What Are You Passionate About?

Sheri White and Wayne Johnson were celebrating birthdays as we gathered to worship on a beautiful Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Special prayers were requested for Keith Testerman, Lane Killion, Bob McGhee, Linda Jarvis, Fred Hall and John Adams.

Janet Chaney shared the devotional "There is Calm in the 23rd Psalm" and read the scripture. We were led in hymns of praise by Wayne Johnson and Karen Gardner with Becky Johnson at the piano. We were blessed with special music from Susan Cory who sang "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" as she referred to Hebrews 12:1-2. Rick Lett asked God's blessing and he and Wayne served as offering attendants.

With several children in attendance, Brother Mark brought the children's message as he talked about Matthew 19 when Jesus came to town and everyone came to see Him. "Jesus loves all the little children and wants them in church. We pray Jesus blesses them all the days of their life."

"What Are You Passionate About?" was the title of Brother Mark Hall's message as he read Titus 2:11-15. He began by asking, "Can people tell what you are passionate about? Everyone has different things they are passionate about. How does someone else know what you are passionate about? Does it seem to you that someone who has received the grace of God and has the appearance of salvation that you should be able to recognize them for their passion for Jesus Christ?"

This Sunday Brother Mark looked at the appearance of salvation during the sermon. "As Christians, we trust promises, not appearances. We sing the old song, "Standing on the Promises of God," not standing on the appearance of God. However, according to verse 11, 'the grace of God that brings salvation appeared to all men.' How did it appear? It appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, the son of God. The lost world doesn't trust in the promises of God because they don't know anything about them. They trust the appearance of God. The appearance of God they see is the appearance of God in your life."

Brother Mark referred to Titus 2:15 which says "Let no one despise you." "Why would people despise you? Maybe because we might claim to know Jesus, claim to love Jesus, claim to have received salvation through the grace of God, claim to have been redeemed from all wickedness, claim to be eager to do what is good, claim to be self-controlled, claim that we say no to ungodliness, but our passions, which are apparent to everyone, say otherwise. We claim to be a Christian, but do we show it in our passion? Jesus did not come to reform; He came to redeem us. What did He redeem us from?" Verse 14 tells us that "He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."

Brother Mark asked, "How do you purify something? You run it through a filter. It goes in one end of the filter dirty and comes out the other end of the filter clean." As an example, Brother Mark talked about straining milk. "The word of God is our milk strainer. When we pour ourselves through the word of God, we come out clean."

Brother Mark referred to Ephesians 5:25-27. "We were given the word of God to cleanse us. Does your passion for God come ahead of everything else? Does your passion become between you and God?" Titus 2:15 tells us there are things we should teach, encourage and rebuke with all authority. "Our authority is the word of God. People with a passion for Jesus is what brings down the grace of God and leads men and women to salvation. People respond to our passion for Jesus. We should have enough passion for Him to say no to ungodly things. We should have enough passion to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age so that others can see the appearance of the grace of God.

That is what the appearance of salvation is. That is what the appearance of the grace of God is."

Brother Mark continued by asking, "Do you know how our passion gives us away?" Matthew 12:34 says 'For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.' So if all we speak is bitterness, our heart is full of bitterness. If all you hear out of someone's mouth is trash, what is in their heart? What do you talk about the most? That is what gives your passion away to other people. We look forward to the blessed hope of the salvation of Jesus Christ to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify us eager to do good for Him. Those are the things we are to teach, encourage and rebuke with all authority. If you do that, no one will despise you when you are recognized as a Christian."

In closing, Brother Mark asked, "What are you passionate about? Has His salvation appeared to you? What did it teach you? Did it teach you to say no to ungodliness? Are you living a self-controlled life, upright and Godly life? That is what the appearance of God and salvation brings. Pour yourself through the word of God and strain out the impurities and ungodliness. Have you poured yourself through the word of God? You need that appearance of salvation so others can see it. Jesus says 'Confess me before men.' Has the grace of God appeared to you and you need salvation? Do you know Heaven is your home? Jesus walked 70 miles to be baptized. Are the passions you show to the world what you want them to see according to the word of God?"

Our hymn of invitation was "Just As I Am" and Rick Lett gave the benediction.

In announcements, "Jesus is the Light of the World" will be the theme of our entry in the Old Timer's Day Parade Saturday in Southwest City. And we will be represented by the "Mill Creek Bandits" in the Outhouse Race. May 22 we will have a graduation luncheon for senior Cody Latty.

We invite you to worship with us at Mill Creek Baptist Church on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Sunday school begins at 10 a.m. Everyone is welcome. Mill Creek is located 3.5 miles east of Noel just off Highway 90.