October Theme – “Crucified with Christ: Dying to Self, Living to God”
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
“When Heaven Holds the Pen”
God has never hurried through the pages of your life. Before you ever drew breath, He was already composing a story of redemption — every chapter woven with both melody and mystery. He writes in contrasts: sunlight and storm, laughter and loss, surrender and strength — until the harmony resounds with His unwavering faithfulness. The testimony of a woman once wandering but now found reminds us: Heaven never drafts and deletes. What we call delay is often divine detail. Every pause is a brushstroke in the portrait of grace that only His hand can paint. The same voice that called her from the dust now speaks her name into His ongoing masterpiece of mercy. Christ doesn’t tidy up your past — He transforms it. He doesn’t perfect your effort — He fills it with His presence. The gospel isn’t self-improvement; it’s holy exchange. He’s not waiting for your performance to impress Him — He’s waiting for your surrender to invite Him. The moment you release the pen, the Author of resurrection begins to write what death could never end. So breathe. Step back. Let grace finish what glory began. But remember — the fiercest warfare isn’t waged in the world around you; it’s in the world within you. The enemy builds fortresses behind composed smiles and rehearsed prayers. The mind is the battlefield where truth and tyranny collide. Before your behavior changes, your belief must bow.
Transformation begins when trust takes the throne. Scripture calls us to yield the cockpit of our thoughts — to be renewed in our minds (Romans 12:2), to lay aside the worn-out lies of the old self (Ephesians 4:22–23), and to anchor our hearts in the unshakable peace of Christ (Isaiah 26:3). Surrender isn’t defeat — it’s divine transfer. At the cross, control was crucified so peace could reign. Pride fell silent. Fear lost its crown. And the mind was made new. When Christ captains your thoughts, panic gives way to peace, and the inner storm yields to stillness. Worship becomes more than sound — it becomes sight: seeing all of life through the rule of the One who reigns within. Victory, then, isn’t born from striving harder, but from seeing higher. The moment your mind bows to His truth, your life begins to rise in His triumph.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
When You’re Tired of Repeating the Same Mistakes
“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” — Romans 12:2
The Battle Beneath the Behavior
The cycle of defeat never begins with what your hands do — it begins with what your heart believes. Long before your actions stumble, your thoughts have already surrendered. The enemy doesn’t need to chain your body when he can convince your mind that freedom is impossible. That’s why the first battleground of transformation isn’t your willpower — it’s your thought life. You can’t walk in newness while meditating on the same old lies.
Every sin begins as a suggestion — a whisper that says, “This time will be different,” or “You’ll never change.” But the Holy Spirit meets those whispers with truth. He doesn’t shame you for falling again; He trains your mind to recognize the lie before it becomes a lifestyle. Transformation isn’t God demanding that you do better; it’s Him renewing how you think, perceive, and believe. The renewed mind doesn’t say, “I’ll fix this.” It says, “Lord, I can’t, but You already have.”
Heaven’s Perspective Over Human Patterns
God’s goal isn’t to make you behave — it’s to make you become. True repentance is not a tearful moment at the altar; it’s a total shift in perception. It’s seeing sin for what it really is — a counterfeit comfort — and seeing grace for what it truly offers — complete freedom. When you learn to think from heaven’s perspective, you begin to see temptation differently. You stop asking, “How close can I get without falling?” and start asking, “How can I honor the One who set me free?”
Renewing your mind means trading reaction for revelation. Instead of letting emotions steer the moment, you let truth shape your decisions. The old man reacts to pressure; the new man responds to purpose. What once triggered anger, fear, or shame now becomes an opportunity to display grace, patience, and trust. God doesn’t simply want to change your actions — He wants to teach your thoughts how to bow before His truth.
The Exchange That Frees You
Transformation is never about self-improvement — it’s about surrender. The cross didn’t come to upgrade your old self; it came to replace it entirely. Christ doesn’t just polish what’s broken — He makes you new from the inside out. When you let Him rewrite your internal dialogue, everything external begins to align. Old reactions lose their grip. Familiar temptations lose their appeal. You stop living by effort and start living by exchange — His mind for yours, His peace for your panic, His truth for your torment.
When God renews your mind, He doesn’t erase your memories; He redeems them. He takes the very patterns that once tripped you and turns them into testimonies that strengthen others. Every renewed thought is a building block in a new life — one where the focus shifts from guilt to grace, from failure to faith, from shame to surrender.
The prodigal son’s breakthrough didn’t begin with his journey home — it began when he “came to himself” (Luke 15:17). His repentance started in the realm of thought long before it showed in his steps. He didn’t first change his surroundings — he changed his reasoning. His story reminds us that the first step toward redemption is a renewed mind that finally agrees with truth.
A computer doesn’t change behavior by repainting the screen — it changes when you rewrite the code. The same is true of the believer. Until the inner code — your beliefs, perceptions, and thought habits — are rewritten by truth, the same errors will appear again and again. But when the Holy Spirit begins to renew your mental code with the Word, the old program loses its power. What once felt automatic now feels foreign because the truth has replaced the lie at its root.
Prayer: Lord, I’m weary of my own cycles. Renew my mind where it’s still programmed by pain, pride, or fear. Teach me to think like You so I can live like You. Replace my striving with surrender and my frustration with faith. I give You permission to rewrite the thoughts that have written my failures. I exchange my logic for Your truth, my control for Your peace, and my guilt for Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Challenge: Identify one repeated struggle — something that feels like an unbreakable cycle. Now, search the Word for one verse that contradicts the lie fueling that pattern. Speak that verse aloud each day until your mind shifts from reaction to revelation. You’re not rehearsing Scripture — you’re reprogramming your soul. The battle is won when truth feels truer than fear.
FRIDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Kathryn Rains (96) – 2 Of Her 3 Daughters Passed Away This Week
Deon Lotter
Doris Loyd
Mike Bryan
Mike Hollinhead
Nancy Brown – Rehab
The Barksdale Family – Bobbi Jackson’s Brother In Law Passed Away
Allysa Elliott
Amy Garner’s Dad
Annette Ford
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sister
Ann Stanley
Carol Lawhead – Park Place Rehab in Monroe
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Debbie Foskey
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
George & Linda Alexander
James Burnette
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kathryn Raines
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah
Linda Mays
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
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Sheila Simmons
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shellnutts
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher