Church of God’s Word

We opened this beautiful Sunday morning in prayer. Prayer requests were made for Dot Davis, Comfort Care Hospice, Edna Edwards, Jessie Mims, unspoken, Willie Beasley, Ray and Mary Jo Edwards, Brian and Ruth Lewellen, Mary Ann Robertson and family, Joyce Davidson, Linda Trammell, servicemen and women, Bridgestone Retreat Center, sick and shut-ins, and lost loved ones.

The Sunday School message came from 1 Corinthians 7:31, and the church message came from Acts 11:13-15. And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which said unto him, Send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter. We were dismissed in prayer by Bro. Jimmy Langston.

Sunday night, we opened in prayer. There was a special song by Dough and Shirley Langston called “Master of the Sea.”

The message came from Judges 6:18. God wants to bless us. Are we ready for the blessings from God? Our service was wonderful. We want to thank our guest singer Ginger Autery for coming and hope she comes back. Bro. Carl Williams closed our service with a song called “Were you there.” We were dismissed by Bro. Ray Edwards. We are located at 4964 County Road 7 in Clanton. Phone number is 755-4719 or 755-5017. Ya’ll come. Until next week, may God bless you.

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Mt. Carmel No. 1

Boomerang Express 2009 Vacation Bible School. What a great week we have had at Mt. Carmel. There is no question whether prayer will work. We know it will. Our prayers have been answered this week. We have experienced the power and presence of God through everyone that has attended our VBS. Through all the Bible study, music, games, food and fun, our rewards have been seeing three souls saved. God has used and allowed us to be a part of his great work here at Mt. Carmel. Thank you for your attendance. Thanks to every teacher, worker and helper for your love, support and encouragement you have demonstrated this past week. May God continue to bless you.

Our Sunday School guest speaker was Dr. Larry Felkins, director of missions. “When Jesus comes to your house,” was the title of Bro. Larry’s message, taken from Luke 4:16-44. Jesus had spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted of the devil. Is Jesus in control at your house? Sunday evening message came from Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength.” Holly Smith sang “How great is our God.”

Homecoming will be Sunday, July 26. Guest singers will be “Four Given Voices.” Singing will begin at 10:30 a.m. Lunch will be served following the service. There will be no evening service.

Be much in prayer for our pastor search committee: Jan Franklin, Mary Dean Higging, Freeman Ray, Chad Foshee, and Cecil Franklin. They need our prayers and support every day.

A very enjoyable time was had by the nine youth that attended the youth conference in Birmingham this past weekend. We are very proud of our youth.

Prime-timers will meet on Aug. 1 at the Blue Barn in Collins Chapel for the Saturday night singing. This starts at 5 p.m. See you there, Prime-timers.

A youth camp-out and church-wide pool party will be held at 6 p.m. July 31 at Brierfield Park. Come one, come all!

Remember the Bible study and special prayer time on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. This is for anyone that wants to have a part in praying for our church, the committees, the sick, the lost and other needs of our church and community.

Continue to pray for the ones on our prayer list. God knows their names and needs.

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Mount Bethel Baptist Church

I am the Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God. The one who is, and the one who was, and who is coming. The Almighty (Rev. 1:8). We had a wonderful time in worship and fellowship with our Lord. It began with a song of praise followed by prayer. After which we went into our Bible study classes.

The lesson for this morning was, “When common sense isn’t enough.” Among God’s good gifts to Christians, He provides wisdom to help in times of trials, to resist temptations and put wealth in its proper perspective. In order to receive this wisdom, we must seek Him and ask.

The choir opened the morning service with, “Talk it over with Jesus,” and the choir special was, “I’m Saved.”

Rev. Cleckler’s morning sermon was taken from Matthew 14:27-29. “The New Ways With God.” We are never to be satisfied with the level of faith we have. We need to take it to a higher level. Peter is a man who did this. As he saw Jesus walking on the water he immediately wanted to do the same. He stepped out on faith and walked on the water as Jesus did. He knew he did not have the power to do it on his own, but he also knew Jesus did. We have to step out and try new things for God.

Is gambling just an innocent pasttime? That was the topic in discipleship training class. The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied. (Proverbs 13:4) This has become an epidemic in our country. Too many times children go hungry, a job is lost, a home is foreclosed and families are destroyed. There are many more consequences to this disease, gambling.

In our evening service, Bro. Cleckler’s sermon was on grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4: 26-32). When we show ourselves unrighteous it grieves the Holy Spirit and also ruins our reputation as a Christian. The Holy Spirit is our personal connection to God. It breaks God’s heart to know one of His children is acting badly on His behalf. It puts God in a bad light. We must be wise in how we act and behave. It must reflect the true character of God.

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.

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First Baptist Church of Lomax

Pastor is the Rev. Harold M. Clements, and the Sunday School Director is Gilbert Green.

Morning worship begins at 10 a.m., and discipleship training is at 6 p.m. Wednesday service begins at 6 p.m.

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Christ Independent Methodist Church

On July 19, Dr. Ron Mensinger again filled our pulpit in the absence of Dr. Mac Stinson due to medical reasons. His scripture reading was taken from the 17th Chapter of I Samuel. This scripture tells of the familiar story of Jesse sending his young son, David, into the battle field to take food to his brothers, who are there doing battle against the mighty giant, Goliath. Young David is appalled to find upon arrival on the battlefield the Israelite army in disarray and the giant sending out his challenge to one and all to come and fight. He is taking on all challengers from behind his metal armor weighing 150 pounds as opposed to David’s little slingshot and one small stone. But our story reminds us that the one little stone in David’s sling was quite enough! Our God is known for making use of the unlikely. Goliath represents moments in our own lives reiterating how God gives us heart for helping others. When we are filled with fear we are focus on ourselves, but with faith we are able to focus on God who always hears and always answers.

Our first hymn was “This is my father’s world.” I was struck by the appropriateness of this dear old hymn on such a perfect day to resonate its truth.

C1MC women will travel to Cracker Barrel Restaurant Tuesday night for coffee and dessert at 6 p.m.

Today our Single Seniors Lunch was served in the Fellowship Hall at C1MC.

Sunday, June 26, our One Dish Dinner will be served in the Church Fellowship Hall following our morning worship service. We encourage each church family to bring a food contribution and enjoy the fellowship.

We welcome our guests who blessed us with their presence today. We cordially invite you back.

We ask you to join us in prayer for our pastor, Dr. Mac Stinson and his wife, Glinda, his son, Dr. Mac Stinson III, for Dr. Phil Simms, Mary Ann Carden, and for our missionaries around the world.

If you were absent today, you were missed and we hope to see you next Sunday. If you were present today, we trust that you felt you received a blessing.

Help us to pray for our military and their families for our church and for each other. Have a blessed week.

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Pleasant Valley Baptist Church

Mid-July in the Heart of Dixie has seldom seen such pleasant weather as we experienced Sunday! Thank you Lord for the refreshing break from the usual smoldering July heat.

What a glorious day! God blessed us with great weather and great fellowship with His church also. We are always blessed by His word delivered to our hearts through the Holy Spirit and Sunday was no exception. Romans 12:1-2 was the scripture Bro. Wayne used to present the challenge, “I Surrender All”. He reminded us of our commitment to Jesus of our body, mind and all we are. We are to surrender our body as a living sacrifice, our mind to be renewed as Christ. We allow our minds to be occupied with the cares of this world that pulls us farther away from God. He also reminded us that we are never too old to learn, especially about God and His will. Even the secular world encourages people to continue learning as we age. We are to encourage one another. God gives His people the gifts needed to do His work. God uses everyday people who are willing to carry out His mission. We must also surrender our will, just as Jesus surrendered His will to the will of God. Jesus said, “nevertheless not my will but thine be done.” He is our example. Why should we think we can choose our own will when God’s only Son chose the Father’s will instead of His own? Giving God more time, effort and more of ourselves brings us more power and happiness. God wants us to have the more abundant life and we can if we give ourselves more fully unto God. Thoughts we should ponder every day. Choices we face each day. These thoughts and choices are vital. So we must, “choose wisely”.

People are vacationing and enjoying God’s creation in many places this time of year. It is important to take time to refresh and renew ourselves physically and spiritually. This time of relaxation helps us face the challenges of another year of work and school with renewed vigor. It also helps us prepare for the all He has given believers.

We invite you to join us as we worship the true and living God. You are always welcome. Sunday Bible Study is at 10 a.m. with morning worship at 11 a.m.

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Bethany Baptist Church

52 Weeks To a Better You: Memory verse for this week is James 1:22: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Sunday morning Bro. Aubry brought a wonderful sermon on facing the giants of our life. His text was the familiar account of young David facing the nearly 10 foot Philistine giant in I Samuel 17. The Israelites were faced with fear but David trusted in the Lord to fight the battle for him. (Verse 47: “..the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.” We face “giants” in our lives; it might be a bad habit, a specific sin, a certain annoyance, or even a person who gives us difficulty. As Christians, we have Someone who is bigger than our “giant”. Jesus said “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” And, remember, “Greater is He that is in (us), than he that is in the world.”

Sunday night his scripture was Genesis 4:1-8 about Abel, a man who pleased God. No doubt, Abel’s parents (Adam and Eve) taught Cain and Abel about what God expected in their lives, and the importance of the coming Lamb of God that would come. Abel lived a life that was pleasing to God. Do you want to be pleasing to God? The first step is to accept the One who made the blood sacrifice for us.

Prayer List: Bonnie Burks, Lillian Burkhalter, Family of Wayne Burkhalter, Lela Mae Courtney, Junior DeLoach, Ophelia Griffin, Doug and Helen Mims, Ellen Gray, Billie Neeley, Pastor and Mrs. Wallace.

See you Sunday!

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Cedar Grove Church

We had a very exciting day at Cedar Grove.

The service began with Brother Steve leading Heaven’s Jubilee and I Feel Like Traveling On.

We were happy to have all the vacationers back; all were greatly missed.

The Sunday school lesson entitled “God’s Glory Manifested”. Leviticus 9: 1-4 ,7-8, 15-24.

For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Golden Text, Psalm 13:5.

There is sadness in our community due to several passing away. Brother Buddy Popwell’s mother went on to be with the Lord this weekend. You have our prayers and sympathy.

We have several on our prayer list: Sister Dianne Wyatt, Brother Jim and Sister Ellen Ruth Scott. Be much in prayer for our country, every time the TV is turned on, there is always some terrible tragic happenings. Just pray, pray and keep praying.

Happy birthday to June Collins, Chris Cleckley, Peggy Pearson and Donna Caton.

Sam Price blessed us with a special song before worship service, titled “I Know What Lies Ahead.”

Brother Jeff preached a fiery message about “The Faithfulness of God,” Deut. 7 1-9 with special attention to verse 9.

Brother Jeff talked about their trip to the Grand Canyon and all the natural wonders of God.

The first Sunday in August, Brother Roger Vines will be guest speaker for both services.

Aug. 30 will be our Homecoming with Mike and Kelly Bolin as our guest singers.

The evening service tonight was blessed by The Kelley’s; they are a wonderful group of singers. The Altar filled at the morning and evening service. The Lord came by.

Our soul works for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

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Oak Grove Church of God

Bro. Kenneth Northcutt took his text from I Thessalonians 5: 19-22 and the title of his message was “Be Faithful”.

This writing was an appeal by Paul for the church at Thessalonica to remain faithful to God. This text teaches us that we must value faithfulness while we are watching and waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithfulness is something that must be guarded and worked on to keep us strong while waiting for Christ’s return. Most of us are hopefully faithful to our jobs so that we may be able to provide for our families’ livelihood. We are faithful to meet our obligations when it comes to paying our debts. We are faithful to follow through on the promises we make to our children, our other family members and our friends. For the most part we are faithful to follow our doctor’s advice when it come to protecting our health. Usually we do not let things which are in our control keeps us from showing up for work, paying our just debts, fulfilling promises we make to others or from protecting our health.

