Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

We had a wonderful service this past Sunday. We thoroughly enjoyed Bro. Marler speaking for us.

This upcoming Sunday will be our annual Christmas play and celebration at 5 p.m. We will have finger foods and gift swapping after the play. Feel free to come by and join us!

As Christmas swiftly approaches and we rush about to make sure all the gifts are bought and everything is in order, let us not forget what we have set aside this season for. We have chosen Christmas to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

We have set aside Dec. 25 to remember when God came down to walk with us and live with us. In remembering this, we should also realize that it was not Jesus’ birth or even his death that was to set things right in the world. No, it was Jesus’ life.

His life showed us what the Kingdom of God is truly like. It is the hungry fed, the oppressed raised up, the outsiders welcomed, the end of life absent of hope and the end of worrying about death. Jesus’ life shows us that our eternal life begins now, right here on Earth, if only we will have the eyes to see it and the courage to live it!

Jesus came not to die, but to conquer death! Christmas is a time of hope and peace for everyone, but for Christians it is so much more. For us, it is that hope can be found in the most unlikely places, even a baby born among animals.

We cling to that hope when times are at their darkest, and refuse to let the fear of death creep in to diminish the beauty that is life. This hope is like the star that shown so bright that fateful night. It is the spark of divinity and it pierces through even the darkest of nights.

Death is inevitable for us all, but we need not fear it. Jesus incarnate is the hope that life will go on. Eternal life is waiting for us and it starts now.

Until next time, Merry Christmas, and may God bless you and keep you!

Submitted by KJ Bowen

Bethany Baptist Church

Bethany Baptist Church met Sunday at 10 a.m. and sang “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” followed with a devotion entitled “Doing Good to Our Neighbors,” from Proverbs 3:27-35.

This devotion dealt with how we treat our neighbors. Treating neighbors fairly is something we need to do. If we can help someone, we should help him or her. If you owe something to your neighbor, do not tell him to go and come back tomorrow if you have in your possession the thing you owe.

We also should not argue with someone who has done nothing wrong to you. Do not have strife with your neighbors. Saved people must follow God’s wisdom in life, and life will be much easier than having a life of stress.

Do not hold grudges against your neighbors or anyone else. Physically stress and worry in our life can make us sick. Help others whenever we are able to do so. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

After being dismissed with a prayer, we had our Sunday School lessons and met back in the sanctuary for our song service and message. We sang “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “Joy To the World.”

Bro. Glenn Vines asked for prayer requests and gave the announcements. A Christmas program is scheduled at Landmark Baptist Church in Prattville at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. We will be having our Christmas program with food and fellowship following at 5 p.m.

Prayer requests were for Bro. Aubry, Sister Shirley, Myra, Rickey McCullar, Harold T., our church, missions and missionaries, Grace, Lisa R., Jenny H., Pat H., Colyn, Barbara W., Debbie R. and her family, Vikki, Helen, Charlotte, many more which are too numerous to list and most of all those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Bro. Vines brought the morning message entitled “A Man With a Plan,” from II Kings 5:1-19. Naaman was a captain in the army of Syria. God had allowed the Syrian army to defeat the Israelites in a battle, because of the disobedience of Israel to God. Israel many times fell away from God, who used other nations to punish the nation of Israel.

In these scriptures we read about Naaman a very important man to the Syrian army who had leprosy, a dreaded disease. He did not know what to do, but a little Israelite girl who had been taken captive by the Syrians and was a maid to Naaman’s wife had a plan.

Although she was a slave, she had compassion on her master and told him that she knew how he could be healed. She told him about a prophet in Israel who could help him. The king of Syria wrote a letter to the King of Israel asking permission to see Elisha, the prophet of God.

When the King of Israel read the letter, he was afraid and rent his clothes. Elisha heard about the king of Israel and he sent a messenger to Naaman to tell him what to do. Naaman was to wash seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman said that all the rivers of Syria were better than the Jordan River in Israel.

His servants talked to Naaman and said, if he had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? Why will you not do this small thing he asked you to do? Naaman went down to the Jordan and dipped himself seven times just as Elisha had said, and when he came upon the seventh time, he was healed of his leprosy.

The same is true with salvation. The plan of salvation is very simple, yet people want to make it more complicated. The Bible says that we only have to believe that Jesus can and will save us from our sins. We then need to do as Naaman did after he was cleansed of his leprosy, make a pledge to serve God and do his will.

God alone can get us through the difficulties we face in this life on earth. He cares for us enough to save our souls from sin and eternity in hell. We will go through hard times, but God will bring us through. We will only ask and trust in him. We then need to tell others what God has done for us.

We closed the services with a prayer. We hope to see you at Bethany Baptist on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for Bible study classes, and Sundays at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. for our regular Sunday services.

For more information about our services you may call (205) 389-2970. We are praying that our pastor will soon be able to be back with us at Bethany.