Church news for Aug. 9

Published Friday, August 8, 2008

Lime Springs United Methodist Church

We continued our Bible study of Revelation during Sunday School.

Bro. Shannon preached the morning message from Mark 11:12-26 on the greatest means of activating faith in our lives. He shared a story of some obstacles in his life that were finally removed after he fully understood the story of Jesus and the fig tree. He asked everyone to consider a mountain in their life that was causing problems.

Bro. Shannon then reminded us of three things required to have faith, as stated by Christ in our scripture reading. First, we must believe with the heart, as faith is not a head thing, but rather a matter of the heart. Thus we remember the words of Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Second, we must speak our faith. Jesus gave us so many examples of how he activated his faith through the spoken word. A great example is found in Mark 4:39 when Jesus spoke the words to the angry sea, “Peace be still.”

Finally, we must forgive those who have harmed us, whether by word, action, or even thought. Only when we are in the purest state of love can our faith truly reach its full potential. Bro. Shannon shared an example of this state of love through the words of Paul in Galatians 5:6; “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

Bro. Shannon closed the service by challenging everyone to apply these three steps in their lives, and then watch their mountain being removed by their faith.

The evening Bible study focused on 1 Corinthians 11-12.

A happy birthday wish goes out to Barbara Petty.

We invite everyone to attend our weekly scheduled services: Sunday School at 9:45 a.m.; Sunday morning worship at 11; Sunday evening Bible study at 5:30; and Wednesday night prayer meeting at 6:30.

For more information concerning Lime Springs, please call 755-6356 or 755-4950.

Mount Bethel Baptist Church

It is great to go to God’s house and worship and fellowship with his people. We start by singing praises to him, followed by prayer, and then we go into our Bible study classes.

The Rev. Oneal Cleckler’s morning message came from John 3:1-17. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews who secretly came to Jesus during the night. He was a Pharisee and a teacher and was a member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus saw Jesus as a man from God. Jesus told him he needed to be born again, but Nicodemus didn’t understand how this could be done.

Jesus simple answered that except a man be born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Just as many people today don’t understand and must be told about salvation, so did Nicodemus.

Bro. Cleckler’s evening sermon was from Psalm 97. This psalm reveals God’s kingship and the power he has over the wicked and righteous. He is above all other gods and will always reign and have power over the earth. We should rejoice and be glad because he still reigns. One day, however, he will come and pass judgment on every person. He will sit on his great white throne and each person not saved will stand before him and give account of his or her life.

Happy birthday to Elvin Ellison, Morgan Norwood and Myra Burnett.

Visitors are invited to join us for worship and fellowship. Sunday School is at 10 a.m.; morning worship at 11; Discipleship Training at 5 p.m. and evening worship at 6.

Mt. Carmel No. 1

The Lord blessed us with another beautiful day for worship.

Bro. Ricky Coburn’s morning sermon was taken from Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-29. The key verse was 19, “how to build a kingdom.”

The principal of building a kingdom is that the seeds have to be sown. The sower has to be dedicated and devoted. If we never sow a seed, we will never see anything come up, so if we never plant a seed of salvation we will never see a soul saved. We have to pray and read our Bible daily because there is discouragement.

Our Sunday evening Bible study is focused on Leviticus 23:23-32.

We are studying the Feast of Atonement. Come join us for the study of the book of Leviticus.

We wish a happy birthday this week to Lewis Smith.

Brandy and Bryan Orange are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl, Hayesle Grace Orange, Aug. 1 at 1:25 p.m.

Remember today is the baby shower for Jeremy and Jana Franklin from 2-4 in the fellowship hall. It’s a boy!

The youth will go see the Birmingham Barons play today at 5 p.m.

Also, the Primetimers will be going to the singing for Lisa Lovett at Pleasant Grove Church today.

Christ Independent Methodist Church

For our morning service, Dr. Mac Stinson used John 6:1-15 for his scripture reading, which was entitled “Multitudes of People.”

The passage begins, “After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain and there he sat with his disciples.”

In the following few verses, we are led into one of the most spectacular of Jesus’ miracles, the feeding of the 5,000 men with two small fish and five barley cakes. Remarkable as those numbers sound, they could be even greater. The Bible specifically says 5,000 men. Were there no women or children in the multitude that appeared and needed to be fed?

Jesus blessed the fishes and barley cakes, and the disciples distributed them among the multitude. When all were finished eating, the disciples gathered up the food that was left and it filled 12 baskets.

Many great movements of the past and present have been started by people of all ages. Don’t let obsession with youth blind you to available opportunities. For those who seek to be doers in today’s world will find work to be done.

