Mars Hill Baptist Church

Today was a wonderful day to be in church at Mars Hill. We had three to baptize during the morning worship hour. Remember to pray for new believers, being a Christian is not always easy.

Our choir sang “I’ll Fly Away” from the old red book hymnal. What a joy to hear the old songs of our childhood.

Our pastor had 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 for his sermon today. We need to know if we are really saved. If you will pray the sinner’s prayer and mean it, you shall be saved. We can get out of touch with God and sin can separate us from God. If we forsake Him, He will forsake us. Even if you have won a battle over sin you still need Him. We could go to church every day and it still would not be enough.

If Satan is not after you he may already have you. If you are a Christian, you can still see him trying to get into your life. Satan can and will rip your life apart. He is a liar and the truth is not in him and he will hinder you from trusting God. When you forsake God, Satan moves in. If God is not in control of your life Satan is.

2 Timothy 2:15 reminds us to study to find ourselves approved. Only God can give us the truth. We need the Lord, repent or perish. The Bible can change our life but we have to read it.

Remember our Vacation Bible School July 10, 14. We still have positions to be filled; if you can help please sign up now. Also please fill your CareNet baby bottles, these will be picked up on Father’s Day.

Attend church somewhere this Sunday. If you do not have a church, visit us at Mars Hill, we have a place for you.

Bethany Baptist Church

Sunday, June 5, 2016 Bethany Baptist Church met at 10:00 a.m. and sang “The Morning Light Is Breaking,” followed with a devotional “The Two Ways,” Matthew 7:13, 14. Many people followed Jesus while he ministered here on this earth. Some were true disciples, but many were curious to see what Jesus was doing or they had a need.

There are two gates, the narrow gate and the wide gate. To get to Heaven you must go through the narrow gate. Matthew 6:24 states that you cannot serve God and Mammon, anything you put before God is mammon. Once you have entered the only gate to heaven (salvation by grace through faith) we should give up the ways of the world so that we can be a good witness for Jesus Christ. The wide gate is the worldly gate, serving the worldly ways of sin. The wide gate is the path to an eternity, apart from God and Jesus, in hell. We were dismissed with a prayer to S.S. and afterward we sang, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,” “No Not One,” “Our Best,” and “Master, The Tempest Is Raging.” Bro. Aubry made the announcements. Due to a workshop accident, Bro. Aubry wasn’t able to preach the a.m. message. Bro. Glenn Vines brought a message “The Talking Donkey,” Numbers 22”22-34. The first 21 verses in this chapter states what happened up to the incident of the text. Balak, king of Moab, had heard of the children of Israel who had come up out of Egypt. God had blessed the Israelites even while they were in slavery in the land of Egypt, and they had become a nation of lots of people. Balak was scared of this nation, and sent for Balaam who was diviner, a practice which was a part of witchcraft, or other practices of the occult. Balak sent money with the messengers to pay Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam seemed on the surface to be a Godly man, but like some of the false preachers of today, he was only interested in accumulating wealth for himself. He told the men that he could not do something that God did not want him to do. They men told Balak so he sent more important men to speak to Balaam. These men brought more money as a bribe for Balamm to curse the people. God would not allow Balaam to curse the nation of Israel, but against God’s will, He allowed Balaam to go before the Balak. He saddled his donkey and began the journey, but beginning in v. 22 we see what happened to Balaam. An angel of the Lord appeared before the donkey with a drawn sword causing the donkey to go into a field. Balaam struck the donkey. They were going through a narrow path causing the donkey to be thrust against a wall crushing Balaam’s foot against the wall. He struck the donkey again. The donkey saw the angel for the 3rd time in his path. This time he lay down under Balaam causing him to strike this donkey again. This time the donkey started talking to Balaam, asking why he had struck him 3 times. God opened Balaam’s eyes (spiritually) and he knew that he had to go to Balak and speak only the words that God gave him. Rather than curse the Israelites, every time he spoke, he blessed them. Like Balaam, regardless of what we do, we cannot influence God’s actions. God’s will never changes, He doesn’t change. Many today think that it is ok to sin because times have changed. When praying, we must ask for God’s will, not ours, to be done. Balak tried going to different places with Balaam, but the message was always the same. Balaam learned to present God’s message, and he did not even get his paycheck. We need to put away world fame, riches or pleasures to truly do God’s will. Balak never turned from his wicked ways; he was never a true follower of God. Like many in the world today he knew who God was, but did not know God (Jesus) as his personal Savior. There is never an excuse of not knowing God’s will in our life. If God can use a donkey to get His message to Balak, then He can use us to spread the message of salvation to the lost world today. We only have to be saved and willing to be a servant of God. We dismissed with a song “Just as I Am,” and a prayer. P.M. services began at 5:00 with “Rock of Ages.” Bro. Aubry was feeling better and continued his study of the book of John. John 5:17-29. The Jews wanted to kill Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath day, and claiming to be God. Jesus was always submissive to the will of God, because He was (and is) God. There were and are many today who do not believe Jesus Christ is God, but Jesus told them in v.19 that Jesus could do nothing of himself. V.21, as God rose up the dead, physical or spiritual, so can Jesus, at the point of our salvation, make us alive. A chilled of God should never revert to his old ways lest he become under the chastisement of his Heavenly Father. We know when we sin against God and should ask forgiveness, even though we must suffer the consequences. V.22 and 23, God judges no man, Jesus is the judge of all. As children of God, saved, we should try every day to live like Christ, even though we will never be sinless as long as we live in this world. Don’t live with the burdens of past sin; be happy in your salvation. Honor the Son or you will not honor God. V.24, 25, once we hear, heed, the Word of Jesus, God, and believe God that sent Jesus has Everlasting life. Spiritually and physically one day the dead will be raised. If lost, be saved while the Holy Spirit is dealing with you. We never know when we will not have another chance to accept Jesus Christ as our savior. One day, all the dead will come forth, if saved we will go to Heaven, if lost we will go to hell. It is our choice as to which place we will spend eternity.

