Calvary Independent Baptist Church

We want to thank everyone who attended services this weekend. Sunday morning services included a message from John 18:1-40 titled “Jesus Before the People.” We looked at the preparation of the believers, the prosperity of the deceivers, and the predicament of the leaders.

Only if you are living a life for God will life really be worth living. Even when the thirty pieces of silver looked like easy money, it was money that profited Judas nothing. Leaders sometimes can be pressured into making decisions that are for the majority of people yet against their better judgment. We hope that you have faith in Christ and are prepared for the trials and persecutions that believers are subject to face at any given day.

Sunday night services included a message titled “A Far Better Thing.” We looked at several Old and New Testament passages about the covenant given unto Abraham, the contaminated soul and the circumcision of the saved. We compared the circumcision given to Abraham, made with hands, to the circumcision that believers of the Gospel of Christ have today. The circumcision one must have today is made without hands and is done by the Spirit the moment a person is saved. The covenant between Abraham and God is an everlasting covenant to the Jews and will ultimately be fulfilled when the Jews enter into their promised land with Christ as their King, yet future.

What we have today as members of the body of Christ does not do away with their promises. Yet the circumcision that is by the Spirit, that is a circumcision made without hands, is a far better thing. Our souls have been circumcised—cut loose—from our bodies and will not be counted as clean or unclean based on what our bodies eat or touch. The way one’s soul is considered clean today is by the redemption that is available through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We hope that you are saved and faithfully serving the Lord Jesus Christ today. We want to invite you to a special baptismal service this Sunday, March 9 in the morning service. We also would like to extend you an invitation to attend any of our regular services.

Mars Hill Baptist Church

I often hear people say, “What this world needs is … “ Truth is, most people don’t even know what they, much less what the rest of humanity needs. But I know a man named Jesus who knows what I need, and what each of you need too. We need more of Jesus in our life and less of the world. When we don’t know how to pray for our needs, remember that God knows what we have need of even before we ask. What a God we serve! He is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and full of love and mercy, a God that is still in the miracle business! Yes, there are miracles that happen in this world every day—just witness the birth of a newborn baby, a miraculous recovery from disease or certain disaster. How can you not help but love and worship God and his Son Jesus Christ? Jesus makes me happy and full of joy!

Bro. William Short’s message today was taken from Acts 3:1-9. This is the story of a man who was lame from birth. He had no way of providing for himself other than relying on handouts from others. He lay at the temple gates every day asking “alms” of those who entered by the gate called “Beautiful,” the eastern golden gate of the temple.

Now, Peter and John went up to pray, and this lame man was there begging for money. Peter looked the man straight in the eye and said, “Look at us.” After gaining the attention of the lame man, Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Peter took the man by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately, his feet and ankle bones received strength. He leaped up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking, leaping and praising God. This man received a miracle that day, not perhaps the one he was looking for (money), but what he truly needed, which was to be able to walk. This man who had never walked now walked, leaped and praised God for his healing. God is merciful, even to those who have never had the opportunity to show mercy to others.

Silver and gold, fame, new cars, fancy homes or other worldly goods may make you happy for a short while, but it will never satisfy the soul the way Jesus can. It is not about what you have so much as what you need. I drive a car that is 10 years old and has over 100,000 miles on it, but it still runs and gets me where I am going. And that’s really the point, right? To get where you need to be.

You may not be lame, lying at the temple gates and begging for money, but there is surely something in your life that’s not right, not where you need it to be. Do you know what you need? Do you know how to pray and ask God for his blessings? The Bible tells us where two or more are gathered together in his name, in one accord, that whatever we ask of the Lord our God, he will surely do it. Do you have the faith to believe that God can do that for you? He has done it for others, and he is still in the business of providing for his children.

As children, we often need discipline. When I was a child, my mother would call to me, and I would know from the sound of her voice if I were in trouble. As children of God, we also need discipline. As a child of God, when we do wrong, we should expect to be disciplined.

As our heavenly Father, God always knows what is best for his children. Gold and silver is worthless to God. He owns the cattle of a thousand hills and he can surely provide for his own. We get in trouble when we let the world and its pleasures get between us and God. It is not things we need, but Jesus Christ! The lame man didn’t really understand that what he needed was to be able to walk—and he didn’t really know that it was possible—but Peter and John knew, and they readily and willingly shared that knowledge with the lame man, healing him through the power of Jesus Christ. As Christians, do we share the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion with others whenever the opportunity comes?

It’s easy to sit in church on Sunday morning, listening to the preacher pour his heart out to his congregation, pleading with them to accept Christ before it’s too late. Friend, you can sit in church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night—indeed every time the church doors are open—and still die and go to hell. How could that happen? It happens more than any of us want to admit. That old saying: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” is true. You can know the Bible front to back and left to right, and still not know its author: God, our heavenly Father and creator of all mankind. How cruel to stand at the feet of Jesus one day and hear him say, “Sorry, but I don’t know you!” You will plead with Jesus and let him know that you did this or that in his name, but if you never asked him into your heart and life, all that you thought you did will be in vain.

When we are saved, we have a job, something we can do for Jesus. We should never expect to be saved, sit back like a knot on a log and let others do the work that you and I were called to do. The lame man was doing the only thing he thought possible to be able to survive. Then he met Jesus through Peter and John. The first thing he did was to enter the temple, leaping and praising God. What a testimony this once-lame beggar now had for Jesus. What is your testimony? Have you ever shared with anyone what Jesus has done for you? Now is the best time I know of to start.

Saturday, March 15 from 9-11 a.m. our children will be going to Tropical Bouncers in Clanton. Please see Hailey or Brook for directions and information.

April 26 is the annual Relay for Life event. We have many cancer survivors in our church, so please give generously to this cause. See Jessica for more information. Please continue to pray for our church, our pastor, the sick, the lost, the hurting, our children, our schools, our troops, our country and our government. God is good, all the time! Amen.