Mars Hill Baptist Church

We should celebrate our heavenly Father each and every day in worship and praise! We are so thankful for the many dedicated fathers of our church. They are leaders who help the entire church.  We are thankful for our brotherhood that helps those in our community who are in need, whatever the job. They may build a set of steps, paint a house or mow a lawn.

We are also thankful for a pastor who leads us by example and preaches and teaches the Word of God.

Bro. William Shorts message this week was taken from 2 Corinthians 6:16-18: “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people; therefore, come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

A father should be the head of the house as Jesus is the head of the church. There is no perfect man or woman, but we should always strive to be more like Jesus every day.

A godly father is one who leads his children by example. Let your children see and hear you pray, let them see you read the Bible and let them see you doing good works.

In scripture we are told to turn away from idols. An idol is not necessarily a statue of gold; it is anything that keeps you from God’s work or from going to church. An idol may be your fishing boat, your hunting rifle, your television or even your children if you put them before God. Our bodies are the temple of God, and idols have no place in us if we are truly born-again Christians.

God will dwell in us and will walk with us, but we cannot walk in the world or bow to worldly things. We cannot depend on man to always walk with us or be there when we fall. This world is not our home; we are headed for heaven if we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God and we have accepted him as our Savior. We are to be separate from the world and stay away from unclean (evil) things. If we do what is right according to the Word of God, nothing else will matter.

Our earthly bodies are weak, but Jesus is strong; depend on him every day. Fathers, you cannot lie, cheat and steal and expect your children not to; you cannot tell you child not to smoke because it’s unhealthy and then light up a cigarette in front of him or her.

Get rid of anything in your life that keeps you from following Jesus. Don’t depend on a pill, a bottle, a puff or a person to get you through tough times. Only Jesus has said he will never leave us nor forsake us, and he will always be there to pick us up when we fall.

John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, had one message: Repent or perish! That is still the message today. Repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, or continue living a worldly life, perish in your sins and go to hell. It’s your choice, friend. You can be saved anywhere, but you can’t do it alone; Jesus has to be there.

Please pray for our church, our pastor, the sick, the lost, the hurting, our missionaries, our military, our government and the peace of Israel. God is good, all the time! Amen.

Submitted by Danny L.

Calvary Independent Baptist Church

We want to thank everyone who attended services this past Sunday.

Sunday morning services included a message about America’s need for more godly fathers. We looked at Ezekiel 22:30-31, which emphasized the need for men who will “stand in the gap.” We also looked at passages emphasizing the need for men who will stand in the way when children take the wrong path or make the wrong choices.

We need godly men who will stand in the gap and stand against things that are wrong, men who will stand with strength and men who will stand unashamed. The world has enough dead-beat dads. What America needs now is more good godly men who want to raise their children to be more like Christ.

Sunday night’s service included a study through Acts 25. We focused on the law, the witness and the gospel message that Paul was concerned about throughout his ordeal before the Jews and the Romans.

Like Paul, we must remember that our witness and purpose is not to break the law to draw attention to ourselves. We must keep the law as best we can. Let all things be done decently and in order, out of love for others and to bring honor and glory unto our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Getting the gospel of Christ out to people who are lost is a focus that we must never lose sight of.

We hope you are saved and serving the Lord faithfully in fellowship with a Bible-believing and teaching church near you. If not and you are looking at visiting a church in the Clanton area, we would love to see you this Sunday at Calvary.

For service times and events, check us out on Facebook or Twitter, or visit our website at www.cibc-clanton.com.

Submitted by Oscar Mims