heb. 12:2). They were chock-full of
persecution; Stephen was jam-packed with prayer (Acts 7:60).
Oh, how dreadfully wicked is the way
of the sinful flesh (Rom. 3:9-18). Oh, what a difference the sovereign grace of
God makes in the believer (Rom. 9:15-16; 1 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 1:9). Oh, may God cause us to believe and love the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Pastor Tom Harding
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It is my determination, in everything I preach and write,
to glorify God my Savior, the Triune Jehovah, expose sin and leave sinners
without excuse before God, call sinners to Christ, comfort, edify, and
strengthen God’s saints, and inspire in the hearts of God’s elect devotion to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Any subject that is not useful for these goals is not
worth thought, let alone discussion by God’s ambassador. Pastor Don Fortner
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PHOEBE COMMENDED
“I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who
is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in
a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need
of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.”
(Paul the apostle in Romans 16:1)
Phoebe’s name means “radiant”. Truly she was. But not
in the sense many might assume. Nor in the sense many unbelieving women desire
to be. Rather, Phoebe was radiant with commendability to Christ’s people. God
forbid that any woman among His people be uncommendable. But truly blessed is
she whom Christ’s minister publicly commends to others. Phoebe was commendable
for these reasons:
1. Phoebe was acknowledged by Christ’s
minister as “our sister”. She had probably been born in paganism, for she
was named for a Greek goddess. But she had forsaken paganism and joined herself
to Christ through saving faith in Him, and was therefore a member of His
family.
2. Phoebe was a “servant of the church in
Cenchrea”. Cenchrea was a village at one of the harbors of Corinth. The
church of Corinth evidently assembled in this village. Phoebe was a “servant”
of this church. She did not merely have her name on the church roll, nor occupy
a pew. Rather, she served Christ in His church.
3. Phoebe was declared by Christ’s minister to
be “a helper of many and of myself also”. The Greek word here translated
helper means “patroness, caring for the affairs of others and aiding them with
her resources” (Thayer’s Greek Definitions). She was a patroness to many
of Christ’s people, evidently cheerfully and voluntarily providing for their
needs at her own expense.
Phoebe therefore was certainly commendable to Christ’s
saints in whatever place she visited. She was to be received worthily and
assisted necessarily, treated according to her treatment to others.
O that we might find many Phoebes in Christ’s
churches!
Missionary Daniel Parks
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SPEAK THE
EDIFYING WORD
Ephesians 4:
29: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is
good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Speech is an invaluable gift and an incredible tool. With
it comes an incredible responsibility, especially for God’s preacher. If used
correctly and blessed by God our word can be a blessing of inestimable worth, “ministering grace unto the hearers.” But if used incorrectly it can greatly
corrupt our hearers. (Ja 3: 2-12) Every
word we speak is either one or the other.
The Holy Spirit exhorts us to put off the old man with his corrupt
speech and put on the new man, speaking the good word of God, which God uses to
edify and minister grace to the hearers.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The natural heart cannot speak good
things. Christ said, “A good man out of the good treasure of the
heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure
bringeth forth evil things.” (Mt 12: 34-35)
When the inward part is wicked there is no faithfulness in the mouth,
only guile. (Ps 5: 9) The natural heart is nothing but guile so
the natural man speaks lies on God in hypocrisy. (Ps 12: 8; 52: 2-4; 73: 8-9;
Rom 3: 13) This is why our Lord said that a sinful
heart cannot speak good things.
Yet, God gives a
new heart in the new birth. (Ez 36: 26-27)
When God gives us faith in Christ he will not impute iniquity to us
because Christ has justified us so that there is no iniquity to impute. In addition, by the Holy Spirit there is no
guile in the new spirit created within us. (Ps 32: 2) God alone makes us have a
good treasure within. Then as Christ
declared, “A good man out of the good
treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.” The sure, certain result
is that “no man speaking by the Spirit of
God calleth Jesus accursed: and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by
the Holy Ghost.” (1 Cor 12: 3)
Believers know
the good and edifying word which ministers grace to the hearers. It is the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is
the message which declares “of God are ye
in Chrsit Jesus Jesus, who of God is made unto us Wisdom, Righteousness,
Sanctification and Redemption. That as it is written, he that glorieth, let him
glory in the LORD.” (1 Cor 1: 30-31) So out of the new heart, believers
first speak to God, confessing Christ. (Ro 10:10) Then we begin speaking to our
needy brethren and to needy, lost sinners the word which is good, that is, the
gospel which God uses to edify his people by ministering grace to the hearers.
God hears and
delights to hear the honoring things his people say about his Son. (Mal 3:
16) But nothing good comes from corrupt
doctrine and idle talk. (1 Cor 15:33) God’s
word is that which is good and edifying.
(Col 3:16; 4: 5-6) But we need God to give us grace to speak as we ought.
So pray for one another, especially our pastors, as Paul asked the saints to do
for him, “that utterance may be given
unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the
gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly,
as I ought to speak.” (Eph 6: 19-20)