Our small groups meet throughout the month (the Friday groups are tonight!). God is using our love, our counsel, and our prayers to further establish and grow us.
Join us in praying that God would bless these meetings. Pray for wise and skillful leadership by our small group leaders. Pray for joyful participation, gratitude for the gift of fellowship, and abounding love for one another in Christ.
We’re so grateful to be a part of a church who gives generously and willingly. And not just financially. You give your time and your talents. You share your homes and hearts. In all these ways, thank you for glorifying God and blessing us.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have not accepted cash or checks during our services. Many of you have adjusted to giving online, which has helped us weather the pandemic with no interruption to church operations.
Now, we have an offering box where you can drop cash and checks either before, during, or after our service. Look for it near the entrance of the garden.
We hope you feel the pleasure of God and our gratitude as you worship through giving.
On Sunday Pastor Dustin preached from 1 Timothy 6:17-19. When Paul addresses “the rich of this present age” he is addressing us. God has made us materially wealthy, knowing that those riches bring temptations. We avoid the pitfalls of wealth by setting our hope on God, enjoying God’s gifts, sharing what God has given, and keeping our eyes fixed on the reward awaiting us in heaven.
Our last in-person meeting before the COVID-19 pandemic was our annual communion service. We’re coming up on a full year. And we’re thrilled to announce that we’re continuing the tradition by hosting a 2021 communion service!
It’ll be different this year. We’ll be outside. We won’t be sharing food. But we will be together. We will eat the bread and drink the cup. We will sing. We will contemplate and celebrate the death of Christ as we focus our service around the Lord’s Supper.
The service starts at 12pm. So you get a little bit of time to make up for lost sleep as we “spring ahead.” It’s bring your own lunch. Families will stay together. Guests are welcome. Take a moment to read our thoughts on the biblical practice of communion.
Let’s feast for the glory of Jesus and good of our souls.
John Piper famously observed, “Books don't change people; paragraphs do — sometimes even sentences.”
We’re always on the hunt for books filled with life-changing paragraphs and sentences. On Sunday, Pastor Eric shared sections from a couple such books. Take a look at the quotes below and consider getting your hands on these.
The Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson:
“Perseverance and faith, therefore, or perseverance and the Christian’s duty to battle on in the fight of faith are never separated and polarized in the Bible. It is never a case of ‘either/or’ always one of ‘both/and.’ In fact we persevere through faith and never apart from it. The picture is one of a dynamic, living trust in a God who actively holds on to us so that we may persevere. There is no blanket guarantee of perseverance. There is no mere doctrine of ‘the security’ of the believer, as though God’s keeping of us took place irrespective of the lives we live. Indeed there is not such thing in the New Testament as a believer whose perseverance is so guaranteed that he can afford to ignore the warning notes which are sounded so frequently.”
Rejoice and Tremble by Michael Reeves:
“Perhaps the most famous sermon ever delivered in the historic pulpit of the Tron Church in Glasgow was Thomas Chalmers’s ‘The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.’ In it he argued that nobody can ‘dispossess the heart of an old affection, but by the expulsive power of a new one.’ His point was that we cannot simply will ourselves to love God more; the love of sin can only be expelled by the love of God. Chalmers could have been speaking of fear, for the filial fear of God is the soul of godliness and the essence of the new life implanted by the Spirit. It is the ultimate affection and the very aroma of heaven. It is the affection that expels our fears and our anxieties. It is the affection that expels spiritual lethargy. To grow in this sweet and quaking wonder at God is to taste heaven now.”
On Sunday Pastor Eric preached from 1 Timothy 6:11-16. Believing in Jesus is a fight. A disciplined struggle for faith. The sooner we start fighting, the tighter our grip will be on the prize. There’s work to be done. God calls us to flee sin and pursue holiness. As those given new hearts by God, we must engage in this battle.
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
John 17:3
To know Christ is what we live for. Our lives don’t consist in our possessions or accomplishments. Our lives have value because Christ laid his life down for us.
This Sunday we sing a new song to remind us of these vital truths.
Listen to the song and come ready to sing with us.
MY WORTH IS NOT IN WHAT I OWN
Verse 1
My worth is not in what I own
Not in the strength of flesh and bone
But in the costly wounds of love
At the cross
Verse 2
My worth is not in skill or name
In win or lose, in pride or shame
But in the blood of Christ that flowed
At the cross
Chorus
I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest treasure
Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in him no other
My soul is satisfied in him alone
Verse 3
As summer flowers we fade and die
Fame youth and beauty hurry by
But life eternal calls to us
At the cross
Verse 4
I will not boast in wealth or might
Or human wisdom's fleeting light
But I will boast in knowing Christ
At the cross
Chorus
I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest treasure
Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in him no other
My soul is satisfied in him alone
Verse 5
Two wonders here that I confess
My worth and my unworthiness
My value fixed my ransom paid
At the cross
Sovereign Grace Churches’ executive director, Mark Prater, has published a list of prayer requests for the first quarter of 2021. Will you take a few minutes to pray through these? God works through the prayers of his people: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).
Pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities and workplaces.
Pray for Matt Turner and his team as they plant Sovereign Grace Church in Prattville, AL asking God to provide for them, and give them opportunities to share the gospel in the Prattville area.
Pray for Zicky Chanda and her four sons as they grieve the loss of their husband/father, Wilbroad Chanda, who was the Lead Pastor of Christ Community Church in Ndola, Zambia asking God to comfort them and the church in Ndola.
Pray for Bob Kauflin and the Sovereign Grace Music Team as they begin the work of producing a new album featuring the Psalms.
Pray for Eric Turbedsky (Director of Church Planting) and Joel Carlson (Sr. Pastor of Emmaus Road Church in Bozeman, MT) as they start a “Small Towns Initiative,” which will equip church planters to plant Sovereign Grace churches in smaller communities asking God to give them and their team wisdom.
Pray that God would give the Sovereign Grace Churches Leadership Team wisdom for how to expand globally in a way that preserves our theological convictions, gospel values, and allows us to continue to build relationally.
Pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the gospel opportunities He is giving us throughout the world.