We dismissed with a song “Take Time to Be Holy.”

We will be having our Vacation Bible School on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, 8:30a.m. -3:00p.m. Lunch will be served. The ages are kindergarten through 6th grade. Come and have a time of learning and fun! Our prayer list includes, Bro. Aubry, Sis. Shirley, Grace, Mr. Hubert, Evelyn Knight, Jane V., Phillip Vick, Paulette and Peggy Williams, Lisa Morton, Jenny H, Colyn and Sherry, Barbara T. Williams, Melissa, Justin and Shrrie, Charlotte, Helen, Vikii, Missionaries at home and across the seas, Journey Baptist in Calera and Bro. Paul A and family, Jeanette, JC, Frankie, and most of all the unsaved.

Bethsalem Baptist Church

Bro. Cleve opened up our morning worship recognizing those having birthdays: Julie Emmerich, Nathan Williams, Don Knight, Amanda Arnold, Kendall Elrod, Harmony Arnold, Randy Sims, Bryan Hutchins, Joseph Courtney, David Stange, Jordan Rohrbough, Brantley Bice, Bud Pike, Angela Coplen, Nancy Alexander, Robin Cleckler and Mikayli Glasscock.

Happy Anniversary to Cleve and Jennie Mallory, 7 yrs; Blake and Emily Edwards, 15yrs; David and Brandy Clacker, 1yr; Tim and Kelly Milford.

Bro. Justin preached from 1st Cor. 15: 1-10, Colossians 1:1-8; Center on Christ.

Evening Service: SUMMER SPLASH 5-7PM.

Pray for our country & leadership, Allen & Casey Daniel, Paul Price, Billy & Dean Patterson, Bill Arnold, David Reed, Kim Kennedy, Donald Johnson, Lori Rogers, Ashley Minor, Peggy Harris, Charles Bryant, Betty Bennett, Betty Prewitt, John Flowers, Walter Aaron, Debra Mims, Caleb Harrison, Kathy Fitzgerald, Stephanie Hinton, Elvie Patterson, all those facing cancer, our homebound, assisted living/nursing home residents and everyone needing salvation.

