2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
February – Seeing Stewardship and Giving from God’s Perspective
NEXT SUNDAY
From where I sit as a Senior Citizen, living on a fixed income and counting every dollar carefully, missions is
not just a church theme or a special month on the calendar. It is part of my daily walk with the Lord. I may not
travel across the ocean, but I can pray. I may not have much to give, but I can sacrifice. And I have learned that
when something costs me a little, it means something to God. When we connect live with the Wachira family in
Kenya, you will hear real voices and see real faces. You will hear how your prayers and obedience help children
sleep safely at night, how believers are being discipled, and how families who once felt forgotten are now
finding hope in Christ. That is not theory—that is fruit. You will also hear from Marli and learn how Medical
Missions Worldwide carries life-saving care into places of deep poverty. In those places, compassion speaks
loudly. A bandage, a prescription, a listening ear—those simple acts often open hearts to the gospel. Sometimes
healing the body becomes the doorway to healing the soul. As you listen, I encourage you to pray—not just
about what to give, but about your availability. Ask the Lord if He might want you to go on a future two-week
medical mission trip or serve in some other way. I may not be able to go myself, but I can help send someone. I
can help hold the rope. And that matters. Whether you pray, support, or go, your faithfulness is not small in
God’s eyes. I have learned that He multiplies even widow’s mites. So together, let’s ask one simple, honest
question: “Lord, would You have me do?”
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
Missions Month isn’t just another emphasis on the church calendar to me. I grew up in Calvary Children’s
Home. I am living proof that missions and giving are not theories—they are lifelines. When your church talks
about seeing missions from God’s perspective, I don’t hear pressure or obligation. I hear gratitude. I hear
opportunity. I hear love in action. There were people who gave when they didn’t know my name. People who
prayed for children they would never meet. People who trusted God with their firstfruits and responded in Faith
Promise, not because it was easy, but because it was obedience. And because they did, I had a safe place to
sleep, people who discipled me, and a future that once felt impossible. When Pastor teaches on giving, I don’t
hear a financial lesson—I hear a freedom lesson. Honoring God with our firstfruits isn’t about money; it’s about
surrender. It’s about saying, “Lord, I trust You more than I trust my understanding.” I watched missionaries
visit the Home. I saw how churches sustained ministries year after year. I saw how obedience—quiet, consistent
obedience—changed lives like mine. Through Scripture, testimony, and decades of faithful ministry, we’re
reminded that when we stop calculating and start obeying, God moves. He uses our prayers to strengthen weary
missionaries. He uses our gifts to rescue children. He uses our trust to push light into places we may never
personally see. Missions is not a program to me. It is the reason I had stability. It is the reason I found Christ-
centered mentors. It is the reason I graduated from college with hope instead of hurt defining my future.
Missions is love with a name. It is obedience with a face. It is our privilege to partner with God in reaching the
world—and sometimes, that world is a child like I once was.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
1 Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
Putting Your Wages in a Bag with Holes
“Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with
drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with
holes.” Haggai 1:6Few things are more frustrating than working hard and still feeling behind. The hours were long. The effort was
real. The income came in—but somehow, it never seems to stay. Bills rise unexpectedly. Resources vanish
quickly. There is motion without progress and effort without reward. God, through the prophet Haggai, reveals
a sobering truth: sometimes the problem is not the amount earned, but the order in which God is honored. When
firstfruits are withheld, blessing is not merely delayed—it leaks.
Activity Without Alignment
The people in Haggai’s day were busy. They were planting, harvesting, eating, drinking, and clothing
themselves—yet nothing satisfied. Their labor produced exhaustion instead of fruitfulness. God exposed the
root issue: they had prioritized their own houses while neglecting the house of the Lord. Productivity without
spiritual alignment leads to frustration. When our lives are full but our priorities are off, God allows us to feel
the emptiness so we will return to His order.
Spiritual Leaks Often Feel Natural
A bag with holes doesn’t announce itself. Money doesn’t disappear all at once—it slips away gradually.
Unexpected expenses. Broken appliances. Medical bills. Repairs you didn’t plan for. The enemy loves to
disguise spiritual consequences as “just life.” But God was clear: the loss had a spiritual explanation. When God
is not honored first, He does not curse—He removes protection. What we call coincidence may actually be
correction, lovingly designed to draw our hearts back into obedience.
