Rocky Mount UMC

“He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today!”

What a gorgeous day we were blessed with to enjoy Easter Sunday and all the many festivities of the day! At Rocky Mount, we counted many blessings. We had a guest from Missouri, and a couple from Washington state that chose our church as their place of worship as they were travelling. It is always wonderful to have guests.

One of our most touching moments was a sermon in itself: A widow came into the church as the service started and sat down by herself. This was her first Easter since she lost her husband. Two of our sweet teenage girls got up, walked over and sat on either side of her. It is such a blessing to see that our children are sensitive to others.

Meanwhile, our sermon reminded us that the death of Jesus doesn’t end with “He was buried.” God wasn’t content with that, and he doesn’t want our lives to end like this either. The church exists because of Easter. He has risen! He has risen indeed! Jesus gives us hope. Give thanks and praise.

Our youth and adults will begin meeting again at 6 p.m. on April 8. Come join us. These meetings have been suspended during Lent as we enjoyed Lenten meals and family Bible study.

Submitted by Betty Janney

Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

We had a wonderful time at our annual Easter Egg Hunt and Social this past Saturday, and our service on Sunday morning was awesome. If you weren’t there, you really missed out.

We postponed our monthly business meeting to this coming Sunday, so if any members were absent, be sure you’re there for the meeting.

Love is a simple word with so much meaning behind it. Jesus preached it, and we are told to do it. So why is it so hard?

The recent uproar in Indiana has brought out hatred once again. One particular story I’ve been following is the pizzeria Memories Pizza and More that refused to cater gay weddings. Let me make this clear: It is perfectly within your right to refuse someone service, but do you think it is what Jesus would have done? Do you think he’d be pitching fits about giving service to a sinner? Jesus would have never hung around with or served a sinner, right?

Not only is this being gone about all wrong, but supporters of this pizzeria started a “GoFundMe” page that has raised over $800,000 as of last Saturday.

Now, you may be saying, “But they are standing up for their Christian beliefs.” To that I say: Jesus wouldn’t turn away someone because they are gay, so why should you? Also, how could you justify receiving money for turning away “sinners?” Hopefully they will donate that money to a good cause or put it to good use by actually doing something Jesus would do.

In closing I’d just like to remind everyone that yes, times are changing, and Christianity is becoming a dirty word, but that is due in part to the way some Christians act (Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas for example). If we treat others as Jesus did, people wouldn’t have such bad thoughts about us.

Love. It isn’t that hard to do. There is too much hatred in the world today. Instead of adding to it, let’s overflow it with love. Don’t hate someone because they sin differently than you. Drop that stone and lovingly tell them about Jesus. Everyone isn’t going to agree with you—that’s life. As long as we are living as Jesus did, we have nothing to worry about.

Until next time, may God bless you and keep you. We hope to see you soon.

Submitted by K.J. Bowen