2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
February – Seeing Stewardship and Giving from God’s Perspective
I stand before God now, and I see clearly what I once refused to see. Sunday, when you hear from Mr. Haile, you may see a missionary. I once saw him that way too—just a guest speaker, just another ministry opportunity. I nodded. I listened. I admired. But I did not move. Now I see what my hesitation cost. I see his wife, the Headmaster, walking those school grounds. I see her greeting children by name. I see her reminding them every morning that they belong to Jesus. I see a thousand children sitting at desks I could have helped provide. I see one little girl who would have said, “Because he obeyed God, I sit in a classroom where we pray, learn the Word, and are taught that our lives have purpose beyond poverty or pressure.” And I realize—my faith never built her desk. My obedience never trained her teacher. My giving never strengthened those crusades in dusty fields where villages were hungry for hope. I remember when I heard about those crusades. I was moved for a moment. I felt stirred. But I chose comfort over action. I told myself someone else would give. Someone else would go. Someone else would carry it. Now I stand in eternity, and I see the faces I never met. They are real. They have names.They had futures that could have been shaped by my obedience. I see children who could have learned that they were not defined by poverty but by purpose. I see families who could have heard the gospel more clearly. I see communities that could have been strengthened if I had simply trusted God and stepped forward. I do not regret the vacations I took. I do not regret the comforts I enjoyed. I regret the faith I refused to walk in. I see now that when he spoke about crusades and classrooms, he was not sharing stories. He was inviting partnership. He was offering me a place in something eternal. I thought I was far away. But my obedience could have built desks My faith could have trained teachers My generosity could have strengthened crusades. My prayer could have fortified weary servants. We were never separate. We were one family under one Lord, serving in the same harvest together. I see it now from heaven’s perspective. The only things that mattered were the things done in faith. And standing before God, I wish I had moved when He spoke.
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
For years I sat through Missions Month believing in it but never truly participating—I admired the stories, felt moved by the faces, and convinced myself that giving was for others who had more to spare; I had never consistently tithed, never stepped into Faith Promise, never touched a Joash offering, always leaning on my own understanding and quiet excuses. But last Sunday, when I heard again that missions is not a church program but the heartbeat of God, and that giving is not between me and the church but between me and the Lord, something broke open in my heart; for the first time I stopped asking what I could afford and started asking, “Lord, what would You have me do?” and as I prayed, faith rose where fear used to sit. I said yes—yes to tithing, yes to Faith Promise, yes to Joash—not because it made sense on paper but because it felt like obedience, and instead of anxiety, an overwhelming peace flooded my soul; it was as though a weight I didn’t know I was carrying lifted, and joy replaced hesitation. I realized that missions had once reached me across generations and oceans, and now I was stepping into that same river of grace for someone else; giving was no longer theory but worship, not pressure but partnership, not obligation but surrender. I may never stand on foreign soil, but now I stand in obedience, and there is a quiet, holy joy in knowing that when God spoke, I finally answered yes.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message
Heartbeats From Your Pastor’s Heart
Faith That Moves
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” — James 2:17
All year long, we have been learning to see life from God’s perspective. And when you see faith from God’s perspective, you realize something sobering: heaven does not measure faith by feelings, but by fruit. Faith is not agreement. Faith is not admiration. Faith is not emotion. Faith moves. Biblical faith is never passive. It steps out. It risks. It obeys before all the details are visible. Missions’ month reminds us that faith was never meant to sit comfortably in padded pews—it was designed to walk dusty roads, cross oceans, give sacrificially, and pray fervently. James does not say faith without works is weak. He says it is dead. Living faith always expresses itself.
Faith That Moves Obeys Before It Understands
Abraham did not fully understand where he was going, but he went. Hebrews 11:8 says he obeyed “not knowing whither he went.” Faith is proven in movement. When God says “give,” faith moves. When God says “go,” faith moves. When God says “pray,” faith moves. Many believers wait until they feel ready. But readiness often follows obedience. If Abraham had waited for certainty, he would have never left Ur. If Peter had waited for calm waters, he would have never walked on them. Faith does not demand full explanation—it responds to God’s voice. If your faith has stalled, ask yourself: what was the last thing God told you to do?
Faith That Moves Partners with God’s Heart
Biblical missions is incarnational love—truth with hands and feet. Jesus did not shout salvation from heaven. He came. He healed bodies and souls. He fed the hungry and forgave the sinner. He met people where they were and called them higher. God does not rain provision from heaven anymore—He moves hearts. He does not drop missionaries from the sky—He calls them. He does not fund His work apart from the church—He invites us to partner. This is the miracle of missions: God could do it without us—but He chooses not to. We don’t all go—but we all participate. We don’t all preach—but we all partner. We don’t all stand on foreign soil—but we can stand in faithful support. When we pray for missionaries, faith moves. When we give beyond comfort, faith moves. When we surrender our children to God’s call, faith moves. And obedience on this side of eternity echoes on the other.
Faith That Moves Refuses Comfortable Christianity
Comfort is the enemy of movement. Dead faith loves convenience. Living faith embraces obedience. The servant in Matthew 25 who buried his talent did not lose it because of rebellion—he lost it because of fear. He protected what he was given instead of multiplying it. Fear says, “What if I lose?” Faith says, “What if God multiplies?” Comfort says, “Stay safe.” Faith says, “Step out.” Missions stretches us because it forces us to trust God beyond ourselves. It forces us to see our money, time, and as stewardship, not ownership. If our faith costs nothing, it is worth very little. If you stay grounded in analysis, you will never see the higher view. But when you step in and allow God to move you—through giving, praying, going—your perspective shifts. Faith that moves lifts you higher than fear ever could.
James 2:17 is not a suggestion—it is a warning and an invitation.
Faith that does not move is dead. Faith that moves is alive. God is still calling. God is still sending. God is still saving. The question is not whether He is working. The question is whether our faith is moving with Him. We don’t just believe in missions. We participate. We don’t just admire obedience. We practice it. Faith that moves today will echo in eternity.
Warfare Prayer
Father, in the name of Jesus, we refuse dead faith. We come against fear, hesitation, complacency, and comfortable Christianity. Word declares that You have not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 Break every chain of apathy. Silence every whisper that says “later” when You are saying “now.” Expose every place where comfort has replaced obedience. Stir our hearts for the nations. Stir our hearts for our neighbors. Stir our hearts for eternal things. Let our faith move. Let it give. Let it pray. Let it surrender. We choose obedience over fear, movement over stagnation, faith over feeling. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Daily Challenge
Take one tangible step today
• Pray specifically for one missionary or nation.
• Give something that stretches your comfort.
• Encourage someone who is serving faithfully.
• Commit to obedience in one area you’ve delayed.
Don’t just hear.
Obey.
Let your faith move.
FRIDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Jason Gibson – Surgery
Baby Mary Marin – Moved to Regular Room Hallelujah
Britany Smith ~ Breast Cancer
Darlene Kelley – Cancer Treatment
Don And Carol Franklin – Mae’s Uncle
Ed Franklin’s Son In Law – Heart Surgery
Gloria Young
Jean Partee
Sandra Mitchell
Tammy Shelnutt
Amy Garner’s Dad
Bentley Smith – Broken Leg
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Joni Oberhage
Linda Mays
Myles Elliott
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Brando Echarte
Debbie Foskey
Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
Jake Jenkins
June Cronan
Jean Partee’s Sister
Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda
Deon Lotter
Doris Loyd
Nancy Brown
Annette Ford
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sisters
Ann Stanley
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
James Burnette
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Lonzo Christian
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Williams
Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom
Mrs. Franklin
Nora Allison
Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher