Lime Springs United Methodist Church
Bro. Shannon brought the Easter morning message from 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 entitled, “What If Jesus Did Not Rise Again?” He started by reminding us of the importance of reading a sentence completely through to receive the full understanding of its message. The same is true when we consider the Resurrection story. It would be easy for us to focus on the words, “Jesus defeated” and forget the rest of the sentence, “death.”
With this in mind, we are challenged to consider what would have happened if Jesus was defeated and did not rise again. First, Christ would be a liar (John 2:19). Second, there would be no Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:14). Third, our faith would be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). Fourth, we would be guilty of spreading a lie (1 Corinthians 15:15). Finally, we would have no hope for the future (1 Corinthians 15:18).
Bro. Shannon closed by reminding us of how a possum will not enter a hole with one set of footprints, for fear of the impending death that might be waiting. However, when he sees two sets of prints, he knows the hole is safe to enter. So it is with us today. When we consider the tomb of Christ, we must see two sets of footprints. Jesus went in, but he also came out! We ought to praise God for what his resurrection offers us: eternal life (John 14:19). In other words, we don’t have to fear death anymore (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
Happy Easter everyone!
We invite everyone to join us for worship at Lime Springs. Our service times are as follows: Sunday School at 9:30 a.m.; Sunday morning worship at 11; evening Bible study at 5; and Wednesday night prayer meeting at 6:30.
For more information, please call 755-6356.

Christ Independent Methodist Church
He is risen, indeed!
On this perfect Easter morning we were in place awaiting the sunrise, which ran on God’s time schedule, not that of man. But as some of us complained, one of our wiser members explained that the sun was shining, we just could not see it. It changed our whole perspective, and we proceeded with our sunrise service minus the sun that made its appearance a bit later.
Our service began with praise hymns “Christ Arose” and “Because He Lives.” These were followed by Dr. Mac Stinson’s wonderful sermon based on the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Just because we have all been hearing these Gospels all our lives at this season of the year does not prevent them from “sounding new” each time we hear them. Like the Christmas story of our Lord’s birth, these stories remain fresh and appealing with each retelling.
Paul tells us in Acts that probably 500 people witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus. Eyewitnesses to important events are always needed, but even more important is the love of Jesus in our hearts not meant to be proven. It is meant to be experienced.
Beginning our prayer list today is a special prayer for Everette Bagby, who remains critically ill in the hospital and his wife, Robbie Bagby.
Also remember Bonnie Headley, Lissa Moore, Wilma Ellison, Opal Miller and our pastor, Dr. Stinson.
Our Wednesday night studies of Revelation continue. We invite you to join us for this fascinating study beginning at 6:45 p.m.
We appreciate the many visitors who chose to spend this Sunday with us.
Pray for our military, their families, our country, our community, our church and each other. Pray fervently for little Israel.
Have a blessed week.

Friendship Baptist Church
We had such a great Easter service. Our choir presented “Were You There,” a musical presentation of Easter. It was great seeing so many old as well as new friends.
We also had a baby dedication for Zoey Jessica Holloman. Parents are Chaune and Kelley Holloman; grandparents are Helen and Jessie Alberts, Dwayne and Donna Holloman and Jeff and Pam Minor. Great grandparents are Shirley Alberts, Richard and Mary Lou Holloman, and Herdis and Ruby Minor.
Next Sunday, Bro. Ken Daniel will be with us for both services. He is being brought to us by our pastor search committee.
The senior adult evangelism conference is Monday, May 2 at East Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery. Speakers are Junior Hill and Bobby Welch. Musicians are Paid In Full. Admission is free.
A church-wide picnic will be held at Oak Mountain on May 7. We will meet at the church at 10 a.m.
May 14 is our church trip to the Collinsville Flea Market. We will leave church at 6 a.m.
Soon we will plan a trip to visit the Tennessee Amish.
Prayer requests: Kay and Irby Fanning, Benny Headley, Joe and Amy Clipston, the McCalls, Lucille Price, Ken Daniel and family.
Happy birthday to Wilma Connell, Susan Davis, Josh Varden, Shay Dennis, Samuel Botts, Alisha Glover, Allie Roberts, Donielle Cleckley and Caleb Wakefield.