Our Celebration Sunday (homecoming) is Sept. 14. We will have visiting singers from Tennessee that day and lunch will be served in the fellowship hall. If you have family connections with CIMC, we invite you to spend the day with us and renew past friendships.

We urge you to pray at 8 p.m. each night for our country, church and for ourselves, military and families. Special prayer is requested for Randall Miller, Carol Lowery, Judy Williams, Penny Davis, Trish Chestnut, Ken Osborne, Mark and Beverly Donahue, Paraguay, and for all unspoken requests.

Remember the Lands of the Bible cruise Dr. Mac Stinson and Glenda will be heading up in March. For more information call (205) 669-6498 or (205) 835-6498.

Calvary’s Hill Church of God

“And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15).

Praise God for his many blessings. Sunday was pastor appreciation day, and we had a wonderful crowd. The service started with several choir songs followed by a small drama while Bro. Willard and Sis. Denise stood up front.

Our guest speaker of the day was Bro. James Stancel, who told about his brush with death in 2006. He was in the hospital for about three months in the intensive care unit, and the doctors had no hope for him. He was on life support, and his organs were shutting down, but he kept repeating to himself, “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17).

Bro. Stancel found out firsthand just because a doctor says it’s over, it’s not over. God has the final say in all things, and he said it wasn’t time for him to go. Just as the three Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace, Bro. Stancel had to go through his own fiery trial, but he, too, was never alone. The awesome presence of the Lord was there with him.

His message came from Matthew 16:13-19.

After worship service, there was food and fellowship with no Sunday night service.

Prayer requests are for Jackie Roulaine’s father, Joe Chandler, and Ricky Thomas, who have health issues. Also remember our leaders, military, pastors and the lost. Praise God for allowing Josh Jones to be back in church for the first time since his four-wheeler acceding several months ago. Thank God for answered prayers.

Welcome to all our visitors and we hope you’ll come again. If you don’t have a home church, come join us. Sunday School starts at 10 a.m., followed by worship at 10:45, evening service at 5 and Wednesday night service at 7. The church is located on Alabama Highway 191 two miles outside Jemison.

Heritage Church of the Nazarene

Sunday was a day of celebration and blessings.

During morning worship, we were blessed as the children demonstrated what they had learned in Vacation Bible School last week. Christina Medley did a great job as leader. The theme was “Scripture Rock.”

What a celebration to hear the children sing songs and quote scripture they had learned.

The Rev. Brett Medley, youth pastor, based his message on letting our life be built on a solid rock. We are to act upon the knowledge learned and be like the wise man, not the foolish man who heard but didn’t act as found in Luke 6:46-49.

Deuteronomy 33:4 reads, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect.”

During craft time, each child had made a rock with scripture on it. The congregation enjoyed viewing the crafts during a lunch of hotdogs and all the trimmings.

The evening worship service was two-fold. The Rev. Gary Aldridge, pastor, is teaching a membership class for those interested, and Rev. Medley gave the sermon entitled “How Deep is Your Christianity?” The scripture text was James 1:22. He asked us if we applied our Christianity like suntan lotion. Do we put a blob on but fail to rub it in and absorb the effects? Our Christian life should come from the inside out and be evident in our everyday life. Reading God’s word gives us a “to-do” list.

All are welcome at Heritage. For information regarding services, call 280-6252.

Glad Tidings Church of God

Bro. Bryant read from Romans 3:23 through 4:5. His message was titled “God’s Part In Salvation.” We as a body believe in justification, we believe in regeneration and the new birth, and we believe these things are wrought in the blood of Jesus Christ. The precious blood of Jesus will never lose its power.

God is a just God. When man sinned, he offended the very nature of God. God is just in declaring that all will die because we have sinned. Every person will stand before a just God in judgment. When we stand before the Judgment Bar of God, we will be judged according to the deeds we have done. We will be justified before God. We have all been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Our good works will not save us, but the blood of Jesus has covered our sins if we have repented of them. We will be justified by Jesus Christ.

When we’re saved, the Holy Spirit begins to change us. Christ entered in with His own blood as the high priest. The blood will never lose its power. It reaches from Adam to eternity and covers all sins in between. We have become justified, born again, and regenerated thru the blood of Jesus Christ.

Coming up at Glad Tidings - On Sept. 6, the Men will sponsor a fish fry. On Sept. 20, there will be a Memorial Singing. Oct. 5 is our Homecoming. On Nov. 1, we will have a Fall Festival. Watch for more information on all of these functions.

