DECEMBER THEME — FROM CHRISTMAS TO CALVARY  – The Story Love Wrote

Friends, if your marriage feels heavy right now, I want to share something that can bring real hope and real change. Every couple goes through seasons where communication breaks down, feelings get buried, misunderstandings pile up, and the home feels more weary than warm. You’re not alone—and you’re not beyond help. That’s why I wrote 31-Day Reset for Troubled Marriages—not as a lecture, but as a lifeline. It’s a simple, day-by-day journey of Scripture, honest reflection, heartfelt prayer, and practical steps you can take together to rebuild what’s been damaged. This Reset helps soften hard places, reopen conversations, heal wounds you stopped talking about, and slowly restore the trust, tenderness, and unity you both long for.

You don’t need perfection to start.
You just need willingness.
One day at a time.
One prayer at a time.
One step back toward each other at a time.

No broken season is too broken for God to redeem.
No marriage is too far for God to restore.
There is beauty on the other side of surrender, and healing on the other side of hope.

If you or a couple you love could benefit from this journey, here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQCQB2KS

Let’s take the hand of every struggling couple and remind them: there is still hope… there is still healing… and Jesus still restores what feels impossible.

— Pastor Jackson

GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.

Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart

Waiting Together, Not Alone

“…exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” — Hebrews 10:25

In the centuries before Christ’s birth, God always kept a remnant—people who believed His promises, prayed together, and encouraged one another to keep trusting. Simeon and Anna in the temple are beautiful examples of this kind of shared waiting. They did not stand alone; they waited in the context of worship, community, and faithful gathering. In the same way, the closer we get to the Lord’s return, the more we need each other. The enemy loves isolated, discouraged believers, because they are easier to deceive, distract, and defeat. God designed us to wait together—praying together, gathering faithfully, sharing burdens, and reminding one another that “the day” is approaching. Church is not just a place we go; it is a people we walk with until we see Jesus. Encouraging others while we wait is part of how God keeps our own hope alive.

Isolation Weakens, Community Strengthens

One of the enemy’s most effective strategies is to pull a believer away from the flock. A sheep alone becomes a target. A soldier alone becomes vulnerable. A Christian alone becomes spiritually unstable. When we stop gathering, stop sharing, or stop opening our hearts, our thoughts grow heavier, our fears grow louder, and our faith grows weaker. But something powerful happens when we come together—truth replaces lies, joy replaces heaviness, and courage replaces fear. God wired us for connection. We were never meant to fight battles, make decisions, or carry burdens alone. Waiting together doesn’t make the wait shorter, but it does make the load lighter.

Shared Worship Builds Shared Strength

When Simeon and Anna waited for the Messiah, they did so in the atmosphere of worship. They prayed, fasted, encouraged, and reminded one another of God’s promises. Their strength did not come from self-determination but from shared devotion. The same is true for us. There is a kind of encouragement you can only receive in the presence of God with the people of God. When we worship side by side, when we lift our voices together, when we gather around the Word as one family, faith rises in the room. One person’s breakthrough stirs someone else’s faith. One person’s testimony ignites new hope in another. Shared worship is God’s way of keeping our eyes lifted as we wait.

Encouragement Is a Ministry, Not a Suggestion

The Bible does not say, “Encourage one another when you feel like it,” but “so much the more as you see the day approaching.” In other words: the darker the days, the brighter our encouragement must become. Encouragement is not flattery; it is warfare. It pushes back against fear, despair, doubt, and spiritual drift. When you speak life to a weary believer, you become part of God’s sustaining grace in their life. A text, a prayer, a listening ear, a reminder of God’s promises—these simple acts breathe strength into another’s spirit. And here’s the mystery: encouraging others strengthens you. In God’s economy, hope multiplies when it is shared.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that You have not called me to wait alone. Forgive me for the times I have neglected fellowship or pulled away when I needed others most. Help me to be an encourager to my brothers and sisters in Christ. Use my words, my presence, and my prayers to strengthen weary hearts as we wait for Your return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Challenge: Reach out to at least one believer today—a text, call, or visit. Encourage them specifically about the Lord’s faithfulness and His coming. Let them know they are not waiting alone.

THURSDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS

June Cronan

Louise Jackson – Richard’s Sister – Open Heart Surgery

Betty Hammock

Brando Echarte

Cheryl Knight’s Brother

Debbie Foskey 

Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David

Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards

Gloria Young

Jake Jenkins

Jean Partee’s Sister

Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda

Deon Lotter

Doris Loyd

Nancy Brown

Amy Garner’s Dad

Annette Ford

Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s

Angela Bryan’s Sisters

Ann Stanley  

Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers

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

Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA

Scott Lanier 

Scotty Nix

Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s

Steve Michaels

Tom Witcher