“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

These are two promises that connect sustained peace with a mind fixed on God, and a peace given by Christ that the world is incapable of offering.

Peace is not the absence of trouble. Jesus never promised a trouble-free life. What he promised in John 14:27 was his own peace -- the same peace that characterized his life -- given to us in the middle of whatever storm we are walking through. Philippians 4:7 describes this peace as a guard, a military term for a sentinel standing watch. When anxiety attempts to take over, God's peace steps in and says not today. Isaiah 26:3 connects this peace directly to where your mind is fixed. A mind consumed with shifting political landscapes, uncertain futures, and uncontrollable circumstances will not find peace there. A mind stayed on God will. The discipline of keeping your thoughts anchored to him is not passive -- it is a daily, active choice.

Set a specific time today to disconnect from news, social media, and noise for at least fifteen minutes. Use that time to pray, read Scripture, and deliberately fix your mind on who God is rather than what the world is doing. Practice returning your thoughts to him each time they drift toward anxiety.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Philippians is Paul's instruction to rejoice always, followed by the promise that God's peace will guard the hearts and minds of those who bring everything to him in prayer.

Paul wrote the instruction to rejoice always from a prison cell, not a vacation resort. He understood persecution, imprisonment, physical suffering, and abandonment. Yet his joy was not attached to his circumstances -- it was anchored to the one living inside of him. This is the testimony that the world cannot explain. When a believer weeps and yet still has joy, when a believer suffers and yet still worships, when a believer faces uncertainty and yet still trusts -- that is the fruit of the Spirit on full display. Your circumstances do not get the final word. Your confidence in God does. Joy does not mean pretending everything is fine. It means God's presence is greater than your pain.

The next time anxiety rises in your mind today, pause and speak this aloud: "My circumstances do not get the final word. My confidence in God does." Then bring that specific concern to God in prayer before returning to your day.

“And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.””
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The is the account of God's people weeping over their failures, and the call to celebrate rather than mourn because the joy of the Lord is their strength.

Joy is not decoration. It is not a religious performance meant to make believers appear more spiritual. According to Nehemiah 8:10, the joy of the Lord is a stronghold -- a place of refuge and protection when danger threatens. The people of Israel had endured seventy years of captivity. Their walls had crumbled. Their nation had suffered tremendous loss. Yet God called them to celebrate his faithfulness rather than dwell on their failures. The same call reaches us today. You do not need a perfect life to experience the joy of the Lord. You simply need to know that the Lord himself is the source of your joy. Psalm 16:11 reminds us that in his presence is fullness of joy -- not in resolved circumstances, but in his presence.

Make a written list of five specific ways God has been faithful to you in the past year. Read it aloud as an act of worship, choosing to celebrate his faithfulness rather than rehearse your losses.

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This is a description of love's defining qualities, showing that love is demonstrated through consistent action rather than fleeting feeling.

The sermon Sunday drew a sharp distinction between love as a feeling and love as a choice. Biblical love is not proven by how we treat people when they make our lives easier -- it is proven by how we treat people when they make our lives harder. Godly love listens when it is easier to interrupt. It forgives when holding a grudge feels justified. It serves when there is nothing to gain. John 13:35 tells us that love is the identifying mark of a true disciple. The world is not looking for a polished performance -- it is looking for something genuine. When the character of Christ rises up through your ordinary interactions, people take notice.

Choose one action today that demonstrates love without any expectation of recognition or return. Serve quietly, forgive privately, or give generously to someone who cannot repay you.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The above scripture is Paul's description of the Spirit-produced qualities that mark a transformed life, beginning with love as the foundation of all the rest.

Love is not simply one characteristic among many -- it is the environment in which every other expression of the Spirit grows. We were reminded Sunday that Christian love is not manufactured through effort or performance. It is received from God and then released through us. Romans 5:5 tells us that God's love has already been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The question is not whether you have access to that love -- you do. The question is whether you are drawing from it daily. Before you can consistently give love to difficult people, you must first receive it from God. Spend time today simply receiving his love before you try to give it away.

Identify one person in your life who is genuinely difficult to love. Ask God to pour his love through you toward that person today, not because they deserve it, but because that is the true nature of God.

Devotional: Ephesians 5:18 does not simply instruct believers to be filled with the Spirit once. The language carries the meaning of being continually, repeatedly, and daily filled. The Christian life is not a single moment of surrender followed by self-sufficiency. It is a daily yielding to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The sermon reminded us that the same Spirit who moves in a worship service wants to move in your home, your workplace, and your relationships. The goal is not to behave better. The goal is to remain so close to Jesus that his character becomes the most natural thing about you. That kind of life does not attract attention to itself. It points everyone around it straight to him.

Reflection Question: What would change in your daily routine if you began each morning by specifically asking the Holy Spirit to fill you, lead you, and produce his character in you throughout the day?

