September Theme – The Mind of Christ: Breaking Free From Earthly Thinking to Embrace Christ’s Mind
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
There are moments when sorrow, regret, and fear pile like bricks on the chest, making it hard to breathe. Prayers feel like smoke—vanishing before they even form. The soul whispers, “What’s the use?” Just when surrender feels final, heaven bends low. Christ kneels into our weakness, silencing the enemy’s accusations with His cross. He lifts our gaze when shame demands we stare at the ground, and He plants our trembling feet on ground far higher than our strength could ever reach. The miracle is not that we manage to keep standing, but that He refuses to let us fall. His grip holds when ours fails, His strength carries when ours is gone, and His love wraps us steady until hope breathes again and we rise—not in our power, but in His.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
The Valley That Never Ends
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” — Psalm 23:4
Picture a valley so long the sun never touches the ground. Shadows stretch endlessly, pressing against your chest. Every footstep echoes like a funeral drum. You whisper, “Will this ever end?” The silence is deafening—until you hear it: Tap. Tap. Tap. The Shepherd’s staff, striking the earth beside you. His voice breaks the heavy silence: “Fear no evil, for I am with thee.” The valley doesn’t vanish, but something changes—your steps are no longer alone. His staff becomes your rhythm, His voice your light. And when the bend finally comes and sunlight floods in, you realize: you only made it through because He walked every step at your side.
The valley is not just a place of shadows; it is a place of testing. It exposes what we believe about God when the lights go out and comfort disappears. Do we lean on feelings that waver with the night, or do we cling to His promise, unchanging and sure? The sheep doesn’t survive the valley because it understands the danger; it survives because it trusts the Shepherd. Likewise, our security is not in understanding every “why,” but in knowing the One who leads us. Faith in the valley is not the absence of fear—it is choosing to walk forward, step by step, with our eyes fixed on the Shepherd’s presence.
Sometimes the longest valleys are not physical but inward—depression that lingers, grief that won’t lift, anxiety that grips. The enemy whispers that you are abandoned, forgotten, and unseen. Yet Scripture promises the exact opposite: “Thou art with me.” The presence of Christ is not just beside us but within us, carrying what we cannot. His Spirit groans when words fail, His love holds when hope shakes. Even when no one else understands, the Shepherd does. And when we finally emerge into the light, the testimony is not that we were strong but that He never left us.
Prayer: Lord, when the shadows stretch long, help me hear the steady tap of Your staff beside me. Give me courage to trust Your presence even when my feelings fail. Amen.
Challenge: In moments of loneliness today, stop and whisper: “I am not walking alone.” Let that truth steady your steps and lift your heart.
THURSDAY’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