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THE GOSPEL I PREACH

“O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. | Psalm 96: 1-4

The gospel I preach is the “gospel of God.” (Romans 1: 1)

I fear Him and the glory of His name more than I do those to whom I speak. I had rather ruffle YOUR feathers than dishonor His character.

I persuade men with a view to His name and glory, knowing He alone can convince, convict, and regenerate dead sinners. I want men and women to believe but I want more the integrity of His name to be maintained.

In II Corinthians 5: 18-20, it says God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation and that we are therefore “…ambassadors for Christ as though GOD did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

It is not my purpose to intentionally offend anyone but if someone must be offended, I had rather it be those who hear me than the God who sent me.

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “A Word To A Dear Friend”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Zebulon Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 10 October, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a | Pikeville, Kentucky

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Christ Our Hope | 1 Timothy 1:1

“What is hope? Hope is expectation with a reasonable basis. What the world calls hope is an empty wish. It’s like a child holding a present on their birthday hoping to find what they want. But, hope in the scriptures is defined as a person: Christ in you the hope of glory. This hope comes through a Godly persuasion, “…I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (II Tim. 1:2) Also, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8: 38-39)

The believer’s hope is not I hope, I hope, I hope. But it is hope founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Our expectations fully depend on His appointments, His coming as the God man, His obedience, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, and His present reign in glory. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (I John 5: 12) Paul said “he was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. (I Tim. 1: 1) May the Lord be pleased to make Him our hope for the glory of His own name.”

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “Crucified With Christ”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

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The Significance of the Pool

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.” | John 5: 1-9

Some say the pool at Bethesda was a superstitious pool and had no virtue in its water. Others say that it was blessed of God by the presence of an angel who troubled its water and gave healing virtue to the first to plunge into the pool.

I personally see this pool as a picture of both. But the real significance of Bethesda’s pool is the sovereign King of Glory who graced it with His presence. The only reason for it to be preserved or mentioned at all; the only value to it or virtue it could claim is that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before He appeared or after his appearance, he is still the source of its virtue and the magic of its water.

I thought as I studied these passages how much this applies to all that we are and do.

  1. As your pastor: I have no reason to be honored, listened to, obeyed, or followed except for Christ. If Christ be in me and in my ministry and in my life then this office has honor but without Him it is just another hollow form of religion.
  2. The building we meet in: There is nothing special about this building or the grounds. But if this place is used to honor God’s King, He will also honor this place. If Christ be here, I had rather meet here than in the greatest cathedral in the world.
  3. This assembly: Of what value is a crowd if Christ is not in their midst? A huge multitude gathered on the outskirts of Canaan without Christ and accomplished nothing except to bring down the wrath of God on their heads.
  4. Worship: Who will bring us to the Father? Who will take our pitiful gifts and make them acceptable? Who will show us the Father that we might know him and be stirred to worship?
  5. Reading the scriptures: “To Him give all the prophets witness”, Take Christ out of the Bible and it is just another book.
  6. Preaching: Oh, what a pitiful exercise would preaching be if it were not for Christ. What could you say to perishing sinners? What comfort could you give to the suffering? What hope could you offer to the lost?

The real significance of the pool is that which God has attached to everything that is – The Lord Jesus Christ. “All things were created by Him and for Him” (Colossians 1: 16)

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “A Preachers’ Preacher”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 13 June, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a

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Five Things About Manna

“And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.” | Revelation 19: 3-6

There are five things pictured in the heavenly manna as it is given in figure of Christ the true bread of God. (Exodus 16: 1-31) These are things which every believer shall come to know in the sweet experience of grace.

First: He will come to see that this true manna was provided by God alone. It did not rise up out of the cursed ground or evolve on the herb bearing grass; it was divinity given. “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” (John 6: 31) “He commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven and rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them the corn of heaven.” (Psalm 75: 23-24)

Second: This manna must be discovered. All those who did not look did not discover the manna. The manna fell where God said it would. The manna fell in the assemble of God. The manna was easy to find. Most men do not find Christ because they do not look where the manna is revealed.

Third: The manna must be gathered. Manna on the ground did no good to anyone. Simply hearing about the manna satisfied no mans hunger. It must be gathered. Who gathered this manna? Hungry souls sought it out and gathered it in.

Fourth: The manna must be processed. Israel did not just scoop it up by handfuls and eat it like jelly beans; it was ground in the mills or beaten in a mortar and then baked into bread. (Matthew 11: 8) The gospel of Jesus Christ is processed by the inward working of the Spirit. (I Corinthians 2: 10-14) It must be heard, considered, understood, and believed.

