Bethany Baptist Church

Service opened with the song “I Must Tell Jesus” followed by a devotion titled “Pride Brings Judgment—Humility Brings Blessing” from Proverbs 16:18-19.

We read in verse 18 what happens when we have a heart of pride, not the pride comes that with taking care of ourselves or trying to do things well. This pride is the haughty idea we show when we put ourselves above anyone else by saying, “Look what I did; I can do things better than anyone else” or “I have more than you.”

God doesn’t want us to have an attitude of superiority, but a spirit of humility. Satan was an angel in heaven until he decided he was equal to or higher than God. He was prideful and was cast out of heaven along with the angels who followed him.

God will not bless the prideful, but will bring us down. With a humble attitude, we will be servants who are able to do more for the cause of Christ. When we are humble, we do not think of ourselves as being higher or better than others, but we are willing to serve others and not think of any job as being below our standards.

The attitude of humility equips us to be better witnesses for Jesus Christ, and others will listen to us because they can see Christ living in us. We will receive a blessing of peace in knowing that we are doing what God wants us to do.

Following a prayer, we sang “Happiness,” “He Did It All For Me,” “I Have Found a Hiding Place” and “He Restoreth My Soul.”

Bro. Aubry took the message “The Soil, Sower and Seed” from Matthew 13:18-23.

All good seed brings forth some fruit, some more than others. Jesus Christ was our greatest teacher. He had great understanding and ability because he was God. Because he lived as a man, he saw and knew about daily living. He taught many lessons in parables—earthly stories with heavenly meanings.

The parable in this passage was about a farmer who sowed seed which landed on different types of soil. Jesus was teaching about the condition of the heart. The sower represents the Holy Spirit, the seed the Word of God or the gospel of grace, and the Soil, the human heart.

The heart can either receive the gospel or be unprepared to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. What kind of soil do our hearts represent?

The plan of the sower is to raise a crop from which he can reap a profit. The Lord God sent his Son to die to save sinners, and the Holy Spirit was sent to convict lost sinners (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit will reprove the world and convict heart of the coming judgment.

When God plants a seed in the heart, he expects it to grow and produce fruit. To be blessed of God, we need to serve and obey the Word of God. He saves us for his glory and honor.

God, in spite of our sinful condition, sent Jesus into the world to save us. Salvation is a free gift from God, not brought about as a result of our deeds. We only have to admit that we are sinners and accept Jesus into our hearts.

Once saved, we need to serve the Lord. Every seed has the potential of producing. The seed is important. When one soul is saved, it should produce more seed and reproduce itself several times. The heart must be ready and prepared to receive the gospel.

God expects us to bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The seed finds its place in the heart that has been plowed by the Word of God tilled by the Holy Spirit. Because of God’s amazing grace, we can be saved. Be saved today.

Service closed with a prayer and the hymn “Just As I Am.”

In the afternoon, we met for meetings and the evening service, which opened with the song “What a Day That Will Be.” Prayer and business meetings followed; then Bro. Aubry’s brought the message Matthew 13:4-8 titled “The Soil.”

The world as a whole doesn’t understand that the method of spreading the plan of salvation wasn’t given to the world. Everything in this world that is called a church is not a church. The responsibility was given to the local churches.

People can be saved as long as they hear the gospel message preached as the only true plan of salvation. We plant the seed and cultivate the seed, and God will save through the power of the Holy Spirit working in the heart.

The kind of fruit the seed will produce in the properly prepared soil—the heart—is to see more souls saved. The fruits produced are: (1) Sanctification: becoming more like Christ (Colossians 1:10) pleasing God and growing in the knowledge of God. (2) Spirituality: Galatians 5:22-23 says to behave more like Jesus. The condition of the heart determines the way we receive and spread the Word. (3) The result of our fruit will be souls saved. There is no heart so wicked that God cannot penetrate it (John 1:9, Psalm 19:5-6). Only the true gospel will produce the correct seed.

The kinds of soil we can have in our hearts:

Hard: The heart is hardened, not open to hear the Word. Some are too calloused to receive the Word unto salvation. The devil and his patrons will remove the seed from the heart and the person will never be saved.

Stony: This soil is common in Palestine. It is hard to get anything to grow in this type of soil. This heart hears the gospel, knows it needs to be saved, but never accepted Jesus. Some made professions of salvation, but when life became rough, they left the church.

Thorny: Seeds quickly spring to life, but get choked out by the cares of the world, when no fruit is produced there is an indication of not ever being saved.

Good soil: The seed planted in the prepared heart was saved, and grew to produce fruit, more souls being saved. All saved people produce some fruit, some more than others John 15:1). God wants us to be happy doing his work by witnessing to the lost. If we are not careful, we who are saved will allow our hearts to be hardened and filled with the things of the world. You cannot hang out with the devil’s crowd and be a witness for the Lord.

Ask yourself this: “What kind of soil is my heart? Am I bearing the kind of fruit the Lord wants me to bear?”

We closed with a prayer and the hymn “Blest Be the Tie.”

Our prayer lists includes our church, missionaries, Journey Baptist, Bro. Aubry, Shirley, Jackie, Grace, Lisa, Jenny, Colyn, Barbara, Debbie, Frankie, Jeanette, J.C., Vikii, Helen, Glenda, Mary, Charlotte K., Evelyn, Bro. Greg and most of all the unsaved.

Upcoming events:

Aug. 30: Fifth Sunday fellowship

Sept. 12: AMD meeting in Haleyville, Ala.

The food drive is on-going for the month of August.

Submitted by Jane Vines

Mountain Springs Church

On Sunday morning Bro. Kenneth Moates led the congregation in the hymns “I Love My Savior Too,” “I’d Rather Be an Old Time Christian,” “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” and “Where the Soul Never Dies.”

Bro. Roger Cleckler brought his devotion from Isaiah 43:5-7. Some people focus on what they wear and what people think, but we were created for God’s glory. Make the decision that you won’t live for yourself but for his glory. Whatever we say or do, it should be for God’s glory.

After Sunday School, Lynn Cox came to share her testimony and to sing “The Promise” and “I Am Not Alone.”

Bro. Heath Vines preached his message from Acts 27:14-44.

We have four anchors. The first one is God. You need to make sure you are anchored where you need to be anchored with God. God didn’t save you to abandon you in tough times; you will make it through.

Our next anchor is faith. Will you still trust God in your darkest hour? Don’t focus on your unbelief, but focus on God.

Another anchor we have is the church. The Bible says, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Stay where God wants you to be and everything will be ok.

Our last anchor is the Word of God: Some people read the Word, but don’t live it. Be doers of the Word, not just hearers.

Do you have these four anchors for your soul?

On Sunday night, the congregation sang the hymns of “Heavenly Sunlight,” “Have a Little Talk with Jesus,” and “Come and Dine.”

Bro. Kenneth Moates spoke from Revelations: 1-6 for his devotion.

Bro. Heath Vines preached from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. He talked about the Power of God.

Don’t put your confidence in yourself or others, but only in God. When we preach, teach, sing, or anything else for God’s ministry, if we put out confidence in ourselves, God will not move because we are in the way. We should get ourselves out of the way so His power can be seen.

God makes his Word powerful. He made it simple and brought it down to our level so that we can understand it and apply it to our lives.

God can also make preaching powerful. Preaching the cross is powerful. Some preaching may not feel good, but it will at the end when you get where you need to be with God.

Lastly, God has power in faith. Do you have faith that God can move on your behalf or that he has the power to save the lost or heal the sick?

Take God at his word, and look to him for everything.

The Jim Brady Trio will be singing at Mt. Springs on Aug. 14 starting at 7 p.m.