The Legacy We Leave
Mertie Harmon was celebrating a birthday, and we welcomed many visitors as we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Special prayers were requested for Shirley Obenshain, the Heckart children and Ada White. Dot thanked everyone for their contribution to the Noel Senior Citizens. We will be giving free school clothes to children at our booth at the Noel School Block Party on the Arvest Bank lot from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13. We invite everyone to stop by and visit with us. Thanks to Linda, Shelly and Angela for shopping.
Linda Abercrombie shared the devotional, “Creator and Restorer,” and read scripture from 1 Peter 5:10. She told us restoration is big business, from restoring cars and houses to photographs. “When we know the original condition, we can then begin the repair. God is in the restoration business. He understands our damaged state and can return us to our original glory. When we are broken by life’s experiences, know God is in the process of restoring and redeeming us. God is the expert craftsman, and we couldn’t be in better hands.”
Rick Lett and Jerry Abercrombie served as ushers and collected the offertory, and the congregation joined voices in singing “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Down on My Knees” with Becky Johnson at the piano. We were blessed with special music from Susan Cory who sang “At Calvary” and read Romans 5:8, and Karen Gardner who sang “He Was There All the Time.”
“The Legacy We Leave” was the title of God’s message brought to us by Brother Mark Hall. Scripture was from Psalm 78, a history of the nation of Israel and how it applies to us to teach the next generation.
Brother Mark told us we are no different from Israel. “We try to follow God for a while and then we drift away. In the scripture, we see the legacy left by the generations of Israel. Our nation today doesn’t look much different than Israel did. They defiled the land, denied the Lord, destroyed His law, and judgement came. Things get to going well and we forget our faith. We get holy when things go south and we turn to God again over and over. We need to teach spiritual history to our kids. We need to teach spiritual history of our nation, family, church and our own lives. We need to review our history and renew our memory because we forget God’s wondrous works.”
Brother Mark told us there are three memory killers that keep us from remembering what God does for us. They are the lust of the flesh, the lure of the world and the lies of the devil. “Those three things steal our memory of what God does for us. The ‘Thank you, Jesus’ moments we have in the morning are forgotten at night. We need to renew our history, renew our memory and reclaim our legacy. We need leaders who will shepherd according to the integrity of their hearts, not according to the world. When you get honest with your heart, integrity tells you what is right and what is wrong. Just do what is right.” Brother Mark told us a legacy is something that is handed down and seen later. “What is your legacy? What spiritual legacy will you leave to your children, grandchildren, etc. We should carve our name on hearts instead of tombstones. Billy Graham said we need to leave a legacy of character and faith. How does your legacy look? Is it of a person of faith who looked to God and not the world? Do you need to be saved according to the integrity of your heart?”
Our hymn of invitation was “Where Could I Go?” and Wayne Johnson gave the benediction. We then observed the Lord’s Supper. As Brother Mark read passages from 1 Corinthians, Jerry and Rick passed the bread and cup, symbolic of renewing our memories in remembrance of Jesus Christ and what he did for us.
We invite you to worship with us on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m.
Mill Creek is located 3.5 miles east of Noel just off Hwy. 90. Just follow the signs. We would love to have you join us. Everyone is welcome. Our annual Homecoming will be on Sunday, Aug. 21, when the Gould family will sing during our morning song service and again at 1 p.m. after fellowship dinner.