Practical Application: Before you leave your home tomorrow morning, pause and pray a simple prayer surrendering that day entirely to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the day, note one moment where you recognized his influence in how you responded to a person or a circumstance.

Devotional: The sermon used a vivid illustration of a branch with fruit attached to it but not growing from it. From a distance, it looked productive. Up close, it was only decorative. Many believers live this way, attaching Christian language and habits to their lives without remaining genuinely connected to Jesus. Jesus does not call us to look fruitful. He calls us to abide, which means to remain, to stay, to make our home in him. Fruit that grows from true abiding is not for self-consumption. It is produced so that others who are hungry can reach out, receive it, and be drawn to the same vine that sustains you.

Reflection Question: Are there areas of your spiritual life where you have been attaching fruit rather than growing it, maintaining the appearance of connection without the reality of it?

Practical Application: Identify one spiritual habit, whether prayer, Scripture reading, or worship, that has become routine rather than relational. Approach it differently today with the specific intention of drawing close to Jesus rather than simply completing a task.

Devotional: The sermon drew a sharp contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. The works of the flesh are not simply bad habits. They are the natural output of a life disconnected from God. The fruit of the Spirit is not a checklist of behaviors to perform. It is the natural output of a life deeply connected to Jesus. You cannot manufacture genuine patience, kindness, or self-control through willpower alone. These qualities grow from the inside out when the Spirit of God is given room to work. The question is not whether you are trying hard enough. The question is whether you are staying close enough to the vine.

Reflection Question: Looking at the list in Galatians 5, which work of the flesh appears most frequently in your life, and which fruit of the Spirit feels most underdeveloped?

Practical Application: Choose one fruit of the Spirit to focus on this week. Each morning, ask the Holy Spirit specifically to develop that quality in you, and each evening, reflect on where you saw it or missed it.

Devotional: The worship leader in this service shared through grief, reminding the congregation that personal suffering does not disqualify our praise. Hebrews 13:15 describes praise as a sacrifice, meaning it costs something. A sacrifice offered when everything is going well is not much of a sacrifice at all. The most powerful praise is the kind that rises from a broken place. When we offer God worship in the middle of pain, we are declaring that he is worthy regardless of our circumstances. That declaration does not deny the reality of suffering. It simply refuses to allow suffering to have the final word over our faith.

Reflection Question: Is there an area of your life right now where praise feels like a sacrifice rather than a celebration, and are you willing to offer it anyway?

Practical Application: Set aside ten minutes today to worship God specifically in the area where you are hurting most, even if the words come slowly and the tears come freely.

It is easy to rehearse what has gone wrong. It takes faith to rehearse what God has done right. The worship team sang the songs - So So Good and Worthy of it all - in this service and declared that fear turns to worship and tears turn to praise when we begin remembering God's faithfulness. That transformation does not happen automatically. It happens when we make a deliberate choice to look back before we look around. Spend time today recounting specific moments when God carried you. Write them down. Let the remembering become an act of worship. Gratitude is not a feeling you wait for. It is a discipline you practice until the feeling follows.

What is one specific moment in your life where God's goodness was undeniable, and how often do you return to that memory in seasons of difficulty?

Practical Application: Write three things God has done for you that you have not recently thanked him for, and speak them aloud as an act of praise today.

The enemy's goal is never simply to give you a bad day. His goal is to stop you from becoming who Jesus has called you to become. Discouragement whispers that because it did not work before, it will not work again. That because someone rejected you, no one truly wants you. That because you are tired, you should quit. But the Holy Spirit says something different. He says keep praying, keep worshiping, keep serving, keep forgiving, keep growing, keep trusting, and keep following Jesus. Not because every day is easy, but because following Jesus is worth it. Being tired does not mean you are faithless. Being discouraged does not mean you are defeated. Needing help does not mean you are disqualified. God who started this work in you has not abandoned the project.

What would your life look like one year from now if you refused to quit and took one faithful step forward each day?

Write out Philippians 1:6 by hand and place it somewhere visible this week. Each morning, read it aloud as a declaration that God is not finished with you.

God believes in you and so do we,
P Richie

2 Timothy 4:11 -- Paul, near the end of his life, asks for John Mark to be brought to him, stating that John Mark is useful for ministry -- a remarkable reversal from the sharp disagreement recorded in Acts 15.

Somewhere between Acts 15 and 2 Timothy 4, a conversation took place that Scripture does not record in detail. Paul and John Mark had to face each other. Repentance had to be offered. Forgiveness had to be extended. Trust had to be rebuilt over time. The result was that the man Paul once refused to take on a journey became someone Paul specifically requested at the end of his life. Restoration is real. It is not always fast, and it is not always comfortable, but it is available to every person willing to take the first step back. You do not have to know the whole road. You only need to take the next step. God will handle the rest.