Hope you had a great week, come worship with us on Sunday.

Calvary Independent Baptist Church

Calvary Independent Baptist Church wants to thank everyone who attended services this past week. Sunday morning services included a message from I Samuel 10:1-6 on “Can America become great again? What America has, and what America needs.” We looked at having a problem with condemnation and having no perception for conviction.

We also looked at what America needs is a people of real conversion, a people of real Christianity. Being born-again is more than just a religious term, it is a new life with old things past away and behold all things have become new. New desires, new thoughts, new motives, new life of living for God and wanting what is best for others.

Sunday night services included a short illustration of the scriptures that are found in gospel tracts and also a message from Jeremiah 18:1-10 on the potter and the clay. I am so glad that the potter did not throw away the marred clay but is molding it into a vessel of honor for his purpose and for his glory.

We pray that you are saved and enjoying a new life “in Christ” being all you can be in service for the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are looking for a church to visit in Clanton, come visit with us this Sunday.

We are located South Clanton, just past Dollar General, right off 31 on Fulmer Drive. Our regular weekly services include Sunday School 9:00 am, Children’s Church and Adult Worship Services Sunday Morning at 10:00 am, Sunday Night Services 5:30 pm, Wednesday Night Services 6:30 pm, and a bible study on every other Tuesday Night at 7:00 pm.

For other services and events check us out on Facebook ,Twitter, visit our website at www.cibc-clanton.com , or call Pastor Oscar Mims at 205-755-9399.

Mt. Carmel No. 1 Baptist Church

You have probably heard the line from a popular song that says “better is one day in the house of the Lord than a thousand elsewhere”. The Lord sent such a blessing upon us at our services last Sunday that we could have all said that about our day.

The service started with Libby Warren playing “He Arose” for our penny march. The blessings continued to come as our special music was presented by Ashley Liveoak doing a wonderful job singing the very inspiring song “We Bless Your Name” and Kaitlyn Burnett signing to “Lord I need You”.

Bro. Travis Burnett brought God’s message to us by returning to the Gospel of John. He used the verses of scripture from John 1:4-10 & 18. This is another phase of the message that John the Baptist was given as proof positive for us to know that Christ is fully God and fully man and He is the true Light. The scriptures tell us that The Light enlightens those that are lacking in knowledge. Mankind is in need of heart knowledge, not just head knowledge. The motto of mankind is seeing is believing. Because of the Grace of God, through faith the Christian can say that believing is seeing that which is needed from God for eternal life. That which can be seen is just temporary. Someday these temporary things will not matter.

Those having only head knowledge refuse to accept this as truth. We may say that we don’t have enough proof in order for us to believe. All creation – the Heavens above and the Earth below – cries out that God does exist. God has made Himself known in thought, text, and in tangible things. Therefore, we have no excuse for remaining in darkness. Man has an inner nature that is drawn to worship something. Disputing the fact that God exists leads to man worshiping idols. Idols only serve to bring mankind down, never for good. God no longer winks at our ignorance. He demands our repentance and acceptance of Him as The Light of our lives. This takes heart knowledge. When The Light enters into a life changes occur that can’t be brought about any other way.

Sunday evening Bro. Travis used Genesis 2:7-9 to bring God’s message to us on ‘The Life Source of Man’. Everything has its beginning from God – our source of life. The life of every man is precious from the womb to the tomb. Without a doubt, mankind has lost the value of life. This happens when we forget that God is truly the Creator of all. It doesn’t matter how low and unworthy we may feel we are, in God’s sight we are precious. Our life is completely dependent upon God. Our time is in His hands. We were created to glorify Him no matter what the circumstances surrounding us may be. We were designed by the hands of God. As Christians we are to be a peculiar people. We are clay in the hands of the potter. Shaping us may be painful to us, but He knows exactly what He is doing. After forming us He will place us where we need to be. Allowing God to be the director and advisor of life brings honor to Him and rewards for us.

