Samaria Baptist Church

There was a little touch of fall in the air as we met for worship at Samaria. Our special music was performed by Jeannie Mims. She did a beautiful job on “All I want to say.”

Bro. Charles’ message came from 1 Samuel 7:1-13. To have our prayers answered, we must confess and repent. As in the days of Samuel, sometimes we have to experience some kind of punishment as we put other things ahead of God. America today is embroiled in sin, drugs, drunkenness and homosexuality. We must cry out to God for his deliverance. Eli failed as a leader and was removed. He did not discipline his sons and turned a deaf ear to the wrong that they engaged in.

Church people don’t always show that Jesus is real in them. We are awash with sin and the distractions of this world. When we replace our love and devotion for God with the things of this world, we are not asking for trouble, we are guaranteeing ourselves trouble. We have a responsibility to give of our time, talents and money to God. This is not for us to decide. It all belongs to him; however, he wants us to give cheerfully of the first fruits of our labor.

We must commit to our Lord. We must confess sin, and we must act boldly as we count on God for all our needs. We must remain faithful in serving Him.

Sometimes, God allows things to alter the normal flow of our lives. He may permit us to experience sickness, tragedy or loss of income. These situations can be a test of our faith, but we must never give up on the promises of God. Israel suffered oppression at the hands of the Philistines. They endured misery for 20 years because they were not in the will of God and had sought after false doctrines. God used Samuel to reach them. Samuel was devoted to the cause of bringing God’s people back to his service.

To be at peace in Christ, we must fix our hearts on him. Turn every facet of our lives over to him and ask for his direction, guidance and will to be accomplished in our lives daily. We are to take note that we should seek to turn others back to God by sharing what he means to us and the penalties that come with sin.

Our youth will have a back-to-school lock-in on Friday night, Aug. 17. This will be from 6 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday. Also, let’s remember En Fuego on Aug. 25 in Verbena. Let’s pray for the power of God to work at this event. God bless you and your family. Join us for a special blessing from our Lord at Samaria.

Shiloh Baptist

Bro. Ernest always makes sure we are on our toes. This Sunday was no different. We started our morning with the call to worship, “There’s something about that name,” followed by “Praise Him! Praise Him!” and “Standing on the Promises.” The choir special was “Heaven Medley.”

Bro. Ernest’s message was from Acts 3:1-11. When Peter took the man and helped him up and told him in the name of Jesus “walk,” he did not question it. He walked into the temple with them. When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, what is making us lame, or what is standing between us and God? The most important thing we can do is pray. When we go to the Lord, we need to really listen to what he says, not just what we want him to say. And don’t be afraid to take a “Leap of Faith.” If you do what the Lord leads you to do, you will not fail.

The invitational hymn was “Just As I Am.”

Our special prayer requests are for Bro. Ernest and Mrs. Jan Fike, John Buckalew and Jeremy Hayes. Also, keep all our teachers and students in your prayers. We all face a lot of trials. Let us all remember we are all working together in prayer, and great things happen.

Be in prayer for our Revival every Tuesday in September. More information to follow in the coming weeks.

Our youth will be going to En Fuego on Aug. 25. For more information, contact Chad Foshee.