AUGUST THEME – “Experiencing God: From Knowing About Him to Walking With Him”
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
From the pews, we heard that biblical healing isn’t a stunt, a show, or a “vending machine” payout—it’s the restoring work of Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever, flowing from His presence into body, mind, and spirit. Scripture framed healing as wholeness: sometimes immediate, often a layered journey of surrender, stillness, trust, and daily nearness to Him. Our pastor’s COVID testimony illustrated it—symptoms lingered, but God rebuilt his spirit, faith, and identity from the inside out. Because Jesus so often forgave before mending bodies and bound hearts before strengthening limbs, the charge to us was clear: pursue the Healer, release bitterness, receive forgiveness, and trust His timing. We also set our hope on ultimate healing in eternity, where pain and sorrow end. Whatever the need—physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual—we were invited to come to the altar and stop carrying what Jesus has already paid to heal: the Healer is here.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
Healing Comes When We Stop Hiding
“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.” —Psalm 119:114
We all hide—sometimes behind smiles and small talk, sometimes behind hurry and overcommitment, sometimes behind spiritual language that keeps people at arm’s length. We hide from the hard conversation, from the ache we don’t want to name, even from the God who already knows. But the healing you long for won’t come from hiding your wounds; it comes from bringing them to the Hiding Place Himself. When you stop trying to hold everything together and run to Him instead, something powerful happens: He doesn’t shame you—He shields you. Think of Eden—fig leaves never healed a single wound, but God’s covering did. Think of locked rooms after the crucifixion—Jesus walked through closed doors to bring peace. He can walk through yours, too. In His presence, the story you’re afraid to admit becomes the place He begins to mend.
God’s refuge is not where you escape reality—it’s where you face it in the light of His truth. Hiding keeps pain sterile but unhealed; bringing it into His light lets the Physician work. You can bring Him your racing thoughts, your anxious chest, your nameless heaviness. You don’t have to fix it before you enter—He invites you as you are. Let His Word interrupt the lies you’ve rehearsed: you are not beyond help, not too broken, not an exception to grace. Confession is not failure; it’s the doorway to freedom. Tell God the whole truth, then tell a trusted believer one next courageous sentence. Shame thrives in secrecy; it withers in the light. In His refuge, you don’t pretend to be strong—you are strengthened by His Spirit. And as you return to Him day by day, the reflex to hide is replaced by the reflex to run to your Hiding Place.
Prayer: Lord, I’ve hidden long enough. Today I step out of the shadows and run to You. Be my hiding place—not to avoid the world, but to face it renewed by Your presence. Speak truth to every lie in my mind, quiet my fears with Your Word, and cover me with Your shield. Heal what I’ve tried to hide, and teach me to live in Your light. Amen.
Challenge: Choose one Bible verse to declare out loud each time your thoughts turn toward fear, doubt, or accusation. Write it on a notecard and carry it with you. (Ideas: Psalm 119:114; Psalm 32:7; Isaiah 41:10; John 8:36.) Each time you speak it, take a deep breath in on “Thou art my hiding place” and exhale on “I hope in Thy word.”
THURSDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Kim McClain’s Mother
Ann Stanley – Surgery Soon
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shellnutts
Angela Bryan’s Sister
Debbie Foskey – Home
Jessica Headrick – Pray As She Recovers From Surgery
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Linda Mays – Rehab – Going Home Friday
Sheila Simmons
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
George & Linda Alexander
James Burnette
James Garner
Jason Parker
John McClain’s Mother
John Parillo
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kathryn Raines
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah
Lonzo Christian
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Williams
Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom
Mrs. Franklin
Nora Allison
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shellnutts
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher