Bethany Baptist
Most of us are familiar with the plagues of judgment God sent upon Egypt before the Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites free.  “One More Day With the Frogs” was Bro. Steve’s message taken from Exodus 8:1-15.  With this (fourth) plague, Pharaoh vowed that if Moses would ask God to remove the plague he would let the people go.  Moses asked Pharaoh when he wanted God to end the plague; he amazingly said, “Tomorrow.” Of course, instead of repenting, he defied God and hardened his heart.  People need to come to God in repentance and receive His grace.  No one is guaranteed a tomorrow!
Sunday night Bro. Steve continued his study of different Bible translations and some early scripture texts.
Happy birthday this month to Glenn Vines (2) and Barbara Avery (29th).  Happy anniversary to Chris and Lori Knight on Aug. 5.
Prayer list:  Betty Biggs, Lillian Burkhalter, Carl Gray, Ellen Gray, Ophelia Griffin, Ernestine Hatch, Gloria Headley, Mary Knight, Larry Miller, Billie Neeley, Jesse Wallace, and Steve and Phyllis Vickers.

Bethsalem Baptist
We began our service with Jamie’s baptism.
Happy birthday this week to Gladys Bryant, Courtney Pierce, Susan Moore, Ava Williams, Bridgette McCary, Leigh Ann Boddie, Brenda Brasher, Ethan Hand, Nowal Salim, Bryson Davis, Earl Willis, Randal Moore, Todd Williams, Donald Barrett, Matthew Langston and Tre Fulmer.
Our morning service began with a time of welcoming and fellowship shared by the congregation.
Special music by the Celebration Choir was “It Is Not In Vain.”
The message by Bro. Brad was on stewardship from Luke 12:13-48.
During the evening service, we kicked off our Life Track program. Come join us. Bro. Brad also finished his sermon series, “What Owns You,” from Luke 12.
Wednesday night is family night at The Outlet from 6:30-8 p.m.; parents please be here.
Pray for Randy and Anna Thompson and their daughter, Lilliana; Bro. James Moore, Charles Bryant, Angie Henley, Lily Michelle Wilson, Chris and Sonja Cox, Lynn Minor, Linnie Hathcock, Jetti Durbin, Christy Gandy, Angie Carroll, Sid Gryner, Brian Blackmon, Dennis Vasser, Don Lester, Paul Green, Elizabeth Rice, Tomerria Scott, Tallo Harmon, Clyde Hughes, Joe Ann Adams, Doug and Glenda Short, Ella Vance, Pete Burnett, Linda Henley, Hunter Moore, Austin Childress, Jim Beck, Diane Latham, Sue Coleman, Grace Williams, those in storm areas, families that have lost loved ones, and our homebound. Also pray for revival to come.
Come worship with us on Sunday and get connected.
Tell someone about Jesus this week.

Cedar Grove
When we were in sight of the church this morning, we could see all those huge rolls of hay. It sure is a beautiful sight and a wonderful, clean smell.
Happy birthday to Blake Dodson and Sam Price.
We have many requests for prayer: Max Scott is in Shelby Hospital at this writing, his wife Helen is in UAB. Please remember both of them when you pray.
Pray for those in the nursing homes, our country, leaders, and men and women in the military.
My nephew lost his son Friday night in a head-on collision. Pray for Clifford “Corky” Davis Sr. in the loss of his son, Mitch. He wanted to warn other young people about texting while driving. I have seen all ages texting and driving, so it not just the youth.
Brother Jeff Carroll preached a good message entitled “Is Real Revival Possible?” His scripture came from 2 Chronicles 28:1-4, 8 (he suggested reading 9-15) and 2 Chronicles 28:21-28, 29:21-22 and 30:5-10.
Brother Heath Vines’ evening sermon was entitled “What Does Your Faith Look Like?” (Mark 9:14-28).
Bro. Chris Cleckley sang “He Chose the Nails” for the invitation, and the altar filled again. The Lord came by.
Don’t forget our revival beginning Friday night at 7 and continuing Saturday night at 7 with Brother Tim Scott. Sunday is homecoming with Bro. Scott as the guest speaker and Canaanland as guest singers. Lunch will follow the service at noon. We have some excellent cooks here.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

Christ Independent Methodist
Sunday Dr. Mac Stinson took his scripture from Matthew, continuing several sermons from this text, Matthew 16:13-17. It was from this point forward that Jesus began to prepare his disciples for what lay ahead of him. He referred to Peter as the rock upon which he would build his church and give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. It was also at this point that Jesus charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. There are many occasions where Jesus tells those present to go their way and tell no one about him. It always seem a strange request to me. Why? Is he protecting himself from the zealots who would harm him? Or was our Lord practicing psychology with his followers knowing that the fastest way to spread his word was to present it as secretive information?
Our prayer list for this week includes Dwight Sammons, Alex Dawson, Robert and Mary Ann Carden and daughter, Cindy; Bonnie Headley, Dr. Mac Stinson and son, Mac III; Opal Miller, our country, military, their families, our church, community and each other. Remember Israel and Christians around the world.
A special prayer was sent heavenward Sunday for a church family member flying cross-country.
We are counting the days to our homecoming celebration on Sunday, Sept. 18. Our special guest singers on that day will be Holy Destiny. If you enjoy wonderful gospel singing, you won’t want to miss our homecoming. We invite you to mark your calendar; come and be blessed.
Our young people and their sponsor, Laurel Lee Adams, traveled to Chelsea this past Saturday to spend their Kids Spectacular outing at the home of our pastor, Dr. Mac Stinson, and wife, Glenda. Swimming was followed by a pizza party.
We continue our Wednesday night study on the book of Revelation.
Have a blessed week.

Calvary Independent Baptist
Calvary Independent Baptist Church was blessed with good fellowship this weekend.  Our Sunday morning adult worship service included a message delivered by Pastor Rick Hatchett on being at the place of blessings. The text was from Genesis 12.
Sunday evening’s service was on Revelation 10 by our associate Pastor Oscar Mims. Please pray for our outreach and bus ministries as they keep going strong for Jesus. We also want to ask special prayer for our Youth Pastor Kevin Shaw, his family, our teachers, and the ones that work in our music ministry as they all strive to serve the Lord by serving others.
If you have no church family or just want to come by and visit with us during one of our services, we want to welcome you for any and all of them. We are located south of Clanton just past Dollar General right off U.S. Highway 31 on Fulmer Drive.
For more information, call Pastor Rick Hatchett at 256-786-0977, Associate Pastor Oscar Mims at 205-755-9399 or Youth Pastor Kevin Shaw at 205-351-4585.

Jackson Chapel
Bro Gary Fant got the morning worship service started off with “Just Over In The Glory Land” and “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder.” Bro Dennis’ text came from Ephesians 2:1-8. We as Christians should not put off tomorrow what we can do today because we are not promised tomorrow.  We should be very eager to do God’s will because he is always there for us whatever we need.  We should not put God on a shelf and just get him down when something goes wrong; we need to put him in our hearts and keep him there.  If we don’t keep him there all the time, we can rest assured Satan will start going to and fro seeking whom he may devour. The service ended with several coming to pray.
Bro Gary Fant got the evening service started off with “Footprints of Jesus,” “Won’t It Be Wonderful There” and “I’m To Near Home To Go Back Now.” The children played “Do Lord” and “Jesus Loves Me” on the hand bells, Bro Gary Fant blessed us with “Crown Of Bright Glory,” Bro Dennis and Glenn Riley blessed us with “I Will Trade This Old Cross For A Crown” and Bro Dennis blessed us with “He’s Still Passing By.”
Bro Dennis’ text came from Acts 12:6-12.
Happy anniversary to Duane and Wanda Chadwick.
Please remember these as you pray this week: Harold Sansom, Tim Bragg, Jean Mayfield, Toby and Delma Mayfield, David Pate, Wayne Caton, James and Marie Johnson, Kathy Waites, Zoey Sturgeon, our service men and women, and our lost loved ones.
Aug. 28 we will have The MaHarreys with us for our fourth Sunday night singing, and all are invited.