Mount Bethel Baptist Church
“Celebrate, for we serve a risen Lord! Worthy is the Lamb wounded and bruised for man; He now sits at God’s right hand so I might live again. Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:13).
We started our celebration with singing praises to our Lord followed by prayer, after which we went into our classes for Bible study.
The choir opened the service with “Gone,” and the choir special was “Because He Lives.”
The Rev. Oneil Cleckler’s sermon this morning was on the witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. The scripture passage was Matthew 28:1-10. The first witnesses were a group of women. They got to the tomb, and the body of Jesus was gone. The angel said, “He is risen! Go quickly and tell his disciples.”
The angel opened the tomb not to let Jesus out but to let people see that he was gone. Peter and John were one of the first at the tomb to testify that Jesus was gone. Then there were the guards. They were so shook by what happened that they fainted. They ran to the chief priest to tell them what to do. When the other disciples heard of the resurrection they hid in an upper room, but Jesus came and walked through the wall. So they were also witnesses. We have not yet seen our Lord physically, but we see him in all the miracles he performs daily in the comfort he gives us, the way he provides for us, and in the friends he sends our way and in many more ways.
Visitors are invited to join us for worship and fellowship.  Sunday School is at 10 a.m.; morning worship at 11; Discipleship Training at 5 p.m. and evening worship at 6.

New Salem Baptist Church
New Salem Baptist Church announces homecoming services Sunday, May 1 at 10 a.m. The Coleman “Remix” Family will be our guest singers, and the Rev. Tom Hilyer will bring the homecoming message. Services will conclude with an old-fashioned lunch at noon.
All former members and friends are encouraged to be part of this special day.
Easter Sunday was very special to all of God’s saints. We enjoyed the special music of Karen Resser and a very timely message from our pastor on the message of hope. Hope is not optional; it is essential to each of us.
The mission of New Salem Baptist Church is to be a caring church, showing love and truth in all our ministries so others may know the love of Christ and enjoy wonderful fellowship with his people.
Regular services include Sunday Bible study at 9:45 for all ages and a traditional worship service at 11 a.m.
We are enjoying the new renovations of the church building and facilities. We invite you to be part of God’s wonderful work and to plan to worship with us on Mother’s Day, May 8. Danielle Easterling will be our guest speaker at 11 a.m., and all mothers will be recognized in a special way.

Walnut Creek United Methodist Church
Another week of Lent ended on a highly successful note with our own Bro. Tony Hughes bringing the message and Lisa Abbott bringing music in grand fashion. Thank you to everyone who came out, and we hope you were blessed. A special thank you to the hard-working ladies that prepared the food. What a fine job they do.
We had evangelist Rick Ousley lead our revival mid-week with a great turnout.
Another beautiful sunrise service began with the message brought by Bro. Tony, “We Honor the Hour.” He has risen and he is alive in me.
We enjoyed a great breakfast prepared by our wonderful ladies of the church. We took a short break and regrouped for our regular Sunday morning services.
After a beautiful prelude by our musicians, we had our traditional “flowering of the cross,” a beautiful and touching time as we are asked to place a flower on the cross in memory of someone.
During his invocation, Bro. Tony said, “In the early Church we celebrated every day, now we celebrate once a week. But there is no day that could be more holy than the day our Savior arose from the grave.”
We were blessed with our Easter cantata and drama. Members of the choir included Benjie Abbott, Irene Croissant, David Florea, Jerry Gilliland, Mary Joyce Gilliland, Diane Handley, Shirley Henley, David Horn, Sonja Horn, Beth Hughes, Bro. Tony Hughes, Duane Jones, Virginia Littlefield, Joan McGriff, Russell McGriff, Mark McPhearson, Gail Nettles, Joe Nettles, Debbie Popwell, Jim Popwell, Normal Popwell, Jerry Tippett and Nina Tippett.
Members of the drama team were Taylor Hughes, Jensen Gore, Thomas Hughes, Nicole Littlefield, Kayte Culpepper, Anna Horn, Stephen Horn, Krissi Jones, Brandon Vickers and Tristen Gore.
Narration was by Roger Mims, sound by Roger Littlefield, costumes and scenery by Virginia Littlefield, Joan McGriff, Lisa Abbott and Kayte Culpepper; and Lisa Abbott was director. Tony Hughes is pastor.

Bethsalem Baptist Church
The Celebration Choir did a good job singing “So High the Price” Sunday morning. They then sang “Blessed Redeemer” for special music featuring soloists Jenny Mallory and Jodie Bice.
Bro. Brad preached a wonderful message on the hope of Easter.
There were no evening services.
Wednesday night is family supper at 5:45, followed by choir practice for all children and prayer meeting for adults.
Pray this week for Charles Bryant, Gene Mims, Dylan Collum, Kyle Pack, Chris and Sonja Cox, Nell Mims, Hunter Moore, Betty McGee, Jim Beck, Cassie Patterson, Dee Dee Nicolau, Charles Owens, Mandy Mims, Wylladean Burns, Bo Gun, Paul Green, Barbara Neely, Larry Mays, James Moore, our missionaries, all un-churched families, those who have lost loved ones, Japan and those affected by storms.
Happy birthday to Chuck Boyles, Sally Easterling, Hayley Wright, Christy Payne, Monya Hughes, Mark Mims, Robin Denham, Kriston Pack, James Dutton, Jarrett Howell, Kim Benson, Katelyn Atchison, Brandon Wright, Dylan Collum, Glenda Mims, Megan Howell and Makenzie Barrett.
Next Sunday is our first Super Sunday Night.
We hope everyone had a happy and blessed Easter.
Our mission is to share Jesus Christ with others to help them connect into his family to develop the habits of a disciple and to discover their place of ministry in order to center their life on Christ.
Come worship with us. Tell someone about Jesus.

