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Cause Of Contention

”And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the Word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.” | Acts 11: 1-3

When God saves sinners it is a time of great rejoicing.

Yet, here the apostle Peter stands before his own brethren who contended with him because he went in to uncircumcised Gentiles and ate meat which had been forbidden in God’s law, “they that were of the circumcision contended with him”. They had the Lord’s word that God has an elect people among the Gentiles. The prophets clearly declared it.

The Lord told Abraham: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22: 18)

The Lord gave his word concerning Christ’s salvation of his elect among the Gentiles: “And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49: 6)

Again we find the word of the Lord saying: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.” (Psalm 22: 27)

Moreover, the Lord Jesus Christ had, in person, given clear instruction to the saints to preach to the Gentiles: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28: 18-19) Before his ascension the Lord told his disciples: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”. (Acts 1: 8)

Still, they contended with Peter for going in to uncircumcised Gentiles and eating meat which had been forbidden in the law which God gave.

This is the sad result of what happens if we turn from Christ to the law.

They ceased to hear the Lord and looked back to the law he gave to shut sinners up to him.

As a result they made no mention of the fact that Cornelius and his household received Christ, the word of God. They did not rejoice in God’s grace; they did not rejoice in the fact that Christ was exalted; they did not rejoice in the fact that sinners were saved; they could find no joy in God and his grace because their minds were fixed in another direction. Their minds were consumed with Peter and the fact that he ate unclean animals forbidden by the law.

All they could see was Peter and the Law.

This is a good example of what the apostle Paul meant when he declared why he refused for Titus to be circumcised. “To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” (Galatians 2: 5)

Every law of God, yes, every word of God is given to turn his elect people to his Son whom he has chosen to have the preeminence in all things.

God’s law declares man’s utter inability to keep it and Christ the Righteousness of God.

The law of the clean and unclean animals declares plainly that it is the LORD who is the sinner’s holiness who makes him the very cleanness of God.

Every word of reproof and exhortation the Holy Spirit moved the apostles to write, which the Spirit has preserved through the ages for the believer, is to shut our mouths from boasting of our walk and to point us to the faithfulness of Christ in whom believers are complete.

~ Pastor Clay Curtis

Click here to listen to the message “Spiritual Plenty in Temporal Famine”

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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: 7 October, 2008 | Previous post date: n/a | Ewing, New Jersey

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The Sinner And The Savior

”And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.” | Luke 7: 36

A people hungering after righteousness and a preacher anxious to feed their souls will act in sweet harmony with each other when their common subject is Jesus Christ the Lord.

~ Pastor Scott Richardson

Click here to listen to the message “The Sinner And The Savior”

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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: 28 November, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a

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The Necessity Of The Husband’s Glory

”And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” | Isaiah 4: 1

It is improper for the bride to propose to the man.

Merely taking his name does not constitute a marriage. If her reproach will be taken away, Christ the GodMan must draw his bride in cords of love, unite himself to her in a holy, unbreakable union, and provide all her needs.

God created one wife for his beloved Son. She is the church made up of his elect people out of every nation on this earth. God espoused this bride to one husband, even Christ Jesus his own Son. He is her All and she is his all.

First, the full provision Christ bestows upon his bride is found in his name which he gives her.

The maiden name of a sinner is that of our father Adam. Our maiden name is a name of reproach, of disobedience to God, a name which declares we are dead in trespasses and in sins. But Christ gives his bride his name and his name declares her reproach is taken away by him. “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jeremiah 23: 6) “In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 33: 16)

Secondly, the name of Righteousness given to his bride declares that Christ has fully met every requirement of a faithful husband.

Concerning the responsibility of the husband the law states, If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

Christ shall never take another bride as sinful men do, for he has everlastingly loved the bride betrothed to him by his Father. Christ is her Food (Life) and thus Christ’s bride shall never be found begging bread. Christ is her raiment of Righteousness thus she is arrayed in the finest garment. Christ the Son of God unites himself intimately with her, which scripture terms the “the duty of marriage”, by making himself one with her nature that he might make her one with his nature.

