What A Friend We Have

With fall in the air, we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. We were greeted by Wayne Johnson who opened our worship service with prayer and welcomed our visitors. Special prayers were requested for Jimmy and Jeanette's grandson, Katie, Mark and Shelley's son, Jake Allison's dad, the people in California and travel prayers for several. For Pastor Appreciation Sunday, we recognized our Pastor, Brother Mark Hall and Shelley. They are such a blessing to Mill Creek and we thank God that they are a part of our church family.

Janet Chaney and Jeanette Easter gave the devotional, "The Gardener." It was the story of a gardener who picked a special pumpkin, took out all of the yucky stuff inside, made a face and put a light in it. He took something from his garden and made something special. Just like God cleans out our sins. We get our light from Him for others to see. The second pumpkin had a face painted on, but the yucky stuff was still inside so there was no light to shine. In comparison, do we serve God in our own way instead of by God's word? If we do, we can not shine for the Lord as He has to be a part of our faith. Scripture was from Ephesians 2:18 and II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."

Becky Johnson and Karen Gardner led the congregational hymns "He Keeps Me Singing" and "Living For Jesus," with special music "For Those Tears I Died" from Karen. Rick Lett asked God's blessing upon the offertory and he and Tyrel Lett served as ushers.

Brother Mark read Philippians chapter 4 about "pressing toward the goal" and began by asking, "How many of you, like me, have discovered that you have more years behind you than before you? It is never too late to take better care of ourselves. We focus on the physical, but need to realize Negative Nelly. We need to look at ourselves and decide what our theme would be. Would it be "I've got that joy, joy, down in my heart" or would it be "gloom, despair and agony on me?" What has happened to a person to make them so negative and down on life? It is not a life problem, it is a heart problem. It is said, that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. We need to test that. To know the condition of your heart, listen to what comes out of your mouth. It is not a physical problem, but a spiritual one. Negativity always justifies itself. That is when we need a perspective change. Negativity is human nature, but it is a fallen human nature because of our attitude and perspective."

Brother Mark told us that negativity can ruin our health, our day, week, year and life. The difference between a Good Time Charlie and a Sad Sack is how we look at things. Negativity reflects what is going on inside us. It affects what goes on around us. We tend to share negativity with those around us. It is like a contagious disease. We need to be a Gomer Pyle instead of a Barney Fife.

Negativity draws negativity. It also subtracts from the spirit within us and kills our witness for Jesus Christ. Proverbs 10:11 says, "The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked." If all someone knew about Christ in life is what they see in a Christian's life, would you be an example of abundant life? Abundant life is not about material things, it is how you face each day. The biggest battlefield is in our own mind. Negative thoughts talk negativity."

Brother Mark read Numbers 13 and talked of the story of Moses and the good land, the Land of Canaan. "Your imagination gets you through a lot of things, but it can also be your worst enemy when it starts working on you. How do we beat negativity? First, think about positive things."

Philippians 4:5-7 tells us, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Brother Mark told us the mind takes care of the heart, so if we are negative, we may need a thought transfusion. "Think about the good things in life to get through the bad things. Meditate on the good to avoid letting the bad take center stage in your life. We can't get our thoughts and talk right until we get our heart right. All good things come from the great high priest, Jesus Christ."

Our hymn of invitation was "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" and Brother Mark closed our service with prayer.

We invite you to worship with us on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Everyone is welcome.

We will hold our annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, in the Fellowship Hall at the church. The community is invited to come enjoy dinner and fellowship as we give thanks for all of God's blessings.

Religion on 10/19/2017