Is there a relationship, a calling, or a commitment you walked away from that God may be inviting you to return to?

Take one concrete step today toward restoration -- whether that means making a phone call, writing a note, returning to a ministry, or simply praying for someone you have been avoiding.

God believes in you and so do we,
P Richie

Psalm 37:23-24 -- The psalmist declares that God orders the steps of those who belong to him, and though they stumble, they are not utterly abandoned because God holds them by the hand.

Redemption does not mean that what happened never happened. If you sinned, repentance is required. If you hurt someone, responsibility must be taken. If trust was broken, the work of rebuilding must begin. Grace is not a spiritual eraser. It is a divine transformer. What felt like wasted time can become wisdom. What felt like humiliation can become humility. What felt like disqualification can become the very testimony that rescues someone else from their darkest moment. God is not limited by your decisions. He is, however, glorified when you stop running from them and start walking through them with Him. Your stumble does not have to be your story's final sentence.

Is there an area of your life where you have been waiting for God to erase the past rather than allowing him to redeem it?

Identify one painful chapter of your story and ask God to show you how he might use it to serve someone else. Write down one name of a person who might benefit from your testimony.

John Mark left the mission in Acts 13:13. He walked away in the middle of the work. Paul later refused to take him on the next journey because of it. By every human measure, John Mark's story looked finished. But God was not finished. Failure is an event, not an identity -- unless you allow it to become one. The enemy's strategy is to take your worst moment and convince you it is your permanent condition. Conviction calls you back to Jesus. Condemnation tells you to hide from him. Learn the difference. A setback only becomes a stopping point when you decide it is. God has never once looked at a repentant heart and said there is nothing left to do here.

Is there a past failure you have allowed to define your identity rather than inform your growth?

Confess one area where you have allowed condemnation to keep you from moving forward. Remember that failure is an event, not your identity.

God believes in you and so do we,
P Richie

Matthew 11:28-30 -- Jesus extends an invitation to those who are weary and burdened, promising rest and a lighter load through relationship with him.

Every believer carries a backpack through life. Failure, regret, exhaustion, fear, and criticism quietly stack up like bricks until the journey feels impossible. The road has not changed. The destination God has called you toward has not moved. But the weight the enemy has placed on your back can make it feel as though forward motion is no longer possible.

Discouragement is one of the enemy's most effective weapons precisely because it does not always look like rebellion. It looks like a tired soul who still loves Jesus but has quietly stopped moving toward him. Today, identify what you are carrying. Name it honestly before God. He already knows. The first step toward freedom is refusing to pretend the weight is not there.

What specific burden have you been carrying silently that you have not yet surrendered to God?

Write down one word that describes what is weighing you down spiritually. Bring that word to God in prayer today and ask him to begin the work of removing it.

God believes in you and so do we,
P Richie

Devotional: The rich young ruler came running. He knelt before Jesus. He asked the right question. And Jesus looked at him and loved him. That detail is not incidental. Jesus did not confront this man out of harshness. He confronted him out of love because he could see exactly what stood between this man and a fully surrendered life. The man's possessions had become more important than his obedience. And when Jesus called him to surrender that thing, he could not do it. He walked away from the very life he had come seeking. The answer to misplaced affection is never less love. It is greater love. Love Jesus more than the thing that competes with him, and everything else will find its rightful place beneath his lordship.

Reflection: What would Jesus point to in your life today as the thing standing between you and wholehearted discipleship? Are you willing to surrender it?

Practical Application: Write out a prayer of surrender. Specifically name what you are placing back under the lordship of Jesus. Commit to one concrete change in your habits this week that reflects Jesus having first place in your life.

Devotional: Demas was not a stranger to the work of God. He had labored alongside Paul, one of the greatest servants in the history of the church. He had seen miracles. He had helped plant churches. He had walked through persecution. And yet something about the present world captured his heart and pulled him away. Paul does not say that Demas stopped believing. He says that Demas loved the present world. That distinction matters. You can hold on to your theology while surrendering your heart to something else. The departure of Demas did not begin with a dramatic rebellion. It began with a love that was slowly redirected toward the wrong thing.

Reflection: Is there something in your life right now that has been slowly receiving more of your love and devotion than Jesus has? Name it honestly before God today.

Practical Application: Pray specifically over the thing or relationship or ambition that has begun to compete with your obedience to Christ. Surrender it by name in prayer and ask God to reorder your priorities around his kingdom.

Devotional: Jesus understood something about human nature that modern psychology is still catching up to. What we repeatedly give our attention to will eventually shape what we desire. You do not drift into misplaced affection overnight. It begins with attention. Something starts receiving more of your time, your thought, and your energy. Affection follows attention. Priority follows affection. Decision follows priority. Direction follows decision. That is the progression. The world around you is constantly competing for your attention through screens, opinions, entertainment, and endless noise. If you are not intentional about what shapes your heart, the world will shape it for you without your permission.

