Pastor Joe Sugrue - Grace and Truth Podcast

Tuesday January 21, 2020

Isa 42:1 "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold [grasp];

My chosen one in whom My soul delights.

I have put My Spirit upon Him;

He will bring forth justice to the nations.

Isa 42:2 "He will not cry out or raise His voice,

Nor make His voice heard in the street.

Isa 42:3 "A bruised reed He will not break,

And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

Isa 42:4 "He will not be disheartened or crushed,

Until He has established justice in the earth;

And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."

The...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2170

Sunday January 19,2020

Psa 12:1 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

Psa 12:2 They speak falsehood to one another;

With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.

Psa 12:3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

The tongue that speaks great things;

Psa 12:4 Who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail;

Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?"

Psa 12:5 "Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,

Now I will arise," says the Lord; "I will set him in the...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2169

Thursday January 16, 2020

Idols: 1Jo 2:16

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

In Isa 41 God asks us to behold the idols in the world and behold the idol worshippers, and then God says to us, behold My Servant.

God means for us to take a really good look at them. When Paul writes: "In evil be babes," he means in experience. We are to be wise, not having experience with evil, but recognizing it and knowing what it can lead to.

What do idols do for people? They only take and take and give nothing but grief in return. "See them," says God, "and now see My Servant in whom My soul...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2168

Wednesday January 15, 2020

After sending out my blog on Isa 29 yesterday, I thought about how much reading material we are sending out lately, considering the Reading Through the Bible program as well. Then I thought about how beneficial it is to the mind to be a reader.

And then I found this article today. Never a coincidence:

Studies have also shown that excessive usage [of smart phones] leads to less sleep, lower self-esteem, shorter attention spans, memory loss, a lack of creativity, and decreased analytical skills.

The paradox is that the benefits reading provides are antithetical to the effects smartphones impose, yet we care more for the latter.

For starters, reading reduces stress, helps slow down the...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2167

Tuesday January 14, 2020

Born at the proper time.

Jesus could not have been born at any other time than in the reign of Caesar Augustus, after the Jewish religion, the Greek civilization, and the Roman government had reached their maturity; nor in any other land than Palestine, the classical soil of revelation, nor among any other people than the Jews, who were predestined and educated for centuries to prepare the way for the coming of His infancy.

He never left Palestine. He travelled on His mission of love through Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and Perea; He came as far north as mount Hermon, and once He crossed beyond the land of Israel to the Phoenician border and healed a demonized daughter. We can easily follow Him from place to place, on foot, twenty to thirty miles a day, over green fields, barren rocks, over hill and dale, among flowers...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2166

Sunday January 12,2020

Truly, Jesus Christ is the most real, the most certain, the most blessed of all facts in all of human history, which is odd, since what He claimed and claimed to be were the most unnatural and other worldly things the world has ever heard, and yet, even His enemies do not call Him a madman.

And the facts of Jesus' claims are an ever-present and growing power which pervades the church and conquers the world, and is its own best evidence, as the sun shining in the heavens.

Mat 13:31 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

Mat 13:32 and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2165

Thursday January 9,2020

Gal 4:1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,

Gal 4:2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.

Gal 4:3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

Gal 4:5 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Gal 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

Gal 4:7 Therefore you...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2164

Wednesday January 8, 2020

Atonement through the suffering Servant was ignored in Israel when Christ was born, and when He began His public ministry He focused directly on the deep spiritual core of God's revelation to Israel.

Joh 8:31 Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

Joh 8:32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Joh 8:33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You shall become free'?"...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2163

Tuesday January 07,2019

The Law and the prophets and the writings revealed a world-wide war and an ultimate victory by God through a suffering Servant.

The Jews indeed saw the victorious Servant as the Messiah, but they interpreted the passages concerning the suffering Servant as referring to the nation of Israel. This was a mistake because it ignores the means by which God would achieve victory. Not to mention, the nation wasn't supposed to suffer, but to be prosperous. Even the disciples didn't understand this after being taught it by Jesus for years. They wouldn't understand until after His resurrection.

The Savior's suffering was...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2162

Sunday Januray 5, 2020

God so loved the world that He became a part of it.

Christianity is the presence of God in the world in the person of Jesus Christ.

Summary of world conditions (very brief) at the time of Christ's birth.

Israel had lost the spiritual core of the law and the prophets. They put a shell or a fence around the Law. The people were aching for substance when all they had was rituals and procedures for day-to-day living. Israel also lost the deep spiritual truths of the conflict between good and evil (big picture). This is a loss of the transcendent battle that wages on...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2161