When we were saved from a life of sin we were given a job to do, we made promises to serve God and received instructions from God’s word that are intended to protect our spiritual health. Are we still as faithful to the commitments we made to God as we are to the commitments we have made to people and things in this world? Do we allow things to come before our commitment to faithfulness to God? It is important that we are faithful to our commitments we have made to people and things in this world but it is oh so much more important that we are faithful to our commitments to God! Faithfulness to commitments in this world insure us that we enjoy a good life here for us and our families. Our faithfulness to our commitments to God insures us of eternal life with Him! Remember this the next time you are tempted to stay in bed on Sunday morning or plan a pleasure trip when you know you and your family should be going to God’s house to worship Him! Let’s be determined to be faithful to God and always put Him first in our lives! The rewards are eternal!

Oak Grove Church is truly being blessed of God and we can see his hand at work as we prepare to move forward with our building program. Oak Grove is on the move with God’s help to be able to better serve Him and our community. To God be the glory. If you are looking for a church home we invite you to visit us at Oak Grove. We are easy to find in that as you leave Clanton heading south on US 31 after you cross the interstate turn to the left at Peach Park and continue to follow the Oak Grove Church of God signs at each intersection. Come join us in worship as we would love to have you with us.

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Bethsalem Church

Celebration baptism service for David, April, Allie Stange, April Baker, Alivia Wright.

Congregation singing.

Adult choir special Jesus buildeth his house on love.

Message Br. Brad preached you want me to love who. Matthew 5:34-48.

Another soul saved and joined our church, Cameron Wright.

Evening message our students gave reports, testimonies of their trip to Centrifuge last week. Wednesday night, prayer meeting adults all choirs for children and adult choir practice.

Pray for Helen and Doug Mims, Jeff D. Lee, Mable Ousley, Nell Williams, Charles Bryant, Tamara Barron, Taylon Hunter, Randy Martin, Myra Burnett, Pete Burnett, James Moore, Debra Mims, Hunter Moore, W.L. Broome, Cleo Pack, Margret Wyatt, Alexis Willis, Stacy Johnson, Kim Sorenson, Jesse Lewis, Harold Deavers, Hazel Green, Larry McCary, Hilda Allen, all our shut-ins, those facing cancer, Katrina Owens, Rebeca Martin Shelia Wright, Sylvia Wingard, Matt Skinner, Patti Legendre, Mike England, John Hollis Jackson, Langhe Sands, Seth Berry, Carol Gore, pray for our nation and a revival, Laure Smith, Mark and Julie Mims, Tina Beard, pray for our missionaries and all unchurched familes. Happy birthday this week to Terry Little, Misty Kelley, Zachary Martin, Jared Culp, Beth Green, Shannon Corn. Come worship with us on Sunday. Tell someone about Jesus this week.

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Walnut Creek United Methodist Church

It was great to have Ned and Carol Lowery this morning. Carol brought the music while Ned a very special hymn, “Gift of Love,” as only Ned could do.

While lighting the Christ candle, Bro. Tony said, “As we light the candle as they have hundreds of years before us, we are reminded what a wonderful opportunity we have to worship in this place this morning.”

A Time for Children. Diane Handley always brings a simple but good message for the little ones. She showed them some mail, pointed out the return address or sender, said it was neccessary to return lost mail to the sender. We don’t have to worry about a lost prayer—God never loses your prayer.

