“Two roads diverged in a chaotic world and they, the pastors of Sovereign Grace, they took the one less traveled by. And that made all the difference.” ~Mark Prater
Last month at the Council of Elders meeting, the day before the Pastors Conference, Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches, gave his annual “State of the Union” address titled: The Sure and Righteous Path.
Follow Sovereign Grace Churches on Instagram: @SovGraceChurches
I am excited to share that we have officially launched an Instagram account for Sovereign Grace Churches.
Our goal is not to gain a massive following, but to provide a more accessible form of communication about and from SGC for our pastors, church members, global partners, and anyone interested in learning more about SGC.
This account will highlight local churches around the world, updates from our leadership team, stories from our Emerging Nations, latest Sovereign Grace Journal updates, and more.
Follow @SovGraceChurches to catch the latest updates, photos, videos, and resources from SGC churches, missions, and leaders.
Join us as we celebrate all that God is doing in SGC and throughout the world!
Lauren Maples, Content Strategist for Sovereign Grace Churches
One of the ways Jesus taught us to pray is to ask that God’s "will be done" (Matthew 6:10). Praying that short phrase, “your will be done” has wonderful theological and practical implications for our lives. In his book, “Prayer and the Knowledge of God” Graeme Goldsworthy writes, "God graciously allows us to be involved in the carrying out of his will. He gives us the privilege of identifying with his will by asking him to do what he has already determined to do.” It’s stunning that God allows us to be involved in the carrying out of His will, and that begins with us asking Him to do what He has already determined to do.
I’ve listed the "Sovereign Grace Fourth Quarter Prayer Requests” below so that we can participate in the carrying out of God’s will for our family of churches by asking Him to do what He has already determined to do. As we offer up these specific requests in prayer, let us also pray for His will to be done in Sovereign Grace.
Thank you for praying for our family of churches.
Pray that God would draw unbelievers to Sovereign Grace churches as we hold our Christmas related events and services in December.
Pray that God would give the members of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelieving family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers over the holiday season.
Pray for the Arche Church in Dnipro, Ukraine that Sovereign Grace is relating to, and sending money for war relief efforts, asking God to protect them, and to use them to offer gospel hope as the war continues in that nation.
Pray for the men who are participating in our Church Planting Cohort: Ramon Flores (Yuma, AZ), Gabriel Magill (Warren, PA), Perry Wang (Charleston, SC), Jeremy Hetrick (Harrisburg, PA), asking God to use the Cohort to equip them to plant a Sovereign Grace church in the next year or two.
Pray for Dave Taylor (Director of Global Missions) and the Sovereign Grace Leadership Team asking God to give them wisdom in exploring partnership opportunities with churches in Poland and Sweden.
Pray that God would use the Sovereign Grace Music “Prepare Him Room” concerts in various cities in December to celebrate the birth of Christ and to declare the good news of the gospel.
Pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the gospel opportunities He is giving us throughout the world.
Graphic created by Ken Delage, Senior Pastor, Mercy Hill Community Church
Our small family of churches continues to become more global in our mission to advance the gospel by planting and strengthening churches for the glory of God, including a relationship with a church in Ukraine. Because of the generosity of Sovereign Grace supporters, we have been able to send about $4000/week to this church for war relief. However, we will run out of money earmarked for Ukraine war relief efforts by the end of 2022. It appears that the war will continue well into next year, and therefore the needs people have for food, medical supplies, shelter, etc., will also continue.
Here is an e-mail I received from our contact in Ukraine:
I thank you for your service and help to the suffering people of Ukraine.
We are approached for help by people whose houses were completely destroyed by bombs and rockets. Thanks to your generous donations, we can give them food, warm clothes, blankets. We continue to distribute food to 300 people a week. Throughout the war, we have served many thousands. Our greatest joy and passion is to share the gospel with these people. God opens their hearts to faith in Jesus. Many of them found in our city not only a new place to live, but also a church. 12 refugee women were at the women's meeting. Each of them has their own story of grief, loss and suffering due to the war, but each of them has a testimony that the Lord was good to them and gave them grace for a new life in Christ.
This night our city was attacked by Russian drones. Unfortunately, not all drones were able to shoot down our air defenses. All the inhabitants of the city did not sleep because of a series of powerful explosions. A mail terminal was blown up near my house. 4 young guys, the workers were badly injured, and now they are in the hospital in intensive care, unconscious. One of them is my neighbor. I pray that the Lord will heal him and that I can meet with him to talk about Jesus.
God is using difficult and challenging circumstances to save people in Ukraine through the service of this pastor and the members of the Arche Church in Dnipro. I believe we are to continue to financially support their work in Ukraine in 2023 so that practical needs can be met, and the gospel can continue to be declared to war refugees in that nation. Will you consider giving to the Europe Development Fund with the goal of raising $208,000 now so that we can commit to sending $4000/week to Ukraine for all of 2023?
As you prayerfully ponder my question, consider the example of our brothers in the Philippines, who recently just endured a devastating hurricane, yet all of the SGC pastors there desired to contribute, and “gave out of their poverty in a wealth of generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Regardless of the amount given, may it be faith-filled believing that God will use our collective generosity as a global family of churches to support the good gospel work in Ukraine.
Should you or your church decide to give, you can give to the Europe Development Fund here. When you do, please indicate that your financial gift is for the Ukraine war relief effort. Your generosity is not just meeting practical needs, your generosity is being used to advance the gospel. If you give, please know my deep appreciation for your generosity.
Prepare Him Room: Four nights and locations. Each night will feature songs from two Sovereign Grace Music Christmas albums, Prepare Him Room and Heaven Has Come. Whether you find Christmastime to be a joy-filled season, or at time of grief, loss, and burdens, we think Prepare Him Room will remind you of the wonder, mystery, and hope that Christmas is meant to bring.
Ticketing and details for remaining locations: Franklin, TN, Knoxville, TN & Louisville, KY
In the past 35 years, Sovereign Grace Music has produced Christ-exalting songs and training for local churches from local churches including albums for worship, songs for kids, Spanish albums, a Portuguese album and three Christmas albums. This Christmas season, enjoy celebrating the unimaginably good news of the birth of Jesus and the mystery of God become man in song:
The reality of the incarnation, the Son of God taking on our flesh and bones to save us, will be an eternal source of wonder, gratefulness, and joy. These fourteen songs are our attempt to capture that mystery in song. The long night is over and the light of the world has come. Prepare Him room.
For many, Christmas is far from “the most wonderful time of the year.” But when grief feels unbearable, when our resources are depleted, when the shame of sin crushes our spirits, and when heaven seems an eternity away, Christmas brings unimaginably good news: heaven has come to us.
Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God become Man
Savior contains twelve truth-saturated songs, suitable for worshiping God year-round. Each song ponders and celebrates the reason for Christ’s coming.
In July, Sovereign Grace Churches Australia launched the inaugural conference named ‘Together’. It brought together Sovereign Grace, Sydney and Sovereign Grace, Parramatta (the two Sovereign Grace churches in Australia) for a weekend of fellowship, worship, and making memories together!
The theme was: ‘Side by Side For The Gospel’. They discussed what biblical and gospel centered partnership looks like as they seek to pioneer a new denomination in Australia and extend our family of churches across this great land.
It was a great time away for our churches! We had such unity as we sang, prayed, feasted, and prayed together, side by side for the Gospel! Dave Taylor, Senior Pastor, Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney
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