New Salem Baptist Church

Worship at New Salem Baptist Church began at 11 a.m. with the adult choir singing “The Family of God.” J.C. Pierce led the congregation in singing, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” while the adult choir sang “Mary Did You Know.” Special music was provided by Karen Reeser who sang “Born to Die.”

Pastor Larry Reeser read from 2 Thessalonians 1:7-12, and his theme pertained to the main story of the birth of Christ.

He came to seek and save that which was lost. Paul was saying to all that are troubled to come along with us as we have troubles also, but we are waiting on Christ.

Mostly our troubles result from Christ being rejected, and we are separated from his presence and power. Paul always prayed that his readers would be found worthy of God’s goodness.

One day God is coming to take his children home to be with him, while here we have to fight the good fight of faith. Only those who endure to the end will be saved. When he shall come, he will be glorified.

The 5 p.m. service was our candle light service, along with the Christmas tree.

Bro. Reeser reported that the trip to Alabaster Kingwood Church to see “The Gospel According to Scrooge” was a great success. Those who missed it missed a real blessing.

The adult choir has worked very hard preparing for the Christmas Cantata that will be held Sunday during the morning worship service. The children will present their program at the 5 p.m. Sunday service under the direction of Reeser.

New Salem’s schedule of services are: Sunday, 10 a.m. Sunday School, 11 a.m. worship, 5 p.m. worship; Wednesday, 6 p.m. Bible study and prayer meeting. Presently we are studying the book of Revelation.

You are invited to join us at any of our services, and if you need additional information call (205) 389-1102.

Submitted by Lucille Price Pierce

Cedar Grove Baptist Church

Stay tuned for mission outreach updates. God is moving and doing exciting things in Cedar Grove. We welcome you to come and join the blessings of God’s grace.

Prayer concerns include our pastors, our church family, the state of our nation, those in hospitals and nursing homes and for the spoken and unspoken requests.

Pastor Jeff Carroll’s text was from John 14:1-5 and entitled “Cure For The Troubled.”

A lot of us have troubled hearts. We want our nation back under God, and we are living in troubling times. The government says we are going to do things their way, never mind the people and what they may want.

Religions of this world are troubling, with the worship of false gods all in the name of freedom of religion. It is troubling that America will put up with the violence of terrorism.

It seems this is going to be an everyday occurrence. It is troubling, and I feel sorry for the younger generation of America in the downward spiral of this world. We have sickness, disease, cancer, personal problems and family members with Alzheimer’s.

If you live in America or anywhere else in this world, you will have troubling times. The cure for troubled hearts is our belief in Jesus and God, for with this instilled in our hearts gives us a safety valve. The pressure will be released but in God’s time.

I feel sorry for atheists that do not believe in God, God is bigger than any trouble we could ever have. When you believe in God, you have someone in your heart that can fix the problems you have today. It is a great Blessing to know there is someone to help us.

Have you ever felt alone, and as if no one cares? Just know that you are never alone, and that God is always with you and cares about you. You have to know who Jesus is however, before you can call on him for help.

He is God’s only begotten son, born of a virgin through the Holy Spirit. Jesus walked on the water, raised the dead, died on the cross, and then rose from the dead after three days to defeat death, hell and the grave. Do you not want to know Jesus? To have the blessed hope that Jesus is coming back.

You have heard of the old time medicine show, the seller claiming to have a tonic for anything that ails you. I am telling you the gospel of Jesus is the only cure for any situation we get in here in this world. The devil is the liar of all liars and will try to make you believe that everything is dark. We must get used to it.

Jesus wants us to get up and he will be here for you, to set you free. Jesus has gone to heaven to prepare a place for us if it was not so he would have told us. God wants us to get a mansion; heaven will never run out of room.

Have you ever felt like you were just stuck in a dark place or in a rut? God will bring you out and move you on up. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, and God will wipe all our tears away so that there will be no more sorrow, pain or death.

In closing, “the most troubling thing you should feel in this world is being in sin and slave to Satan, with hell awaiting unless you come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the answer. You cannot get saved and God will not bless you in some way that is God. Jesus is the answer and the cure for the troubled.”