Bethany Baptist Church

We celebrated our annual homecoming commemorating the establishment of our church in October of 1894. It has been in existence preaching and teaching the word of God since that date.

We began with a hymn, “Sweet, Sweet Spirit,” led by Lori K., followed by the welcome and prayer by Bro. Aubry Wallace. Many more hymns were sung by the congregation, with specials, “Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone,” by Chris K. , “We Shall See Jesus” and “Sheltered In The Arms Of God,” by the choir. Pat H. sang “Without a Valley.”

Ralph W. gave a power point presentation of some of our deceased members. Bro. Aubry gave the announcements, which included an invitation to the marriage of John Vickers and Amanda Meredith on Nov. 9 at 4 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church. The ushers, after a prayer, received the morning offering.

The message brought by Bro. Aubry Wallace was titled “Have You Been to the Lord’s Table of Salvation?” The scripture was from Luke 14:15-24. The chapter begins with Jesus eating a Sabbath meal at the house of one of the chief Pharisees. The Pharisees were always watching Jesus to catch him breaking the law. At the meal was a man who had dropsy, possibly a heart condition. Jesus asked if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, after which he healed the man. The Pharisee’s had nothing to say. Jesus then told a parable with the meaning that if we try to put ourselves first (exalt) ourselves, we will be last (least), but if we will humble ourselves, then we will be exalted, or may be put in a position of more importance. When we make a meal, we should not call our friends, family or rich neighbors, who would be expected to return the favor. To receive a blessing, we should call the poor, maimed, sick and blind. They do not have the means to do us a favor.

In verse 15, Jesus begins talking about salvation. Salvation should not be sad like a funeral because it is not a death, but a new birth. Saved people should be the happiest people on earth. Our earthly families should take second place to our church family, which is the family of God. We should be in church every chance we get, not just because it is our duty, but because of what Christ has done for us. The table of salvation is where we find forgiveness, grace, joy and love. The Holy Spirit calls us to salvation. We should be careful not to reject the call. Without the calling of the Holy Spirit, we can never be saved.

Many want to wait until they are ready to be saved, while others think they are not good enough. We cannot be saved just when we think we are ready, and we can certainly never be good enough to be saved. Are the lost going to come to supper (salvation)? The price has been paid through the death of Jesus on the cross. The Holy Spirit invites. Come today, Jesus is waiting! The invitation is simple, we cannot work for salvation. We only need to repent of our sins, trust Jesus and ask him to save us. He will save forever.

At the resurrection, the saved will have a new body. All our false body parts will be left behind and all deformities of our bodies will be gone. We will have a perfect, glorified body when we get to heaven, of which we cannot do by being good. There will be “good” people in hell. In John 19:30, Jesus states, “It is finished.” The price has been paid. Will you accept the call to salvation today?

After a prayer, a hymn of invitation, “Just As I Am,” and a dismissal prayer, dinner was served in the fellowship hall.

Prayer list: Bro. Aubry and Sis. Shirley Wallace, our church, missionaries, the lost, Bro. Steve, and Sis. Phyllis, Billie Neeley, Jeanette Jessop, J.C. Collins, James Gray, Elwyn and Grace Robinson.

Samaria Baptist Church

Our choir sang “Jesus is Coming Soon.” This is our hope and this is our promise from God’s word. Ms. Jeannie Mims sang “He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Need”, and did a wonderful job singing a capella. Bro. Billy Maddox brought our morning message and sang “The Haven of Rest,” accompanied by his wife Carolyn.

Our message text came from Ephesians 6:10. Bro. Billy spoke about the importance of God in our lives: When God enters a life through the Holy Spirit, he opens doors for us to grow in him and become strong in his ways. As we put on the whole armour of God, we can defeat the wiles of Satan. Satan will always place temptation in our path. We need to defy him and claim Christ as our strength. Satan is no match for God, even though he can really give us a difficult time. Without the power of God governing our lives, Satan can steer us into almost anything. We must be grounded in Christ Jesus to avoid yielding to temptation.

God protected David from the giant, Goliath and his brothers; Job was tested and tried, and without the power of God in his heart and life, he would have given up and died. We are blessed by God, and he wants us to know that we are loved beyond all measure. Let others see this blessing in your life, by the example you show. Be bold; stand strong in God the Father. Heaven awaits us when we keep our trust in him. He will never fail us nor forsake us. God bless you today.

Our birthday celebrants today are Paul Brooks, Tim Popwell and Jeannie Mims.

Please remember our Pastor, Bro. Charles in prayer. He was unable to be with us today due to illness. We also want to remember the Ronnie Surles family in prayer, and Eddie Staggers and his family.

Join us for a “blessing from on high” at Samaria Baptist Church.