Get Revived Or Get Removed

Marlene Gray was celebrating a birthday as we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Special prayers were requested for the Donald Serr family, Mrs. Pearcy, Kristen Crosby, Margaret Brown, Ivalou Womack and Angela Hamilton. We welcomed several visitors as Wayne Johnson opened our service with prayer.

In celebration of Friendship Day, Linda Abercrombie led the congregation in the responsive reading "Friend" from the books of Luke and John. Jerry Abercrombie and Wayne led us in singing hymns of praise and we were blessed with special music from Bob who sang "God On The Mountain" and Steve who sang "His Grace Reaches Me."

Mitchell Lett asked God's blessing upon the offering and he and Tyrel Lett served as ushers. Brother Mark presented Bibles to Mary McCain and Kenneth While in celebration of their baptisms.

Our pastor, Brother Mark Hall, presented the kids' message from Hebrews 2:1 as he talked about listening in school and church and how we can drift away. "Even if we think we are going in the right direction, the things we pick up along the way can cause us to go backwards in the wrong direction and we drift away."

Brother Mark brought us God's message "Get Revived or Get Removed" with scripture reading from Revelations 2:1-7. Brother Mark told us to accept no substitutes. "Running your life on substitutes can get you in trouble. There is no substitute for loving Jesus. The bottom line of preaching, teaching and sharing Jesus with others is loving Jesus. If we love Jesus, we will faithfully do His will. The unsaved see Christians as attending church, praying and knowing the Bible. But those are just the results of loving Jesus. Serving, standing on the truth and steadfastness are no substitutes for loving Jesus."

Brother Mark talked about the seriousness of not loving Jesus. "You don't lose your fellowship of Christ, you leave it. We get so busy being good, we lose our Godliness. If you love Jesus first, you can love others. The solution for not loving Jesus is remember, repent and repeat. Remember how and when you first got saved. Labor in love, not duty. When you do something you love, it is not work. Love, follow and obey Jesus. Is what we practice on Monday what we say on Sunday?"

"The sentence for not loving Jesus is the removal of the glory of God. What kills a church is when the church leaves their first love -- the love of Jesus. There is no substitute for loving Jesus. Love is more than an emotion. You must give more of yourself and make more room for Jesus. The success of loving Jesus is the Tree of Life which we can only imagine. But if God made it, it has to be good."

Our hymn of Invitation was "Lord, I'm Coming Home" and Bob Obenshain gave the benediction. We then gathered on the banks of Mill Creek and witnessed the baptism of Mary McCain and welcomed her into our fellowship and church family at Mill Creek. May God bless her for her life-changing decision.

We invite you to worship with us on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Sunday school begins at 10 a.m. We will celebrate 111 years of worshiping our Lord and Savior at Mill Creek on Sunday, Aug. 16. The Goulds will perform during our morning worship service at 11 a.m., followed by fellowship lunch and then will sing again at 1 p.m. Everyone is always welcome. Mill Creek is located 3 1/2 miles east of Noel just off Highway 90.