Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Five Years” 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 April 16, 2017            Newsletter Number 615 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                   Brother Ronnie Henderson Sr., Song Leader Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com                                          Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com “A Church Seeking To Please God In Prayer, Song, Preaching, And Worship.”

Our Prayer Request:   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,  Johnnie Stephens, Alecia Stephens, and children, Frankie Baldridge and daughter, Buckie Thompson, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry & Martha Mollette and Her Family, Tyrell Loyd, Bonnie, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Adcock, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family, Lee & Mary Mollette, Wendell Henderson, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie and Sarah Henderson, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Velma Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Vickie Adkins, Archie & Barbara Griffin, Donna Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy Fails, Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Linda Hughes, Donna Jones, Brandy Sullivan, Gina, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Manual Seymour, Sr, The Harris Family, The Morris Family, Teresa Bookout, Little Titan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), James – Diane and Brooke Thomas, Jace Fails, Steve Sparks, Sister Ann McSwain, Brother Archie and Barbra Griffin, Brandy’s Mother, Elaine Sparks, James daughter’s mother-in-law, David Henderson,  Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

A Thought From our Pastor: Easter“And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” Acts 12:4 Most believers and church members may not know this word “Easter” is actually a bible word. I wonder why this is not the passage of scripture that Pastors preach about on “Easter Morning”? Here we have a holiday, a celebration about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Mythical “Easter Bunny” and no one seems to want to use this passage of scripture for their text. Well please let me inform you, no one uses it because it has nothing to do with either the resurrection of Jesus Christ or the Mythical “Easter Bunny” at all. If you look-up the Greek word in the Greek lexicon you will find the Greek word – pascha – which means -  the Passover – you will find 29 total uses of this Greek word in 27 different verses, but it is translated “Easter” only one single time and that is in our text verse Acts 12:4. Easter is as phony as the Easter Bunny as Christmas is as phony as Santa Claus. I am a Christian, and believe me that the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ means so much and both are mocked by these two holidays. The entire theory behind Easter is phony. Jesus did not die on Friday, therefore there is no such thing as “Good Friday” unless you are off of work over the weekend and then every Friday is a Good Friday. Jesus Christ rose from the grave either on Saturday pm or Sunday morning and that depends on exactly how one counts the Jewish day with our day. However, we absolutely know that on early Sunday Morning the Lord had risen. And please understand the resurrection is just as important as any other part of the life and death of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul told us the if Jesus Christ had not risen from the grave then “…we are of all men most miserable.” 1 Corinthians 15:19 I do not know why Christmas or Easter either one exist, except they were both created for profit. We go through this every year, trying to express to people the phoniness of these two holidays and people think we are bad because we do not like and adhere to them. But please understand our thinking, Jesus Christ, His birth, death, burial, and His resurrection is simply too important to Mythicize. But with the help of so many pastors and churches, both are counted as real holidays as though God ordained both. The truth is, every Sunday morning should be resurrection morning. Sunday is the “Christian Sabbath” because it is the morning celebration of the resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ. As Christians, as believers in a True Saviour, as faithful servants to The God of Truth, why celebrate a holiday filled with lies. Lies are not of God, they are of Satan. John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Please give this some thought, if a Pastor pushes these two phony holidays, for what reason would he push a holiday about lies? Look what God says, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ…And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light…Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 These two holidays are nothing more than turning two glorious events of our Saviour Jesus Christ into lies and deceitfulness. Think about it folks, what is truth and what is a lie? God is Truth and Satan is a liar. It is true that some Pastors may not know the truth, maybe they grew-up with these two holidays, but I must ask, if they are going to Pastor a church, then shouldn’t they find out the truth? Pastors are responsible for the learning of truth to the flock, and will account to God for not seeking the truth.

"Ye Cannot Serve The Lord, For..." Joshua 24:19 By Elder Don Fortner   The nature of God is such that it is utterly impossible for him to be served by fallen, depraved men. This is exactly what Joshua declares: "Ye cannot serve the Lord, for...". Then he gives us three reasons why men cannot serve the Lord.   l.  "He is an holy God." A holy God demands perfectly holy obedience. He cannot and will not accept anything less than absolute perfection. The men of Bethshemesh found out that sincerity, fear, costly-sacrifice and earnestness could never be accepted of "an holy God", after 50,000 were slain for their attempted service to him (I Sam. 6:19-21). Only perfectly holy men can serve the perfectly holy God (Psa. 24:3-4).   2.  "He is a jealous God." God is jealous of his honor, his glory and his worship. That simply means, God will not tolerate any rival to himself. All graven images (visible and imaginary), like Dagon, will be broken to pieces before him. He will not tolerate any idol to be worshipped in his place or along with him. And he will not tolerate the idol of man's righteousness, service and works to be set up in place of or alongside the righteousness, service and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who would serve God must denounce both the false gods of their fathers (Josh. 24:23) and their own righteousness (Rom. 10:1-4).   3.  "He will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins." The just and holy God cannot be served by sinful creatures such as we are. The only thing God can do with sin is punish it. And punish it he will. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die!" The only way a fallen sinner can serve God is if he can both suffer the full penalty of the law and fulfill all the demands of the law. And, blessed be God, he has made it possible, by the substitutionary obedience and sacrifice of Christ in the place of sinners (Rom. 3:24-26). In his life of obedience, Christ perfectly served God as a man, establishing perfect righteousness, and in his death he removed the sins of all his people, satisfying the justice of God by his atoning sacrifice. Trust Christ, and by faith in him, you will be forever pleasing in the sight of God and accepted as his servant and his son (Heb. 11:6; Eph. 1:6).

Church Notices: Happy Birthday to Sister Martha Mollette Wednesday April 19th

Romans 5:8  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”