Church News for Thursday, Feb. 21
Published 7:34 pm Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Mars Hill Baptist Church
Sunday was a beautiful day to serve our Lord! We welcome all visitors and thank you for sharing your worship day with us at Mars Hill. Please come again.
March is just around the corner. This is the month for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Please be in prayer for what the Lord would have you give, and please don’t forget to pray for the missionaries.
There are many things in this world that I am afraid of: spiders, snakes, rats, worms, bugs, etc. When we were small, my sisters would chase me around the house with a bug just to hear me scream. Yes, I said my sisters; boys are not always the ones who torment girls. What if God told you to pick up a snake? That’s what he told Moses to do. Do you want to be like Moses?
Bro. William Short’s message this week was taken from Exodus 4:1-5. Moses was about to go before the pharaoh of Egypt and ask for the release of all the Israelite slaves. He asked God, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, “The Lord has not appeared to you.’” Then the Lord asked Moses what was in his hand and Moses answered, “A rod.” God then told Moses to cast the rod on the ground. So he did, and the rod became a serpent. Scripture says that Moses fled from it. I can agree with this statement. I would have run as fast as my legs would carry me! But the Lord didn’t accept this. He told Moses to pick up the snake by the tail. Moses obeyed God and the snake became a rod again. This is what Moses was to do in order for Pharaoh to believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had appeared to him.
It took backbone to pick up the snake. Moses had already run from it, but he could not run from God and his command to pick it up. We should all be more like Moses and obey what God is telling us to do. Until we give God everything, he can’t fix anything in our lives. He is an “all or nothing” kind of God, and he wants us to be “all in.” We can’t be half Christian and expect to get patched up every Sunday. We need to belong to God with our whole heart, mind, body and soul; then, we will be healed.
Moses wanted the Egyptians to know that God was with him. How do we let the world know that God is with us? By living our lives in such a way that others will know God is with us.
We should love our enemies and do good to those who would harm us, pray for one another and lift up the sick to Jesus; we should be committed, not just sign the roster, then sit down while others carry on the game. Get out there and give it everything you have. Commit your days, your time, and your tithes to the Lord. Not just on Sunday, but every day of every week, Christians should be a reflection of Jesus.
Evaluate your spiritual life; if it’s not what you want it to be, then take the necessary steps to change it: more Bible study, more prayer time or helping those less fortunate than you. After all, Jesus died for us, and the least we can do is live for him.
Sometimes, you may find yourself watching to see how others respond to the call of Christ, but don’t look at others; look only inside your own heart and let the love of Christ Jesus lead you. You will never be sorry that you did.
Please pray for our church, our pastor, the sick, the lost, the hurting, our country, our troops and our missionaries. God is great, all the time. Amen.
Rocky Mount United Methodist Church
“Expect Temptation” was the sermon title on Sunday.
Temptation is around us all the time. As we enter the season of Lent in preparation for Easter, we just might notice even more temptation than usual. Are you dieting, planning to exercise more or trying to cut down on spending? All of these things will find you faced with temptation at every turn. You can expect temptation until your very last breath, and you must resist it until your very last breath. When temptation tries to catch you, let God’s word be a lamp unto your path. Know your Bible so that you can get rid of the devil as he comes knocking on the door or leaning on the doorbell. Tell the devil to get behind you because you serve a God that is greater than he is, and your God will never fail you.
During Lent, we need Jesus and we need to get a grip on him. You are in the grip of God’s revealing grace, whether you know it or not.
Join us for all the exciting things going on at Rocky Mount United Methodist Church. We are located at 14731 County Road 51. Call us at 688-2204 and leave a message; we will get back with you.