Also, immediately following the service tomorrow we will be having a church-wide potluck! Please bring a main or side dish (we will be providing paper plates, utensils, cups, and drinks.)

Our first service at this new location will be Sunday, September 5, 2010 (all of our service times and activities will stay the same.)

Grace Church is located @

4740 Western Center Blvd.

Haltom City, TX. 76137

The new church building

Inside of the building

Our last service @ Heritage (Sept. 3, 2010)

Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Nokia.

Android users!

We’re very happy to announce our support for the Google Android family of phones so that now you can listen to sermons, watch videos, and access other resources on SermonAudio.com — instantly! It’s the SermonAudio Android Edition!

Download it for free! Here’s how you can get it today. Simply go to the Android Market directly from your phone and search for “sermons” in the catalog. It’s completely free of charge! Minimum Android OS 1.6 is required. Or scan the QR Code below…:

Click here for more details if you have an Android device.

iPhone & iPod Touch users!

We’re very happy to announce a revolutionary new way to listen to sermons, watch videos, and access other resources on SermonAudio.com — instantly! All without a PC and 100% wirelessly. It’s the SermonAudio iPhone (and iPod Touch) Edition!

It’s our first native app for the iPhone and iPod Touch and here’s how it works. Simply go to the App Store on your device and search for “sermons” or “sermonaudio” and download it for free! Or you can simply click on this link!…

Click here for more details if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch.

BlackBerry users!

We’re very happy to announce our support for the BlackBerry family of phones so that now you can listen to sermons, watch videos, and access other resources on SermonAudio.com — instantly! It’s our own native BlackBerry app available completely free of charge! Minimum BlackBerry OS 4.3 is required.

There are two easy ways to download the app. First, you can get it from theBlackBerry App World directly from your phone (simply search for “sermons” in the app catalog). Or, you can go to www.sermonaudio.com/blackberry directly from your BlackBerry’s browser and download the app from our servers…

Click here for more details if you have a BlackBerry.

Windows Mobile, Palm, & Nokia users!

We’ve teamed up with Kinoma, the makers of the highly-acclaimed Kinoma Play for Windows Mobile and Nokia’s Symbian/S60 and Kinoma Player 4 EX for Palm OS to bring to you an elegant new way to stream MP3 sermons and videos on SermonAudio — instantly! All done 100% wirelessly streaming “over-the-air” with your mobile phone!

The best part is that it won’t cost you a cent. SermonAudio works great with the free editions of Kinoma’s products Kinoma FreePlay for Windows Mobile smartphones, andKinoma Player 4 for Palm OS smartphones (including the Palm Centro). Once you have them installed on your phone, you can find SermonAudio.com in Kinoma Guide under the Religion & Spirituality section.

Please note: The paid editions of the products give you a rich array of additional functionality such as the ability to download the sermons and video directly to your phone. But the SermonAudio portion will work just fine with the free versions…

Click here for more details if you have a Windows Mobile, Palm, or Nokia.

I got this App for my mobile device, NOW WHAT?

1. Open the application
2. Click “MyChurch”
3. Enter “SovJoy” (no quotes) as your ”Member ID”.

That’s it! Now you have access to all our sermons on your phone to  listen to, download, plus so much more.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

- Romans 10:17

In his opening prayer, Pastor Jay mentioned the “season we had in this church“. He was referring to the fact that this past Sunday was the last Sunday service we would have in the church building we have been meeting at for the past several years (click here for the new location we will be meeting at starting THIS Sunday [Sept. 5, 2010]). You can listen to a 20 second clip from this below:

Download audio file (83010647261.mp3)

Two ways that Paul demonstrates his passion for the gospel:

What does it mean that Paul was flexible for the gospel? What does it mean that he became, “all things to all people” (3 minute clip below):

Download audio file (83010647261.mp3)

What does Paul mean when he says he is NOT, “under the law“? (3 minutes):

Download audio file (83010647261.mp3)

What does Paul mean when he says, “Run in such a way that you may win.“? (2 minutes):

Download audio file (83010647261.mp3)

Listen or download “Paul’s Gospel Passion” from 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 by Pastor Jay Jesuroga (from our sermon series through 1 Corinthians):

You can view or download the outline and notes for our Sunday Seminary class discussion the doctrine of creation:

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” – Revelation 4:11

The point of all this is not to simply deal with what may or may not be an idolatrous and vain obsession with ourselves; rather the point I am making has to do with what it means to be truly healthy.  The NT has much to say about being fit, healthy, or “sound” (Ps. 1 | Mt. 6:25 | Mk. 4:19 | 1 Cor. 9:24-27 | 1 Tim. 4:6, 6:11).  The obvious analogy is to our spiritual health.  This should be the believer’s true obsession, this is the fitness we ought to seek after, this is the exercise program that will never disappoint us.  Unlike all of the gimmicky, fraudulent, and even at times dangerous products made for physical (and temporal) betterment, pursuing our spiritual fitness has everlasting results.

