2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
February – Seeing Stewardship and Giving from God’s Perspective
THIS SUNDAY
This Sunday is going to be an unforgettable day at Belmont. We’ll have the privilege of hearing from the Wacharia family serving in Kenya, and from Marli Page with Medical Missions Worldwide. God is using their lives to carry the gospel, bring hope, and meet real needs—and their stories will remind us that our prayers and giving are reaching farther than we can see. Come ready to listen, be encouraged, and ask the Lord how He wants you to respond.
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
As Director of Calvary Children’s Home, I want to say thank you to Belmont Baptist Church. For more than 60 years, your faithful support through Faith Promise giving has helped carry this ministry and keep our doors open for children who needed a safe place, steady love, and the hope of the gospel. Because you’ve given consistently—year after year—you’ve been part of thousands of everyday moments that changed lives: a bed for a child who had nowhere else to go, meals on the table, caring staff who refuse to give up, and the steady discipleship that points hearts to Jesus. You may not know every name or every story, but heaven does—and so do we. We’re deeply grateful. Your obedience has helped us rescue, raise, and influence generations of young people. Thank you for believing in this work, for investing in what God is doing through Calvary Children’s Home, and for helping write stories of healing and hope that will echo for years to come.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
The Joash Offering: When Love Costs Something
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all…” — Romans 8:32
The Joash Offering calls us to a form of generosity that goes beyond convenience and routine. It’s the kind of giving that costs us something tangible—time, resources, comfort, or plans—so that God’s purposes advance, lives are rescued, and the gospel multiplies. This devotion invites us to look not at what we have left over, but at what God may be asking us to release in trust. In embracing sacrificial giving, we participate in heaven’s redemptive story, mirroring the Father who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all.
Sacrifice Reflects the Heart of the Giver
When God asks for sacrifice, He’s not counting pennies; He’s inviting alignment with His heart. The Joash Offering is a tangible expression that love asks for more than sentiment—it asks for action that alters circumstances. Our willingness to release what costs us demonstrates that we value people over possessions and eternity over comfort. John 3:16 reminds us of the depth of God’s gift; our comparable gift, though smaller, should strive to reflect that generous posture.
Moving from Routine to Rescue
Sacrificial giving interrupts the normal flow of life to intervene in crisis, expand ministry, or meet urgent needs. It’s about stepping into the interruption with trust rather than retreating into safe margins. When we give beyond what is easy, we invite God to work through our generosity in ways that can’t be explained apart from Him. Identify one ongoing routine expense or comfort that, if redirected, could rescue or empower someone else in need.
From Cost to Miracle
What we perceive as a personal cost can become another person’s doorway to transformation. The “miracle” isn’t just in the amount given, but in the story changed by that gift—the life touched, the opportunity opened, the gospel proclaimed more clearly. Celebrate the ripple effects of sacrifice, even when you don’t see the full outcome right away. God is weaving a larger tapestry through your small, faithful acts. Imagine a small village with a single well that has run dry. A neighbor offers a portion of their own water supply to dig a deeper well that will serve the whole village. It costs them their own comfort, perhaps even a temporary shortage, but the shared well sustains families, enables children to study, and roots the community in renewed hope. The Joash Offering works in a similar way: a personal cost that unlocks life and possibility for many.
The Joash Offering invites us to participate in God’s redemptive economy—the economy of generosity that costs us something but yields eternal fruit. By leaning into sacrificial giving, we align with the Father’s heart and become vessels through which miracles, rescue, and renewal flow. Let your “cost” become someone else’s catalyst, and let your faith be proven in action.
Warfare Prayer: Lord, shield my heart from fear of loss and confusion about the costs involved. Strengthen my faith to release what You show me, trusting that You see the end from the beginning. Let my sacrifice break chains, open doors, and advance Your kingdom. May my giving reflect the costly love You demonstrated in Christ, and may many experience Your rescue through it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Daily Assignment: Read Romans 8:32 and meditate on the truth that God did not spare His own Son. Journal what it might look like for you to imitate that level of trust in a current situation. Pray: Ask God to reveal one area where a Joash Offering is needed in your life—whether time, resources, or abilities. Seek clarity on what to sacrifice and to whom it should go. Act: Identify a concrete, sacrificial step you can take this week. It could be contributing a portion of a recurring gift, redirecting a discretionary expense, or offering a skill or service to meet an urgent need. Share: If comfortable, write a brief note of how God impressed your heart and what you chose to release. Encourage others to consider sacrificial generosity as well.
FRIDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Baby Mary Marin – RSV – NICU – CHOA
Britany Smith ~ Breast Cancer
Darlene Kelley – Cancer Treatment
Don And Carol Franklin – Mae’s Uncle
Ed Franklin’s Son In Law – Heart Surgery
Sandra Mitchell
Tammy Shelnutt
Jean Partee
Aston Savage
Gloria Young
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