Samaria Baptist Church

What a beautiful day in God’s house. We offer prayers for Betty and Curtis McCary, James Cleckler’s family, Lisa Shearon and family, Amanda Parker and family, Titus Jones, Caleb Harrison, EnFuego and Deborah Mims.

Celebrating a birthday this week is Diane Fisher.

Special music was “How great Thou Art” by Harold Fraser, and everyone was truly blessed.

Part of the scripture used in Bro. Shane’s message came from Luke 10:25-37.

Jesus used a parable to explain to the lawyer how he should love his neighbor regardless of the tribe of people they are a part of.

The parable of the good Samaritan teaches that the priest and the Levite passed by a man who had been beaten, robbed and left for dead. The priest did not want anything to do with someone who was not equal to his tribe of people. The Levite’s behavior was identical in that he was religious, but not exhibiting godliness to humanity.

We can live “religiously,” but that doesn’t affect our relationship with God. If we are not doing good in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, those works are in vain. We must never put our own desires above the service of Jesus Christ.

In the days of the good Samaritan, folks divided into different cliques, much like today in our churches when we do not put the will of God above our own. We must exhaust every effort to be a blessing to those in need, even if it requires us to cross over to the other side of our comfort zone. Blessings will be poured out on our lives if we put Christ first and others second. God promised this, and God cannot lie.

The good Samaritan carried the injured man to a nearby inn. He bound up his injuries and paid for the man’s care and lodging. He also promised to pay any further costs that were incurred by the innkeeper for the injured man. He went above and beyond, and can you imagine the blessing on his life for the right attitude and action he displayed?

It is sad but true that we have a “good Samaritan law” on the books to protect those who stop to help others and to prevent them being sued for their efforts to help. Jesus gives each of us directions to live a blessed life. We must be willing to sacrifice for the needs of others. If God is in it, we are never risking anything, but we are acting according to his divine guidance, and we are covered under his promise of protection.

We know that our world is corrupt, but remember that God is a great big God, and his love endures forever.

Join us at Samaria for a tremendous sermon delivered by our pastor under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Submitted by Diane Fisher

Jackson Chapel Church

“If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

Bro. Reburn’s text came from Luke 23:39-48. His message was titled “What Are You Going to Do When You Come to Calvary?”

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we become children of God. We should understand all the agony and pain our Savior went through just for us on Calvary’s cross, but we want to turn our backs on such a great salvation. We seem to think we can still live like the world, but that is not the way it works.

We have to decide if we want to live like the world or live for Jesus Christ. When we decide we’re going to serve our precious Savior, that’s one of the best decisions we will ever make. When we live the life for Jesus Christ we are supposed to live, we will began to notice everything about our lives will be different. Not only will we see a change in ourselves, but others will notice a change too.

The service ended with several coming to pray.

Bro. Reburn’s text for the evening service came from Matthew 11:25-30.

There are times in our Christian walk when we are scared to step up and take on a job in the house of the Lord. We become frightened because it may cause us to have to get up in front of a congregation. We may become overwhelmed with fear because we are scared of what someone will say about us, but when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road, we should only be concerned about doing what we are called to do.

If we will trust God, he will always help us with whatever work he has called us to do. The work we have been called to do will not always be easy, but we should remember that if we are called to do a work for Jesus Christ, he will provide us with the tools needed to perform that task.

Several came to pray and the Holy Spirit was truly felt.

Please remember these as you pray this week: the Robinson family, the Blalock family, Dewayne Castleberry, Marie Rhodes, Samuel Burnett, Faye Baker, our country, our military personnel, our lost loved ones and the unspoken requests.