Jackson Chapel
“And the angel answered and said unto the women, ‘Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  He is not here for he is risen just as he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay’” (Matthew 28:5-6).
Bro Dewayne Castleberry taught a good Sunday School lesson entitled “Alive Forevermore.”  Bro Gary Fant got the morning service started off with “At Calvary” and “Victory in Jesus,” and following the congregational singing, our choir presented “O What A Savior” for our Easter program.
Bro Dennis’ text came from John 12:20-36 with a message entitled “If Jesus Is Still On The Cross Get Him Down.” Jesus died, was buried and resurrected so everyone that accepts Him as their personal Saviour can have eternal life in heaven.  We can’t be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God and still get to heaven because we must get our priorities in order and put God first in our lives.  If we’re not prepared to go to heaven, we need to make sure we’re ready at all times because no one knows the hour when he will return.
The service ended with the altar full of people praying for God’s will to be done in their lives.
We did not have an evening service because of Easter Sunday, and that gave our church family time to spend with their families.
Happy Birthday to Nathan Burnett, Hannah Burnett and Joey Burnett.
We are located at 4020 Yellowleaf Road in Clanton.  Our service times are as follows: Sunday School at 10, morning worship at 11, evening worship at 6, and Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study at 7.  We also have Kid’s Club on Wednesday nights at 7 for grades 1-6.

Calvary Independent Baptist Church
We had a great time Saturday, April 23 at the cookout and the games were awesome. Scripture was taught and Jesus was proclaimed; it was an uplifting event. We also had a program presented by the youth Sunday morning that was an exceptional blessing consisting of the kids singing with scriptures read in between the songs.  This was followed by the choir’s singing of special songs (great job, choir) and then of course our worship, preaching and children’s church services. We would like to extend a special thank you to our youth pastor and his family for the work put forth with the youth in making all this happen, and our pastor for the message brought about Jesus and His power over even death. If you did not make it here for the Saturday evening event or either of our Sunday services, we pray that you were at services somewhere where the word of God was preached and Jesus was lifted up.
Our Sunday School is at 9 a.m., worship service and children’s church at 10 a.m., Sunday night services at 5:30 and Wednesday night services at 6:30. We are located south of Clanton just past Dollar General on the right on Fulmer Drive. Come visit with us anytime and please pray for our outreach and children’s ministries.

Mars Hill Baptist Church
What a privilege and honor to have been able to attend church on Resurrection morning! I wish that everyone could have been in church somewhere.
The choir gave us three beautiful songs that set the tone for the sermon, which came from Mark 16:1-7. How could anyone hear those words and not believe?
Our Vacation Bible School will be June 26-30. We need teachers and workers to help with this very important ministry.
Visit us at Mars Hill for any of our services. We meet on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. for Sunday School and 11 a.m. for Sunday worship services. Children’s Church is during this time. Discipleship Training is at 5 p.m. and evening worship services are at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 7 p.m. is our Bible study time.
Come worship with us at any time, we trust that you will be able to say it is good to be in the house of the Lord.

Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church
Mt. Pisgah had a very busy Holy Week. Starting our week with Palm Sunday, we next held a Maundy Thursday service. This was a time for remembering the Last Supper that Jesus spent with his disciples. On Easter morning, Mt. Pisgah members put on a wonderful, outdoor drama of the first Easter morning. Starting with the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior and ending on the road to Emmaus, the pageantry of Jesus’ death and resurrection was vividly portrayed. The Sunrise Service ended with Holy Communion and breakfast. This was a very moving event. Thanks to our cast for all the hard work that went into the production.
Brother Glenn Walker gave a moving sermon on “Going to See the Tomb” based on Matthew 28:1-10. In that message, we re-lived that first visit to the empty grave of Jesus.
The evening services were canceled to give everyone a chance to be with their families on Easter.
Congratulations to our men’s softball team, we wish you all the best. The ladies softball team will be starting soon. Good luck to both teams. Our special Mother’s Day Service is on May 8; we are asking for pictures of mom and her favorite song and Bible verse.
We thank the food bank for donating the snacks. They were greatly appreciated.
Vacation Bible School will begin June 13-17, with registration on June 11.