Paul advised us to have an eternal perspective in this area,

1 Timothy 4:8 “for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

The real health we are after is health of the soul.  If you want real wellness, you must exercise, but you must exercise your soul to godliness which can only come through following sound doctrine, sound words, and the sound teaching of Scripture.

1 Timothy 6:3-4 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions,”

Sound doctrine, sound words, orthodox theology and the preservation of the apostolic preaching of Christ crucified is precisely what John wanted to see for the church he is writing to in 2 John.  In this brief letter, John is pastorally concerned for the health of the church.  To enhance the health of the church and to protect the purity of the congregation to whom he writes, John instructs the believers to walk in four ways (cf. 2 John 4-11):

Truth:

2 John 4 “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.”

Love:

2 John 5 “Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.”

Obedience:

2 John 6 “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.”

Discernment:

2 John 7–11 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

Like a body that has been malnourished and neglected, we cannot expect to be healthy if we neglect these spiritual disciplines.  If we neglect biblical discernment than our soul will suffer.  We should also note that the benefits of exercise cannot be gained vicariously.  Even as we would never say, that exercise is only for the athlete, Olympian, or aerobics instructor; so too we should never conclude that being a discerning believer is only the job of a select few; we must all engage in discernment because just like physical health cannot be gained through osmosis, neither can the health of our souls.  Therefore, tending to our personal spiritual condition is just that, personal, we must take complete ownership of our souls, we must govern what goes in if we care about what will come out.

There are many diet plans which promise that you can eat anything you want and lose weight all at once.  We all know that there is catch to all the propaganda that’s involved there, but there is an analogy here.  Scripture teaches that we can feast on Christ, His word, and His truth as often as we like, with no harm done to the health of the soul.  This reminds me of a powerful passage out of Hebrews.  When self-help programs run out and empty doctrines of manmade self imposed religion leaves a person empty and dissatisfied, grace strengthens.

Hebrews 13:9 “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Pastor Emilio Ramos

(more on 2 John)

Throughout the sermon you will hear Pastor Jay making reference to David and his missionary endeavor. This is because right before Pastor Jay came up to preach we heard from David for 15 minutes on how he and his family were going to be missionaries in China. You can listen to a  2 minute clip from this below:

Download audio file (82310758180.mp3)

In this small section, after Paul has already argued that he has apostolic liberties, we learn why Paul gave up those liberties and what his boast was:

What was Paul’s boast? (2 minute clip):

Download audio file (82310758180.mp3)

Why did Paul preach and say “Woe to me if I don’t preach”? (2 minutes):

Download audio file (82310758180.mp3)

Pastor Jay ended with giving several ways in which we could apply this text and gave a rebuke to those who would fleece the flock of God (2 minutes):

Download audio file (82310758180.mp3)

Listen or download “Minister’s Liberty: Financial Support” from 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 by Pastor Jay Jesuroga (from our sermon series through 1 Corinthians):

In one sense we can say that John 17 takes one from glory to glory. Christ begins by communion with the Father and focusing on their fellowship which leads to Christ’s request for His personal return to the eternal glory which characterized the realm of the Triune God, the realm to which Jesus rightfully belonged (Phil. 2:6-7). The final section of this chapter concludes with Jesus’ request that believers, not only the apostles, but also those “who believe in me through their word” would see and participate in this glory (John 17:20).

This remarkable request by Christ is based upon His own accomplishments. That is, Jesus can confidently intercede for these things knowing the absolute efficacy of His own death, atonement, and resurrection on behalf of His people (John 10:28 cf. Mt. 1:21 | 1 Cor. 15:3-5 | 1 Pet. 3:18). In chapter 17, we are drawn into the fellowship of the Triune God of Scripture to enjoy the glory of God.

