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This I Confess

”But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” | Acts 24: 14

When was the last time you looked at a beautiful painting and thought anything about the brush the artist used?

Or, when was the last time you read some inspiring words and had any thought of the pen the author used?

That’s absurd.

Never.

No, all the glory from the enjoyment of these works goes to the Artist and the Author.

The instruments they use are insignificant.

One brush or pen would be pretty much as good as the next.

”And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.” (Acts 14: 27)

When Paul and Barnabas came back to Antioch after their first missionary journey; “they rehearsed all that GOD HAD DONE with them and how that HE had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles”.

Yes, God uses His church to plant and water the seeds of the gospel.

Might we be found faithful in so doing.

But, let us never forget, except The Lord give the increase there will be no fruit.

”So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” (Luke 17: 10)

We are but, “unprofitable servants”; indistinguishable brushes and pens in the hand of the Master who Himself gets all the glory.

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “This I Confess” (57:25 minutes)

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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: 29 May, 2022 | Previous post date: n/a

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One Pressing Question

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” | Matthew 7: 13-14

Every time I get into a discussion with a person over the differences in our faith it inevitably comes down to the same question; “What is the gospel?”

In short, the gospel is a Person.

The content of our faith is completely tied to the True Person and True Work of the Lord Jesus Christ; who He is and what He did is everything in the gospel. The Word of God is our only source of light and truth in answering this most pressing question. “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” (John 17: 17) God’s word is a revelation of the person and work of Christ. However, using biblical terms to answer these questions is not sufficient IF one is guilty of changing the meaning of those terms.

Truth is, if words have meaning, and they do, God’s word must be believed for what it means.

To say I believe all men are sinners because the bible says so, and then give those same men the ability to accept Christ by their own free will, is to deny what a sinner is.

To say I believe that Jesus is the Christ because the bible says so, but then to deny His success in accomplishing the full salvation of all Israel is to change the title Christ to ‘christ wannabe’.

To say I believe that Christ kept the law of God perfectly because the bible says so, and then to use that same law as a standard to prove men’s salvation, is to deny that Christ is in fact the end of the law for righteousness.

To say I believe salvation is of grace and not of works and then to make the accomplished work of Christ contingent on something I do, is to change grace to works.

To say I believe Christ raised from the dead because the bible says so, and then to suggest in any way that there is something left for us to do in order to secure our salvation, is to change the glorious truth of the resurrection from a declaration of Divine satisfaction to a mere historical event.

We could go on to every precious truth declared in God’s word about the Lord Jesus Christ. Only when Christ is preached according to the scriptures does the gospel become the power of God unto salvation.
God has never used a false prophet’s preaching to effect the salvation of one of His children.

Satan is a counterfeiter by nature. The Lord said he was a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’, an ‘angel of light’ a ‘minister of righteousness’. We ought not be surprised that he would use God’s word to spread his lies. All he has to do is change it’s meaning a little. A little leaven leaveneth the whole loaf.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. It destroys the gospel.

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “Speak Every Man Truth” (44:49 minutes)

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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: 25 July, 2021 | Ewing, New Jersey

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He Maketh The Storm A Calm

”They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.” | Psalm 107: 27-29

We only really cry unto The Lord when we are at our “wits end.”

”And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;” (Exodus 3: 7)

We are only at our “wits end” when we have no other option available to us.

”Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.” (Psalm 17: 1)

There is no other strategy, no other plan, no one else to help, no other way out.

”Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.” (Lamentations 2: 19)

We are brought by the miracle of grace to our “wits end” when the glorious person and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is our only hope.

God’s grace begins at our “wits end.”

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “Look Unto Me And Be Ye Saved” (31:05 minutes)

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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: 16 March, 2025 | Previous post date: n/a

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The Evidence Of Things Not Seen

”The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.” | John 4: 49-50

Believers on the one hand are nothing but sin, and on the other hand, they have no sin.

This is one of the great mysteries of the Gospel that keeps God’s people humble, yet hopeful.

It causes them to cast all their care on the One that cares for them.

It leads them to have no confidence in the flesh, yet to come boldly before the Throne of grace.

It is the reason they can mourn and rejoice at the same time.

It shows them their inability to satisfy any part of God’s law, and it frees them from the condemnation of the law.

It causes them to bow in humble worship as mercy beggars, yet they hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

They are nothing yet have everything.

They are hell-deserving, yet heaven bound.

They are in abject poverty, and they are infinitely and eternally rich.

To the natural man, these things are a contradiction.

To the child of God… they are his life.

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “The Evidence of Things not Seen” (64:17 minutes)

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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.

Hurricane Road Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 29 November, 2020 | Previous post date: n/a | Cattletsburg, Kentucky

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Where Does Grace Lead?

”And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,” | 2 Thessalonians 1: 7

Some people would have us believe that if we preach pure grace it will lead people to licentious living.

They say if we remove the law as a guide or motivation for Christian living, people will have nothing to keep them faithful.

They say to tell a person to just follow Christ doesn’t provide enough structure and will lead people to careless living.

Is that where the gospel of God’s free grace in Christ Jesus leads?

Grace preachers have always been, and always will be, falsely accused of this devilish lie.

The apostle Paul spent much of his time defending the gospel of grace against this lawmongers view of self- righteousness. “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” (Romans 6: 15)

Grace does not lead to sin.

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:” (2 Corinthians 5: 14)

Grace leads to Christ.

“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15: 56)

Truth is ‘the strength of sin is the law.’

Show me a man preaching the law, and I’ll show you a people with no hope for their sin; its penalty, power, and ultimately its presence.

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “Rest For The Troubled”

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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.

Hurricane Road Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 14 March, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a | Cattletsburg, Kentucky

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Don’t Believe It, He’s Not There

”And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.” | 1 Samuel 2: 1

The twenty-forth Chapter of Matthew has been the source of much speculation by men trying to predict the time of the Lord’s return.

The tragic irony is that most of the discussion and debate has been by the very ones our Lord was warning us to avoid.

Right in the middle of this glorious prophecy is a description of the “false Christ’s” and “false prophets”.

“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” (Matthew 24: 26)

Here is the standard of measure we can use to try the spirits.

All false gospels declare Christ to be either in the desert or in the secret chambers.

Don’t believe it.

He will not be found in the desert of law keeping, the arid landscape of ceremony, or the dry lifeless soil of free-will.

Nor will He be found in the secret chambers of higher knowledge, deeper life, or an “anointed” charismatic experience.

No, when our Lord returns it will be just like when He comes to one of His elect in salvation.

“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24: 27)

He comes suddenly, sovereignly, and surely.

Look for Him in His free, sovereign, simple gospel of accomplished substitution and full satisfaction.

That is the only place He will be found, and He will be found there.

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “Rejoice in The Lord”

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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: 14 January, 2007 | Previous post date: n/a | Pikeville, Kentucky

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True Unity

”Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” | Ephesians 4: 3

Child of God, endeavor to keep the unit of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133: 1)

Whatever differences we may have in the flesh, (Race, Culture, Language, Politics, Personalities) they are not only insignificant but irrelevant to our unity in Christ Jesus.

Our Lord prayed, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17: 21)

What a powerful testimony it is to the unbeliever to see that we all believe the same thing concerning the Lord Jesus and His successful work of redeeming His people, and that our conviction concerning the gospel causes us to overlook all other differences.

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “The Penmen, Providence and People of God”

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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.

Hurricane Road Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 18 April, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a | Cattletsburg, Kentucky

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Works, Dead or Good

”And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” | Ruth 1: 16-17

Dead works are those things men do and look to for the hope of their salvation.

Good works are those things believers do when they are looking to Christ alone for all the hope of their salvation.

Dead works are things men glory in.

Good works are never acknowledged by those who do them.

Dead works are performed out of obligation and for reward.

Good works are willing acts of service done out of love for Christ.

Lord, purge our conscience of dead works to serve Thee, the true and living God. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9: 14)

Make us a peculiar people unto Thyself, zealous of Good works. “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2: 14)

Which Thou hast ordained that we should walk in. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2: 10)

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “Every Believers Testimony”

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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.

Hurricane Road Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 20 March, 2022 | Previous post date: n/a | Cattletsburg, Kentucky

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The Sufficiency Of Christ

”Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high.” | Psalm 113: 2-5

Men often make this statement — “nobody is perfect” – in a feeble attempt to justify themselves before God.

Of course, nobody (among the sons of Adam) is perfect.

Truth is, men who say such a thing have no idea how far from perfection they really are.

The problem is, perfection is exactly what God demands. He can settle for nothing less.

Which is why He sent His only begotten Son into this world.

The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s perfect man, and He is man’s perfect God.

The God-Man.

The sinners substitute.

The sovereign, successful, surety of His people.

Yes, Someone is perfect.

Without Him standing in our stead, God’s holy justice will demand our eternal damnation.

“Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace” (Psalm 37: 37)

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “The Sufficiency of 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.

Zebulon Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 13 March, 2022 | Previous post date: n/a | Pikeville, Kentucky

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Waiting On The Lord

”And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?” | Judges 14: 15

If our God be Sovereign, then anytime we find ourselves waiting on anything, we are in truth, waiting on the Lord.

Let us always remember that whoever or whatever seems to be holding things up, is a secondary cause. Our God is the first cause of all things and will move those secondary causes in His perfect time.

The king’s heart (and everyone else’s) is in the hand of the Lord. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Proverbs 21: 1)

“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37: 7)

While we wait on the coming of the Lord, let us remember that He hath made everything beautiful in His time.

It will all “come to pass” exactly when the Lord purposes it to “come to pass.”

~ Pastor Greg Elmquist

Click here to listen to the message “Salvation is of The Lord”

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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: 5 December, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a