Samaria Church News

“Blessed Assurance,” a beautiful song by Billy and Carolyn Maddox was such a blessing to our service.

Bro. Charles’ message comes from 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17. God loves us.

Even when we were yet sinners, he loved us completely. It is difficult for us to comprehend the never-ending love that caused Jesus to go to the cross for us.

We have trouble loving the folks we consider to be unlovable. We say we love them, but we don’t like them very much. Our Savior loves the unlovable, and sometimes that fits all of us. God knew what he was getting when he created us, but he extends his loving hands to us anyway, and pulls us to him though the Holy Spirit. God has no reason to love us: we are selfish, sinful, and filled with resentment and failings. He loves us because it pleases him to do so. He knows what it is like to be criticized and downtrodden. He went through it all so he could feel what we feel. He knows how human we are. It is very easy to blame our faults on our humanness, but the time comes when the excuses should be eliminated. We no longer have to fear hell because of his love and mercy. No matter how far we get on our own strength and determination, we cannot save ourselves. When you open your heart, allowing Christ to come in and be your Savior and Lord, hell is no longer a threat to you. We must, however, share with those we love, and even strangers, what Jesus did for us, and what he will do for them.

We are what we are due to the mercy of a true and loving God, but he will never force himself on us. He will always provide a choice. He is the only being that can change a black heart and make it as white as snow. Many folks nowadays, especially in our government, have a high opinion of themselves. Self-esteem is an important thing to motivate us with confidence in school, work and everyday life. However, we haven’t ‘arrived’ until Christ becomes our Lord and Savior.

So many are trying to push Jesus out of all parts of life. The wonder of knowing that he is the one who will still be standing when all else is lost, should motivate us to share with others that the time may be short, and the signs of that are clear. The world doesn’t have the answers to our problems and needs.

Happy Birthday to Floyd Collins and Happy Anniversary to John and Lisa Shearon, who were not able to be with us this morning.

Join us at Samaria and worship a true and loving Lord. We live in uncertain times. God bless you. Please join us as we pray for our friends in need this week: Betty Mims, Betty Little, John and Kim McDaniel, Lisa Shearon, Armissy Carroll, Horace and Gayle Cleckler, Walter and Drusilla Hudgins, Gerald Mims, Jeff and Debra Mims, Dallas Mims, Linda Boyett, Clayton Spencer and Steven McGowin.

Jackson Chapel Church

Bro. Gary Fant got the evening service started off with “Love Lifted Me” and “I Love To Tell The Story” and Bro. Dennis Smith and Wanda Chadwick blessed us with “Farther Along.”

Bro. Dennis’ text came from Luke 9:57-62, with a message titled “You Can’t Go Forward Looking Back.” If we as Christians are going to live a Christian life, we have to learn that there are things we have to give up. Satan will throw things in front of us to make us to stumble. For that reason, we have to pray and stay close to God. That way, when temptations come our way, we will be able to resist those things. We should always be thankful for what God has done for us. We can always look back to see how God has brought us to where we are today. As Christians, we also need to remember that we will never be successful if we keep looking back.

The service ended with several coming to pray.

Bro. Gary Fant got the evening service started off with “I Want to Be Ready to Meet Him,” “I’ll Fly Away” and “I Can Tell You the Time.” Luke Wilson blessed us with “Jesus Loves Me” and “Deep and Wide.”

Bro. Dennis’ text came from Ephesians 5:10-21. We as Christians need to always take the opportunity to witness to people because we never know when it will be the last opportunity. Our job as Christians is not to go to church and just sit down on the pews. Instead, we should be witnessing to the people we come in contact with in this lost and dying world. When we’re out in the world, we should be examples, not just fit in. We need to know God’s will for our lives, and the way we find that out is by seeking God through prayer.

Happy Birthday to Cain Varden.

Please remember these as you pray this week: Marie Johnson, Jean Mayfield’s sister, Eloise, Sabrina Lett, Margie Baker, Carolina Solis, Linda Varden, the unspoken requests, our lost loved ones and our service men and women.

We are located at 4020 Yellow Leaf Road in Clanton. Our service times are Sunday school: 10 a.m., Sunday worship: 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Wednesday Bible study: 7 p.m.