It is further remarkable that we are given such an intimate insight into the consciousness of God the Son as He prays to God the Father. The prayer is remarkable for numerous reasons too many to detail here. One amazing glimpse given us by this prayer is Jesus’ concern for the elect of God. Jesus prays for those who were “given” to Him by the Father. The repetition of this concept reinforces the fact that this is no auxiliary topic for Christ (John 17:2, 6, 9, 24). Instead, election is as precious and central to Jesus as the authors of Scripture themselves. Election displays the sovereign glory of God for whom alone it is the prerogative to have mercy on who He wills and harden whom He wills.

Lamentably, the doctrine of election has been despised and rejected by much of the church today. Instead of delighting in what God delights in, namely, His sovereign freedom to choose who He wills, man spirals out into unbiblical philosophical conjecture endeavoring above all things to preserve the freedom and dignity of man. Yet this was not the posture of the apostles.

Paul begins with the doctrine of election and predestination as he writes to the Ephesians. Far from being something Paul relegates to the world of academia, he encourages the local churches with these truths as he explodes in doxology of the glory of God’s grace revealed in them.

Ephesians 1:3–4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love”

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Also see, Psalm 135:4 4 “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

Romans 8:33 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies”

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” (my emphasis).

Finally, there is another connection between God’s sovereign election and His glory that we need to see in Jesus’ prayer. Verses 1-5 opens up this prayer which is often referred to as Jesus’ high priestly prayer as He intercedes for His people, yet Jesus has yet to request something on our behalf. This is because the glory of God takes utter preeminence in the heart of Christ. All of God’s chosen people love to have it so. God’s people ought to follow Christ in this.The glory of God ought to be preeminent for us as well. We must like Jesus pray, “Lord not my will but your will be done” (Mt. 26:39 | Lk. 22:42 cf. Phil.1:20).

Soli Deo Gloria

Pastor Emilio Ramos

Listen to his sermons though John 17.

Also, apologies that there were not enough outlines for Sunday Seminary yesterday, but as promised here is the outline thus far (everything we’ve gone over in the past 3 weeks on the Trinity):

“Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!”

First off, Pastor Jay gave a summary of chapter 8 and talked about the main principle that we learned from that chapter (“The Stumbling Block Principle” as he calls it) and then showed how chapters 8 and 9 relate to each other (3 minute clip below):

Download audio file (816101051290.mp3)

• Paul defends his apostolic ministry (1 Cor. 9:1-2)
  • He has seen the risen Lord
  • Corinth is his work in the Lord
• 5 reasons a minister should be financially compensated (1 Cor. 9:3-14)
  • 1.) It was the common practice of the church (1 Cor. 9:3-6)
  • 2.) It is common practice in everyday life (1 Cor. 9:7)
  • 3.) The law of God commands it (1 Cor. 9:8-12 | Deut. 25:4 | 1 Tim. 5:17-18 | Gal. 6:6)
  • 4.) The example of the temple service in the Old Testament (1 Cor. 9:13)
  • 5.) It is the direct command of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 9:14 | Luke 10:7-8)

After explaining the text, Pastor Jay gave his first application and dealt with a giving issue in our own church (3 minutes):

Download audio file (816101051290.mp3)

Pastor Jay ended with giving one final application for us dealing with liberty looking at Paul and Jesus’ example (3 minutes):

Download audio file (816101051290.mp3)

Listen or download “Minister’s Liberty: Financial Support” from 1 Corinthians 9:1-14 by Pastor Jay Jesuroga (from our sermon series through 1 Corinthians):

I clipped that sermon down into 4 parts that talk about the points presented in John 1:1 that I was dealing with in regards to our topic… the identity and description of the Word [Greek: Logos] who is with God and is God.

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Listen to the 3 minute clip below dealing with the first phrase in John 1:1:

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Listen to the 4 minute clip below dealing with the second phrase:

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Finally, Pastor Emilio Ramos gives a 1 minute definition on the Trinity:

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And here is the quote we read regarding this in Sunday Seminary:

In summary, then, what do we find in John 1:1? In a matter of only 17 short Greek words, John communicates the following truths:

• The Word is eternal – He has always existed and did not come into existence at a point in time.
• The Word is personal – He is not a force, but a person, and that eternally. He has always been in communion with the Father.
• The Word is deity – The Word is God as to His nature [essence/being].

- James White, The Forgotten Trinity, 1998

For further study you can listen to Pastor Emilio Ramos‘ entire sermon “The Logos: Introduced, Described, & Defined” from his series in the Gospel of John below: