Thanks!

We opened up our first service for this new year the same way we opened up our very first worship service together as a church, by praying together to God, by song, for help. The song we sang is called “Jesus, With Thy Church Abide” (and I [Jason Delgado] took the liberty to put the lyrics into first person so it makes it more of a prayer from the church to God). Listen below:

Jesus, with Thy Church Abide

Original Lyrics: Thomas B. Pollock (1871)
Edited Lyrics: Jason Delgado (2007)
Music: Christopher Miner (1997)

Jesus, with Thy church abide;

Be our Savior, Lord, and Guide,

While on earth our faith is tried:

We beseech Thee, hear us,

We beseech Thee, hear us.

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Keep our life and doctrine pure;

Grant us patience to endure,

Trusting in Thy promise sure:

We beseech Thee, hear us,

We beseech Thee, hear us.

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May we one in doctrine be,

One in truth and charity,

Winning all to faith in Thee:

We beseech Thee, hear us,

We beseech Thee, hear us.

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Raise us to our calling high,

Let the nations far and nigh,

Hear Thy heralds’ warning cry:

We beseech Thee, hear us,

We beseech Thee, hear us.

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May our lamp of truth be bright,

Help us bear aloft its light,

Through the realms of heathen night:

We beseech Thee, hear us,

We beseech Thee, hear us.

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Often sorrow, often woe,

onward Christian, onward go!

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Also, below are the 3 new recording we got from past worship services:

• O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing:
• Exalt the Lord:
• Empty Me:

Don’t forget that you can download or subscribe (via iTune, RSS, or email) to our worship podcast here

soli Deo gloria!

that we should be called children of God!…

- 1 John 3:1

This past Sunday Pastor Emilio preached from 1 John 3:1-3 and gave us the who, when, and the how of the children of God:

• Who are the children of God?
  • They are regenerate
  • They are adopted
  • They are sojourners
• When will they be known?
  • Already and not yet
• How should the child of God live then?
  • With a Christ-centered hope
  • With a Christ-centered purity
    • How do we purify ourselves?
      • Identify what is explicitly sinful
      • Seek to give ourselves to righteous things

In explaining 1 John 3:2 about when the children of God will be know, Pastor Emilio talked about a theological term called “Already and Not Yet”. Hear his explanation of this term:

You can listen to the entire message from our sermon audio page or below:

]]> http://sovjoy.com/2010/01/children-of-god-the-who-when-how/feed/ 0 http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/how-should-we-view-christian-ministers/ http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/how-should-we-view-christian-ministers/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:48:45 +0000 admin http://www.sovereignjoycc.com/blog/?p=706 This past Sunday Pastor Jay preached from 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 and gave us 4 ways in which we should view Christian ministers.

We should view our ministers as…

1. Slaves/Servants
2. Stewards
3. Those who are required to be faithful
4. Those who will ultimately be judge by God

In expounding point 2, the question is raised- “Stewards of what?” Stewards of the mystery- “What mystery?” Pastor Jay explains in the 6 minute clip below:

In expounding on point 4, Pastor Jay tackled the question, “Should we not judge at all?” What about the verse that says “Judge NOT?” (Matthew 7:1). If we are to judge how can we judge rightly and what is a unrighteous judgment? How about when people don’t have the same theology or methodology as we do (i.e. Calvinism, expository preaching, ect…) [listen below, 6 minutes:]

(Jer. 17:9-10 | Ps. 139:19-23 | 1 Cor. 4:5 | Mat. 7:1-6 | 1 Cor. 2:15 | 1 Cor. 5:12 | 1 Cor. 6:5 | John 7:24)

You can listen to the entire message from our sermon audio page or below:

]]> http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/how-should-we-view-christian-ministers/feed/ 0 http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/gods-wisdom-vs-the-worlds-diametrically-opposed/ http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/gods-wisdom-vs-the-worlds-diametrically-opposed/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:23:31 +0000 admin http://www.sovereignjoycc.com/blog/?p=687 “When Christians unto carnal men give ear,

Out of their way they go, and pay for ’t dear,

For master Worldly-Wiseman can but show,

A Saint the way to Bondage and to woe.”

- Pilgrim’s Progress (when Christian meets Worldly-wiseman)

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Yesterday, Pastor Jay gave 4 reasons why we are to reject the world’s wisdom. One of the reasons was because God’s wisdom & the world’s wisdom are diametrically opposed (listen below, under 3 minutes):

(Col. 3:1 | Mat. 5:42 | Rom. 8:13 | Luke 9:23 | 1 Tim. 2:9 | 1 Cor. 9:27 | Col. 3:5 | John 13:34 | Mark 12:31 | Rom. 12:10 | Phil. 2:3 | Rom. 12:16 | Rom. 12:3 | Heb. 10:25 | 2 Cor. 4:18 | Rom. 12:19 | Luke 4:8)

Four Reasons why are are to reject the wisdom of this world…  listen to the sermon from yesterday on 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 below:

]]> http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/gods-wisdom-vs-the-worlds-diametrically-opposed/feed/ 0 http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/4-new-2-books-for-our-book-table/ http://sovjoy.com/2009/12/4-new-2-books-for-our-book-table/#comments Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:21:01 +0000 admin http://www.sovereignjoycc.com/blog/?p=683

Looking for some good, cheap, last minute gifts? Well, we happen to just get in a variety of new books from Desiring God (which retail from $10-$15) all for the price of $2 that  we will have for sale at our book table starting this Sunday!

• Finally Alive is a great book for anyone wanting a good, easy to understand book on regeneration/new birth.
• Don’t Waste Your Life is a challenging book for unbelievers and believers to make Christ their endless joy.
• Portrait of Calvin is for anyone who enjoys biographies, especially one of Reformer John Calvin.
• This Momentary Marriage is perfect for anyone who is thinking about marriage or a couple that has been married for years.

More details on the books & downloads of the books below:

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Finally Alive

In this book John Piper explores Jesus’ peculiar command, “You must be born again.”

When Jesus told Nicodemus, he had to be born again, this devout religious leader was unsure what Jesus meant. It seems nothing has changed. Today “born again Christians” fill churches that are ineffectual at best and sometimes even nonchristian.

The term “born again” has lost its meaning for many. Those claiming to be “born again” live lives that are indistinguishable from those who don’t; they sin the same, embrace injustice the same, do almost everything the same.

Being “born again” shouldn’t be defined by what people say they believe. It should be defined by Jesus.

“When Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7), he was not sharing interesting and unimportant information. He was leading him to eternal life… If he does that for you (or if he already has), then you are (or you will be) truly, invincibly, finally alive.” John Piper

• Download this book (PDF).
• Listen to, read, or watch the sermon series that inspired it.

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Don’t Waste Your Life

Table of Contents:

Preface: For Christians and Non-Christians
1 My Search for a Single Passion to Live By
2 Breakthrough—the Beauty of Christ, My Joy
3 Boasting Only in the Cross, The Blazing Center of the Glory of God
4 Magnifying Christ Through Pain and Death
5 Risk Is Right—Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It
6 The Goal of Life—Gladly Making Others Glad in God
7 Living to Prove He Is More Precious Than Life
8 Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5
9 The Majesty of Christ in Missions and Mercy—A Plea to This Generation
10 My Prayer—Let None Say in the End, “I’ve Wasted It”

• “Don’t Waste Your Life” the audio message.
• Download this book (PDF).

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Portrait of Calvin

Calvin’s words and life point beyond himself to where the crucified and risen Christ sits at the right hand of God. Before he died, he saw to it that there should be no posthumous canonization. He left orders that he should be buried in an unmarked grave. So his death and burial were of one piece with his life. Calvin bent all his energies in life and death to making Jesus Christ alone great, and making that greatness visible.

