October Theme – “Crucified with Christ: Dying to Self, Living to God”
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
This service unveils control for what it truly is—a quiet, counterfeit peace that disguises itself as wisdom, responsibility, and even spirituality, yet is rooted in fear. Like the little girl who tried to help a butterfly by cutting open its cocoon, we often call our interference “helping” when it’s really handling. In trying to ease the struggle, we rob strength. The same hands that grip in anxiety are the ones that choke the very peace we’ve been praying for. Proverbs 3:5–6 warns us that real guidance doesn’t flow through clenched fists, but through open hands that trust the Lord completely. From Abraham’s impatience to Peter’s trembling step onto the storm, Scripture reminds us that faith begins where explanations end. The wheel belongs to God alone—and every time we surrender it back to Him, He proves that you cannot have peace and control at the same time. Choose control, and peace will leave; choose peace, and control must die. God has never once needed our help to stay sovereign. Surrender is not weakness—it’s the channel through which His strength flows. Every act of release becomes worship, and every moment of letting go invites the Holy Spirit to replace striving with rest and fear with quiet assurance.
When trust feels like losing—when prayers seem unanswered and obedience leads through hardship—God calls us to see delay not as rejection but as refinement. Joseph’s prison, Moses’ wilderness, and the Cross itself all prove that heaven’s greatest victories often arrive wrapped in what looks like defeat. Worship, then, is not escape from the storm but peace within it—it’s stillness as warfare and surrender as strength. The call is simple yet searching: write down what you cannot fix, pray over it, and declare, “God is in charge—I am at rest.” At the altar, the invitation is clear: Drop the reins. Renounce fear. Release outcomes. Let Christ rule your thoughts, your timing, and your results. Because true freedom is not found in control but in Christ. And the moment you finally let go, heaven moves. Real faith isn’t proven when we see the answer—it’s proven when we trust through the silence, when surrender steadies the heart, and when the soul, whispering “Yes, Lord,” finds peace where pressure used to live.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
When Care Becomes Control
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5
Control often disguises itself as care. It begins with good intentions—“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt,” “I’m only trying to help,” or “I’m just being responsible.” But underneath those words, fear often whispers, “If you don’t hold it together, everything will fall apart.” What starts as love can quietly become bondage when fear begins to lead.
When we lean on our own understanding, we unknowingly exchange the peace of God for the pressure of self-dependence. The more we grip, the more we lose. The more we “manage,” the more we interfere with what God is trying to form. Real trust means believing that God is good even when His timing feels slow, and that His hand is steady even when yours is shaking.
Some people hold their opinion higher than they hold the Word of God. They trust their logic, emotions, and experience more than His truth. But our opinions can’t heal, restore, or guide like His Word can. When we defend our opinions more fiercely than we defend His promises, we’ve placed self on the throne where Christ alone should reign. True surrender happens when we admit: “Lord, I don’t have to understand to obey. I don’t have to control to trust.”
Care without surrender becomes control.
There’s a fine line between caring and carrying. One comes from love; the other from fear. When we care God’s way, we intercede and release. When we control, we interfere and restrict. The more we trust the outcome to God, the lighter our spirit becomes. Peace never lives in clenched fists—it lives in open hands.
Opinion without humility becomes idolatry.
The serpent in Eden didn’t tempt Eve with rebellion first—he tempted her with opinion. “Did God really say…?” Her reasoning seemed right, but it replaced revelation with self-rule. Many still fall into the same trap—believing our insight outweighs His instruction. God’s Word doesn’t need our adjustment; it needs our agreement.
Waiting without faith becomes weariness.
Impatience makes us feel like God is late, but He’s never early because He’s never wrong. Every delay carries divine purpose. Like a sculptor who sees the beauty still hidden in the stone, God uses waiting to shape the unseen parts of our hearts. Trust doesn’t mean doing nothing—it means resting while He does the heavy lifting.
Abraham wanted so desperately to help God fulfill His promise that he took matters into his own hands through Hagar. The result was confusion, division, and heartache. But when Abraham stopped managing the outcome and trusted God’s process, Isaac—the child of promise—was born. Every time we “help” God, we create Ishmaels; every time we trust Him, He births miracles.
Prayer: Father, help me see when my care turns into control. Forgive me for the times I’ve trusted my opinion more than Your Word. Teach me to release people, plans, and outcomes into Your hands.Give me faith to rest when I’m tempted to rush, and peace to believe that You’re always working for my good. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Challenge: Every time you feel the urge to fix, advise, or manage what belongs to God, pause and pray:
“Lord, let Your timing—not mine—prevail. I choose Your peace over my pressure.” Then step back, breathe deeply, and trust the One who never loses control.
TUESDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Betty Hammock
Kay Woodson
Cheryl Knight’s Brother
Jean Partee’s Sister
Kathryn Rains
Deon Lotter
Doris Loyd
Mike Bryan
Mike Hollinhead
Nancy Brown
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