Fifth: The manna must be eaten. Manna in a basket will not give life. It must be chewed and swallowed. It must be taken within where God, the Holy Spirit, makes it one with us and creates faith and life and hope.

Christ is our manna! May God be pleased to guide us where he can be found, reveal him to our hearts, cause us to gather to ourselves the full measure God has given, help us to process what we have gathered, and eat to the full what God has given. Amen

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “Christ The Omnipotent Reigneth”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

FreeGraceRadio.com Bulletin Article date: 19 May, 2012 | Previous post date: n/a | Danville, Kentucky

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Have We Learned Christ?

“But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:” | Ephesians 4: 20-21

The believer is a person who has undergone and is undergoing a divine work of grace within.

This work began and continues by the hearing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In verse 21, of our text, plainly states, “if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.” This hearing is not the common hearing of men but the hearing of the gospel in power and in demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

In I Corinthians 2: 4, where this is stated, the word demonstration means an inward manifestation of the gospel. God, the Holy Spirit, demonstrates the mercy and grace of Christ within the hearing sinner and he is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. (Ephesians 1: 13) Those who truly hear know that both the messenger and his message is from the Lord. John said, “we are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby, know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (I John 4: 6)

All those who hear the gospel, in power, are born of God and given the ability, the right, and the privilege to become sons of God. (John 1: 12-13) They have, by the gracious gift of the Father, been “made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1: 12) Those who truly hear, keep on hearing, and never lose their appetite for the gospel.

In Hebrews 10: 39, Paul says, “we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

The believer is a person who has undergone a divine transformation; a divine work of grace within. He is not what he was and not yet what he hopes to be, but is what he is by the grace of God; a new creature in Christ Jesus. “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that he should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2: 8-10)

The believer is rather like a woman shopping who sees a garment and thinks to herself how good she would look with it on. So she finds a way to get it. Believers do not continue to walk in the vanity of their minds but have seen with spiritual eyes the beauty and majesty of Christ. “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make provision for the flesh.” (Romans 13: 14)

Apart from this inward work of grace all else is folly.

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “Faith, Not Of Yourselves”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church Bulletin Article date: 15 June, 2014 | Previous post date: n/a | Ewing, New Jersey

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Christ Our Hope

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;” | 1 Timothy 1: 1

What is hope?

Hope is expectation with a reasonable basis.

What the world calls hope is an empty wish. It’s like a child holding a present on their birthday hoping to find what they want.

But, hope in the scriptures is defined as a person: Christ in you the hope of glory. This hope comes through a Godly persuasion, “…I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1: 2)

Also, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39)

The believer’s hope is not ‘I hope, I hope, I hope.’ But it is hope founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our expectations fully depend on His appointments, His coming as the God man, His obedience, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, and His present reign in glory. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (I John 5: 12) Paul said “he was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. (1 Timothy 1: 1)

May the Lord be pleased to make Him our hope for the glory of His own name.

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “Crucified With Christ”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 3 January, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a 7 January, 2021

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LOVING ONE ANOTHER

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” | 1 John 4: 11

How did God love us?

He loved us while we were yet sinners.

He reconciled us while we were yet sinners.

He loved us unconditionally.

“Herein is love, NOT that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

God’s love for us was eternal, unchangeable, and effectual. What is it then that keeps me from loving others? Can it be that such an object of undeserving grace and mercy now requires a worthiness in others? Can it be that such a one who was saved by sovereign mercy, alone, now refuses to show mercy? God forbid!

Let us first contemplate his love for us and we will have no problem loving others.

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “Astonishing Doctrine”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 31 May, 2020 | Previous post date: n/a

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Christ Is Greater!

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.” | Psalm 135: 1

There is one true evidence of a work of grace, and regeneration in men and women: Love.

That one who truly believes, who is born of God, loves God who begat him, and loves all those begotten of Him.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He who loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (I John 4: 7-8)

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “Christ Is Greater!”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 25 April, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a

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THE REVELATION OF GOD

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” | Genesis 2: 16-17

God’s first revelation to man was as his sovereign, telling him what he could and could not do.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” | Genesis 3: 15

God’s second revelation to man was, as his Savior and Reconciler doing for him what he could not and would not do for himself and showing this to him in the light of a promised Redeemer.

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “The Religion Of Man”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 2 February, 2020 | Previous post date: n/a