The Sidholme Hotel in the coastal town of Sidmouth, Devon, was the venue for our recent 2008 Sovereign Grace Conference. Following his visit to the UK in April 2007 Pastor Don Fortner of Grace Baptist Church, Danville, Kentucky, was welcomed back as our speaker. Like last year the meetings were a great encouragement with the Gospel being boldly proclaimed. We thank God for sending His word in such power and for blessing these meetings to the good of His people and the glory of His precious Name.

The messages are now available in both audio and video formats online.

Tuesday April 1st
Audio Freewill or Freegrace (Don Fortner)

Or click here to play video

Wednesday April 2nd
Audio: A Parable of Every Believer’s Life (Don Fortner)

Or click here to play video

The video messages can also be listened to on the Video Page of graceandtruthonline.com or on the Grace and Truth Online Video Chanel on Veoh. When played online they provide a 5 minute preview but they can also be downloaded for playback on your computer.

The Music Room at the Hotel where the meetings were held…

The Gate outside…

(Sadly since returning home to the USA Don Fortner has been suffering from some heart trouble which has required surgery. We were very sorry to hear of this and pray that the Lord will be pleased to grant a good recovery and restore His servant to good health soon. An update on his condition is available in the post here ).

The messages from the South West Sovereign Grace Conference 2008 are now available online to listen to.

Tuesday April 1st:

Freewill or Freegrace (Don Fortner)

Wednesday April 2nd:

A Parable of Every Believer’s Life (Don Fortner)

Our thanks to all those who attended the conference and helped make it such an encouragment and blessing as fellowship was shared with many of God’s people. But above all, we give thanks to our Sovereign God for His great goodness in blessing the conference held in Sidmouth and attending the preaching of His word with such power.

On Tuesday April 1st and Wednesday April 2nd 2008 we hope, in the will of the Lord, to host GraceAndTruthOnline.com’s 2008 Sovereign Grace Conference in Sidmouth, Devon.

Following his visit to this area last year we are delighted to welcome back Pastor Don Fortner as our speaker and would like to invite all those who are able to come along and hear him on this special occasion.Don Fortner’s ministry has been a great blessing to us over the years, a ministry in which the Lord Jesus Christ is always exalted. We trust that others too will find encouragement in hearing this ministry in Devon. May Christ be glorified in the preaching of His Gospel.Our venue for this year’s conference is the excellent Sidholme Hotel in Sidmouth Devon. This is situated about 30 minutes south of Honiton on the beautiful East Devon coastline. Not only will visitors be able to attend the meetings at the Conference, but for those who are travelling from afar and wish to make a break of it rooms are available at excellent rates at the hotel – this will also provide opportunity for fellowship with others staying at the hotel. Bookings can be made through the hotel website (http://www.sidholme.co.uk  ) or by telephone - 01395 515104 (Mention the Sovereign Grace Conference when booking). Alternatively there are of course a number of other good hotels and B+Bs throughout the East Devon area (a quick search on the internet should find some).

Why not download the PDF Sovereign Grace Conference 2008 Flyer here and print it out for display on your noticeboard?

Augustus Toplady, the author of the hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ ministered in the Devon village of Broadhembury, not far from Honiton, during the 1700s. Perhaps few in the area today would remember his name, a few more might remember his well-known hymn, yet the Gospel he preached is everlasting.

Here is a short quote by toplady on ‘The Religion of Christ’:

‘Every religion except one puts upon you doing something in order to recommend yourself to God. It is only the religion of Christ (which runs counter to all the rest by affirming that we are saved and called with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to the Father’s own purpose and grace) which was not sold out to us on certain conditions to be fulfilled by ourselves, but was given us in Christ before the world began. It was long ago remarked by a good man that,”It is the business of all false religion to patch up a righteousness in which the sinner is to stand before God. But it is the business of the glorious gospel to bring near to us, by the hand of the Holy Spirit, a righteousness ready wrought, a robe of perfection ready made, wherein God’s people, to all the purposes of justification and happiness, stand perfect and without fault before the throne.”  ’

Yesterday we listened to the following message by Don Fortner on Haggai 1:15:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=113082147302

 Preached in Kentucky, Heard in Honiton.

In the autumn of 2007 the cranes having finished their tasks, and the workmen having added the final details, the much talked about and anticipated new Princesshay Shopping Centre was opened in the city of Exeter, Devon. This multi-million pound development promises to rejuvenate the centre of this historic city providing a range of new shops, restaurants and accommodation. Much has been written about Princesshay and much is expected of it.

However, whilst such developments in our towns and cities might fill a temporaral need for their people in providing goods and services, there is nevertheless a much greater need, a much more enduring need, which is so often neglected. That is the need for the preaching of the Gospel. Exeter’s great need, as with the rest of Great Britain, is to hear the message of Christ and Him Crucified - the message of Salvation. Whilst temporary needs may be addressed, may Exeter also be given an awareness of its eternal need, and the vital importance of hearing the preaching of the Gospel of Christ.