Reflection: What has been receiving the best of your attention lately -- God's word and presence, or the distractions of daily life?

Practical Application: Track your screen time today. Compare it honestly to the time you gave to prayer and Scripture. Let that comparison prompt a specific, actionable adjustment in your daily rhythm.

Devotional: The church at Ephesus was doing everything right on the outside. They were working hard, standing firm, and discerning false teaching. By every visible measure, they looked like a healthy church. Yet Jesus looked past their activity and saw something missing at the center. Their love for him had grown cold. This is one of the most sobering warnings in all of Scripture because it reveals that you can maintain the routine of faith while losing the reality of it. Faithfulness in practice does not guarantee warmth in the heart. Jesus is not satisfied with your attendance. He is after your affection.

Reflection: Are you going through the motions of your faith without genuine love for Jesus at the center? When did you last feel true passion for him?

Practical Application: Ask the Holy Spirit today to reveal any area where your spiritual life has become routine rather than relational. Write down one step you can take to return to genuine love for Christ.

Devotional: The blood of Jesus is not a relic of ancient religion. It is the living foundation of your freedom. Before the cross, innocent animals bore the weight of human sin as a temporary covering, pointing forward to the day God himself would become the final sacrifice. Jesus did not stumble into death. He walked willingly toward the cross, carrying every sin, every shame, and every broken place you have ever known. That blood still speaks. It still cleanses. It still transforms. Whatever has marked your past, the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover it completely. Do not take lightly what cost God everything.

Reflection: What does the sacrifice of Jesus mean to you personally, beyond what you have been taught? Have you truly applied his blood to your life by faith?

Practical Application: Set aside ten minutes today to sit quietly and thank Jesus specifically for what his sacrifice has purchased for you. Write down three things his blood has freed you from.

Jan 25: That we will fulfill our calling as a church of love, forgiveness and power. 

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 New King James Version
12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

LOVE
FORGIVENESS
POWER

We exist to help people come to their senses (by presenting Jesus to them in love), TRUST Jesus (pointing them to forgiveness and repentance in Christ) and Follow Him unashamedly (Live a Spirit-filled empowered life making a difference)

May we stay true to the Word - His mission and may we reflect Jesus in everything we do.  

These past 21 days have ben remarkable - see you today at one of our 3 services 

9am or 11am Bay Minette Campus
6pm Stapleton Campus

Cindy and I are honored and humbled to serve along side of you as we serve our community and point them Jesus.

We love you all

P Richie

Jan 24: •That God will raise up more leaders among us to do His work.

Ephesians 4:11-13 New King James Version
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [a]edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Matthew 9:38 New King James Version
38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Leaders/laborers/workers/servants - remember Jesus picked 12, He sent out 70 and He came to serve not to be served.  Let’s get to work.  The harvest is among us.

See you at prayer this morning at 9am

In this together,

P Richie

Romans 12:4-8 New King James Version
4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Why do you need to be involved in ministry?  The answer is pretty simple - the ministry of Jesus Christ to this broken world is not complete without you.  See, you have been given a function so that the body of Christ can fully function.  Pastor Box who I served as his youth pastor for 10 years would always pray this prayer, “Lord, may we all grow in you and become the fully functioning body of Christ.” Functioning fully, wow, we all know when our car is missing on one of the cylinders, it runs rough.  Attention needs to be given to that area and once its repaired things run smoothly again.  For you, trust me on this, you won’t regret serving and becoming a fully functioning member of the body of Christ.  I have found that a lot of my “brokenness” was repaired when my goal was to serve.

Want more info on how to get involved (how could you not?) contact Kendall by texting GROWTH to (251) 810-8080

We all must do our part,

P Richie

May we all fulfill 2 Tim 4:5
“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭5
1. Be Watchful
2. Endure affliction
3. Share the good news of Jesus
4. Fulfill what God has given you to do

Every situation, every conversation should be a chance to allow Jesus to shine thru your life. Everyone of us is called to share Jesus. Look for an opportunity today and seize it.

so very proud of you,
P Richie

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 New Living Translation
2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.

James 5:16 New King James Version
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Matthew 18:20: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

1 Timothy 2:1-2: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness".

Ephesians 6:18: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people".

Prayer teams exist to stand in the gap and prayer for the needs of others.  This is in direct obedience to the Lord's commands and we must be diligent in the area of prayer.  May we see in 2026 a greater hunger to intercede for others and may the healing power of Jesus be evident.

Lord, we are calling for greater dependance on You and Your will.  We are asking to see the impossible made possible. And for you dear Lord to be glorified.  May Your prayer teams be fervent and effective.

Let's pray everyone,

P Richie