2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”                        January – Prayer from God’s Perspective

You cannot afford to miss this Sunday—the first Sunday of 2026. God is urgently calling us to relearn prayer from His perspective at the very beginning of this year. This is not a call to pray harder, longer, or louder out of habit, pressure, or fear. It is an invitation to see prayer as God designed it. Prayer was never meant to manage life or convince God to act—it is the sacred place where God restores vision, quiets striving, and realigns our hearts with His will. Before this year moves forward, God is calling us to lift our eyes above anxiety and reaction and learn to live—and pray—from Heaven’s viewpoint.

January begins with Prayer from God’s Perspective, because prayer is where clarity returns and direction is formed. This is a moment of holy realignment—where trust replaces control, listening replaces rushing, and faith rises above fear. What God desires to do among us will require surrendered hearts, clear spiritual sight, and a willingness to let Him reshape our thinking before we ask Him to change our circumstances.

SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY

Good morning, church. As we gathered for the final service of 2025—a year marked by both victories and challenges—we paused to thank God for the profound growth He produced among us. As we prepared to step into 2026, the Lord called us to surrender our perspective and embrace His, reminding us that success is measured not simply by what we accomplish, but by how we see—how we interpret God, our circumstances, and ourselves through the lens of His truth. We were reminded that two people can walk through the same valley and arrive at different places, not because of the circumstance, but because of the perspective through which it is viewed.

Many of us are not lost, but stuck—repeating patterns, reacting instead of responding, busy yet unproductive. God never intended His people to live by instinct, emotion, or worldly thinking, but by renewed minds anchored in His Word. That day became a moment of realignment as we learned to consider the lilies, lay down worry and control, and rest in the Father’s care. When God is seen rightly, fear loses its voice, direction returns, and we understand that breakthrough begins with changed thinking, not changed circumstances. We closed the year in prayer and stepped forward into 2026 anchored in God’s promises, supplied with new grace, and ready to walk in trust, surrender, and confidence in a God who cannot lie.

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

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Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart

Break the Cycle: Respond, Don’t React

“Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” — Romans 12:2

When Motion Replaces Progress

One of the most subtle dangers in the Christian life is not rebellion—it is routine. Ruts are not usually formed by dramatic failures; they are carved by repeated reactions. The same triggers, the same tones, the same internal scripts run on repeat. Over time, survival quietly replaces vision. You can be busy and still be stuck—moving constantly but not progressing spiritually. God never intended His people to live on autopilot. That is why transformation begins not with behavior management, but with renewed thinking. Before God changes your direction, He reshapes your discernment.

Autopilot Is the Enemy of Transformation

Autopilot feels efficient, but it is spiritually dangerous. It allows emotions, habits, and past wounds to make decisions for you. When life presses, reactions spill out—sharp words, silent withdrawal, defensive attitudes—often before truth has a chance to speak. Scripture does not tell us to simply “try harder” to behave better; it calls us to be transformed by renewed thinking. When your mind is anchored in God’s Word, clarity replaces chaos. You stop partnering with confusion and begin walking in discernment. The enemy loves autopilot because it requires no faith, no listening, and no surrender—only repetition.

Prayer Interrupts the Cycle

Prayer is heaven’s interruption of autopilot. It arrests the impulse before it becomes damage. In prayer, God does more than soothe emotions—He corrects perspective. He doesn’t merely calm the heart; He realigns it. Prayer creates space between stimulus and response, and that space is holy ground. In that pause, the Spirit asks, “Will you react, or will you respond?” A single prayerful pause can prevent words that wound, decisions that derail, and patterns that entrench. This is why prayer is not optional—it is essential for anyone who wants forward motion instead of repetition.

One Pause Can Change a Day

The difference between a life that repeats and a life that redeems is often one sacred pause. That pause may only last a few seconds, but it shifts the source of your response—from emotion to truth, from fear to faith. Responding requires listening; reacting requires none. When you invite God into the moment before you speak or act, you allow Him to govern your response. Over time, those small pauses reshape habits, heal relationships, and break cycles that once felt unbreakable. Transformation is not sudden—it is consistent obedience in small moments.

From Reaction to Redemption

God is not merely interested in changing what you do—He is committed to changing how you see. As your mind is renewed, your responses are redeemed. The cycle breaks not through willpower, but through surrender. Prayer becomes the doorway where instinct yields to obedience, and habit gives way to holiness. This is how ruts end—not with dramatic leaps, but with daily pauses that invite God into the moment. When you respond instead of react, you step out of repetition and into redemption.

Heart Check: Where have I been reacting out of habit instead of responding out of truth?

Prayer: Lord, renew my mind. Interrupt my autopilot. Train my soul to pause, listen, and obey. Let Your Word govern my reactions. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Daily Breakout Challenge (Do One Thing) Before you answer any stressful text, email, or conversation today, pause for 30 seconds and pray: “Lord, give me Your response.” Then speak.

TUESDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS

Tammy Shellnut – Back Surgery Tomorrow

Phillip Roach

Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA

Mandy Martin

Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers

Luther Roach

Cheryl Knight’s Brother Passed on Tuesday

Marsha Layfield

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