Lime Springs United Methodist
Our Sunday School lesson concluded our 10-week series on a biblical view of the Church and the means to true worship.
Bro. Shannon brought the morning message from Galatians 6:9 entitled “Do Not Grow Weary.” Bro. Shannon reminded us that living in a world that demands so much of our time and effort, we may find ourselves burned out, worn out or knocked out from time to time. The end result will be a lack of productivity. It is for this reason many people take time off for vacations, retreats or personal days. However, because “the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few” that Christians don’t always have the luxury of taking time off from our responsibilities. It is for this reason we are encouraged by Paul to “not grow weary in doing good.” To accomplish this task, it helps to understand reasons we might grow weary in doing good. These reasons include not being able to see visible results, witnessing others who refuse to help, and facing criticism. Ways to fight weariness include keeping our focus on our eternal reward, ignoring those around us who are criticizing us, and focusing on the example given by Jesus.
Bro. Shannon encouraged us to take the words of Galatians 6:10 with us, “So then, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Our evening Bible study continued on a series on the Old Testament, a summary. We studied the book of Psalms.
Happy birthday wishes to Jamie Moore and Allie Belknap.

Mt. Pisgah
On Saturday, we watched a very inspiring movie called “Soul Surfer.”  It was a moving story about Bethany Hamilton and how she kept her faith when she lost her arm in a shark attack.
On Sunday, Brother Glenn Walker gave the message on “Exercising Your Spiritual Gifts.”  We had a number of praise reports: School resumed last week, a teacher encouragement group was started at Dallas County High School on Thursdays after school, and Brother Percy Scott came through his operation and is now at home. We continue to pray for our schools, our churches, the unemployed, the U.S. economy, and our nation.
We have a number of activities planned in the coming month. Our Christian Community Theatre meets on Tuesdays at 6 p.m.  We need additional actors, so if you would like a part please be at Mt. Pisgah on Tuesdays. On Sept. 11, we will have a special service to remember our fallen heroes on the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy. Our homecoming for 2011 will be held Sept. 18.  A dove shoot fundraiser is coming Saturday, Sept. 3.  Contact Johnny Cleckler at 755-5855 for details.

Mt. Springs
Morning service began on Aug. 21 with Bro. Kenneth Moates leading the church in the following hymns: “I Love My Savior, Too,” “I Would Not Be Denied,” “Oh, I Want To See Him” and “Anywhere Is Home.”  Devotion was given by Bro. Rickey Bice taken from John 15: 1-5. If we pray, read the word of God, watch our mind, and our fellowship, we can stay grafted on the vine of Jesus and receive all the many blessings he has in store for us.
Bro. Kenneth’s Sunday School lesson was taken from Revelations 6:12. We had a wonderful, deep discussion in the adult Sunday School class. It was a blessing for all those that attended.
After Sunday School, Bro. Kenneth led the church in the hymns: “More About Jesus” and “Heaven’s Jubilee.” Kellie and Conner Bice sang “Homesick” and did an outstanding job. We are blessed to have them in our church family.
Bro. Don’s message was taken from Matthew 26:36-39. We know that there is no other man that can do what God can or who can die on the cross for our sins. There’s nothing that God can’t do! We don’t realize how good God is until we need him or he blesses us in our time of troubles and heartaches. He uses those times to build our character and help us help others. Just remember with God all things are possible!
The service ended with the hymn “In the Garden.”
For our evening service we had the wonderful group Karen Peck and New River along with Canaanland. Both groups done an outstanding job and blessed everyone that was there. We were so glad that they could stop by and sing for us. They all did a fantastic job.

Mt. Carmel No. 1
What a blessing it was to have another great day in God’s house with God’s people.  We are thankful for the visitors that joined us for worship and welcome them back anytime.
Bro. Derrell’s morning message was “What God Has Joined Together” taken from Matthew 19:16.  There are some things that go hand-in-hand, but they can be broken when sin is allowed to enter.  Character and conduct are two of these things.  When a person confesses to having the character of a Christian, his or her conduct should show what they confess.  Sowing and reaping is another pair of things that go hand-in-hand.  You must remember that sowing has results – whether good or evil.  You cannot sow evil and expect to reap goodness.  Death and judgment fit into this category.  Disobedience/sin brought the curse of death.  Death brings judgment.  Then we have the Cross and crowns.  You must have reconciliation through the Cross in order to receive the crowns prepared for you.
Sunday evening’s message, “Exercise Increases Strength” was from 1 Timothy 4:7-8.  Physical exercise increases the strength of our bodies.  God is not pleased when we do things that harm our bodies, which the Bible calls His temple.
We covet your prayers this week for several in our church that are having problems.  On our prayer list is Sarah Scott, Hershel Scott, Cecil Franklin, Christine Smith, Robert Childress, Minnie Childress, Elladene Mims and Ruthie Jean Giles.
We want to say congratulations to Marty and Holly (Lockhart) Smith on the arrival of their new baby boy.  Gabriel was born Monday, Aug. 15 and weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces.