Firstfruits Restore Flow and Covering
God never demanded firstfruits to impoverish His people but to position them under blessing. When Israel
returned to honoring God’s house, He promised to rebuke the devourer and restore fruitfulness. Firstfruits are
not about percentages—they are about lordship. When God is first, provision flows with purpose. When God is
delayed, provision leaks without explanation. The order of giving determines the outcome of living. God does
not desire His children to live exhausted, anxious, or always behind. He reveals the holes not to shame us, but to
heal us. The moment the people obeyed, God responded with favor. What feels like financial frustration may
actually be a merciful invitation to reorder your heart. When God is honored first, the bag holds. The harvest
lasts. And peace replaces pressure. Imagine filling a bucket from a well, only to realize there’s a crack at the
bottom. You draw water again and again, growing tired and confused as it drains away. The solution isn’t more
water—it’s fixing the leak. God’s Word identifies the cracks so restoration can begin. Increase never fixes a
spiritual leak—obedience does.
Warfare Prayer: Father God, I come before You in humility. Reveal any area where I have placed myself
before You. I repent for honoring my needs before Your command. I ask You to close every spiritual leak,
rebuke the devourer, and restore what has been lost. I choose obedience over understanding and trust You as my
Provider. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Daily Challenge: Review your finances and your priorities today. Ask the Lord, “Am I honoring You first or
fitting You in later?” Take one concrete step of obedience—whether in tithing, giving, or reordered trust—and
watch how God begins to restore peace and provision
WEDNESDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Brittany Smith ~ Breast Cancer
Darlene Kelley – Cancer Treatment
Don And Carol Franklin – Mae’s Uncle
Ed Franklin’s Son In Law – Heart SurgerySandra Mitchell
Tammy Shelnutt
Jean Partee
Aston Savage
Gloria Young
Amy Garner’s Dad
Bentley Smith – Broken Leg
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Joni Oberhage
Linda Mays
Myles Elliott
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Brando Echarte
Debbie Foskey
Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
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
James Burnette
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey BatemanKim 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
February – Seeing Stewardship and Giving from God’s Perspective
NEXT SUNDAY
From where I sit as a Senior Citizen, living on a fixed income and counting every dollar carefully, missions is
not just a church theme or a special month on the calendar. It is part of my daily walk with the Lord. I may not
travel across the ocean, but I can pray. I may not have much to give, but I can sacrifice. And I have learned that
when something costs me a little, it means something to God. When we connect live with the Wachira family in
Kenya, you will hear real voices and see real faces. You will hear how your prayers and obedience help children
sleep safely at night, how believers are being discipled, and how families who once felt forgotten are now
finding hope in Christ. That is not theory—that is fruit. You will also hear from Marli and learn how Medical
Missions Worldwide carries life-saving care into places of deep poverty. In those places, compassion speaks
loudly. A bandage, a prescription, a listening ear—those simple acts often open hearts to the gospel. Sometimes
healing the body becomes the doorway to healing the soul. As you listen, I encourage you to pray—not just
about what to give, but about your availability. Ask the Lord if He might want you to go on a future two-week
medical mission trip or serve in some other way. I may not be able to go myself, but I can help send someone. I
can help hold the rope. And that matters. Whether you pray, support, or go, your faithfulness is not small in
God’s eyes. I have learned that He multiplies even widow’s mites. So together, let’s ask one simple, honest
question: “Lord, would You have me do?”
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
Missions Month isn’t just another emphasis on the church calendar to me. I grew up in Calvary Children’s
Home. I am living proof that missions and giving are not theories—they are lifelines. When your church talks
about seeing missions from God’s perspective, I don’t hear pressure or obligation. I hear gratitude. I hear
opportunity. I hear love in action. There were people who gave when they didn’t know my name. People who
prayed for children they would never meet. People who trusted God with their firstfruits and responded in FaithPromise, not because it was easy, but because it was obedience. And because they did, I had a safe place to
sleep, people who discipled me, and a future that once felt impossible. When Pastor teaches on giving, I don’t
hear a financial lesson—I hear a freedom lesson. Honoring God with our firstfruits isn’t about money; it’s about
surrender. It’s about saying, “Lord, I trust You more than I trust my understanding.” I watched missionaries
visit the Home. I saw how churches sustained ministries year after year. I saw how obedience—quiet, consistent
obedience—changed lives like mine. Through Scripture, testimony, and decades of faithful ministry, we’re
reminded that when we stop calculating and start obeying, God moves. He uses our prayers to strengthen weary
missionaries. He uses our gifts to rescue children. He uses our trust to push light into places we may never
personally see. Missions is not a program to me. It is the reason I had stability. It is the reason I found Christ-
centered mentors. It is the reason I graduated from college with hope instead of hurt defining my future.