“For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5: 30-32)

“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,” (Hebrews 2: 11)

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.” (Hebrews 2: 14-16)

“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36: 27)

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1: 3, 4)

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.” (Romans 8: 9-12)

The marriage is about much more than the bride’s reproach being taken away, it is about Christ’s glory in being a true and faithful Husband. Christ is that glorious Husband thus the reproach of his bride is forever removed.

~ Pastor Clay Curtis

Click here to listen to the message “Not Bondage But Adoption”

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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: 12 October, 2008 | Previous post date: n/a | Ewing, New Jersey

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Able To Save

”He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” | Romans 4: 20-22

“Able to save” means something more than just delivering men from hell.

“Able to save” is the whole work of salvation from the first conviction of sin to complete glorification.

Christ is not only “able to save” those who repent, but He is able to make men repent.

Christ is not only “able to save” those who believe, but He is able to give a new heart and work faith in men.

Christ is not only “able to save” those who continue in the faith, but He is able to keep us from falling and give us a holy desire to be like Him.

~ Pastor Henry Mahan

Click here to listen to the message “What God Promised He Is Able to Perform”

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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: 12 October, 2008 | Previous post date: n/a | Ewing, New Jersey

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The Salvation Of God

”Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.” | Genesis 27: 29

God’s salvation is infinitely immense.

Usually when we think of being saved, we think of the punishment we are saved from. And that certainly is a blessing of infinite value. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”

We also think of the state of blamelessness we have before the law of God because of our justification. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect: it is God that justifieth.” That is another blessing of infinite value. But the immenseness of this salvation goes farther.

It is said in Hebrews 13: 10 that we are “partakers of His holiness” and 2 Peter 1: 4 says we are “partakers of the divine nature.” This is a breathtaking concept.

What a salvation!

Not only will I not be punished for my sins, but I am not in a state of guilt before God.

Not only am I not in a state of guilt before God, the word of God declares that I am a partaker of His holiness and very nature!

God’s salvation is infinitely immense.

Perhaps we will get a glimpse when we stand before God perfectly conformed to the image of His Son.

Until then, we just believe!

~ Pastor Todd Nibert

Click here to listen to the message “How Can a Sinner Approach 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.

Zebulon Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 7 October, 2007 | Previous post date: n/a | Pikeville, Kentucky

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Business As Usual

”But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” | Matthew 24: 37-39

Our Lord Jesus Christ speaking of His second coming in Matthew 24: 37-39 informs us that men and women will be found just like they were in the days of Noah.

Before God sent His flood of wrath and judgment people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. In other words, they were conducting business as usual. Men and women gave no thought to the Eternal One, nor to eternity “until the flood came and took them ALL away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Lost sinner, it will be no different when Christ comes to earth again.

Men and women will be conducting business as usual, giving no thought or consideration to their eternal souls. However, by the grace of God, there will be (as it was in the days of the flood) a remnant of chosen sinners saved.

All who were in God’s Ark in Noah’s day, found secure refuge.

All today who are found in God’s Ark, the Lord Jesus Christ, will also be saved from the eternal wrath of God to come. “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1: 10)

Who does God shut up in the Ark of Safety? Like Noah, only those who have found grace in the eyes of the Lord! “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6: 8)

Has this amazing grace found you, or is it business as usual with you?

~ Pastor David Eddmenson

Click here to listen to the message “Magnified and Glorified”

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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.

Central Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 19 December, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a | Rocky Mount, Virginia

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A True Gift Is Freely Given

”Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” | 2 Corinthians 9: 15

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If a person has been truly given a gift, then that person does not owe anything for receiving the gift.

A gift is not bought, a gift is not earned – a true gift is freely given.

