A Deadly Disease

Wayne Johnson welcomed several visitors and led us in the Lord's Prayer as we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Special prayers were requested for Betty Clark, Janet Chaney, Jimmy Easter, Dot Harnar and the Bob Birch family. We will have a luncheon next Sunday after our morning service for our MCHS graduate, Cody Latty. Jimmy and Jeanette Easter presented the first place plaque we won for Old Timer's Day to our Pastor Brother Mark Hall. The theme was "Jesus Is the Light of the World" a message we wanted to share with others.

Linda Abercrombie shared the devotional "Taming the Jungle" and read scripture from John 15:5. "Sometimes we get so busy with life's things that we forget to stop and think about what we need to be doing for God." Linda talked about planting a garden and it being overtaken by things we don't thin out and they smother out the other plants. "We need space for prayer, faith, rest, wisdom, serenity and joy. We need to find a balance in life. It is seasonal. It is always changing. We need to look at our life as a garden. We need to weed, thin, and trim what needs to be so other things can flourish. Ask God's spirit to direct your life. What kind of garden does God want for you?"

Tyrel Lett asked God's blessing upon our tithes and offerings and he and Rick Lett served as ushers. We were blessed with special music from Jerry Abercrombie, Susan Cory, Wayne Johnson and Karen Gardner.

Congregational hymns with Becky Johnson at the piano included "At the Cross" and "The Glory-land Way."

Brother Mark brought us God's message: "A Deadly Disease." He began by telling us that there is a disease that is as common as cancer, highly contagious and it can take over our lives and consume us. It can rob us of our joy, kill our witness for Christ and it can spread to our family and friends. When you have this disease, people don't even feel sorry for you. In fact, they will probably avoid you because you turn in to a 'fun sucker'-- someone who walks into a room and sucks all the fun out of it. It can cause you to be self-centered, uncaring, discourteous, inconsiderate and can even cause depression. No doctor can diagnose the disease. It ruins families, destroys relationships and wrecks churches. Many have seen it and its effects or have been a victim of it. It is called bitterness." Brother Mark read Hebrews 12:15, "Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled."

Brother Mark asked, "What causes bitterness?" "Usually, not always, but usually, it is injured pride. Certain pride is okay, like being proud of our family. Self-pride is not okay. The characteristics of a proud person include being resistant to the work of God in their life and fighting off conviction. They focus on the failures of others rather than seeing their own. They have a critical fault-finding spirit and are jealous of others' lives and they always have to constantly prove they are right. Proud people have a hard time saying 'I was wrong and please forgive me.' They are touchy, defensive and sensitive of their feelings but not so with others. They are not respectful of other people's feelings. All of that combined makes it hard for them to forgive others or repent of their own actions and without forgiveness and repentance, they become bitter."

Brother Mark continued by telling us that a bitter person is a lonely person and they try to recruit others to be bitter with them.

"Bitter, unhappy people will never trust or see good in anyone because they don't see any good or trust in themselves. It is heartbreaking to see someone you love have bitterness in their life. You have to pray for them to repent and forgive. Bitter people often use the circumstances in their life to justify their bitterness. There are bad circumstances in life that happen and we have no control over, but that is no excuse to give up on life. Regardless of the bad circumstance, we can choose to do the rehabilitation. We can choose to be bitter or to get better. God gave us an antidote for this, and He gave us a vaccination for bitterness. The antidote is to repent and forgive. The vaccination comes from Hebrews 12:14 which says, 'Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.'"

Brother Mark talked about the characteristics of a person who pursues peace. "First, they understand their own spiritual need. Until you do that, you cannot pursue peace. Second, they can forgive much because much has been forgiven of them. Third, they esteem others better than themselves." Philippians 2:3-4 says "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

"The fourth characteristic of a person who pursues peace is that they are willing to yield the right to be right. How important is it for you to be right? Do you have to be right all of the time? Fifth, they are willing to be close to others and take the risk of loving and being loved. Sixth, they can accept the responsibility and see where they are wrong. And the last characteristic of a person who pursues peace is they compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel a genuine need to be forgiven and they are motivated to be faithful."

In closing, Brother Mark shared some quotes. For parents, "It is not our job to toughen up our children to face a cruel and hard world. As Christians, it is our job to raise children who will make this world a little less cruel and hard." For teenagers, "Go with someone who is proud to have you, not because you are pretty or popular, but because they value you as a person." And for children, "The best feeling in the world is to know your parents are smiling because of you." Brother Mark talked about the last difference that can make all the difference in the quality of your life. "Proud people are full of themselves. Humble people are full of God. When you get full of God, you will know happiness, contentment and you will know loving relationships. Are you full of God? If the answer is no, would you like to be?"

Our hymn of invitation was "Trust and Obey" and Rick Lett gave the benediction. We invite you to worship with us at Mill Creek Baptist Church at 11 a.m. Sunday mornings. We are located 3.5 miles east of Noel just off Highway 90. Everyone is always welcome.

Religion on 05/19/2016