2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE” January – Prayer from God’s Perspective
If you miss the first service of 2026, you will miss the foundation God is laying for everything He intends to do in your life this year.
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
As we closed 2025, we thanked God for a year of growth and learned that true success is not what we achieve, but how we see life through His truth. We entered 2026 in prayer, laying down worry and control, trusting God’s promises and moving forward in faith with confidence in His unfailing grace.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
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Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
One Yielded Step: Move From Rut to Redemption
“And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed…” — John 6:11
Most people want a breakthrough, but God usually begins with a step. Not a dramatic leap, not a perfect plan—just something small, surrendered, and placed into His hands. In John 6, the miracle did not start with multiplication; it started with release. A boy yielded what he had. Jesus blessed it. And forward motion followed. That same pattern still breaks ruts today.
Ruts rarely end because we feel inspired; they end because we decide to obey. God does not ask you to fix everything at once—He asks you to yield something now. One yielded step becomes the doorway from repetition to redemption.
Perspective Determines Possibility
The disciples saw a problem: not enough. Jesus saw a possibility: something surrendered. Perspective changes everything. When we focus on what we lack, we stay stuck; when we yield what we have, God begins to work.
Ruts form when we rehearse the same reactions, the same fears, the same delays. We tell ourselves, “When things change, I’ll move.” But God says, “When you move, things change.” The miracle was not waiting on more bread—it was waiting on obedience. What you hold tightly stays small. What you place in Jesus’ hands becomes usable. God does not ask you for what you don’t have; He asks for what you’re already carrying.
Yielded Steps Break Spiritual Stagnation
Ruts are not always caused by rebellion; often they are caused by delay. We know the right step, but we postpone it. We wait for better timing, clearer feelings, or stronger confidence. But the enemy loves “someday.” God blesses today. One yielded step—taken consistently—creates a new path. Daily obedience reshapes habits. Faithful choices retrain the heart. Small acts of surrender dismantle long-standing cycles of fear, avoidance, and passivity. You don’t break a rut with emotion; you break it with direction. And direction begins when obedience comes before clarity.
Prayer Turns Motion Into Redemption
Prayer does not replace action—it purifies it. Prayer takes your step and aligns it with heaven. Without prayer, action becomes striving. With prayer, action becomes obedience. In prayer, God rarely reveals the whole journey. He gives wisdom for one step, strength for one day, and grace for this season. That is enough. When prayer becomes your first response, you stop reacting to pressure and start responding to purpose. The new year does not require you to overhaul your life—it invites you to yield something specific. And when you do, God begins to multiply peace, clarity, and fruit where there was once repetition and stagnation. Redemption often begins quietly. One prayer. One decision. One surrendered step. Do not despise the small offering—it may be the very thing Jesus uses to feed multitudes in your life. Yield what’s in your hands today, and trust God with what He will do tomorrow.
Heart Check: What “small” step have I dismissed—even though obedience in that area could change my direction?
Prayer: Father, I yield what is in my hands today. I place my habits, my choices, and my next step before You. Multiply what I surrender. Replace my rut with obedience, my fear with trust, and my repetition with redemption. I trust You to do what only You can do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Daily Breakout Challenge — Do One Thing: Choose one daily “rut-breaker” and practice it for the next 7 days:
- Pray before checking your phone
- Speak one word of encouragement instead of silence
- Read one verse and write one sentence of reflection
- Take one step you’ve been delaying (call, apologize, schedule, forgive)
- Replace one complaint with one prayer of surrender
Do not wait for motivation. Yield one step—and let God do the multiplying.
FRIDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Greg Payne
Luther Roach
Mandy Martin – Mary May Martin 6 lbs. 7 oz.
Marsha Layfield
Myles Elliott
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Amy Garner’s Dad
Brando Echarte
Debbie Foskey
Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
Gloria Young
Jake Jenkins
June Cronan
Jean Partee’s Sister
Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda
Deon Lotter
Doris Loyd
Nancy Brown
Annette Ford
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sisters
Ann Stanley
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
Linda Alexander
James Burnette
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
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
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher