Mars Hill Baptist Church

Praise God for a wonderful service this Sunday. We had 101 people in Sunday school, and the sanctuary was full to hear a word from the Lord. Do you have a Savior that can heal and cleanse you from all sin? I do, and you can know him too. He brings joy into the lives of his children. That doesn’t mean we don’t ever face storm clouds and troubles, but it does mean he is there to help us through the. Amen.

Bro. William Short’s message today was taken from Matthew 8:1-4: Jesus had come down from the mountain, and many people followed him. There was a leper who came and worshipped Jesus. Lepers, in Jesus’ time, were banned from associating with society because of their disease, so this man had broken free of confinement to find Jesus and worship him. This leper first worshiped Jesus and then asked him, “Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was gone. Jesus didn’t give this man a 30-day supply of healing, or even 90 days; he was healed of his disease forever! Jesus told the man to tell no one, but to go and show himself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded. Think about it, just a touch from the Master’s hand and this man was made clean.

Society stands in need of a touch from the Master today. Leprosy has [almost] vanished from the earth, but sin and sickness remain. We need to really get a grip on the fact that Jesus came to earth to heal and to save. Jesus came just for you, for your needs and mine. He shows up every time we call upon his name. He is a friend that will never leave us, nor forsake us, not in good times, and not in bad times. When do we show up for him? When we feel like it? When we want to? If I went to church based upon my feelings, I would probably never darken the doors. I am sure Jesus didn’t feel like dying on the cross for someone else’s sins, but he obeyed his Father always, and made a way for all of us poor sinners to be saved from a devil’s hell and dwell in heaven with him. What a promise this is! Do you have this promise of everlasting life in heaven? You can get it; it’s free, but you have to reach out and take it. Jesus will never force himself on anyone, but his gift of life is free to all who are willing to take his name and live for him.

We all have needs; if you don’t have one today, just hang on: you will have one tomorrow, next week or next month. Your Jesus will be there. When you don’t have a need, simply pray and be thankful for your blessings every day. Prayer is a powerful tool that we can use to touch the heart of God. When we don’t have the words to express what we are going through, God sees our tears, feels our heartbreak, and listens to what we cannot say. He knows what we need before we even ask. We need to show up for God every day, not just on Sunday, and truly worship him. It’s been said, “No prayer, no power; some prayer, some power; much prayer, much power:” Something to think about, right?

How much or how often do you pray? And what or who do you worship? We often say that we worship the ground our grandchildren walk on. Grandkids are wonderful; they make life a joy and bring sunshine into the lives of grandparents everywhere. Do we worship Jesus the same way? Whatever you worship will change you. Very often, we leave our church services in the same shape that we came in. I believe the leper left Jesus shouting and praising Jesus’ name. He was told to go and show himself to the priest, but don’t you know that was a joyful, thankful walk? If you knew that it took only a touch from Jesus to heal your disease or wipe away your sins, wouldn’t you run to touch him?

Yes, [in many places,] leprosy is a disease of the past, we may not see it physically, but do we have spiritual leprosy? We are lazy Christians, and it is affecting our worship. We are going to be in revival in the month of September, so let’s get rid of our lazy worship—our spiritual leprosy—and get on the firing line for Jesus. God can take control of our revival, but why wait until September? We can have revival now, today!

Our key verse for revival is taken from 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

This is a powerful scripture, one that, if we practice it, and really believe it, will change not just our church, but also our community, our county, our state and our country. Revival has to start somewhere, why not here at Mars Hill? Amen.

Please pray for our upcoming revival, our pastor and Mrs. Cindy, our church, the sick, the lost, the hurting, our children, our troops and our country. God is good, all the time! Amen.

Rocky Mount United Methodist Church

We continued this Sunday with scripture from Luke 12:32-40. This also continues our theme of being prepared for the coming of Christ and not letting greed lead us. We must not let the pursuit of possessions interfere with our planning for an eternity with Jesus. We need to make the best of our lives and live in a way that is befitting to God, who has for sure given us so much. We must remember that our life is really just like a vapor. Imagine if you took a spray bottle filled with water and sprayed it out into the air. As you watch that water drift and disappear; so, too, are our lives in the scheme of things. Don’t let that race to “get, get, get” overtake you. Don’t be owned by your possessions. It doesn’t matter what you have, what you have done or what you have hanging on your wall; what matters is being prepared for an eternal life with Jesus.

Bro. Phil gave an interesting example of how one might keep their home always prepared and ready for any visitor that may pop by with little or no notice, compared to the one who rushes around madly trying to pick up things in a hurry before a guest arrives. Is your life in order and ready for Christ to knock on your door?

Our Wednesday evening services are undergoing some changes, at least for a few weeks. The youth have asked to study the book of Revelations and the adults are going through the Andy Griffith Bible Study series. Come join us!

Join us at Rocky Mount; we are always here for you. We would love to have you visit and make Rocky Mount your new church home. We have many prayer needs right here in our community and church, and we are glad we can come together to pray for those who need uplifting. Call the church at 688-2204 and leave a message; your call will be returned.