October Theme – “Crucified with Christ: Dying to Self, Living to God”

SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY  

God has never rushed a single sentence of your story. Long before your first heartbeat, He composed a symphony of purpose — blending joy and sorrow, light and shadow, strength and surrender — until every measure sang of His steady faithfulness. The life of a woman once lost in confusion but rescued by grace reminds us: Heaven doesn’t make rough drafts. What we mistake as delay is often divine design. Every detour is a detail in the masterpiece of redemption only He could write. The same hand that lifted her from the dust now inscribes her name into His living testimony of mercy. Christ doesn’t erase your past; He reclaims it. He doesn’t polish your performance; He replaces it with His presence. The gospel is not about improvement — it’s about exchange. He isn’t waiting for your perfection; He’s waiting for your surrender. The moment you let go of the pen, He begins to write what only resurrection can explain. So breathe. Step back. Let grace complete the story glory began.

But remember — the fiercest battles are never fought with fists; they’re fought in the mind. The enemy builds his strongest fortresses behind calm smiles and rehearsed prayers. Before your actions can change, your allegiance must. Transformation begins when belief bows. The war for control is waged in thought, and the victory of trust is won there too. Scripture invites us to surrender the cockpit of the soul — to be renewed in our minds (Romans 12:2), to refuse the familiar lies of the old man (Ephesians 4:22–23), and to fasten our thoughts to the unshakable peace of Christ (Isaiah 26:3). Surrender is not weakness — it is divine transfer. At the cross, control died so peace could live. Pride fell silent. Fear lost its throne. The mind was made new. When Christ takes the captain’s seat of your thoughts, panic yields to peace and the storm within finally stills. Worship ceases to be a performance and becomes perception — seeing everything through the rule of the Creator within. Victory, then, isn’t the fruit of striving harder but of thinking higher. The instant your mind bows to His truth, your life begins to rise in His triumph.

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

Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart

When You Can’t Fix What’s Broken

“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9

The heaviest burden in life is believing you must hold everything together. When something breaks—a relationship, a dream, or even your own heart—our first instinct is to repair it with human effort. But some situations aren’t meant to be fixed by human hands. God allows certain things to remain out of your control so that His power can be revealed within your surrender. What feels like loss is often the death of self-dependence. When you finally admit, “I can’t,” Heaven answers, “But I can.” His grace doesn’t remove every thorn; it transforms it into a channel for divine strength.

Your weakness is not your failure—it’s the meeting place of your humanity and His divinity. Every time you reach the end of yourself, you find a new beginning in Him. Many believers try to earn victory by performance, but true victory is received through rest. When you stop wrestling with what only grace can handle, peace enters the very places that once felt like defeat. You learn that God doesn’t just fix situations—He reshapes you through them. The brokenness you despise may be the very tool He uses to carve Christ’s likeness into your heart.

When Paul begged God to remove his thorn, God’s answer wasn’t deliverance—it was revelation. The revelation that divine strength is most visible through human frailty. That’s the mystery of grace: it doesn’t always change the circumstance, but it always changes you. Sometimes the miracle is not in what God takes away, but in what He gives you to endure. The power of Christ rests not on the self-sufficient but on the surrendered. Every “no” from God carries a hidden “yes” to something deeper—greater intimacy, clearer dependence, and an unshakable faith that no pain can destroy.

Paul prayed three times for his thorn to be removed, but God said, “My grace is sufficient.” Paul learned what most of us resist: the power of Christ shines brightest through surrendered weakness.

A child once brought his broken toy to his father but refused to let go of it. Tears came only when the father said, “I can’t fix what you won’t hand me.” God says the same to us.

Prayer: Father, I release what I cannot repair. I confess my limitations and embrace Your grace. Heal what I’ve tried to hold. Mend what I’ve tried to manage. Teach me to rest in Your sufficiency rather than my strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Challenge: Write down the top three things you’ve tried to fix in your strength. Pray over each one, saying, “This belongs to You, Lord.” Then, throughout the week, resist the urge to pick them back up. Watch how peace begins where control ends.

 

THURSDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS

Kathryn Rains (96) – 2 Of Her 3 Daughters Passed Away This Week

Deon Lotter

Doris Loyd

Mike Bryan

Mike Hollinhead

Nancy Brown – Rehab

The Barksdale Family – Bobbi Jackson’s Brother In Law Passed Away

Allysa Elliott

Amy Garner’s Dad

Annette Ford

Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s

Angela Bryan’s Sister

Ann Stanley  

Carol Lawhead – Park Place Rehab in Monroe

Danny Jarrard   

Darlene Wiggins

Debbie Foskey 

Doris Loyd

Dr. and Mrs. Davis

Eric Magnusson’s Mother

Eric Ward

Friend of Linda Hodge

Gayle Sparks

George & Linda Alexander 

James Burnette

Jessica Headrick  

John McClain’s Mother

June Cronan’s Sister

June Davis

Kailey Bateman

Kathryn Raines

Kim McClain’s Mother 

Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda 

Lee Cronan

Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom

Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah 

Linda Mays      

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

Sheila Simmons  

Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shellnutts

Steve Michaels

Tom Witcher