Missions is love with a name. It is obedience with a face. It is our privilege to partner with God in reaching the
world—and sometimes, that world is a child like I once was.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
1 Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
Putting Your Wages in a Bag with Holes
“Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with
drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with
holes.” Haggai 1:6
Few things are more frustrating than working hard and still feeling behind. The hours were long. The effort was
real. The income came in—but somehow, it never seems to stay. Bills rise unexpectedly. Resources vanish
quickly. There is motion without progress and effort without reward. God, through the prophet Haggai, reveals
a sobering truth: sometimes the problem is not the amount earned, but the order in which God is honored. When
firstfruits are withheld, blessing is not merely delayed—it leaks.
Activity Without Alignment
The people in Haggai’s day were busy. They were planting, harvesting, eating, drinking, and clothing
themselves—yet nothing satisfied. Their labor produced exhaustion instead of fruitfulness. God exposed the
root issue: they had prioritized their own houses while neglecting the house of the Lord. Productivity without
spiritual alignment leads to frustration. When our lives are full but our priorities are off, God allows us to feel
the emptiness so we will return to His order.
Spiritual Leaks Often Feel Natural
A bag with holes doesn’t announce itself. Money doesn’t disappear all at once—it slips away gradually.
Unexpected expenses. Broken appliances. Medical bills. Repairs you didn’t plan for. The enemy loves to
disguise spiritual consequences as “just life.” But God was clear: the loss had a spiritual explanation. When God
is not honored first, He does not curse—He removes protection. What we call coincidence may actually be
correction, lovingly designed to draw our hearts back into obedience.
Firstfruits Restore Flow and Covering
God never demanded firstfruits to impoverish His people but to position them under blessing. When Israel
returned to honoring God’s house, He promised to rebuke the devourer and restore fruitfulness. Firstfruits are
not about percentages—they are about lordship. When God is first, provision flows with purpose. When God is
delayed, provision leaks without explanation. The order of giving determines the outcome of living. God doesnot desire His children to live exhausted, anxious, or always behind. He reveals the holes not to shame us, but to
heal us. The moment the people obeyed, God responded with favor. What feels like financial frustration may
actually be a merciful invitation to reorder your heart. When God is honored first, the bag holds. The harvest
lasts. And peace replaces pressure. Imagine filling a bucket from a well, only to realize there’s a crack at the
bottom. You draw water again and again, growing tired and confused as it drains away. The solution isn’t more
water—it’s fixing the leak. God’s Word identifies the cracks so restoration can begin. Increase never fixes a
spiritual leak—obedience does.
Warfare Prayer: Father God, I come before You in humility. Reveal any area where I have placed myself
before You. I repent for honoring my needs before Your command. I ask You to close every spiritual leak,
rebuke the devourer, and restore what has been lost. I choose obedience over understanding and trust You as my
Provider. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Daily Challenge: Review your finances and your priorities today. Ask the Lord, “Am I honoring You first or
fitting You in later?” Take one concrete step of obedience—whether in tithing, giving, or reordered trust—and
watch how God begins to restore peace and provision
WEDNESDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Brittany Smith ~ Breast Cancer
Darlene Kelley – Cancer Treatment
Don And Carol Franklin – Mae’s Uncle
Ed Franklin’s Son In Law – Heart Surgery
Sandra Mitchell
Tammy Shelnutt
Jean Partee
Aston Savage
Gloria Young
Amy Garner’s Dad
Bentley Smith – Broken Leg
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Joni Oberhage
Linda Mays
Myles Elliott
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Brando Echarte
Debbie Foskey
Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
Jake Jenkins
June Cronan
Jean Partee’s Sister
Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda
Deon Lotter
Doris LoydNancy 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
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