Calvary Independent Baptist Church

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

Sunday morning services included a message from Ephesians 3:1-13 titled “God’s Wonderful Plan and How He Is Going about Getting It Done.” We looked at the church and how we now have the revelation of the church as a result of the apostle’s writings to the Gentiles.

God indeed does have a wonderful plan for this age. He has made a way for everyone to have a very important part of what he is doing today, if one is willing. The real question is: who is willing? Are you one that is willing to be a very important part of what God is doing today? If so we hope you are faithfully serving the Lord Jesus Christ in a Bible-believing and teaching church near you.

Sunday night was “Family Night.” We enjoyed a special song service, followed by a short message from Luke 9:12 about having all we need to serve Jesus. Afterward, we went downstairs for food and fellowship celebrating birthdays and anniversaries for this month.

If you are in or near Clanton and looking for a church to visit this Sunday, we would love to see you at Calvary.

For other services and events, check us out on Facebook or Twitter, visit our website at www.cibc-clanton.com or call Pastor Oscar Mims.

Submitted by Oscar Mims

Bethany Baptist Church

Service opened with the hymn “Revive Us Again” followed by a devotion titled “The Moving Force in Revival” from Psalm 85:6.

What is revival? When we think of revival, we automatically think of a series of meetings, but true revival is a time when a person or a group of people analyze their lives to see if they are serving God. Any time we find ourselves falling short of God’s will, we need revival.

We are taught to leave our burdens with God when we pray, but in this scripture, we have something we need to do: look at our lives and see where we need to change. We do not need to look at everyone else’s fault, but look at our own fault. Revival may start in one heart, and then spread to many more, therefore there is group revival.

We had prayer and were dismissed to Sunday School.

We met for the morning service and sang, “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story,” “At the Cross,” “It Pays To Serve Jesus” and “Bringing in the Sheaves.”

Bro. Aubry made these announcements:

A food drive is on-going for this month.

On Aug. 30, we will have a noon meal and fellowship afterward. We will not evening service.

The Alabama Mission Development Meeting will be held on Sept. 12 at Heritage Baptist in Haleyville, Ala.

Titus 2:11-15 was the scripture for the sermon “God’s Amazing Grace.”

We should never rearrange, change or make the Bible say something that God does not say.

Paul is writing this message to the young preacher Timothy, but it applies to us today. Any sinner can be saved because no one is too bad or too good to be saved. Any sinner can weather any storm or situation in life.

Most people who call themselves Christians do not truly understand God’s amazing grace. There are some things about God’s grace that we need to notice:

Grace saves us. No one stands before God with an excuse for their conduct. The Bible tells us everything we need to know to live in this world.

Salvation is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). We cannot boast of anything we have done to obtain this salvation. God owes us nothing. He saves us for his glory, not just so we can miss hell. The law recorded in the Bible does not save anyone; it was only to point us to the cross. There is no way anyone can ever keep the law. If you are saved, be thankful that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that you accepted his free gift. Romans 6:23 says “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”

John 10:27-30 tells us that if we are saved, we are his sheep and we hear his voice, and we shall never perish. Our salvation belongs to Jesus.

John 14:1-6 tells us that a saved person does not need to fear death. Jesus is preparing a home for us in heaven. John 11:25 says that Jesus is the “resurrection and the life.” Do you know Jesus?

We already have everlasting life. Romans 10:9-10 says, “Believe and confess, and you shall be saved.” Grace does more than save us—it soothes us by teaching us Christian living. Whatever we do should be for the glory of God.

We should live soberly, righteously and godly in this world. We should live as God wants us to live. If we sin deliberately, we will be punished. If we are comfortable living in sin, we are not children of God. Once we are saved, we are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Romans 12:17-31: “Do not give evil for evil, but treat your enemies with kindness.” Matthew 5:10: “We should let our light shine before Jesus, so man can see our good works.” We should live righteously in this world. Before doing anything, we should ask ourselves, “Would Jesus want us to do this?” God watches and hears everything we do and see.

Look for the blessed hope that God has given us. Jesus is coming! Are you ready, have you been saved?

Morning services closed with a prayer and the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

Evening services began with the hymn “I’ll Be a Friend to Jesus.” The message “Where is Your Faith” was taken from Matthew 13:24-30.

This parable is about the wheat and tares. The wheat represents those who are saved, and the tares represent the sinner. In this world, and even in churches, the saved (wheat) and the lost (tares) must live together.

There are many people whose names are on a church roll who believe that because they are saved they will automatically go to heaven. That is not true; church membership will get no one to heaven. Only belief and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ can save you.

Satan plants tares in our churches because he wants to give the lost a false sense of security. The saved and lost are many times not distinguishable to us because there are many lost people who are good people in man’s eyes. Good works will save no one. Trust in Jesus Christ your Savior in order to have an eternal home in heaven.

We closed with a prayer and the hymn “Who at My Door Is Standing.”

Our prayer list includes our church, Journey Mission in Calera, Grace, Jackie, Bro. Aubry, Shirley, Jenny, Debbie, Frankie, Jeanette, J.C., Lisa R., Glenda W., Barbara T. W., Wayne S., many unspoken requests, those with cancer and heart problems, those who have lost loved ones, and most of all the unsaved.

Submitted by Jane Vines