Rocky Mount
Brother Willard took us to Matthew 16:13-19 this beautiful Sunday.  He urged us to look at these verses with fresh eyes.  Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God forms the basis for our church today.  This belief is the “rock” of our church’s foundation.  It is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Do you have this key?  If not, search the word now, pray for discernment and open the doors to eternal life by asking Jesus to come into your heart today.
Saturday evening, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. Rocky Mount will host the last 2011 Southern Gospel singing.  Join us for blessed music, and good food following.
Our annual youth quilt fundraiser has started.  Contact a church member for the opportunity to participate.  Each donation will glean a ticket.  The drawing for the quilt will be in early December.  Help us help the less fortunate this Christmas.
Samaria Baptist
Please be in prayer for all our church family, especially those with special requests today.  God is so good, and we want to always be in service to Him at Samaria.
Prayer for the Clarence Baker family today, and for Care Net, as they provide a special service to God and community in the lives of young women and their families.
Message came from James 3.  Brother Charles spoke about the small member of the body, the tongue.  We must be careful how we use it, or misuse it.  We cannot be on the level with God, and when we criticize others and look down on them and their problematic lives, we are sitting in judgment.  God is not pleased with a gossip. He is not pleased with well-meaning chatter, even when we claim to be using this for prayer.
We should remember that we should love our brothers and sisters who have needs, and pray for them. God knows all about the problems, and we cannot solve it for them. But we can offer it to God in humble prayer, asking Him to heal and repair lives, and asking for His will in all things.
Volunteers are needed for Care Net.  Deanna Crist was our guest Sunday, and she explained the entire program that they provide for our community and the lives of impacted families.  We continue to participate in this wonderful effort, and we need to remember these women who work so hard to help hurting “kids” with decisions to make regarding their bodies and their souls.
Make sure your tongue is used to uplift someone today.  Prayers for Drusilla Hudgins and her family during some very trying times.  May all their needs be met.
God bless everyone who reads these words.  Jesus is coming soon. Let’s make sure we are ready…Visit with us at Samaria.
Walnut Creek
Sunday our youth group presented the drama, “Jesus Can Dance” featuring the praise dance “Shackles.” This included Kayte Culpepper, Anna Horn, Krissi Jones, Nicole Littlefield and Lisa Abbott.
The hymn of preparation was “He Lives,” followed by a praise medley by Joan McGriff and Norma Popwell, and the Doxology. Testimonies were given by Thomas Hughes, Kayte Culpepper, Triston Gore, Brandon Vickers and Taylor Hughes.
The youth drama team also presented “Who Am I,” including Kayte Culpepper, Triston Gore, Anna Horn, Stephen Horn, Taylor Hughes, Krissi Jones, Nicole Littlefield and Brandon Vickers.
Sunday afternoon, a baby shower was held for Jeralee Garret.
On Kids’ Night, the younger group brought us their way of worship, and it was fun. Evan, Hunter, Caleb and Grayson called on the audience for assistance on some of their songs, “Big House,” “Awesome God” and a real oldie, “Deep Water.” They also had a skit assisted by Kayte Culpepper. It was a super job by everybody that had a part. We appreciate you so much.
Even our guest needed no invitation — little Lake, he broke some hearts!
At 7 p.m., we celebrated our Back-to-School Bash with some hotdogs and desserts.
Next Sunday we will host a baby shower for Tricia Bice from 1-3 p.m.
We have had so many blessing at Walnut Creek this year. The Lord has taken the new ones and reminded the older ones that He has a job for everyone.
If you haven’t been with us in a while, come visit—We’re on the move.
Those on our prayer list: David Horn’s mother, Ray and Myrtice Enfinger, Gene Gilliland, Jerry Gilliland, Vesta Mims and Lavada Attaway.