If you need a home church, Glad Tidings welcomes you to join us. We meet on Sunday morning for Sunday School at 9:45 am, and Worship Service at 10:45 am. Sunday Evening Service is at 5:30 pm and Wednesday Evening Service starts at 7:00. Children’s Choir meets every Wednesday night at 6:30. We also have classes on Wednesday nights for a Girl’s Club and a Boy’s Club for the young boys. Our Ladies Ministry Group and Men’s Fellowship meet on the first Wednesday night of every month. There is a nursery provided during these services.

Bethsalem Baptist Church

Bro. Brad Eubank preached his message, “The Filthy Rich,” from James 5:1-6 this past Sunday. The evening message was based on 1 Samuel 23:24,26.

Please remember to pray for Lillian Johnson, Annetta LeCroy, Jared Duncan, Amy Hicks, Terry Collier, Sammy Dawson, Reecie Burns, Homer Carlisle, Vince Helms, Butch Evans, our men and women in service, missionaries, our country and leaders.

Next Friday and Saturday, our men’s softball team will play in the Baptist statewide tournament at Lagoon Park. Good luck, men.

Happy birthday to all 40 people who are having birthdays this month. Happy anniversary to Terry and Rosemary Johnson, Robert and Sue Bradberry, Harold and Elvie Patterson, and Bill and Shirley Smith.

Everyone have a blessed week. Remember, God is so good. Share Jesus with someone this week.

Jackson Chapel

“For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).

We would like to thank Bro Dennis for filling in for Bro Horace, and as always Bro Dennis did a fine job. After the singing people began to come to the altar to pray and the Holy Spirit was present in a mighty way. Bro Dennis then talked just a little on “Sinning With Our Eyes Wide Open” taken from Judges 14. He brought out how people go out and sin with their eyes wide open, knowing that Jesus is soon coming back. These people can rest assured that God will cast judgment on them. Sin will bring forth death when it is finished.

Sunday evening, Bro Chris Burnett filled in for Bro Dennis as he and Sis Susan are also away on vacation. The message text was taken from Matthew 14:22-33. We as Christians go through some type of storm everyday whether it be sickness, death of a loved one, depression, marital problems or whatever the storm may be. God is there to help us through every situation, and when things are going well, we tend to put Jesus on the shelf and we never want to take him down until there is a time of trouble. God allows us to go through things to make us stronger and this causes us to seek him more. The service ended with several coming to pray.

Happy birthday this week to Marie Burnett (Aug. 8).

Please remember these as you pray this week: Pat Johnson, The Jessica Jones Family, Winston Cofer, Faith Castleberry, The Shavers Family, James and Marie Johnson, Kathy Waites, Horace and Juanita Wyatt, Bro Dennis and Sis Susan Smith and our service men and women.

We are located at 4020 Yellowleaf Road in Clanton. Our service times are as follows: Sunday School at 10, morning worship at 11, evening worship at 6, and Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study at 7. We also have Kid’s Club on Wednesday nights at 7 for grades 1-6.

Bethany Baptist Church

“The ‘Blind’ Man That Jesus Could Not Heal” was Bro. Aubry’s sermon. This was the story of Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler, Mark 10:17-27. There is a blindness worse than physical blindness and that is spiritual blindness. In Matthew 23 several times Jesus referred to the Pharisees as blind; they were blind to the truth of God. The lost are blind to the truth of the deity of God, the depravity of mankind, the deceitfulness of riches. Why could Jesus not heal the rich young ruler? Because he did not believe.

Mark Twain at 14 hated his father and felt he was ignorant; at 21 Mark Twain was astonished to know how much his father had learned in seven years! Sunday night we studied the fifth commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Notice this is the only one of the Ten Commandments that contains a promise. Children should hold their parents in high regard. It is in the parental authority that we learn to submit to God. The home is the foundation for everything there is. A community and nation is stronger if the home is kept intact.

Upcoming events: Aug. 10: Monthly business meeting, including Election of Officers and Teachers; Aug. 11: Ladies Auxiliary and Men’s Fellowship.

Prayer List: Lillian Burkhalter, Lela Mae Courtney, Amos and Mildred Crawford, Paul Griffin, Rosalind Griffin, Doug Mims, Billie Neeley, Ricky Paschall. Please remember the Shavers family in your prayers during this time of sorrow.

See you Sunday!

Cedar Grove Methodist-Protestant Church

I want to apologize for not sending the Cedar Grove news in for the past two weeks. We are back now and so happy about it. It seems like we were gone from church for two months.

We had a very special anointing service Sunday morning. Jason Patterson had a very bad week, several others were anointed and prayed for as well. We had good news about Sister Ellen Ruth Scott. Be much in prayer for the family of the little 4-year-old boy who accidentally drowned this week. Their hearts are broken, we have been there and know the sorrow in their hearts; just keep praying for them.

