Sovereign Grace Missionary BaptistChurch 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 January 06, 2013 Newsletter Number 399 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor Brother Ronnie Henderson, Song Director Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty Years”

You Were Asked To Pray For: All of Our Military, Their Family’s & All the Civilian Workers in The Middle East, Zee Mink Fuller and Family, Her son’s Bryan Armstrong and Hunter Hackie, Daughter Shannon, and Brother Philip & Sondra Thornsberry, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry Mollette, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, Wendell Henderson, Judy Dunn, Martha Gray, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Bro. & Mrs. Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Archie & Barbara Griffin, Bro. & Sister Bob Keller, Mary Ramsey, Donna Johnson, Fay Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy and Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Sister Nita Bookout, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Imajo Tracy, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, Lee Mollette’s Daughter & Granddaughter Kristal, Dale Barnes – Kathy Johnson and their mother, Pat and Waymon Abercrombie, Barbara Brewer, Donna Jones, Dale and Linda Trahan, Ricky and Margaret McCoy, Brother David O’Neal, Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan and the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, and Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

A Thought From Octavius Winslow: Born with a tear in His eye? The life of our adorable Lord was a life of continuous trial. From the moment He entered our world He became leagued with suffering. He identified Himself with it in its almost endless forms. He seemed to have been born with a tear in His eye, with a shadow of sadness on His brow. He was prophesied as "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." And, from the moment He touched the horizon of our earth, from that moment His sufferings commenced. He did not come to indulge in a life of tranquility and repose. He did not come to quaff the cup of earthly sweets. He came to suffer! He came to bear the curse! He came to drain the deep cup of wrath! He came to weep! He came to bleed! He came to die! Our Savior was a cross bearing Savior. Our Lord was a suffering Lord. He turned His back upon . . . the pleasures, the riches, the luxuries, and even the common comforts of this world; preferring a life of . . . obscurity, penury, and suffering. Jesus . . . hungered, thirsted, labored, sorrowed, wept, suffered, bled, died! He . . . was scourged, was bruised, was mocked, was smitten, was spit upon, was nailed to the tree, was pierced, was slain!

For Our Weekly Meditation: Weeping Willows and Joyful Jails“…yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. … How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?” (Ps. 137:1-2, 4) These are the words of the saddened Israelites after having been carried away from the Promised Land as victims of their own spiritual whoredom. As revealed in Jeremiah: “And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.” (3:9) It was their own rebellion that brought the defilement of God’s precious promise of rest. In their great lost and sorrow they found no melody in their hearts. Their lips were heavy with weeping guilt, no words of joy. How could they sing the LORD’s song that belongs to the redeemed? In stark contrast we read: “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” (Acts 16:25) The rebellious Israelites were out amongst the willow trees, but Paul and Silas were beaten with stripes, thrust into the inner prison, and chained. Their predicament of captivity was by far a greater distress upon the body. Yet, the circumstance of their imprisonment was not due to rebellion but of their faithfulness, for “…the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” (Acts 13:2) Their bodies did suffer, but their hearts leaped with great joys of obedience. There was no agonizing sorrow for guilt of sin, thus, no weight upon the lips to entrap the music of the heart. Redeemed, Redeemed, O how I love to proclaim it! Their voices rang out sure praises unto God. The ability to sing the LORD’s song of the redeemed with heavenly joy is not controlled by outward circumstance but by the spiritual condition of the heart. Rebellious hearts are too laden with weeping sorrows of sin; while, obedient hearts have wells of living waters springing up from within full of the Holy Spirit. Faithful obedience stirs up the heart with rejoicing tunes of the LORD’s song. By Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

Happy Birthday: Sister Juanita Bookout Monday January 07 "Don't count the years, count the blessings." Happy birthday to you all!