Bethany Baptist Church

Sunday morning’s service opened with a hymn: “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship,” led by Lori Knight. The devotion, “God’s Power to Save” from Romans 1:16, was given by Glenn Vines: God sent his only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross so that everyone could be saved from their sin and an eternity separated from God.

Following a prayer and Sunday school, the church sang, “Take Time to be Holy” and “At the Cross.” The choir sang “What a Day That Will Be.” After another hymn, “In the Sweet By and By,” Chris Knight sang “Crucified with Christ.” Prayer requests were given and announcements made, followed by a prayer and offering.

Bro. Aubry brought the morning message, “He Did It All For Me,” from Romans 5:1-11. In verse 1, we are told that by being justified (made not guilty) by faith in Jesus, we can have peace with God. It is only through the shed blood of Jesus and faith in Jesus that we obtain salvation. Verse 8 is the key verse in this passage: “But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus came to die for ungodly sinners. After being saved, we are still sinners, but we have been made not guilty by accepting Jesus Christ as our savior. Without putting our faith in Jesus Christ, trusting that he can and will save us from our sins, we would die, being eternally separated from God. Once saved, we need to make a commitment to allow Jesus to completely fill our hearts.

Sunday night, following our monthly business meeting, our pastor, Bro. Aubry Wallace, brought a message from Hebrews 11, the “heroes of faith” chapter: The word of God is here because that was and is God’s desire. We have faith in the word of God that what he says, he will do. After salvation, we should live our lives in a way that others will see Jesus through us and want to accept Jesus as their savior. As Abraham in the Old Testament, we should obey God when he calls us to obey and serve him. We know Jesus is coming again. As saved people, we need to live our lives as if he were coming today. Prayer list: Our church, Bro. Aubry Wallace and Shirley, Betty Biggs, Billie Neeley, Jackie Neeley, Elwyn and Grace Robinson, our missionaries, Bro. Steve and Phyllis Vickers and their family and Mary Knight.

Samaria Baptist Church

Happy Birthday to Don Fisher. We continue our special prayers for Suzanne Kee, James Smith, Tucker Jones, Walter and Drusilla Hudgins, and all of our school kids and teachers.

Bro. Charles’ message today focused on pivotal prayer, prayers that are offered at the most appropriate time for our needs to be met. Of course, God our Father is never late with his answers, but we must offer our prayers sincerely and with faith that the answers will come. We worship by offering ourselves. We are one body in Christ; however, we represent different parts of the body. We have various talents, abilities, and opportunities to serve, and we are expected to seek God’s will in leading us to find what he has for us to do.

We are to pray with faith, believing and trusting that the answer will arrive just as God intends it to. The release of faith in Jesus to provide all of our needs is the first big step in receiving the blessing. We shall allow God to control our business matters, our financial matters, and our personal situations and choices. None of us are capable of reading God’s mind, but we are able to surrender to him and put everything in his hands. Surrender is the key. We often think we know what we should do, but when we stop and offer up all things to him, we often receive the very best answer. So, pivotal prayer, the right prayer at the right time, and the faith to accompany it, will provide the answer we need. God wants only what is best for his children.

We can serve others in times of need. Whatever our gifts may be, we should never withhold service. Be merciful, be cheerful, be without hypocrisy, be devoted and give honor. Persevere in times of tribulation. Life has all these things, so keep your faith strong. May God keep you in his care this week. Join us at Samaria; Jesus is always there to meet you.