Mars Hill Baptist Church

Are you an obedient, thankful Christian? If you are, then being in the house of our Lord on Sunday should have made you feel wonderful. It was a beautiful day, perfect to worship the Lord in spirit and truth.

Bro. William Short took our message on Sunday night from Galatians 3:1-7.

Are we planning to reach heaven by our works alone? Works are dead without faith. What is faith? Believing in something without actually seeing with our eyes. The Ten Commandments still stand. Jesus didn’t do away with the law; he made it easier to live with the law. Can we live with the Ten Commandments? The world says we cannot; just look at the most recent tragedy in our country, the Boston Marathon bombing. Who but Satan would have orchestrated such a terrible thing, putting innocent children in harm’s way? This was a trick of Satan, making those men do the things they did. They were misled by sin, not filled with the Holy Spirit. Are we any better than they were? By not standing up for what is right, doing the right thing and purposely living for Jesus, the innocent among us are not hearing the word of God. It was important for Jesus to go, so that he could send the Holy Spirit back to us. The only goodness in us is Jesus Christ. We need to put our faith back in God, not the government.

Where are we spiritually? Are we moving backward or forward? If you are not better off now than you were before you were saved, there is something wrong. Every miracle Jesus did was according to the faith of the person being healed. Do you have enough faith to allow Jesus to heal you? He is still in the miracle business. How many souls are in hell today that had the opportunity to accept Jesus yet turned him away? I think every one of them can remember the times when Jesus knocked on the doors of their heart and was not allowed entrance. Don’t rely on one more chance to receive Jesus; there may never be another one. What’s going to happen tomorrow if Jesus comes back today? The choice is yours.

Relay for Life begins at 6 p.m. this Friday night. Come out and support those who have won the battle against cancer, and honor those who have gone on.

Pray for our pastor and his family, our church, the lost, the sick, the hurting, our country, our troops, our government, and our schools. God is great, all the time!

Bethany Baptist Church

Our hearts are saddened by the events in Boston, and our sympathy goes out to those who were injured and the bereaved. We need to trust in God and be faithful to the task he has given us.

Sunday morning, a men’s group sang “Home Over There.” Bro. Steve’s message, taken from Genesis 4:16-24, was about Lamech and his polygamy, pride and presumption. Lamech committed murder, but seemed to be boasting about it. He says God avenged Cain for his murder, and in his pride, said God should avenge him (Lamech) eleven times as much.

We live in a wicked, vile world. Jesus said that if we even hate someone in our heart, we commit murder (I John 3:15). We thank God for our freedom in this great country, but for our freedom to continue, we must maintain vigilance. Let us trust in God, and endeavor to continue our ministry of reaching out to a lost and dying world with the message that God loves them.

Sunday evening, Bro. Aubry Wallace brought a good message from Psalm 27:1-6 about how to fight our battles. David was in a battle or difficult situation, but the psalmist reminds us that there is hope in times of trouble. David was able to rely on the Lord during his difficulties, and God has not changed. We know we can call upon the Lord in the time of trouble, but we need to remember to keep the Lord in our hearts in the good times, as well as the bad. Our hope in the Lord depends on our personal relationship with him.

David had confidence in the person of God. Because of who Jesus is, we have no reason to fear. Whether we know it or not, we are in a battle, but even in the middle of battle, we can have hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer list: Betty Biggs, James Bixler, Donald Gay’s family, Doris and Verdie Glenn, Billie Neeley, Ron and Melissa Peppers, Marty Price’s family, Elzy Sanders, Travis Swift, Madison Varden, Kurt Wallace, Douglas Wilson’s family and Glenda Wallace.

See you Sunday!