We welcomed several visitors as we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Doug Cory opened our service with prayer. Happy birthday to Raye Deen Boyle, Kenneth White, Mary Somerville, and 100th birthday to Ruth Briggs. Special prayers of healing and comfort for Jimmy Easter, Brother Mark, Eugene, Vincent and Barbara's sister. Tim McCaine shared a praise.
Vacation Bible School will be held this Saturday from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. for children in grades K-6. "Destination Dig" is the theme and the day will include storytime, music, games, food and a treasure hunt. Parents are welcome to stay as well. Homecoming will be held Sunday, Aug. 15, during our morning service, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Cornerstone will provide special praise music.
"What's the Use?" a study of Ecclesiastes 1-2, was the title of the adult Sunday school lesson taught by Shelley Hall. "The wise person seeks to find meaning in life from God" was the focus of the lesson which made three points: "We need God's gift of wisdom to find life's true purpose, focusing solely on work and massing material possessions leads to no eternal gains and believers should enjoy their work, thanking God for His provisions."
Linda Abercrombie read numbers 23:19 and shared a devotional, "Take God at His Word." "We need to take God at His word. It is easier to do that during smooth sailing but, when times get tough, do we still have that faith and hear Christ? Storms will come our way, the winds will howl and toss us around. When that happens, will we still have faith and take God at His word?"
Mitchell Lett asked God's blessing upon the offertory and he and Tyrel Lett served as ushers. Congregational hymns included "Stand Up for Jesus" and "Redeemed," led by Karen Gardner and Susan Cory. We were blessed with special praise music from the Cory family and Karen.
Josh Manning filled in at the pulpit for Brother Mark and brought us God's word as he talked about a dead faith in contrast to a living faith. Scripture was from James 2:14-26. Verses 24 and 26 say, "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Josh told us that James is saying that through our works, our changed life is the evidence. He also referred to Ephesians 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
Josh talked about a dead faith in contrast to a living faith and referred to James 1:14, "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?" Josh told us that a dead faith shows a false confession. "I call it easy 'believism.' We say the right things, but are not followers of Christ because there are no works to go with it. Do our actions show that we have compassion for others in our heart?" He referred to Matthew 7:21 where Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."
Josh told us that a dead faith also has shallow convictions. "Did you have the faith to begin with? You can profess Christ and never be a follower." James 1:26 says, "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless."
Josh talked about the story in Genesis 12 of Abraham. "He grew up in an era of worshiping false gods, but God called Abraham and made a promise to him in verses 1-3. Abraham was righteous to God because he believed in the Lord and was obedient to the Lord. Belief and trust in the Lord are tied together. Although Abraham followed God's instruction, God did not let Abraham sacrifice his son because of His belief in God. Christ took our punishment for us. Abraham had a living faith. He was obedient to God even though he didn't fully understand."
In closing, Josh told us that "we can have a living faith because the old faith was crucified on the cross. We receive the righteousness to follow Christ." Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." Josh told us that faith has nothing to do with being in church every Sunday; it is about being obedient and trusting in the Lord. "A living faith is worth following the salvation that Christ offers us."
Our hymn of invitation was "Trust and Obey." Steve Mason gave the benediction.
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 Baptist Church is located 3 1/2 miles east of Noel, just off Highway 90.
Opinions expressed are those of the author.