September Theme – The Mind of Christ: Breaking Free From Earthly Thinking to Embrace Christ’s Mind
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
Sometimes life feels like standing in deep water, the waves rising higher until it seems they will close over your head. Words for prayer vanish, swallowed by the current of exhaustion. Your heart whispers, “I can’t fight this anymore.” Yet just as the tide threatens to pull you under, Christ steps into the storm. He speaks louder than the crashing waves, silencing the lies that tell you you’re finished. With gentle strength, He reaches for your hand, pulling you onto solid ground that you could never reach alone. The miracle is not found in your ability to swim, but in His refusal to let you drown. His hand steadies when yours slips, His strength endures when yours gives way, and His love holds you fast until peace returns and hope rises like the morning sun.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
The Shepherd’s Song in the Night
“He will joy over thee with singing.” — Zephaniah 3:17
Night has fallen. The valley is silent but alive with fear. Every bush rustles, every shadow creeps closer. Your eyes stay wide open, your heart pounds, your body trembles. Sleep is a stranger. Fear whispers, “You won’t survive this night.” And then, unexpectedly, you hear it—not a command, not a rebuke, but a song. The Shepherd is near. His voice, deep and steady, wraps around you like a blanket. He sings—not angrily, but joyfully—over you. His song drowns the lies, silences the wolves, calms your trembling soul. Imagine that: the God who made the stars bends low to sing lullabies over His child. Suddenly, night is no longer your enemy—it has become the stage where His love sings you back to hope.
We often think of God speaking in thunder, fire, or mighty winds. But Zephaniah paints another picture: a God who sings. Parents sing over children to soothe them; lovers sing to one another in delight; soldiers sometimes sing to keep courage alive in the dark. When God sings over you, it is not just background noise—it is His way of reminding you that you are loved, chosen, and safe. The very sound of His joy quiets your fears. His melody is not about your strength but about His. And when the night stretches long, it is His song that keeps you from unraveling.
Think of Paul and Silas, chained in a Philippian jail at midnight. They sang hymns, but what they may not have realized was that heaven was singing with them. God’s presence filled that cell so fully that the earth shook and doors swung open. The same God sings over you tonight. You may feel chained by anxiety, grief, or uncertainty, but His joy-filled song is shaking the prison walls of despair. Even when you have no strength to sing, rest in the truth that your Shepherd does. His song is stronger than your silence, and His joy is greater than your fear.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for singing over me when the night feels endless. Tune my ears to Your voice above every whisper of fear. Keep me resting in the melody of Your love. Amen.
Challenge: Tonight, before bed, whisper: “My Shepherd sings over me. I am safe.” Then take one deep breath as if breathing in His song of joy.
FRIDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Gayle Sparks
Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sister
Ann Stanley
Carol Lawhead – Park Place Rehab in Monroe
Danny Jarrard – Knee Surgery Soon
Debbie Foskey
James Parker
Jessica Headrick
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Linda Mays
Sheila Simmons
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
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
Sadie Almand
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shellnutts
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher