'Keeping The Spots Off'

Gene Gardner welcomed the congregation and special prayers were requested for Frankie Garvin and Marilyn Nelson as we gathered to worship Sunday at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Rhonda Renfrow shared praise and thanks. We were led in hymns of praise by Becky Johnson and Karen Gardner and Bob Obenshain shared testimony and a special song with the congregation. Tyrel Lett asked God's blessing upon the offertory and he and Gene served as ushers.

The text for Bro. Mark Hall's sermon, "Keeping the Spots Off," was taken from James 1:27. "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Bro. Mark talked about keeping ourselves unspotted in this world. "It has always been a fallen world, but it has really been different the last 40 years because of the culture and society. It is harder now to keep yourself unspotted. We live and work in a dirty and depraved world. How do we keep from getting it on us?"

Bro. Mark referred to Daniel 1:1-19 and told us that Daniel got that done. "The children of Israel rebelled God and He turned them over to the world. When you change your position on a moral issue and you move away from God's word to become politically correct, you haven't evolved. You have devolved. Today's world wants God to be politically correct and acceptable to the culture around us regardless of God's word and teachings. How do we stay unspotted through all of this?"

Bro. Mark talked about the first chapter of Daniel in which four young men were forced to change their names and forget about their Christianity. The four were named for God and marked for God. He had a claim on them. The 'el' in Daniel is an old testament meaning for God. Bro. Mark said, "We live in a secular society. We can't change it. We need to be Daniels who established spiritual boundaries for himself. He did not defile himself and did not take part in all the junk in the world. If Christians were the kind of employees that the Bible tells us to be, all employers would want Christians. Daniel worked the job, but the job didn't work Daniel. He kept his identity. You don't get the 'now God' without the 'but Daniel -- the commitment. We want to be blessed on our job without letting people on our job know we are a Christian. God honors our decisions when we make the right ones. When we make wrong decisions, God expects us to own them and clean up our mess. Daniel would be an odd ball in today's society. He would be paddling upstream. We go against the grain, because the grain goes against God in today's world. We get the 'now God' after we give the 'but Daniel.' The world today is not the same world we grew up with. Daniel decided he wouldn't defile himself. We can do the same. Do you know your name? Have you kept your identity? We may have to live in this world, but we don't have to live like the world. Just like Daniel did in Babylon. Do you have God's mark on you? Give your life to God and He puts His mark on you. You can have a new life with God."

Our hymn of invitation was "Amazing Grace" and Rick Lett gave the benediction. We invite you to worship with us next Sunday at Mill Creek Baptist Church as Bro. Mark brings us God's message. Sunday school begins at 10 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m. Everyone is always welcome.