Okay. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Lily in the valley, bright as the morning star. Amen, amen, amen. Somebody found hope. I found it in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Somebody found hope in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Somebody found hope in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Amen. Amen. Somebody found peace. I found it in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Somebody found peace in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Somebody found peace. In the valley, bright as the morning star. Amen, amen, amen. Somebody found love, I found it in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Somebody found love in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Somebody found love in the valley. Bright as the morning star. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Good morning. Today I will be reading Isaiah 41 10 through 13. fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your god. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I'm the lord your god. Hold your right hand. Is it who I say to you? Fear not. I am the one who helps you. Today, I just read Isaiah forty-one ten through thirteen. Good morning. Good morning. Y'all can do better than Please bow your head for a moment of prayer. Lord, we thank you for this day. Lord, we thank you for waking us up this morning, Lord. Lord, some people didn't wake up this morning, but you brought us here to your house, Lord. Lord, help the sick and shut in, Lord. Lord, stop the shooting and the violence in our communities, Lord. Lord, continue to guide us where we need to be, Lord. Lord, only you can do it, Lord. Lord, you have all the power, Lord. Lord, we thank you for. our pastor, Lord. Lord, help him preach, Lord. Lord, help the pastor that's coming to preach to us today, Lord. Lord, we just thank you, Lord. Lord, we thank you for our deacons for teaching us how we can do things, Lord. And Lord, we just thank you for bringing us here, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Good morning. Can y'all hear me saying this little letter of mine? This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. All in my home. All in my jaw. All in my heart All in my heart I won't let it shine I won't let it shine I won't let it shine Let it shine Let it shine Let it shine And it is out of ocean. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let's give the Lord a hand clap of praise this morning. God is certainly good to us. He's good to us all the time. Let's lift up praise and magnify his holy name. We came to worship this morning. We came to worship in spirit and in truth. And nobody else is worthy but Jesus. We came to lift up his holy name. We thank God for Jesus Christ for just sparing our lives to be in the midst of the service just one more time. We thank our junior deacons for opening us up in devotion this morning. We thank God for all of you, and we thank God for those who are watching virtually. This morning, our scripture is coming from the book of Psalms. And we're going to be looking at Psalms 100. That's the book of Psalms, Psalms 100. And if you're here and you're able to stand, we ask that you stand in the reverence of God's holy and divine word. That's the book of Psalms 100. When you have it, say amen. Amen. And it reads, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. come before his presence was seen. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that has made us, and now we ourselves. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endure to all generations. Amen. May God add a blessing to the readers, the hearers, and most of all, the doers of his holy and divine word. The new Bethlehem Baptist Church mission statement. Let us say it all together. The New Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church mission is to know all about Jesus Christ and understand fully what he accomplished for us on the cross. We also desire to make these things known in the best area in the world. We are a mission minded, soul winning church for Jesus Christ. Amen, amen. We thank God for you. We thank God for your participation. Right now we're going to have our announcements after which we're going to have our baptism service. First, giving all glory to God, to Pastor Rogers, to our speaker for the hour, Dr. Boyce Kimbrell, to Pastor Emeritus Walker, all of the ministers of the gospel, and to all of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning. Announcements for Sunday, January the 12th. A thank you card was received from the family of Brother George Armstrong. Deepest sympathy to the following, Sister Janice Wiley and family in the home going of her sister, Annie Murphy. The home going celebration will be held on Wednesday, January the 15th at 12 noon at Patterson Cemetery in Pleasant Grove, Alabama. also to Brother Rodney Smith and family, and the homegoing of his brother, Elijah Mack. The homegoing celebration has already taken place. Pastor Rogers will be speaking during the Empowerment Series, Fasting and Praying, which will be held at the Mount Hebron Baptist Church, Osipko, on Thursday, January the 30th