Mt. Carmel No. 1 Baptist Church

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to proclaim victory every day? Well, as Christians we can.

Bro. Harper Shannon brought a wonderful message to us on Sunday morning from Philippians 4:4-9 that tells us how to have daily victory in Christ.

A Christian should be known for rejoicing, not misery. A Christian’s lifestyle should be full of gentleness and free from anxiety. In keeping our minds focused on God, we have no need to worry. Prayer is our antidote for worry.

In our prayer lives, it sometimes takes a little more of us being quiet and listening to what God is saying rather than us doing all the talking. Our talking to God sometimes becomes more of an “I need” list or a complaint list. We should pray with faith and thankfulness. Remember prayer is communication with God, who can give us peace that surpasses all understanding of mankind. That peace can be ours when our hearts and minds dwell on the good things spoken of in these verses, such as honesty, purity, justice, virtue and praise. The daily victory is possible when we are willing to do these good things.

On Sunday evening, Bro. Shannon brought a message to us titled “Priorities in the Kingdom of God.” He used three verses of scripture from Matthew in which Jesus delivered his sermon on the mount. These three verses all contain the word “first.”

Bro. Shannon reminded us of the saying “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” knowing that the main thing is the will of God. In Matthew 6:33 we are told that we should first seek the kingdom of God, which means God should have the rule and reign over us. Our lives should be held to his standards.

Matthew 5:24 tells us that we cannot be right with God without first being right with our brother. It is imperative to have reconciliation, no matter who is in fault, between brothers in Christ settled before offerings made to God will be blessed.

Matthew 7:5 has another first for Christians: We must get the beam out of our own eye before we try to get the mote from the eye of our brother. Faults in the lives of others always seem to be more visible than our own, but they are not. God sees all and knows all, even the motives we have in doing the things we do and saying the words we say. So be careful when making a judgment on the actions and words of others because we may be guilty of the same thing in our own lives.

If we checked our life’s priority list, what would be the top three things found? Are they the things that will make our lives what God would have a child of his to be?

Upcoming events:

Aug. 23 and Aug. 30: Bro. Harper Shannon will be bringing the message. We will have a fellowship meal following each of the Sunday morning services.

Aug. 29: There will be a brotherhood breakfast in the fellowship hall at 7 a.m. All men and boys are invited to attend.

Aug. 29: If you plan to attend En Fuego, Geoffrey Lockhart can tell you the time to meet at the church for that event.

Our special prayer requests this week include Jenny Hayes, Gladys Franklin, Hilda Cary, Elladene Mims, Leona Liveoak, Ruthie Jean Giles, Jennifer Watley, Shelia Robinson, Tammy Harmon and all of our church family.

Submitted by Louise Liveoak

Floyd Baptist Church

Bro. Mike Lawrence took his sermon “Man’s Warning to Man” from Mark 16:15-16.

“He that believeth not shall be damned.”

Jesus himself tells us to go and tell others about Christ. Ten years ago this month, Hurricane Katrina was gathering strength in the Gulf of Mexico. The weather bureau warned of landfall with dangerous winds and waves. State and federal officials ordered mandatory evacuations.

Some people said, “We’ll stay right where we’re at; we made it through Camille in ’69 and we’ll be alright now.” Others said, “We have no means of finding shelter, so we’ll turn to the government for help,” but a few chose to heed the warning, relocate and start life anew elsewhere.

The gospel of Jesus is God’s warning to man. It must be accepted, believed and given to the world—otherwise millions will die in their sins and be damned forever.

There are three truths about God’s warning that we cannot deny:

(1) Content: The gospel is the foundation of God’s warning. Jesus came into the world to give salvation to those who are lost.

(2) Condition: You must surrender unconditionally. Unbelief will send us to hell; faith is the evidence that will get us to heaven.

(3) Commission: God’s warning must be delivered. It must go to all parts of the world. This must be done through the church because this is the commission that God gave to us. If we fail to deliver God’s warning, millions will be lost in their sin and face eternal separation from God.

Events: Our fifth Sunday singing will start at 5 p.m. on Aug. 30. Robin Brown will be the featured singer. Everyone is invited.