After missing last Sunday due to the weather, it was good to be in God's house Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Barbara Cory was celebrating a birthday and Doug Cory greeted our visitors and opened our service with prayer. Shelly shared praise, and special prayers were requested for Lou Fischer, Larry, Cindy, Clyde and June Sherman. Doug shared a thank-you note from Wayne and Ronda Holly. Best wishes and God's blessings to Tom and Mildred Sharp in their new home. We will sure miss them.
Linda Abercrombie shared the devotional, "Unnecessary Burdens," and read Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus tells us, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." When we worry and lose sleep over things, we need to turn it over to God who never sleeps.
Susan Cory and Karen Stroud led the congregational hymns, including "Victory in Jesus." We were blessed with a couple of specials. Jerry and Linda Abercrombie sang "Life's Railway to Heaven," which tells us that Christ is our conductor on this train of life. We need to keep our hand on the throttle and our eye on the rail until we reach our everlasting home. Karen sang "For Those Tears, I Died."
Tyrel Lett asked for God's blessing upon the offering, and he and Mitchell Lett served as ushers.
As a prelude to the sermon, Brother Mark Hall read Psalm 24:1-2 and told us we breathe God's air. "Everything is God's. He just lets us use it while we are here. If we farm, He let's us manage His farm everyday. We enjoy it, but it is not ours; it is His. Every good thing we have God gives us."
As Brother Mark began God's message, he read 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, that talks of "the weapons of our warfare." Brother Mark told us that the warfare is about keeping us from having knowledge of Christ. "There are all kinds of battles from health to financial, but the biggest battle is your mind." In Ephesians 6:12, Paul tells us, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Brother Mark said that Satan is battling for a prize and that is your mind. "Your brain isn't your mind. Your mind thinks with your brain. Your mind does your thinking. It is like playing the piano. The piano is the brain, but the pianist is the mind. Satan wants to play the tunes." 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
Brother Mark told us that Satan doesn't want us to have any knowledge of God. "Satan interferes with our thoughts for God. He lets our mind wander. The warfare is a battle for our mind. Satan doesn't care what you think about as long as you don't think about God and increase your knowledge of God. Christ doesn't control our mind, we do, but Satan wants to. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul tells us, "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Brother Mark told us that Satan is crafty and deceptive and wants to turn our minds away from God. "Satan will play our thoughts like a piano and twist our thoughts with imagination to things we shouldn't think about. Satan will steal your thought life away from God. Be careful. Evil thoughts can become actions." Genesis 6:5 says, "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."
Brother Mark continued by telling us that we like to think we are what we think but we are what we think. "The last 30 years of opinions change because Satan gets a hold of our thoughts and they become beliefs. Thoughts become opinions. Opinions become beliefs. That seems to be the new normal. We need to cast down the imagination and evil thoughts of Satan. Our thoughts should coincide with Christ." Brother Mark again referred to 2 Corinthians 10:4-5.
In closing, Brother Mark reminded us to guard our hearts and minds. "Don't play the blame game. Prayer is the only way to win the battle. The war can be fought and won on our knees with prayer and supplication. That is how we guard our mind from Satan and evil thoughts."
Our hymn of invitation was "Trust and Obey," and Jerry Abercombie gave the benediction.
You're invited you to share in the joy of hearing God's word each Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Sunday school begins at 10 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m. Mill Creek is located 3½ miles east of Noel, just off Highway 90.
Religion on 03/14/2019