at 6 p.m. Pastor Dr. C. Michael Washington invites all members to attend. The church is located at 1620 24th Avenue North in Birmingham. All new department heads, please retrieve your financial policies and procedures manual from the church office during the week. Please note that you must sign for it upon receipt. Reminders to all seniors, the Bible Bingo event will be held on Tuesday, January the 21st, from 11 a.m. until 1.30 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Registration is already in progress and will end on next Sunday, January the 19th. If you plan to join us, we ask that you please register as soon as possible. Thank you, the Seniors Ministry. The first semester's A and AB honor roll report card is due on Monday, January the 27th. Please place it in the tray on the door of the secretary's office. The 2025 Leaders Conference will be held on Tuesday, January the 28th at 7 p.m. The Reverend James Howell will be the presenter. Ephesians 6 and 18 says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. We ask that you continue to pray for all of those who are on our hospital and on our prayer list. On our hospital list this week, we have Brother Cedric Stevens. on our prayer list, Sister Myra Armstead, also Brother Tommy Bland. You may review the complete list of all of those who are requesting prayer each week on RAM, as well as on our various media outlets and on the video monitors, which are located outside of the sanctuary. Congratulations to the following. Brother Philip and Sister April Jackson, who are celebrating 25 years of marriage. Amen. Also, Brother Vincent and Sister Doris Nance, who are celebrating 30 years of marriage. Amen. We will now have floor announcements in the following order, please. Deacon Eddie Wells, Sister Kathy Edwards, a representative from the Singles Ministry, and a representative from the Christmas Drive, after which we will be in the hands of the Welcome Ministry. Thank you. To Pastor Rogers, Pastor Emeritus Walker, to Dr. Kimbrough, our speaker for the hour, other ministers of the gospel, and to you, New Bethlehem, good morning. So I stand before you this morning on behalf of our marriage ministry as a reminder that we're planning our first Valentine's ball, and this will be an evening to showcase all married couples as God has put them together. We would like to invite all married couples within our church and within our community. The dates of this event will be February 8th. It will be held at our Family Life Center and it will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The attire will be formal. and the cost per couple will be $100. We have set up a category in Giblify for Marriage Ministry Valentine's Ball. You can also fill out one of the envelopes for cash or check, and our finance committee will handle it appropriately. Just make sure that you put your name on it, and it is addressed to the Marriage Ministry Valentine's Ball. we will, you will be able to reserve your spot through January 31st. So thank you in advance for your time. And we look forward to seeing you there for a night of blissful love. God bless y'all. Good morning. Protocol has already been established. I stand before you on behalf of the scholarship ministry. On behalf of our scholarship ministry, we would like to thank you for attending our financial aid workshop. There was a lot of great information that we had there for you. And if there is anyone here who was not able to attend, Please let us know. We do have packets of information that we can give you, especially for our high school graduating seniors. Also for our high school graduating seniors, it is now time for you to fill out your application for the new Bethlehem Baptist Church scholarship. And you've already completed the first part, which was your profile form. So now it's time for you to complete your application. Those applications do have to be reviewed by our committee and confirmed by your leadership of your ministry as well as your high school counselor. So please be sure to get that in as soon as possible. You can find that application on our Facebook page for the scholarship ministry or you can also find it on the website at mbbc.info. and just search for the scholarship ministry and the application is there. You can download it there and get that to us. The deadline is April the 5th. There will be no extensions. The deadline is April the 5th, so get it in as soon as you possibly can. Finally, mark your calendar for Monday, March 3rd. We will have our college and career fair. We will have several colleges from around the state and some from out of state here to meet with you, and you will have the opportunity to speak with many of the representatives from the universities. So please mark your calendar for March 3rd. There will be more information about that at a later time. