Samaria Baptist Church

The weather cast a dreary light, but the light of our Lord, Jesus Christ, provided a spiritual blessing for all who attended our services today.

Bro. Floyd Collins sang “Lord Lay Some Soul Upon My Heart,” which was a great blessing. Ms. Carolyn Maddox played piano for us today, and we were very blessed.
Bro. Charles’ message was titled “Following the Holy Spirit,” with text from Acts 13:1-16.
Paul and Barnabas ministered to the church at Antioch. The Holy Spirit indwelled in the people and they became useful of God. They had prophets who could tell what was to come, not by sorcery, but by the Holy Spirit of God. He answered those who sought him humbly and in faith. God inspired those prophets to tell the flock what he wanted them to do. He uses those of us who are submissive to him. Teachers who sacrifice their time to teach are a blessing, and are blessed of God.
The church at Antioch met as a unified group, seeking God and his will for their lives.  We cannot give God anything, for he owns everything. By submitting to his will for our lives, we can be used of him to win souls, teach, sing, or whatever our talent and ability may be. 
Paul warned the church against false prophets in the days when he preached. We still must be aware today that there are false teachings, and we must avoid being misled by them. We must faithfully try the spirits to see from where they come. Seeking God’s will and way will enable us to recognize what is not of him.
Fasting may seem “old hat” to many of us who have not grown up worshiping this way. However, it is an effective way to totally submit to seeking God’s answers for your life choices, decisions and day-to-day walk.
Please remember our prayer needs today: Ronnie and Marsha Lockhart, Baby Caden, Tucker Jones, Pate Hudgins, Walter and Drusilla Hudgins, Horace and Gayle Cleckler, and Curtis McCary.
Happy Birthday to Ashley Shearon and Johnathon Stoneback.
Congratulations to Don and Diane Fisher on their new granddaughter, Olivia Kate Spencer, born April 24.
Let us come before our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as humbly as we know how. We are blessed here at Samaria. Please join us for a wonderful time in service to the Lord. God bless you. Have a great week.

Mars Hill Baptist Church

What a week it has been! Relay for Life this past Friday night was wonderful. Many came out to support the survivors of cancer, and to honor those who have lost their lives to it. Jessica Duren, our team captain, did a great job for our church. Thank you.

Sunday, our pastor, Bro. William Short, was sick and unable to be with us. We surely missed him, and ask for your prayers for him and his family. We were honored to have one of our own young men, T. J. Jones, bring the message to us this day, and he did a wonderful job.

The message was taken from Luke 9:23-27. Jesus told his followers that if anyone desires to come after him, they must deny themselves, take up his cross daily and follow him. Where is the cross today? Do we just parade it out on Sunday, and then leave it in the closet, tucked safely away at home the rest of the week? Are we afraid to get it out? Does the world in which we live have us so tied up in knots that we cannot carry his cross for fear of being ridiculed or jailed? Is it too heavy for us? What does it mean for us to deny ourselves? There are lots of questions, but where are the answers? God himself in the Bible, the “Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth” book, gives the answers. Everything we need to know is within the pages of God’s Holy Word. The only way to be sure of the way of the cross is to read it, study it and believe it.

Jesus carried his cross after being beaten with whips, slapped, scorned and having a crown of thorns dug into his precious head. When he became to weak from loss of blood, Simeon of Cyrene was asked to take up the cross for him. Simeon knew what it meant to carry the cross of Jesus. Can we do any less; we, who have not been beaten, crowned with thorns, scorned, slapped? It should be so easy for us to follow Jesus; all he asks of us is to tell others what he has done for us. The cross, once an ugly symbol of a horrible way to die, is now a thing of beauty to Christians who take up the cross and do his will.

But are we denying ourselves anything? What do we have to put down in order to take up the cross? The answer is sin. You can’t live like the devil six days a week, then come to church on Sunday as an angel and expect to get into heaven—not even if all you plan to do is slide in sideways, completely used up, with one foot on a banana peel and the other in the world. There is no fence straddling here; you are either in or out, saved or lost.

Don’t deny Christ Jesus. Take up his precious cross and follow him. His way is narrow and straight, and it leads to life eternal. Make your decision to carry the cross today, for tomorrow may be too late.

Please continue to pray for our church, that we be a shining light in a world growing darker every day. Pray for the lost, the sick, the hurting, our country, our troops, our government and our schools. God is great, all the time. Amen.