Mt. Carmel
We were richly blessed at Mt. Carmel this past Easter Sunday. It was so great to have our visitors as well as our church family in the House of God. During our morning service the fifth and last part of our Easter Drama was presented by the youth and adult choir. This portion of the drama portrayed the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
Our prayer is that someone was touched by this drama in someway. The cast received many blessings during the weeks of practice and performances. A big “Thank you” is extended to all that had a part in making this a success.
Our Sunday evening service was a time of devotion. The scripture used was taken from Matthew 27:50-54. The focus of the study was “The Last Testimony” on Calvary.
Everyone mark your calendar. On May 15 our services will be held at the Confederate Memorial Park. We will start around 10 a.m. with our worship services in the old church followed by a cookout and lunch under the pavilion. We will be looking forward to seeing you there. We will not have evening services.
On Saturday, May 7, there will be a celebration time held in the church fellowship hall for Chad Foshee. This event will be to help him celebrate his graduation from
Jacksonville State University. Time for this event will be 6-8 p.m.
Our softball team will have a game on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Clanton on Field 4. The team members encourage anyone that can to come support them.
We have several on our prayer list this week that have special needs. Please remember them and our church as you pray.
If you do not have a church where you worship regularly, you are certainly welcome to be a part of worship at Mt. Carmel No. 1. Our pastor is Bro. Derrell Jones. Sunday morning services begin at 10 with Sunday School and worship at 11. Sunday evening services begin at 5 with Discipleship Training and worship at 6. Our Wednesday evening services are at 7.

Cedar Grove
What a blessing we received Sunday, a wonderful Sunday School lesson about “The Living Christ.” He said in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.”
Happy birthday to Brother Earl Caton, Brother Byron Cummings and Brother Ralph Hayes. Happy anniversary to Billy Joe and Donna Caton.
Our heartfelt sympathies go to the Vines family in the loss of Brother William, be much in prayer for the family.
The choir blessed us with singing special Easter music, Brother Chris Cleckley sang “Rise Again” and the children played “Jesus Loves Me” on the handbells.
The Cedar Grove Youth did a fantastic job on the Easter program; Mary McGuire was the director. We are very proud of our youth; they work hard to do these drama programs and the young people that work with them do also.
We have a youth minister now, Brother Clay Collins. Welcome, Bro. Clay.
Brother Jeff Carroll brought a good message Sunday morning about “Remembering the Lord Jesus.” He took his text from 1 Corinthians 11:23-29.
He opened the altar to anyone that wanted to come pray, it soon filled. Sister Amelia Hubbard sang “I Claimed The Blood” as the song of invitation.
We welcome all visitors, among them were Darryl, Karen and Cameron Cummings.
Because of Easter, we didn’t have evening service.

Rocky Mount United Methodist Church
Christ the Lord is risen today, Hallelujah!
It was wonderful to be able to be in the house of the Lord and offer our praise and thanksgiving on this most holy and precious day.
It was with heavy hearts that we celebrated Easter without our own Luke Hollis who, last week, went on to his greater rewards.  We will miss you, Luke.  We also have several other church members who were not with us to celebrate due to recent falls, moves to nursing homes and general poor health issues.  You were in our hearts and missed.
It was a very special week as we came together for our regular services, but also the added blessings of Maundy Thursday communion and then the egg hunt for the children and the covered dish meal after the Easter morning service.  You are invited and always welcome to join us at Rocky Mount United Methodist.  Easter may have passed, but don’t let Easter leave your heart.

Samaria Baptist Church
Christ arose! As we reflected and celebrated a Risen Savior at Samaria Sunday, we all were truly blessed.  Special music was provided by Floyd Collins, Diane Fisher, Darrell Willis, and our children blessed us with a stirring drama of Jesus living, dying, rising again, and the promise of His return.
Our pastor’s family needs our prayers this week in the loss of his brother Kenneth Brooks.  Brother Charles’ text was from Luke 20:9-18.
Those who crucified Jesus had the opportunity to do the “right” thing by Him, but did not.  When we reject the opportunity to share Christ, we behave much like those who rejected Christ during his time on earth.  God has given us talents and abilities.  He doesn’t however, brow beat us into using them.  He expects us to use them for His glory, and honor.  Sin is a problem we all share, but Jesus paid our sin debt.  He suffered, died, resurrected and lives in heaven. He sent to us the Holy Spirit (our comforter) to keep us until such time He takes us home or He returns.
He provides the way, but even His patience can grow thin.  He will bring judgment against us.  We should be living for Jesus and providing the example that He died to provide us with. In the last days, men’s hearts will turn away from God.  God’s wheels of Justice grind slow, but they grind sure.  Nobody escapes forever.  We can deny our calling, our ability and our conviction.  The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  God has a design for your life.  Follow Him today, live peacefully; both now and forever.