By Emily Agee

“And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust. He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me; In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wrath. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. And he sent out arrows, and scattered them: lightning and discomfited them. And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.” (II Samuel 22:1-17)

Thought for the week: “Through Faith We’ll Overcome”

“I pray to thee to help, Lord, in all I have to do; so many tasks arise each day, some I would never choose. But I will do them, yes, I will if thou art by my side, for thou hast promised we’ll o’er come if we’ll in thee abide. So forward, march I’ll do today the tasks I have to do; with faith in thee, I’ll overcome, though dark may seem the view. And as with faith I do each task, for others, too, I’ll pray that they, like I, might overcome through faith in thee, the way.”

Announcements

Worship services at Holly Grove Baptist Church in Jemison began with praise service by the men chorus in prayers, scripture and songs. The scripture was read by Perry Nunn with prayer by Willie Nunn and Pastor Dukes. Songs sung were “Down at the Cross,” “God Is the Land Lord” and “We Came This Far by Faith.”

The morning message was given by Pastor Dukes with his theme: “The Power of Positive Words.” God has never failed. Mark 11:22-26 is on the effects of positive words. Your words have power if the Holy Spirit is backing up everything you say; you have the power in your mouth already to do what God said; Jesus can fix anything. Take his yoke upon you. You must do these things for your words to be effective. Learn to speak to your situation; this shows courage. Speak to the mountain with no fear. Show willingness. Speaking puts you in control specifically what you want. The situation is what you expect it to do. Stop doubting. Don’t doubt in your heart. Don’t kill your own blessing. Say in Christ I am already healed. Know God is able. Always know he can, Jesus can get in the fire with you. God can lose you in your situation; don’t allow physical feelings to affect your faith. Emotion comes and goes; have faith in God. Positive words mean nothing if you don’t have a relationship with God. The Prodigal Son spoke in the hog pen of life and kept speaking until he returned to his father’s house. Stop doubting God and put forth an effect. The power of positive words is equal trust. Speak it, trust it and do it. Fellowship by Pastor Dukes, deacons and congregation.

On our sick list this week, we ask you to remember in your prayers: James Singleterry, Minnie Avery, Gladys Tinsley, Willie McGee, Evelyn Austin, Martha Binion, Willie B. Tinsley, Sam and Vivian Hicks, Harold Frazier, Dorothy Sims, Dallas Worthy, Mary and Joe Sexon and Nathan Shortridge. May God heal, strengthen and keep them in His care is our prayer.

—Emily Agee is a religion columnist for The Clanton Advertiser. Her column appears each Thursday.