2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
MARCH THEME: SEEING THE SCRIPTURES FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
In March, we are learning to approach the Bible not as a book to fit into our opinions, emotions, or cultural preferences — but as the living Word of God that reveals His heart, His holiness, and His authority. Too often we read Scripture asking, “How does this support what I already think?” Instead, we are asking, “Lord, what are You saying — and how must I change to align with You?” Seeing the Bible from God’s perspective means we do not soften hard truths, skip uncomfortable passages, or reshape commands to match modern thinking. We let Scripture interpret us. We allow it to correct, convict, strengthen, and transform us. We move from reading the Bible for affirmation to reading it for alignment. When we see the Word from God’s perspective, it is no longer optional advice — it becomes divine revelation. And when we submit to it fully, it reshapes how we think, live, give, pray, lead, parent, and love
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
This final service of Missions Month 2026 was a call to lift our eyes above budgets, comfort, routine, fear, and self-reliance and to see life from God’s perspective, where what we once called “mine” becomes “entrusted,” what seemed “extra” becomes “eternal,” and what looked “small” becomes “significant”; through the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, we were reminded that stewardship is not ownership but management of what already belongs to Him, that God measures faithfulness not by amount but by obedience, and that burying what He entrusts to us—whether money, time, ability, influence, or opportunity—is rooted in fear and misunderstanding of His heart; we confronted the ancient whisper from Eden that tempts us to lean on our own understanding instead of trusting fully, and we saw that true freedom, protection, and joy come not through control but through surrender, alignment, and covenant trust, as Malachi calls us back to return to the Lord and experience His covering; we learned that missions is not about pressure or percentages but participation in God’s redemptive plan—from Ethiopia to Kenya to Moldova to Conyers to our own homes—and that little is much when God is in it, as seen in a widow’s daily sacrifice, a businessman’s expanded generosity, a boy’s lunch, and the faithful servants who risked obedience; like stepping onto a Ferris wheel, faith requires releasing ground-level control and allowing God to lift our perspective higher, where what once felt risky becomes holy and what once felt costly becomes worship; and as we close, the question is not how much we have but whether God is in it, whether we will move from hearing to doing, from fear to faith, from possession to stewardship, so that one day we may stand before Him and hear, “Well done,” knowing that we trusted Him fully, invested what He placed in our hands, and lived not from our own understanding but from His eternal perspective.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermonsand listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
WHEN HE SAID “GO,” COMFORT LOST ITS AUTHORITY
Matthew 28:19 – “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Jesus did not offer suggestions after His resurrection—He issued a command. The Great Commission was not entrusted to missionaries alone, but to disciples, to worshipers, to every believer who calls Him Lord. The word “Go” immediately confronts comfort: comfort seeks preservation, but Christ commands participation; comfort says, “Protect your routine,” while Christ says, “Pursue My harvest”; comfort negotiates, but obedience mobilizes. The authority of comfort must bow to the authority of Christ, for when the risen Lord speaks, convenience loses its voice and surrender becomes the only faithful reply.
Comfort Is a Subtle Competitor
Spiritual decline rarely begins with open rebellion; it begins with quiet ease. Amos warned, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,” because ease dulls urgency, and urgency fuels obedience—when urgency fades, mission becomes optional, and when mission becomes optional, discipleship grows shallow. Comfort whispers subtle lies: “You’ve already done enough,” “Someone else will go,” “Now is not the right time,” but the Great Commission was never given to the comfortable; it was entrusted to the surrendered. The early church did not turn the world upside down because it was convenient, but because it was compelled; they faced persecution, not preference, yet they went with boldness and conviction. When Christ says “Go,” comfort loses its right to rule, and obedience becomes the only faithful response.
Delayed Obedience Is Still Disobedience
We often excuse ourselves with timing—“I will give later,” “I will speak later,” “I will go later”—but obedience delayed becomes obedience denied. Isaiah did not request a five-year plan or ask for a comfort clause; when he saw the holiness of God and heard the need, he answered at once: “Here am I; send me.” Availability is heaven’s requirement. The question is not whether you are called—every believer is—the question is whether you are available. God does not seek the most comfortable vessel; He seeks the yielded one.
Worship Demands Risk
If Christ is worthy of our songs, He is worthy of our surrender; if He is worthy of our praise, He is worthy of our plans. True worship always moves. The Magi traveled across deserts, the shepherds hurried from their fields, the disciples left their nets, and Paul laid down his reputation—no one who encountered Christ deeply remained stationary. Risk, in the kingdom of God, is not recklessness; it is trust in action. Missions, giving, praying, sending, witnessing—these are not expressions of extreme Christianity; they are the evidence of normal Christianity seen from God’s perspective. When He said “Go,” He transferred authority from our comfort to His command, and from that moment forward, obedience—not convenience—became the measure of our worship.
A boat is safest when anchored at the shore—it faces no storms, risks no waves, and feels no instability—but a boat anchored permanently is a contradiction of its design, because it was built for water, not for display; in the same way, many believers live spiritually anchored lives that are safe, stable, and unmoving, yet faith was never designed for stagnation—it was built for movement. Peter did not walk on water while sitting in the boat; the miracle began the moment his foot left the security of wood and stepped onto the uncertainty of obedience. The shore represents comfort, the water represents obedience, and the voice of Jesus stands between the two still saying, “Come.” The Great Commission does not ask for convenience—it requires surrender; comfort has shaped too many decisions, safety has silenced too many witnesses, and ease has delayed too many callings. Today is a line in the sand: when He said “Go,” comfort lost its authority, and the only question that remains is simple—will you step forward?
Warfare Prayer
Lord Jesus, You have all authority in heaven and in earth. I repent of allowing comfort to govern my obedience. I renounce the spirit of passivity, fear, and spiritual ease. Break every attachment to safety that keeps me from surrender. Silence every voice that competes with Your command. Ignite urgency in my spirit. Let boldness rise where hesitation once lived. I declare that my life belongs to You—my time, my resources, my influence, my voice. Send me where You desire. Stretch me beyond preference. Guard my heart from distraction and dullness. Let the fire of the Great Commission burn in me again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Daily Challenge
This Week:
- Initiate one Gospel conversation you have been postponing.
- Pray specifically for one nation or missionary daily.
- Give sacrificially in a way that stretches your comfort.
- Say “yes” to one opportunity that requires faith instead of ease.
- Text a word of encouragement to Daniel and Emily Ford @ 678-500-9353
Do not negotiate with comfort. When He says “Go,” move.
MONDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Baby Mary Marin – RSV – ICU CHOA – Improving Daily
Britany Smith ~ Breast Cancer
Darlene Kelley – Cancer Treatment
Don And Carol Franklin – Mae’s Uncle
Ed Franklin’s Son In Law – Heart Surgery
Gloria Young
Jason Gibson
Jean Partee
Sandra Mitchell
Tammy Shelnutt
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 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