In his foreword, John Piper writes, “I am eager for people to know Calvin not because he was without flaws, or because he was the most influential theologian of the last 500 years (which he was), or because he shaped Western culture (which he did), but because he took the Bible so seriously, and because what he saw on every page was the majesty of God and the glory of Christ.”

Download this book (PDF).

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This Momentary Marriage

Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. And ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It displays the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his people to the world in a way that no other event or institution does. Marriage, therefore, is not mainly about being in love. It’s mainly about telling the truth with our lives. And staying married is not about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant and putting the glory of Christ’s covenant-keeping love on display.

This Momentary Marriage unpacks this biblical vision, with all of its unexpected contours and weighty implications, for married and single folk alike.

• Download this book (PDF).
• See the sermon series it came from.

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And don’t forget some of the other books we already have at the book table.

(remember that all books are sold at the price that we got them for and are all approved by the church leadership and, we pray, are for you to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ)

“The Manhattan Declaration is a document affirming the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage, and the rights of conscience and religious liberty. All three of these items are under siege in our culture today, so a group of Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians have drafted this statement and call upon others to defend life, marriage, and religious liberty.“

Our elders have made know that they stand with R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur and other in opposition to signing The Manhattan Declaration. Here is an excerpt from Sproul’s statement:

“On November 20, 2009, a document called the Manhattan Declaration was presented to the public by a coalition of cobelligerents. The document is concerned primarily with three very important biblical and cultural issues: the sanctity of life, the meaning of marriage, and the nature of religious liberty. Without question, these issues are up for grabs in our nation.

As anyone familiar with my ministry will know, I share the document’s concern for defending the unborn, defining heterosexual marriage biblically, and preserving a proper relationship between church and state. However, when the document was sent to me and my signature was requested a few weeks ago, I declined to sign it.

In answer to the question, “R.C., why didn’t you sign the Manhattan Declaration?” I offer the following answer: The Manhattan Declaration confuses common grace and special grace by combining them. While I would march with the bishop of Rome and an Orthodox prelate to resist the slaughter of innocents in the womb, I could never ground that cobelligerency on the assumption that we share a common faith and a unified understanding of the gospel…”

Read the entire statements from R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Michael Horton, and James White on why they would NOT sign The Manhattan Declaration.

What? Men’s Breakfast

When? Thursdays @ 6AM

Where? McDonald’s on Heritage Trace just off of I35W (on the same street as the church)

Why? This is just one of many an opportunity to get more involved in one another’s lives in a slightly more structured environment. Possible weekly memory verse / passage, we talk about what God has shown us in our personal Bible study and discuss, and we share our struggles and offer advice and prayer.

For questions/more info please contact Billy @ 817.266.0680

Not all have that view of the Church but they may, nonetheless, be building up the Church on faulty foundations such as legalism, moralism, family, programs, entertainment, man-centered methodologies, the pastor, ect… but there is only one true foundation, that is Jesus Christ (listen below, under 2 minutes):

So, if we have a low view of the Church, how can we get a high view of it?

Answer: View the Church as God does (listen below, about 4 minutes):

The Church…

• is ordained by God – Eph. 3
• is where God dwells – Eph. 2:20-22
• is what Christ died for- Acts 20:28
• makes known the manifold wisdom of God – Eph. 3:10
• brings glory to God – Eph. 3:21
• is subject to Jesus Christ – Eph. 5:24

Jesus Christ…

• is the head of the Church – Eph. 1:22 | Eph. 5:23 | Col. 1:18-19
• is the foundation of the Church – 1 Cor. 3:11 | Eph. 2:19-20
• loves the Church and gave Himself for it – Eph. 5:25
• will one day present the Church in glory – Eph. 5:27
• nourishes and cherishes the Church -  Eph. 5:29
• is in union with the Church – Eph. 5:29-32

So how can we be about the business of building up the Church rightly? Pastor Jay offers up 4 ways in his sermon. You can listen to the sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 below:

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:21