Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Four Years” 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 December 27, 2015            Newsletter Number 548 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                    Brother Ronnie Henderson, Song Director Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com          Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com

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, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family,  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, 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, Imajo Tracy, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, James and Lynn Tomlin, Pat Abercrombie, Donna Jones, Diane Thomas, Brandy Sullivan, Gina Peel, Tammy Hairston and family, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Manual Seymour, Sr, Brother Jerry and Sister Jean Dodson, Dewayne Sewell, The Harris Family, Teresa Bookout, LittleTitan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), 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 our Pastor:   Happy New Years; Keep Up The Work Of The Lord."And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come." Luke 19:13   Without a deep explanation of this passage, I will explain it significance to us in our time. As the Lord was leaving these ten servants and gave them some money (about 13 - 15 Dollars) to continue the business or as the Lord said it "...Occupy till I come." Now while this word "Occupy" means - to busy oneself with, that is, to trade - to us in the 21st Century it would mean to continue with the tools the Lord has given us to continue in His work until Jesus returns. Do not forget it was the leaders of the first church, (the church at Jerusalem) that the Lord Jesus commissioned and commanded to carry the gospel to every man, woman, and child in the world, and baptizing them as He saved them. This order has not changed, just because times are hard and it appears that maybe the Lord is ready to return we cannot let up. We must all, every believer in Jesus Christ and every church of Jesus Christ work until Jesus returns. We better be working hard when He does return. For Jesus to return and churches and believers not working hard would be a failure on our part. We all cannot look at the times, and see the ugliness and ungodliness of the world, these are they we should be going after. As the New Year's approaches let us all, churches and believers dedicate ourselves to work a little harder getting the gospel to the world. Let us think about this word "Occupy" and continue to move forward until Jesus returns. The Lord could return at anytime or He could wait a few more years. We simply do not know, but what we do know is what we are suppose to do until He returns. We are to use the talents He has given us all and to use them to reach a lost and dying world. I know as we look around the churches here in America we see a dwindling in church size and in salvations, however, this does not tell us to slack-up because the Lord is returning soon but rather it tells us we have a harder work to perform. The Lord said in Luke 19:14 "But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." but Jesus never told them to stop or slow down, He rather told them to keep busy. The world will always hate the Lord and because they hate Him they will always hate the Christians and churches, however, the Lord continued until He allowed them to take His life. The Lord warned us of the wicked and spoke about their future in Psalms 92:6 - 7 "A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. (7.) When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:" A " brutish man" is a stupid man and they simply do not know the Lord, and this is the world in general. and this is the reason the world has waxed worse and worse. They simply do not know the Lord, nor do they know their destination, so while they seem to " flourish" as the spring grass and the church seem to be dwindling do not loose faith in the Lord's power to bring forth a true revival, even here in America. Now we might think and say the Lord is done and His return is imminent, but we do not know the will of God until He reveals it. Please pray with me and work with me to revive the church and believers hearts to work harder in the New Year to get the gospel out to more lost sinners than we did last year. Maybe a revival in America starts with a revival of the believers and churches. I believe God is still using us in a mighty way. Even though the talents may be fewer and less powerful, it doesn't take much for God to work, remember He built the world out us the breath of His mouth. Let us not forget, the Lord is returning, where will be in this work when He returns. Luke 19:15 "And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading."

A Thought For Your Week:   How Does Grace Save?      Practically all professing Christians profess to believe that salvation is by grace. You can hardly find a church member of any denomination who will out and out deny that salvation is by the grace of God. The Bible so oft en declares that salvation is by grace that few men will boldly deny it. But the trouble is that many think and speak of grace in such a way as to frustrate it. The grace they think and speak of is not grace at all. It is so mixed with human works and merit that it is (as Paul says) "no more grace."    There are some things of earth that no human pen or brush can do justice to--- such things as storms, rainbows, cataracts, sunsets, icebergs, snowflakes, dewdrops, etc. Because God made them, no man can properly describe them or paint them. And grace is something in God that no human tongue can do justice to; no man can give an adequate treatment of it. But, by grace, we can keep from frustrating grace in our own thinking and speaking and living. And none except the children of grace will honor grace in thought and word and deed.    It was only after Saul of Tarsus had been saved by grace that he said, "By the grace of God I am what I am." Paul thus gave grace the credit for his conversion. A great change had taken place in his thoughts and affections and ambitions, and he attributes this change to the grace of God. He once believed in salvation by works and profited in the Jewish religion above many men of his age, but it pleased God to call him by His grace, and reveal His Son Jesus in him (Gal. 1:14). He once knew Christ after the flesh and hated Him---he once had a carnal or fleshly conception of Christ and looked upon Him as an imposter and boasted that he would be separated from Him; but since grace wrought in his heart, he delights to say, "For to me, to live is Christ." He was once ambitious for worldly honors and human praise, but since grace wrought his conversion he was ambitious to be well-pleasing to Christ. By C. D. Cole You can read this complete article at: http://gracebbc.dyndns.org:81/colegrace.html

Church News:   Happy New Years to everyone this next Friday January 01, 2016   Happy Birthday to Sister Donna Johnson On Saturday January 02

Quote for The Week:   "Until a miracle of grace be wrought upon him, no soul can have a feeling sense of his lost condition. For until then, he is deaf to God’s calls, and without any godly sorrow for sin." - Arthur Pink