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

SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY  

There are moments when sorrow, regret, and fear pile like bricks on the chest, making it hard to breathe. Prayers feel like smoke—vanishing before they even form. The soul whispers, “What’s the use?” Just when surrender feels final, heaven bends low. Christ kneels into our weakness, silencing the enemy’s accusations with His cross. He lifts our gaze when shame demands we stare at the ground, and He plants our trembling feet on ground far higher than our strength could ever reach. The miracle is not that we manage to keep standing, but that He refuses to let us fall. His grip holds when ours fails, His strength carries when ours is gone, and His love wraps us steady until hope breathes again and we rise—not in our power, but in His.

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

Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart

The Valley That Never Ends

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” — Psalm 23:4

Picture a valley so long the sun never touches the ground. Shadows stretch endlessly, pressing against your chest. Every footstep echoes like a funeral drum. You whisper, “Will this ever end?” The silence is deafening—until you hear it: Tap. Tap. Tap. The Shepherd’s staff, striking the earth beside you. His voice breaks the heavy silence: “Fear no evil, for I am with thee.” The valley doesn’t vanish, but something changes—your steps are no longer alone. His staff becomes your rhythm, His voice your light. And when the bend finally comes and sunlight floods in, you realize: you only made it through because He walked every step at your side.

The valley is not just a place of shadows; it is a place of testing. It exposes what we believe about God when the lights go out and comfort disappears. Do we lean on feelings that waver with the night, or do we cling to His promise, unchanging and sure? The sheep doesn’t survive the valley because it understands the danger; it survives because it trusts the Shepherd. Likewise, our security is not in understanding every “why,” but in knowing the One who leads us. Faith in the valley is not the absence of fear—it is choosing to walk forward, step by step, with our eyes fixed on the Shepherd’s presence.

Sometimes the longest valleys are not physical but inward—depression that lingers, grief that won’t lift, anxiety that grips. The enemy whispers that you are abandoned, forgotten, and unseen. Yet Scripture promises the exact opposite: “Thou art with me.” The presence of Christ is not just beside us but within us, carrying what we cannot. His Spirit groans when words fail, His love holds when hope shakes. Even when no one else understands, the Shepherd does. And when we finally emerge into the light, the testimony is not that we were strong but that He never left us.

Prayer: Lord, when the shadows stretch long, help me hear the steady tap of Your staff beside me. Give me courage to trust Your presence even when my feelings fail. Amen.

Challenge: In moments of loneliness today, stop and whisper: “I am not walking alone.” Let that truth steady your steps and lift your heart.

THURSDAY’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