Our hearts were made to rejoice to know that Minnie Childress is home from the hospital. She still needs and desires our prayers. Also, Bro. Travis informed us that Myron West is being flown back to the states for treatment. Please lift them and their families up to God as you pray. Others on our prayer list are Mary Dean Higgins, Gladys Franklin, Elladene Mims, Leona Liveoak, Libby Warren, Phillip Campbell, Elijah Warren, Mary Ellen Campbell, Hermas Campbell, Mary Maudlin, Bro. Travis and Kaitlyn Burnett as they seek God’s will in the adoption process of a child, Robert Childress, Christy Lowery, Ruthie Jean Giles, the graduates, and the revival that is being held in Burlington, NC.

Our VBS will begin on Sunday, June 26th at 6:00 p.m. We will have classes for ages 3 years old through those that finished the 6th grade. There will be a kick-off party on Saturday, June 25th at 2:00 p.m. Everyone welcome to join us for fun, games, and food.

Mt. Springs

Sunday morning, the choir sang “I’ll Be Satisfied,” and “Oh I Want to See Him.”

Brad Shaw brought a devotion from Matthew 7:13-14 and Proverbs 3:6. Acknowledge the Lord in ALL your ways, and follow Him even when the path is narrow!

After Sunday school, Cody Bearden sang “God on the Mountain.”

Bro. Cody Bearden brought the message Sunday morning. Bro. Cody went through and explained many scriptures. A few of them were Philippians 3:14 (You can’t move forward if you stay where you’ve been. You gotta move on), and Matthew 5:29-30 (if there is something preventing you from surrendering, lay it down at the cross now).

Sunday night, Ricky Cleckler lead the congregation in the hymns of, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” “I’ll Be Listening,” and “When We All Get to Heaven.”

Ronnie Moates brought a devotion from Psalm 139:7-10. God’s divine presence is with us EVERYWHERE!

Avree Parrish and Kristin Thomas sang, “Sky Full of Angels,” and Cody Bearden sang, “He Didn’t Throw the Clay Away.”

Bro. Cody Bearden preached from Luke 5:11-25. The prodigal son was so desperate for satisfaction that he started eating the pig food. He had to realize that he was in a mess before he could get out of that mess!

The prodigal son didn’t have to clean up before coming back home to his father. There is nothing you can say or do for God to love you less. All He wants is you to come home. God is awaiting your return!

Just like the prodigal sons bother, we sometimes get jealous when other people seemed to be getting blessed more than we are.

Samaria Baptist Church

Our service today was a blessing as always. Our prayer needs today are Myron West (Ugandan Missionary), Mattie Brasher, Esther Jones, Peggy Traywick and her family, Barbara Collins and her niece on their trip, Lauren Wyatt at Girl’s State, and our Church and Country.

Brother Shane’s message was taken from Acts 10 v 1-20. His message was entitled, “A sign from above.” God has a purpose for everything that He does in our lives. Sometimes His lead takes us in different directions than what we think we should go. There is always a purpose in what God has to say to us, whether by sermon, or by His Word.

Peter, in the scriptures was physically hungry and fell into a trance. Peter was following what he had been told all his life about things that were unclean, and of people with whom he should not associate. God had to make it clear to Peter, that anything He gave to him was declared clean.

We should never allow what we’ve been taught to confuse us on what God says in His Word. Somehow it appears that the churches of today are not looking and listening for the signs that God is giving us. We must not allow our minds to prejudice our hearts against those who society may say are not as good as we are. Who are we? Who do we need to be? Peter learned from his mistakes to practice what he’d been taught from God. Peter learned to see things eyes of God the Father rather than his own interpretation.

When we are faced with situations in life, let us seek the lessons in God’s Word, and follow the directions of life that lie therein. Clean out around our own door, before trying to attend to the wrong of someone else. Let this be our formula for success. In order to get to the other side, keep your eyes on Jesus, putting all else aside.

May God bless and keep all who read this column today. Join us at Samaria for a message straight out of God’s Word.