Samaria Baptist Church

What a beautiful Lord’s Day on this first Sunday in February. Our special music was truly special today. Following an ensemble presentation of “Jesus is Coming Soon,” led by Floyd Collins and Bro. Charles, we enjoyed solo music by two wonderful young ladies. Emily Jones sang “I Am a Promise,” and did an amazing job. Ashlyn Willis followed her with “Shouting Time.” We were all truly blessed by these special songs and thank God for the youth who are working for Jesus.

Our prayer concerns are for Drusilla Hudgins and her family in the death of her mom, Betty Little, mother of Johnny McDaniel, the Chancellor family and little Ethan from Dale County who was held hostage.

Our pastor’s text came from Revelation 19: God is everywhere at once. Amazing as it may seem, we accept this wonderful truth by faith. We should always take time to give praise to God our Father for all he does for us. The fruit of our lips shall be to offer praise unto his holy name.

We are blessed, protected and drawn here to worship by his Holy Spirit. He is a perfect being. We are saints by his anointing grace and mercy. On our own, we cannot stand against the wiles of Satan and his minions. We all have sinned and come short of his glory, and at one time or another, all of us have exhibited heathen behavior. This is due to the human ‘sin factor.’ None are perfect but our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let us remember that a family of worship has a greater chance of raising happy, well-rounded children who grow into responsible Christian adults. God’s plan for family is for two parents to raise children in the home. This is not always possible, and one parent must do the work of two. There is truly a void when a parent is missing, and we know that God can and will fill that void when we surrender the reins to him. God showed mercy, even to those who killed his son. Humility is the key to God’s heart, and we need him; thus, we should never fail to depend on him, and humbly approach his throne of grace for his mercy and blessings.

Remember that God can clean up any life. The devil will tear you down, but when you belong to a loving, wonderful God, he stands in the gap to protect us from the devil and his demons. We will have a new body when we leave this sinful world through the grace he poured out on lost sinners like you and me. He will direct every facet of our lives if we let him have his way in our lives.

Please join us at Samaria, where friends love and Jesus is Lord.

Rocky Mount United Methodist Church

Beginning with scripture from Luke 4:21-30, we continued with the story we started last week of Jesus going back to his hometown of Nazareth and entering the synagogue. After a while of listening, the people in the synagogue became enraged with the words shared by Jesus. When Jesus mentioned God’s grace to the Gentiles, they became so angry that they took him to the edge of town, near a cliff, with the intention of hurling him off the cliff. The people in the synagogue wanted a comforting sermon, not a convicting sermon. They became angry and forfeited his blessings because they rejected his word. Jesus turned, walked through the crowd and went on his way. This was probably one of the greatest escape stories ever told.

Sometimes, it is very hard to stand up for what we believe. Are you a part of the crowd, taking the easy road, or are you willing to stand up, speak the truth and do what is right? Doing the right thing is not always easy, but it is always the best thing to do. We may not see it or experience the difference, but it will matter. The following statement can be credited to John Wayne (The Duke): “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”