Mars Hill Baptist Church

Praise God for the young soul saved this Sunday! Heaven is shouting with joy! Our church is growing, and we thank our Lord for that. We welcome all friends, family, and visitors. If you don’t have a church home, come be a part of ours, and if you have a church home, pray for us.

This passage of scripture, John 5:1-9 reads as follows: “After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, he said to him: “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, Rise take up your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.”

This man had no one to help him into the pool, no friend to help him. Maybe he was looking in the wrong direction for help. Maybe some of us are looking in the wrong place for help too. There is only one healer, Jesus Christ. If you are looking at the government or a friend or an organization to help you (though there are many organizations that are wonderful), you are looking in vain. Look to Jesus for healing, for love, for protection, for salvation of your soul. Man cannot save your soul; only Jesus has the power to do that. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Can we say the same for our earthly friends? Don’t get me wrong, many of us have friends that are good Christians that help others whenever called upon. I have some of the best friends in the world at Mars Hill. You can feel the love we have for each other through Jesus Christ. Many of us need just a touch from Jesus, from the hem of his garment, to be made whole.

We do many things to ourselves to cause our earthly bodies to wear out, to hurt or stop working. My motto is “if it don’t hurt, it don’t work.” There is no magic pill to cure diseases, no medicine or medical procedure that can cure old age, dementia and a number of other things. But if we get our spiritual being in the right place with God, many of the things that bother us seem to fade away. Jesus heals, and sometimes he uses doctors for that healing. Our bodies are temples of God; we should treat them that way. We need Jesus to change our desires from fleshly to spiritual things.

This man is scripture had lain at the gates of the pool for thirty eight years. He was nothing if not dedicated to going there every year, to look for his miracle. Today, we want instant gratification: go to the doctor, take a pill and be magically well in just an hour. Pray and ask God for what we need, and expect him to answer that prayer in the next five minutes, if not sooner. God works in his own time, for our own good. Sometimes it may not seem like it, but God is always on time, with the right answer to our prayers, and it always works out for our good.

Bro. William Short challenged us this week to try God, to prove him, and then praise him and worship him is spirit and truth. Put some effort into your walk with God; don’t sit for thirty-eight years waiting on someone to help you out without making any progress with your spiritual walk with God. Give everything to God, and he will fix whatever you need if it is his will and for your good.

Please continue to pray for our church, our pastor, the sick, the lost, the hurting souls, our children, our schools, our troops and our government. God is good, all the time! Amen.

We have lots going on at our church in the month of April. Come be a part of it.

April 5: The senior adults will be going to Prattville Pickers at 1 p.m., then to Fantails for dinner.

April 6: We will be serving lunch after the morning service. Donations will benefit Relay for Life.

April 12: Ladies Day Out movie at 1 p.m., followed by dinner at Cracker Barrel.

April 19: Easter festivities for children begin at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be served.

April 24: Relay for Life survivors breakfast at 7 a.m. at Clanton First Baptist Church

April 26: Relay for Life at Clanton Dixie Youth Football field starting at noon.

April 20: Easter services

Adult choir practice is held each Sunday at 4 p.m.

Bethany Baptist Church

Service began with “At the Cross,” led by Lori, and a devotion titled “Lust and It’s Fruit” from James 1:12-17. Our actions follow our heart. We face many temptations each day as we are surrounded by sin in this world. Our relationship with God is the key to resisting temptation. God does not tempt us, but he allows us to go through trials to show us that we still need him. Without trials, we would grow content with our lives and stop praying, studying God’s Word and going to church.

We as humans never want to take the blame for our wrongdoing. We sin because we want to and make that choice. No one makes us do wrong.

Following a prayer and Sunday school, we sang “Footsteps of Jesus,” “Come Unto Me,” “The Light of the World” and “He Lives.” Bro. Aubry’s message titled “Hang On, Help Is on the Way,” was from Psalm 121. This is a psalm of decrees. Worshippers would sing as they made their way to Jerusalem for special occasions of annual feasts, the most important being the feast of the Passover. In these verses, we find a cry of help.

We as saints of God are pilgrims, as were the Old Testament saints. We are looking forward to spending eternity with Jesus. There are many problems (sin) in our lives that will strip us of joys that come from serving God. God is stronger and greater than any problem we may have (Ephesians 3:20). He is our source of help.

God will never allow us to slip into sin unto death (once saved, always saved). He will be with us always. He is always on the job, so we need to give all our burdens to him. He is the strength of our help (1 Peter 5:7). God will protect us when we are most vulnerable. He knows everything that goes on in our lives (Psalm 91:4, Romans 7:18). Our duty is to trust God; God’s duty is to care for his children. After a hymn, “Softly and Tenderly,” and a prayer, we were dismissed to the fellowship hall for fifth Sunday fellowship. There was no evening service.

Our prayer list includes: Bro. Paul Gray, our church, Glenda Wallace, Bro. Aubry, Shirley, Bro. Steve and Phyllis, Jeanette, J. C., missionaries at home and abroad, the lost, Elwyn and Grace, Mr. Hubert, Jackie, Billie, Lori and many more.