Listen to that Gospel in the following audio messages (MP3):  

   “The Offence of the Cross” Galatians 5:11

   “The Right Way” Psalm 107:7

   “Taught From Above” Matthew 5:1-2

   “The Father’s Business” Luke 2:49

Or pay a visit to Free Grace Radio.

Although most in Plymouth today have probably never heard of him, back in the 1800s there ministered in that city a man called Robert Hawker whose ministry was greatly blessed by God. Hawker’s faithful preaching of Christ, from all the scriptures, was used to the blessing of many, and his writings are still available today.

If you haven’t read Hawker - make a point of doing so.  Larry Brown of Grace Baptist Church, Danville, Kentucky (pastored by Don Fortner) has recently set up a new website called Grace e-Books. On here you will find complete, downloadable, versions of many books, in PDF format, including a number of Robert Hawker’s works.

In days in which there has been a great turning away from the truth of the Gospel, may the Lord be pleased to use such means to bring His word to the hearing of many, and may that Gospel which was once regularly sounded in Plymouth be heard there again, not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.

On the 23rd and 24th of April 2007 Pastor Don Fortner of Grace Baptist Church, Danville, Kentucky paid a visit to Honiton during a rare trip to the United Kingdom (his last visit to the UK being 20 years ago). We thank the Lord for his visit, for the warm fellowship enjoyed with both Pastor Fortner and his wife Shelby and for his faithful preaching of the Gospel of Christ in this area.

Both meetings were very well attended, with the ministry being much appreciated by many of our brothers and sisters in Christ (some of whom travelled quite some distance in order to be present) who expressed their joy at being able to meet with one another for fellowship at such meetings. The Lord is greatly to be praised.

Listen to the two messages delivered by Don Fortner in Honiton here.

“As he is, so are we in this world” 1 John 4:17 by Don Fortner

“He hath done all things well” Mark 7:37 by Don Fortner

Or, if you wish to watch the videos of the messages have a look at the Grace and Truth Online Video Channel. 

Our thanks and appreciation go to all who attended, to the Lord’s servant for faithfully preaching Christ to us, and most of all to our Sovereign God who so blessed the preaching of His word to the souls of His people on this memorable and blessed occasion.

“Through the preaching of the Gospel God gathers and unites His people together as One Body in Christ , as a pool of light separated from, divided from, the darkness of the world around them. The Adversary, however, constantly seeks to do the opposite. He loves to keep God’s people united with the world, and with the world’s religion, and divided from one another, and from the truth. So may God give us grace to recognise what is the rightful separation of light from darkness, of truth from error, of the Body of Christ from the world, and what is the true unity of the saints in the Gospel of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ… and to stand fast therein.”

Perhaps the greatest idiocy of our day is the claim, by those who consider themselves to be wise, that no intelligent, educated, man believes that there is a God…. ‘Educated’ men such as Richard Dawkins ridicule the truth concerning Jesus Christ as mere ‘fiction’ and ‘fairytale’.

Yet Dawkins’ problem is that his very attitude proves the very truth of that which he seeks to discredit. For God, many thousands of years before the very existence of Richard Dawkins, already spoke of such ‘wisdom’, such ‘intelligence’ and set it down in the scriptures in the following terms:

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?” Psalm 14:1-4

“…The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” Romans 1:20-22

“…Be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:2-4

“But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.” Jude 17-18
 

So such mocking, such unbelief, such animosity to the truth shouldn’t surprise us. It has always been so. In the deadness of his natural, fallen, sinful, nature, man has always been blind to the truth, always resisted it, always mocked it…. Today he may be more open, more brazen, in his ridicule, but the cry of his heart is the same. Mankind in its foolishness cries out “There is no God!”

Just as with others, so with us. But for the grace of God we would be the same. But for the grace of God we were the same. But for the grace of God we may remain the same…. What do you know of the grace of God?I was no different. There was a time in my wisdom, my intelligence, when I rejected God’s truth, when I doubted it, when, in my heart, I scorned it, counting it a foolish thing. But praise God that He arrested me in my folly, that He stopped me in my tracks, that He opened my blind eyes to see, opened my deaf ears to hear, and revealed His Son both to me, and in me. For knowledge of the truth comes not by human intellect, but by the revelation of God! Oh what a transformation when God reveals Himself to us! When he takes away our foolishness and shows us His wisdom! Oh to know Him “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”! Colossians 2:3.

If God ever opens our blind eyes to see the truth. If He ever reveals Himself to us as our Maker, our Saviour, our Redeemer, if He ever shows us our natural foolishness and His manifold wisdom, then we will ever live to praise His Name and thank Him for His wondrous grace to sinners! And we will ever be thankful that though man is so rebellious by nature, so proud, so arrogant, so blind to wisdom and so open to foolishness, that though “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, though we have all mocked at God’s very word…. Nevertheless, despite this, God in His Wisdom, in His intelligence sent His only begotten Son into this world to save sinners, for:

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:16

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. ” 1 Corinthians 1:18-21

……

Listen to ‘Christ Jesus Came Into the World to Save Sinners’