We were very happy to have our visitors, Nick Popwell’s parents. It was good to see June Wallace and her daughter and all of our other visitors.

Happy birthday to June Collins, Wanda Bullard, Chris Cleckley, Ola Fay Cleckley, Peggy Pearson, Donna Caton, Dolly Jean Price, Billy Caton, Cody Hubbard and Lois Cummings. Happy birthday to all of you and God Bless. Happy anniversary to Kevin and Kim Boothe, Ralph and Juliet Hayes, Cody and Rachel Hubbard, and Bro. Royce Ellison and his wife Lila.

Bro. Jeff preached his message from Psalm 56:1-2, Ephesians 6:12 and 2 Timothy 4. The title of his message was “The Battle we are in together.”

Sunday evening Bro. Heath Vines preached a message entitled “Standing in the Gap” taken from Ezekiel 22.

Homecoming 2008 will be Aug. 24 beginning at 10:30 a.m. Bro. Dennis Smith will be our guest speaker. Heirline will be our guest singers; they will sing at 1:30 p.m. There will be no service on that Sunday night.

Service times: Sunday School at 10 a.m., morning worship at 11, evening service at 5:30, Wednesday night service at 7.

For more information call 646-2390.

Pates Chapel Baptist Church

We were indeed blessed by a great sermon by Dr Bob Hall Sunday morning and by Bro. Bill Short, our youth minister Sunday night. We appreciate these men filling in for Bro. Clint who is on vacation with his family.

Thanks to Tonya Ray for doing a great job with children’s church.

The children enjoyed the swim party at the home of Dwayne and Shea Hughes. Happy anniversary to Elton and Faye Horton, Danny and April Giles, Johnny and Faye Burnette and all others who are celebrating.

Happy birthday to Morgan Mahaffey, Larry Robinson, C.J. Smith and Carrie Hayes.

Our special deacon for the week is Mike Jones. Helen Fore is our senior of the week.

Congratulations to Kathleen Porter. She has a new great-granddaughter, Allisa Porter. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Porter.

We sorrow with the families of Ms. Leatrice Liveoak and Samantha Wyatt. Be much in prayer for them in their grief.

You are invited to a bridal shower for Jody Edwards tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Bridal registry at Macy’s and Bed Bath & Beyond.

An AWANA/Back to School Bash will be held next Sunday night at Richard Wood Park in Thorsby. Come on out kids & bring someone with you, Please wear a bathing suit under your clothes to participate in water games.

Be praying for our 95th Anniversary/old fashion day celebration to be held Sept. 21 from 10 a.m. until noon. Special guests will be Southern Pride.

Continue to pray for little Kate Burnette, Kathy Hubbard, Patsy Mims, John Kilpatrick, Danny Price and all those on our prayer list. Remember our Armed Forces worldwide, our church and nation.

We love to have visitors. Please join us in worship anytime.

Walnut Creek United Methodist Church

It was such a touching moment of silence as Triston Gore, one of our acolytes, brought in the Holy Bible with great reverence signaling the opening of the church for worship Sunday. We are so proud of our three acolytes and their director.

The beautiful flowers were placed by Doris Maddox and Kay Wade in memory of Wayne Maddox and Varah Williamson, and also in honor of Doris’ mother, Lurlean Varden.

During children’s time, Bro. Tony in a summary said, “You will make mistakes. Things will work out and remember, God loves you!”

Our condolences to the family of Jessica Jones, especially the Popwells. A special prayer is requested for Carol Lowery as she is recovering from five heart bypasses. Keep the family in prayer as they care for his dear lady.

The sermon was from Matthew 4. Temptation is something we are all familiar with; it is such a natural thing. God also gave us the gift of choice. Like temptations, life has lots of choices. Adam failed the test! God said, “Enjoy yourself but leave that tree alone!” By not saying “no” to temptation he failed the test.

Bro Tony asked, “How much difference would it have made in your lives if you had answered to temptation by saying ‘no’?”

Jesus passed the test. He was tempted much more than any of us can imagine. Just as Satan tempted us, he tempted Jesus. Jesus recognized who was bringing the temptation and told him to “be gone.”

Let us not forget that we must be born again!

From memory, Bro Tony quoted, “All of us are eggs, but if we’re not hatched, we’ll go bad.”

August birthdays: Ray Enfinger (91), Jeanette Hughes, Glenda Popwell, Jerry Wayne Tippett, Duane Jones and David Florea; August anniversaries: Roger and Virginia Littlefield, Allen and Denise Popwell, Danny and Glenda Popwell, Jerry and Nina Tippett.

Don’t forget our homecoming Aug. 24. Call Duane Jones for information at 755-3112.