September Theme – The Mind of Christ:                                                                                                      Breaking Free From Earthly Thinking to Embrace Christ’s Mind

SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY  

Sometimes life feels like standing in deep water, the waves rising higher until it seems they will close over your head. Words for prayer vanish, swallowed by the current of exhaustion. Your heart whispers, “I can’t fight this anymore.” Yet just as the tide threatens to pull you under, Christ steps into the storm. He speaks louder than the crashing waves, silencing the lies that tell you you’re finished. With gentle strength, He reaches for your hand, pulling you onto solid ground that you could never reach alone. The miracle is not found in your ability to swim, but in His refusal to let you drown. His hand steadies when yours slips, His strength endures when yours gives way, and His love holds you fast until peace returns and hope rises like the morning sun.

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

Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart

The Shepherd’s Song in the Night

“He will joy over thee with singing.” — Zephaniah 3:17

Night has fallen. The valley is silent but alive with fear. Every bush rustles, every shadow creeps closer. Your eyes stay wide open, your heart pounds, your body trembles. Sleep is a stranger. Fear whispers, “You won’t survive this night.” And then, unexpectedly, you hear it—not a command, not a rebuke, but a song. The Shepherd is near. His voice, deep and steady, wraps around you like a blanket. He sings—not angrily, but joyfully—over you. His song drowns the lies, silences the wolves, calms your trembling soul. Imagine that: the God who made the stars bends low to sing lullabies over His child. Suddenly, night is no longer your enemy—it has become the stage where His love sings you back to hope.

We often think of God speaking in thunder, fire, or mighty winds. But Zephaniah paints another picture: a God who sings. Parents sing over children to soothe them; lovers sing to one another in delight; soldiers sometimes sing to keep courage alive in the dark. When God sings over you, it is not just background noise—it is His way of reminding you that you are loved, chosen, and safe. The very sound of His joy quiets your fears. His melody is not about your strength but about His. And when the night stretches long, it is His song that keeps you from unraveling.

Think of Paul and Silas, chained in a Philippian jail at midnight. They sang hymns, but what they may not have realized was that heaven was singing with them. God’s presence filled that cell so fully that the earth shook and doors swung open. The same God sings over you tonight. You may feel chained by anxiety, grief, or uncertainty, but His joy-filled song is shaking the prison walls of despair. Even when you have no strength to sing, rest in the truth that your Shepherd does. His song is stronger than your silence, and His joy is greater than your fear.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for singing over me when the night feels endless. Tune my ears to Your voice above every whisper of fear. Keep me resting in the melody of Your love. Amen.

Challenge: Tonight, before bed, whisper: “My Shepherd sings over me. I am safe.” Then take one deep breath as if breathing in His song of joy.

FRIDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS

Gayle Sparks

Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman

Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s

Angela Bryan’s Sister

Ann Stanley   

Carol Lawhead – Park Place Rehab in Monroe

Danny Jarrard – Knee Surgery Soon

Debbie Foskey  

James Parker

Jessica Headrick   

Kim McClain’s Mother 

Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda  

Linda Mays       

Sheila Simmons  

Darlene Wiggins

Doris Loyd

Dr. and Mrs. Davis

Eric Magnusson’s Mother

Eric Ward

Friend of Linda Hodge

George & Linda Alexander 

James Burnette

James Garner

Jason Parker  

John McClain’s Mother

John Parillo

June Cronan’s Sister

June Davis

Kailey Bateman

Kathryn Raines

Lee Cronan

Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom

Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah 

Lonzo Christian 

Lori Blount’s Mother

Mary Williams

Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom

Mrs. Franklin 

Nora Allison

Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA

Sadie Almand 

Scott Lanier 

Scotty Nix

Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shellnutts

Steve Michaels

Tom Witcher