Mars Hill Baptist Church

Can you feel it? Change is coming; fall is in the air. The cooler air energizes us and our steps get a little quicker. Change occurs around us all the time. We can see it, feel it and even touch it. When Jesus comes into the life of someone we know, we can also see a change. When Christians read and study the Bible, change can come again. Bro. Tony Cochran challenged our church this week to read our Bibles and pray every day. Are you up to the challenge? Are you ready to see change come into our church? Go about your business this week with a smile on your face and in your heart. It will change you and others you come in contact with.

Bro. William Short’s message this week comes from 2 Corinthians 13:1-8. Paul writes of his third visit in this letter, and he really pours out his heart, showing how much he loved the people of Corinth. In our youth, many of us can remember hearing our mothers call us to supper three or more times, sometimes with a stern voice. If she used your whole name, you knew you were in trouble. Paul was visiting for the third time in Corinth. In verse 5 he tells them, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified?” We could use the word “challenge” for examination in this verse. We can challenge, or examine ourselves, by reading and studying the Bible to see if we are really in the faith. We should be sure we are in Christ, and that Christ is in us.

So many times we get into trouble because we try to fix things ourselves. We are all sinners in a mess, and we use God as a tool. We try to bring him out of the tool shed only after we have made a mess and tried, in our own strength, to fix the problem. How much better off would we be, in our own life and as a nation, if, at the first sign of a trial, we simply hit our knees in prayer and asked God for the strength we need, placing all our hope and trust in him! Indeed, he is our only hope, and our trust should be in him alone.

Continue to pray for us at Mars Hill Baptist Church. Pray for the lost, the sick, the hurting, our nation and our troops. Pastor Appreciation Day is set for Oct. 14. Let’s show our pastor how much we love and care for him and his family. We don’t go to church because we are perfect; we go to church because we know we are not! Amen.

Calvary Independent Baptist Church

Calvary Independent Baptist Church wants to thank the visitors who attended services this weekend and invite them back any time. The Sunday morning service included the first in a series of about six messages, which our pastor has titled “Christianity without Christ.” The messages are based on what William Booth said toward the end of the 19th Century about what would be the chief dangers confronting the coming century. This first message was “Religion Without the Holy Ghost.” Scriptures were preached from Acts 19:2, Matthew 15:1-4 and 1 and 2 Timothy showing why religion without the Holy Ghost is not enough to enable people to turn from sin and serve God. Sunday night was Family Night. We enjoyed a wonderful song service followed by a message from 1 Peter 4:10 on using our talents for the Lord. Then we went downstairs for a meal in celebration of this month’s birthdays and anniversaries. If you are unable to attend services and would like some of our messages on CD, or perhaps a visit from our pastors, please feel free to contact us. If you are considering visiting a church, we would love to have you for any of our services. We are located south of Clanton, just past Dollar General, off U.S. Highway 31 on Fulmer Drive. Sunday School starts at 9 a.m., Children’s Church and adult worship services begin at 10 a.m., Sunday night services at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday night services at 6:30 p.m. For more information, please call Pastor Oscar Mims at 205-755-9399.

Bethany Baptist Church

Bro. Steve’s Sunday morning message was taken from Lamentations 3. Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet, laments over the destruction of Jerusalem and the punishment of the Israelites because of their sin against God. In the midst of the darkness, he recalls that God has compassion for his people, and they are not consumed. He is reminded that God’s mercies are “new every morning” and great is God’s faithfulness. (The mercy of God withholds what we rightfully deserve.) The source of his mercy is his compassion. God’s promises are still real; he does not change.

Bro. Steve, on Sunday night, used Hebrews 13:12-16 for his sermon on “The Sacrifice of Praise.” The book of Hebrews is a contrast between the old and new covenants. We don’t offer sacrifices of the shed blood of animals; Christ has fulfilled the ultimate sacrifice for us. The writer of Hebrews urges us to offer the sacrifice of praise continually to the Lord, do good deeds for others and to humbly and sincerely talk to others about the Lord. For such sacrifices, God is well pleased.

Upcoming events: Sept. 30 is Annual Homecoming at Bethany. We will begin our service with singing at 10 a.m. Bro. Paul Armstrong will bring the message. After the morning service, we will have lunch in the fellowship hall. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Prayer list: Betty Biggs, James Bixler, Arnold DeLoach, Doris and Verdie Glenn, Hubert Griffin, Mildred Griffin, Ernestine Hatch, Ethel Kelly, Billie Neeley and Skipper Wallace.

Samaria Baptist Church

Our pastor’s sermon today was titled “Make Every Day Count.” Jeannie Mims and Cherilyn Stoneback sang the special music and did an awesome job. The pastor’s text came from James 4:13-17. Our prayer concerns continue to focus on the sick of our church, Olivia Mims, our nation, the men and women serving in the military, our police departments and firemen. Especially today, we pray for our local hospital to be secured, and hope we will be able to depend on it for our health and emergency needs. Our county needs the hospital, as do those who have jobs there.

Life is filled with trouble. It also can have joy and blessings from family, children, parents and friends. Jesus knows all the needs in our daily lives. He is the one who can make a difference in the way our lives turn out. He is the only one who can guarantee us the peace that passes all understanding. Life is a vapor; we are as a flower that grows for a time and is cut down. However, the life that is invested in Christ never dies. We just change location. Our body will perish, but the soul lives on for all time.

God cannot fail because he doesn’t know the meaning of failure. We need to make our time here count for Christ. In our families, we show our children not just discipline, but heartfelt love, compassion, fun and the enjoyment of spending time together. So often we don’t realize how much we care for those in our lives until they are no longer here. Only then do we know just how special they were to us. Let us not wait until our loved ones are gone, but love them now and make sure they know how much they are loved.

Training up a child in the way they should go is a wonderful verse. Children are amazing blessings from God. Hannah was old and had no children. She prayed for a male child and dedicated him to the cause of Almighty God. She delivered Samuel and she made good on her promise to devote this child to God’s cause.

Children raised in homes where violence and abuse prevail truly need help. They have no way to escape the heart-wrenching fear and burden they bear. If we become aware of a child suffering in this kind of situation, it is our responsibility to contact someone who can rescue those children.

Our own children may not be suffering through alcoholism or drug abuse, but if we are not setting the example of Christ in the homes, our children can be drawn to another force and can follow the wrong leaders.

David had multiple sins in his life. He said his iniquities had gotten too heavy for him. His sins overpowered him. He suffered greatly for his sins, losing his child, his health, his friends and his power. Immoral lifestyles always catch up with us. Never think you can escape. Payday always comes, whether now or later. We should seek God’s forgiveness, claim his mercy and he will pardon for our sins.

Wednesday night at 6:30 is the time for our children to practice their Christmas musical. They are lead by Jeannie Mims and several of the parents who are working with her. This is a joyous time for the children, and it provides such a blessing to our church to have active children’s programs. Please be sure yours are with us.

Please visit Samaria if you are looking for a good church, one that lifts Christ and worships him in spirit and in truth. Until next week, God bless you. Happy birthday to Jeannie Mims.