Carol Lowery brought us the most beautiful melody of music, prepared by Carol and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Bro. Tony’s message was from Ephesians 2:11-13. Bro. Tony quoted Paul, “Faith alone Christ alone.” It was obvious that Bro. Tony was moved by the words of the beautiful hymn, Nearer My God To Thee, he hesitated and moved the congregation as he began to read the words of the old hymn, in his strong but soothing, reverent voice that gets your attention. Then he went to scripture, Verse 13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Then he asked, Are you nearer to God today than before you first began your journey? Near to the heart of God. If we are blessed, a child of God, that’s the greatest thing that happens to anybody, anywhere, anytime in all their lives. Everything else is in second place. It is not where or how we live, not what we have or the influence that we might have. It’s because God has led you to someone, that attend to commit yourself in Christ you can give yourself to in full relief, God will provide that person if we will only listen, but for lots of reasons that person will not always be there, but God will! He used the phrase that we hear a lot in our society today; “Gotcha back.” Who will have your back? God will, if you let him.

Beautiful flowers were placed in memory of Momma Gilliland, Vera Williamson and Junior Popwell.

Congratulations to a very outstanding young man for being named All-Academic team for CCHS, our own Taylor Hughes.

Our other scholar-athlete is recovering from back surgery: Benny Handley. Jenson Gore, football, and T.J. Henley, baseball and football.

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Rocky Mount United Methodist Church

Please keep the family of our own Raymond Zorn in your prayers.

Last week was Vacation Bible School week at Rocky Mount. We’ve had a lot of fun and learned lots of new things. We thank everyone who had any part in making our Bible School a success.

Sunday morning, we had commencement for Bible School. It was good to see these children and the parents and grandparents that they brought with them.

Many churches throughout the area have been holding Bible School throughout the summer weeks. Unless you’ve been actively involved, you can’t imagine the amount of preparation and dedication that goes into making a successful event. But everyone needs to remember that these events are sometimes the only exposure to Christ that some children have. Children (and adults) make lifelong memories. Everyone is given the opportunity to outwardly show their love of Christ in so many different ways.

As summer draws to a close, we tip our hats to all who have given of their time and talents to share the love of Christ with others, a wonderful privilege that others have died for us to have.

Come and spend the day with us next Sunday. Our annual homecoming will begin at 10 a.m. with the McAdams family from Mississippi as our guests. At noon, we will have a covered dish meal followed by more singing. If you have any questions, call the church office at 688-2204.

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Jackson Chapel Church

Submit yourselves therefore to God; Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Bro. Dewayne Castleberry taught the Sunday school lesson entitled “A Weak Strong Man,” and if you missed this you certainly missed a blessing. Bro Horace got the morning worship service started off with “He Lives” and “I’ll Fly Away”. Bro Dennis’ text came from James 4:13-17. The most important thing that we will have in our lives today is Jesus Christ, and we need to live every day like it is our last. We as Christians need to just stop and realize what we have to look forward to if we are born again because our retirement plan is out of this world. The service ended with several coming to pray.

Bro. Horace got the evening service started off with “When our Lord Shall Come Again”, “He Abides” and “A Child of the King.” Bro. Dennis blessed us with “If I Could Telephone Heaven.” Bro. Dennis’ text came from Judges 2:7-15. We as Christians need to follow the shepherd instead of the sheep because if we do not follow the shepherd, we will not be led in the right direction. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ because if we do not the devil would have nothing more but to lead us back into the world. We need to make up our minds that we are going to be completely sold out to Jesus so that way we will be able to stand against the devil when he comes against us. The service ended with several coming to pray.

Happy Birthday to Susan Smith on July 15.

Please remember these as you pray this week: Billy Waites, Geraldine Smith, Patricia Cofer and family, James and Marie Johnson, Jean Mayfield, Hershell and Marie Rhodes, Bonnie Cleckler, Rolin Smith, Suzanne Williams, Bro. Gary Fant’s sister, Juanita Wyatt’s sister Glenda, J.E. Burnett, Janice Williams and her sister, our servicemen and women and our lost loved ones.

We are located at 4020 Yellow Leaf Road, Clanton, AL 35045 and our service times are: Sunday school 10 a.m., Sunday morning worship 11 a.m., Sunday evening worship 6 p.m. and Wednesday evening prayer meeting and Bible Study 7 p.m.