Thank God, when He gave the precious gift of His Son to be the Redeemer of life for His sinful people, He did not give that glorious gift only to sinners from the nation of Israel, He gave that wonderful gift to sinners all over this world! Not every sinner in the world, but sinners that He chose in Christ out of the world. And with the gift of Him comes every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer in Him – life, forgiveness, perfection, holiness, love, peace… and that list could go on forever.

In the gift of Christ, the child receives a Father, the bride receives a Husband, the lonely receives a Friend, the outcast receives a welcome acceptance, the poor receive an inheritance, the guilty receive a spotless record of innocence… and THAT list could go on forever.

Have you and I received the gift of Christ? If so, it will be evidenced in this way: we will totally believe in and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We will cast our all on Him. He will be ALL of our hope before God. His righteousness will be ALL of our worth, and His blood will be ALL of our redemption and forgiveness for our sin. We will see His work for salvation to be ALL, and our work for salvation to be NOTHING before God!

If God has revealed that truth to us and in us, if God has revealed Christ as being ALL to us, then we have received His unspeakable gift, and we can give thanks to Him forever! Because in Christ, we will not perish.

In the gift of Him, we have eternal life!

O how thankful that makes us want to be!

~ Pastor Gabe Stalnaker

Click here to listen to the message “The King Who Keeps His Sheep”

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

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Only One Ark

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” | Psalm 40: 1-4

When our God sent the flood, the whole world perished except those happy ones who were found in the ark.

Even so, there is only one way of salvation for all persons living under heaven. There is only one name whereby they can be saved.

Would you be saved, rich man? There is no way except that way whereby the poorest pauper is also to be saved.

Would you be delivered, O man of intelligence? You must be saved in the same way as the most ignorant!

There were not two arks, only one.

So there are not two saviours, only one Saviour!

There was no other means of salvation except the ark; so “there is none other name under heaven, “given among men, whereby we must be saved except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

~ Pastor Henry Mahan

Click here to listen to the message “We Love God’s Salvation”

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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: 7 October, 2007 | Previous post date: n/a | Pikeville, Kentucky

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He Never Changes

“HE NEVER CHANGES” | Hebrews 13: 8

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

I am so thankful that as I grow older and things change, inside and out, that there is One who never changes.

  1. His love never changes with time, for He loved me with an everlasting love that knows no change.
  2. His power never changes. He is just as able to keep me from falling today as when I first began.
  3. His Word never changes: “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23: 19) Has He not magnified His Word above His Name?
  4. His election of me shall never change. He will never cast off those whom He has chosen, for they will never do anything that He did not know about and has not already taken care of.
  5. The power of His blood shall never change. It still cleanses from all sin. No matter how deep the stain has gone, His blood washes it away.
  6. His Sacrifice will never change, it will never lose its effectiveness because it is always fresh in the midst of the Throne of God: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain…” (Revelation 5: 6)

We have a living sacrifice standing in the midst of the Throne of God.

When we rise out of our beds in the morning and go through our changes, just remember that there is One who remains the same yesterday, today and forever: The Rock Christ Jesus.

~ Pastor John Chapman

Click here to listen to the message “A Message For The Needy”

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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: 20 September, 2020 | Previous post date: 13 March, 2021

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Getting What I Deserve

”And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he (The Lord) said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” | Exodus 33: 18,19

Mercy is, “not getting what we truly do deserve”.

Grace is, “getting what we truly don’t deserve”.

God showed mercy to us when He gave Christ what we deserved.

And God showed grace to us when He gave us what Christ deserved.

Christ received our sin, and we received His reward.

Christ received our rejection, and we received His acceptance.

Christ received our death, and we received His life.

If God ever gives us the eyes of faith to see that, He will have shown us His glory!

~ Pastor Gabe Stalnaker

Click here to listen to the message “God’s Sovereign Right”

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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: 23 February, 2020 | Previous post date: n/a