Bethany Baptist Church

We opened with the song “Wonderful Story of Love” and a devotion by Larry Miller titled “Manifestation of Love” from 1 John 4:7-10. Jesus paid the debt for our sin by dying on the cross. Jesus took our place. It is through what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary that we can be saved and truly experience the love of God. Christ died for all.

After a prayer, we sang “Lead Me to Some Soul Today,” “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story,” “Praise Him, Praise Him” and “Once for All.”

Bro. Aubry made the announcements and asked for prayer requests. The announcements were as follows:

A VBS meeting will be held May 3 at 4 p.m., with a business meeting to follow at 5 p.m.

We are sorry for the loss of Bro. Elwyn Robinson, but we realize that because of his salvation he is so much better than he was. We pray for his wife Mrs. Grace and all the family.

Bro. Aubry delivered the morning message from John 3:1-15 titled “A Master of the Jews Being Taught by the True Master.”

Jesus never showed favoritism to people, regardless of their social status. A lost person to him was just that, a lost person. In John 3 we read about Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews coming to Jesus in the darkness of night.

God, through the Holy Spirit, deals with us today. In these verses, we see Nicodemus, who although powerful, a teacher and wealthy, was still lost and without salvation. He wanted to know how to be saved.

One night, Nicodemus stood before Jesus, the great God of the universe, just as one day we will stand before Jesus and bow before him. Nicodemus wanted to know about Jesus, and got a lesson on the “new birth.”

About 70 percent of Americans claim to be born again. Being “born again” is not a new term (1 Peter 1:23, James 1:18 and 1 John 3:9). When Jesus died on the cross for all of us and shed his blood, he paid the price for our sins. Because we have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, although we do sin daily, our sins have been covered. 1 John 5:4 says that to be born again is to be born from above, or be saved. Titus 3:5 says that we have a new life, completely new. We cannot get a new lease on life without being born again.

Nicodemus did not want others to see him coming to Jesus. He had all the pluses and no minuses from a human standpoint. None of that is worth anything in the life hereafter. He was religious, but religion will get you nowhere—even being morally pure will not get you to heaven; we must have the new birth. Many religious people need a redeemer. After being saved, we will not depend on our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

When God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, it was to cast out sin, of which there will be none in heaven. The new birth is a mystery: A seed is planted, the gospel of Jesus Christ waters that seed and God through Jesus Christ saves us from our sin. We can know that we have been born again once we receive Jesus as Savior.

One day Jesus will change this body into our spiritual body to enter into heaven. Be saved today by accepting what Jesus did for us on the cross.

The morning service closed with a prayer and the song “Wherever He Leads.”

The evening service began with the song, “Be a Light for Jesus.”

Bro. Aubry brought the evening message from John 3:4-7. God doesn’t intend for us to know everything there is about him. All we need to know about God is that he is the great I Am. Don’t worry about the mysteries of the Word of God. Through study, we can know everything that we need to know about God as it is revealed in the Bible. God is real.

How does one allow the mystery of the new birth to keep him or her from being saved? In order to get to heaven, you must be born naturally, that is the water birth, and then you must be born of the Spirit. Flesh and blood cannot go to heaven; only the spiritual part of us can go to where God is.

In the final end, God will cleanse and purify this earth, and we will be brought back here to reign with Christ for a thousand years. Just as you can only have one physical birth, you can only have one spiritual birth. We can only be born once physically and once spiritually. A baby is born with a brand new start—no past, only a future. When we are born again, all of our past has been washed away and we are newborn babes in Christ. We can never be unborn.

The new birth is compared to the wind. We cannot see the wind, only its effects. When we are saved, no one can see God doing his work in the heart of a repentant sinner. We can only see the evidence when a wicked, lost person changes and leaves his or her wicked ways behind.

Our lives as saved people should be a testimony to what God has done for us. If your heart’s desire is to remain lost, then do not be saved, but the Holy Spirit will not deal with you always; therefore, you may never have the chance to be saved. If the Holy Spirit is dealing with you today, be saved.

God as Jesus left heaven to come down and save our souls, but we must be willing to be saved. For us to be saved, Jesus must be lifted up on the cross. Our responsibility to be saved is to believe, not just know in our heads, but believe in our hearts. Did Nicodemus ever get saved? Read John 7:45-53 to find out.

Come to Jesus before it is everlastingly too late.

The evening service closed with a prayer and the song “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.”

Our prayer list includes our church, Bro. Elwyn’s family, Bro. Aubry and Shirley, Billie, Jackie, Brooke, Grey and Kase, Journey Baptist Mission, Lisa, Jenny, Colyn, Barbara T. W., Debbie, Frankie, Jeannette, J.C., R. Allen D., Vikii, Helen, Glenda, Mary K., Ralph W. and many more, but most of all the unsaved.

Submitted by Jane Vines

Bethsalem Baptist Church

Service began with a time of welcoming, followed by announcements. “Offering of Praise” was the special music by the Celebration Choir.

Bro. Justin’s message “To God’s Holy People” was taken from Ephesians 1:15-23.

Pray this week for our shut-ins, the homebound, those facing cancer, assisted living and nursing home residents, our country and its leaders, Wendell Hand, Kathy Fitzgerald, Joan Emmerich, Tommy and Gwen Lloyd, Kyle Fulford, Mattie, Debbie Jones, Sid Griner, Myra Burnett, Melissa Jeffers, Jimmy Headley, Michael Arnold, Kinlee Till, Barney Green, Hunter Moore, Pasty Burnett, Alan Rice, Chris Greenleaf, Justin and Peter Daugherty, David, Jonathan Limbrick, Cecillia Crabbe, Chad Mix, Lowell Strock, Jacob Browder, “Ma Ma” Mims, Tyler Abbott, Stephanie Hinton and Paul Price.

Happy birthday this week to John Ryan Wood, Kim Benson, Danny Blalock, Brandon Wright, Collin Fulmer, Dylan Cullum, Glenda Mims, Tomemia Scott, Tara Smith, Makenzie Barrett, Garrett Price and Carol Smith.

Have a blessed week. Come and worship with us.

Submitted by Elvie Patterson