January 3,
2021
SOVEREIGN GRACE
BAPTIST CHURCH
Meeting
Location and Mailing Address
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08638
Clay Curtis,
pastor
Telephone:
615-513-4464
Clay@FreeGraceMedia.com
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.
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SUBSCRIBE TO
OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The videos are now listed
as individual sermons, as well as full services—click here.
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Proverbs 15: 27: He that is
greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
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“Upon a review of the past
year, I desire to confess, that my unfruitfulness has been exceeding great; my
sins still greater; and God’s mercies greater than both. My shortcomings and misdoings, my unbelief
and want of love would sink me into the lowest hell, was not Jesus my
righteousness and my redeemer.” Augustus Toplady
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Our Lord’s Commission for the
New Year
On this first Sunday of the New
Year we have much for which to rejoice and give thanks. As we lift our hearts
in praise and gratitude for God’s manifold blessings, let us remember the
commission which our Lord has given us. We are here upon this earth for only
one purpose. It is that we may faithfully perform the work committed to us by
our risen Lord – “Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16).
We cannot save sinners. But we can point
them to the Savior. Let us seek opportunities to spread the gospel. Let us
become actively engaged in the sweet and satisfying work of evangelism. As we
go through this world, day by day, we have the responsibility of bearing witness
to Christ before men. God has given us the gospel of his glory and grace, not
to hide, but to proclaim to all men everywhere. Let us put our shoulders to the
work and go do it. Don Fortner (Grace Bulletin 1/3/82)
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Recently
I was conversing with a family member who was talking about the rough year (2020)
that they’ve had in Nashville, Tennessee.
Reference was made to the tornado, the Coronavirus, and the recent
bombing. As those three things were mentioned, all I could think about was the
fact that my Sovereign Lord and omnipotent God sent them all. The tornado? “He
causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings
for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.” (Psalm 135:7) The
Coronavirus? “The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever,
and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning…” (Deuteronomy 28:22) One
might ask, “How was God behind the bombing?” “…shall there be evil (adversity,
calamity) in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? (Amos 3:6) How comforting
and assuring it is to know that the One who loved me and gave Himself for me is
ruling and reigning and working all things together for my good. (Romans 8:28)
Child of God, what comfort, peace, rest and assurance is found in the Almighty
with Whom we have to do! David
Eddmenson
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We think if we could only put away all our
doubts, fears, sins, sorrows, unbelief and indifference all would be well with
us in this life. Not so. Our Father in
his holy Wisdom teaches us individually that it is better to confess, “My times
are in Thy hands." By great
trouble, God brought David to pray, “Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me
to escape: incline thine ear unto me and hear me. Be thou my strong habitation,
whereunto I may continually resort.” That
is exactly what God is doing by all these troubles. He shows us we have no
strength but Christ. He causes us to
trust in the LORD. He causes us to cry
for Christ our Righteousness to deliver us.
He causes us to escape by making us resort to Christ our Strong Habitation. Spurgeon
said, “It was well for Jacob that he had an Esau with armed men to drive him to
his God. He could say afterwards, “It was good for me to have been afflicted.”
Anything that brings us into close fellowship with God, however evil in itself,
works for us the grandest form of good.”
"Sovereign Ruler of the skies,
Ever gracious, ever wise,
All my times are in Thy hand,
All events at Thy command."
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The
true believer does not love sin; he loves Christ and holiness. He would like to be perfect and without even
the thought of sin, and he longs for the day when this promise in Christ will
be a reality. He grieves over his sins,
mourns over his infirmities, and feels that he is, indeed the chief
offender. He does not excuse nor justify
his sins but owns and confesses them daily.
While he is aware of that new man created in Christ Jesus, which
delights in the law of God, he is also aware of the old man which causes him so
much grief and anguish. That old nature
is such that even the most devout believer will sin until he dies. Sin pollutes the very best thing that he
does. Sin even mars his repentance,
stains his tears, corrupts his faith, and invades his prayers. The best thing that he has ever done or will
ever do apart from the merits of Christ would but increase his guilt. The degree of goodness to which he could
attain on this earth has enough creature infirmity in it to merit nothing but
God’s wrath. “O wretched man that I
am.” As Mr. Spurgeon once said, “Sin is
my name; sin is my nature; to deny it is to deceive myself and call my God a
liar. But thank God, if any man sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.” Henry Mahan
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Psalm
22: 28: For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the
nations.
Think on this,
brethren. Our Substitute who put away
our sin by the sacrifice of himself, our Advocate who ever lives to make
intercession for us, our Judge who declares we are completely innocent of all
guilt before his holy judgment seat, is also our Governor constantly governing
with equity all our interest in this present evil world. For each of his own, our Governor will execute
judgment and do only what is best for us. He will not deny his governing hand to those
he has washed in his blood. And that is
not all. “The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of
trouble.” (Ps 9:9) Who will enter this Stronghold? “And they that know thy name will put their
trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee” (Ps 9:
10).
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"All
the love of God, the goodness of God, the holiness of God, all his happiness,
bliss, and blessedness, all his might, majesty, and glory, shining forth in the
Person of his dear Son in the blaze of one eternal, unclouded day—this is the
saint's inheritance.”
JC Philpot