Mount Carmel No. 1

Our morning service began with a lot of great songs and a time of welcoming and fellowship. It was fun to watch the children who participated in VBS gather their parents and other adults to the front of the church to sing their Bible School theme song.

The special music was presented by Lillie and Casey Brand, who sang “Please Forgive Me.” Pat Hayes and Donald Liveoak sang “Caanan Land Is Just In Sight.”

Bro. Derrell brought the morning message, titled “Presenting Our Vessels,” from 2 Kings 4:1-7: Elisha said unto a certain woman, “What shall I do for thee?” The woman said, “I have not anything in the house and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be bondmen. All I have is a small pot of oil.” Elisha told her to borrow vessel from her neighbors. And it came to pass that her vessels were full. Elisha said to her, “Sell the oil and pay thy debt.”

You have a vessel to be filled of God. When you accept Christ as your savior, you become a disciple of Christ. He said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.”

The service closed with many coming to the altar for prayer.

VBS began on Sunday evening. Hang on tight because “Colossal Coaster World: Facing Fear and Trusting God” is here for the week. Our theme verse is from 2 Timothy 1:7. VBS is being held June 23-27 from 6-8:30 p.m. Come and join us.

Our mission project for the week is the Global Missions Expo. Please take part in this project.

Remember the youth car wash on Saturday, June 29, at 8 a.m. at Advance Auto Parts, as well as the Fifth Sunday Singing with Mulberry Baptist Church.

Our Homecoming will be July 28 with “To the End” from Sylacauga as our guest singers. Our guest speaker will be Larry Patterson. Please come be with us.

Remember all the names on our prayer list. God knows each name. Ask him to heal strengthen and keep each one in his care.

See you in church on Sunday.

Christ Independent Methodist Church

Dr. Mac Stinson’s sermon was titled “The Spirit of Christ vs. the Spirit of the Law.” His scripture was taken from Galatians 3:23-39.

Galatia was a vast region in central Asia Minor. Paul was troubled by how some of the Galatians still clung to the Law of Moses. He found it impossible to live up the demands of the Law. Christ had brought such a feeling of freedom into his life that he couldn’t even imagine going back to his old life. He had been freed from his prejudices against Gentiles, against women, against people of other nationalities and other stations in society. Why would anyone who had experienced such freedom ever want to cling to the oppressive ways of the past?

“Accept no substitute,” Paul is saying to the people” for an authentic experience with the living God.” I think that Paul would say to us today the same thing: Accept no substitutes. We have so many things in our lives today that pull us away from giving Christ first place that we don’t even realize it.

It was obedience to the Law that had kept the children of Israel together as a people through the destruction of their homeland, their dispersal among surrounding pagan peoples and through their domination by the heavy hand of Rome. They were on the right track in looking for the Messiah. The only problem was that when the Messiah came, they could not recognize him.

Today, we are still expecting the coming to the Messiah. Put God first in your life and everything else will fall into place.

When you pray, remember Dr. Mac Stinson’s son, Mary Ann Carden, Tania Dawson, Cindy McCavitt, Opal Miller, Aiden Parker, Judy Atkinson and those traveling home from Beulah Camp.

Remember our military and their families, the leaders of our country, our community, church and each other. Praise God for the work accomplished at Beulah Camp and for those who made it possible.

Don’t forget our upcoming outdoor concert and BBQ on July 3 at the home of Dr. Phil and June Simms. The Kentucky Mountain Bible College men’s group will provide the music following the meal. Invite others to share this time with us.

We will resume our Sunday evening services next Sunday night by continuing our study of Daniel. Join us for this great opportunity to learn more about his great hero.

Our pastor’s wife, Glenda Stinson, handed out the following little thought to ponder and I would like to share it with you dear readers: Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong, sorrows keep you human, failures keep you humble, success keeps you growing, but only God keeps you going.

Have a blessed week.