Jesus Is A True And Good Friend
Wayne Johnson opened our Sunday morning worship service with prayer and read thank you cards from the White and Hall families.
Special prayers were requested for the Wanders family, Frankie Garvin, Ashton Cory, Evelyn Zinn, Ruth Divine, Danny Estep, travel prayers, the Ada White and Fred Hall families.
Linda Abercrombie gave the devotional “Get Out of Jail Free” and read Luke 6:37 as Jesus said “Judge not and you shall not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you shall be forgiven.” Linda talked about being locked in a prison of bitterness. We can’t do much in prison. We can’t get out of our own prison if we don’t forgive people who have hurt us. Resentment hardens us to bitterness, and that can destroy us. If we do not forgive others, we become the judge, the jury and the executioner. They probably don’t lose any sleep over it anyway, and we sleep on the cold concrete in our heart over it. Don’t stay locked in the dungeon of unforgiveness.
Rick Lett and Tyrel Lett served as ushers and collected the offertory, and Karen Gardner and Becky Johnson led the congregational hymns, including “Pass It On.” Louie Wills sang a special song and recited a poem, and Karen sang “To God Be The Glory.”
Brother Mark Hall brought us God’s message with scripture from John 15:9-17. He began by talking about the huge impact some players in sports have in a game whether they are there or not. Some people are like that in life. Even after they leave us, they still have an impact on our life.
Brother Mark told us one of the most important things preached is the gospel of Jesus Christ — His birth, death and resurrection. The next is that we preach love to one another. Real friends are always there for you. Friendship doesn’t come cheap. To have a friend, you must be one. Brother Mark talked of the parable in the Bible about a man having a great supper. Some didn’t attend because it was inconvenient for them.
“Will we miss the supper of the marriage of the Lamb because it is inconvenient? Being a friend requires a lot of commitment. We don’t all think the same and have to make some allowances.”
Proverbs 17:9 tells us, “He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separated friends.”
Brother Mark continued by telling us that forgiven people should be forgiving people.
“Jesus is a true and good friend. He always forgives us. His commands are for our benefit and to protect us from ourselves. We sometimes get filled up with pride and do our own things. Our joy will never be realized when we do that. An obedient child is a happy child with happy parents. Children who disobey may be happy for a while, but it won’t last.”
In John 15:12, Jesus tells us “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Brother Mark told us, “When you really love Jesus, loving others becomes easier. We tell people we love them and then give them excuses like we do Jesus. You must give Jesus all of your life, not just part of it. The first trait of a good and true friend is faithfulness. Faith and faithfulness impress God. Don’t you want Him to be able to tell you ‘Well done, thy good and faithful servant’? He chose you. There is nothing better than being chosen by God. Just like getting chosen on a team when you were in school to play something. God chooses us to bear fruit. Fruit bearing doesn’t work until we love one another. Your prayers won’t get answered like you want. It is like trying to do a job without the right tools or to plant without fertilizer because it won’t produce anything.”
Our hymn of invitation was “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” and Rick Lett gave the benediction. We invite you to worship with us on Sunday mornings at Mill Creek Baptist Church located 3.5 miles east of Noel just off Highway 90. Everyone is welcome.