The little white church on the creek is beautifully decorated to celebrate Christmas and the birth of Christ. As we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church, we were greeted by Doug Cory.
Special prayers were requested for Rita's family, Blanche's family, Pam Blecha, the Marvin Barton family, the Calvin Reece family, J.P. Judd and Wayne Johnson. In announcements, we will be delivering Christmas baskets next Sunday after morning service. We will have a float in the SWC Christmas Parade Saturday, and our church Christmas program will be held Sunday, Dec. 23, under the direction of Terry Lett. Our Pastor, Brother Mark Hall, presented Weston Allison with a new Bible and a certificate in celebration of his recent baptism.
Linda Abercrombie read Psalm 74:16: "The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and the moon." She also shared the devotional: "Plunging Into the Darkness." Holidays can be difficult because of the loved ones we have lost that we can no longer share them with. It can be a dark time for us. Don't run from the sorrow, but face the darkness and head east and look for the sunrise. To get to the light, we sometimes must go through darkness. Our faithful God will lead us through the dark and into the light.
Tyrel Lett asked God's blessing, and he and Mitchell Lett served as ushers and collected the offering. Congregational hymns included Christmas Carols led by Karen.
"Christian Leadership" was the title of God's message for us from Brother Mark. Scripture was from Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Brother Mark told us that we all have "to do" lists. Some of them we need to do today or tomorrow and some we just need to get done sometime. "God has planned and prepared good works for us to do. Look at the world today. Someone is not showing up to do God's work or the world wouldn't be in the mess it is. People show up, but not to work. There may be a group show up to work, but nothing gets done because there is no leader. If one person would step up and take the lead, the others would follow. There is a shortage of leaders in the modern church. It is not God's fault. God gives us the works and the leaders. The problem is that the leaders don't show up to work and then the devil sends in his crew. That's what causes false teachers and fallen churches. A church can dry up and die for lack of leadership. Many dodge Christian leadership because they feel they are not qualified.
Brother Mark read 1 Corinthians 1:26-38, which gives the qualifications for leadership. Brother Mark told us that "The only requirement is faith. The kind of faith that says I'll accept the call and then God will give you the skills to do the job. Our God-given talents are given to glorify God. We need to use leadership skills to bring people to the Lord. Who told you that you weren't qualified? Not God! We wish we knew a lot of things, but we only need to know one thing and that is Christ and that He was crucified for us. Faith doesn't rest on man's wisdom but on God's. Christian leadership is a consequence of obedience and integrity. It is not waiting until you think you can, but knowing God can. 'We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.' We can do it because Jesus Christ is so great."
Brother Mark told us that when we are ready to be obedient and answer God's call, there are four things we must be. We must be fervent in our prayers, fearless in our principals, firm in our purpose and faithful in our promise, our promise to God. Brother Mark said, "God takes promises seriously. There is no church anywhere in which God has not placed leaders. They just have unsurrendered ones. Every church has God-equipped leaders, they just need to step up and show up to work. You can't do nothing on your job and you can't do nothing in God's house."
Our closing hymn was "Silent Night," and Bob Bryan gave the benediction.
We invite you to worship with us this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and His many blessings. Sunday school begins at 10 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m. Mill Creek Baptist Church is located 3½ miles east of Noel, just off Highway 90 on upper Mill Creek Road. Everyone is welcome to join in the Christmas celebration.
Religion on 12/13/2018