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. And good morning. I am standing this morning on behalf of the singles ministry. Um, our first meeting this year will be next Saturday, always on the third Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Family Life Center. We encourage singles to live a whole fulfilling and fun life while working to build God's kingdom. Speaking of working, our first outreach will be in February for Valentine's Day. We will collect toiletries, socks, lotion, et cetera, for a nursing facility. So please consider helping us with that project. We will build our calendar of activities this year, single men. We are encouraging you to please come out this year. We don't mind fishing. We don't mind basketball, football, what have we. And we promise we won't try to hook you up. That is not our purpose. In fact, bring your significant other and have them to join a great ministry with you. But we have a great time together. We fellowship, we study the word, and we go out and we have a good time. So please consider joining us. Thank you. Good morning, New Bethlehem. Good morning. Pastor Rogers, Emeritus Pastor Walker, and to our guest, Dr. Kimball, welcome. This is for a point of clarity and accountability for our Christmas drive. I just want to do a quick report. On our Christmas drive, we had not only myself working, we had several people working with me, so I want to make mention of those folks. Deacon McClain, we had Deacon Greg Long, we also had Laniece Washington, and Roy Hodge, and myself. We went through a time with it, a laborious process, because you want to help everybody, but you can't. But I just want to give a report on how good God is and how you have helped us. We raised $35,500. We were able to give St. Jude $5,000, Ronald McDonald House $5,000, Salvation Army $5,000, and we were able to really, really bless nine families to get out of a jam or even make their day better. And I want to smile so hard, but I can't. I had a whole crown to fall off, so I don't want to do that. But I was so happy to do this announcement, I don't even care. So I'm happy and thankful to you. God bless each and every one of you. And I pray that God turn that money that you gave, I want him to double it, triple it, just fold it up together and bless you deeply. Thank you, and God bless you. Good morning, everyone. Now's the time we recognize the presence of our visitors. Would all visitors please stand. All visitors, amen. We are so happy that you chose to worship with us this morning. May God continue to bless and keep you is our prayer and please come again. New Bethlehem. Let's show our love. further services have returned to the pulpit. Thank you. Certainly God is good and he's worthy to be praised. From the rising of the sun to the setting of the same. Certainly we ought be glad that God has navigated our niches and allowed us the privilege of being participatory and present in this place of praise once again. Come on, give God all you've brought him to give him. Amen. Amen. Great is our God and he's greatly to be praised. Certainly we thank God for all of the wonderful things he's doing for us and through us and with us. He's allowing us to be a blessing because he's blessing us and we ought to be glad about that. I'm overjoyed to hear that we keep climbing every year in our efforts to bless those who are less fortunate. Our Christmas drive is wonderful. I've stressed the need of partnering with various organizations who give service to our people and others You don't have to pay a dime to go down to the Ronald McDonald House. St. Jude and Salvation Army has partnered with us in our efforts for the Matthews 25 House. Let me say, the Matthews 25 House, we will have a combined service on this evening, afternoon evening. At five, we'll have the musical. The National Baptist Convention will come and participate along with our Matthew 25 ministry, those who are homeless, and we'll still feed them and clothe them. We're just making a shift in the service. So, we want you to come back to embrace our National Baptist Convention. Our president is here in the person of Dr. Boise Kimber. Amen. Come on. Bless the lord and his lovely wife Lady Kimber and his family. Um I'm going to uh allow him to introduce his family to us uh when he comes to preach uh but in just a minute, I want to present him uh to us. I want to put some emphasis on the Marriage Ministry Ball. We have a lot of married couples. We highlight marriage throughout the year. We have teaching sessions. We had a wonderful session on last evening. And let me just give you a little bit of it. There are three inner needs that all of us have. And sometimes we put a little pressure on those we are connected to, married to, with an exaggerated expectation that they are to meet those three inner needs. Only God can love you like you need to be loved. Only God can give you your significance, and only God can secure you. So you need to be here, part of our teaching ministry for marriage and family, but we have a ball coming up. And I want to stress, this is our first ball, and I want all married couples, now if you're tilling and tolling on getting married, you come on. Because you need to be a part of our marriage community. Amen. And so, come on. Come on tickets. $100 a couple. Uh that's very reasonable. $50 a piece but you have to come in pairs and so $100 go online. Make sure you register to be here for our marriage ministry ball. Alright, and how elated I am, and certainly the New Bethlehem Church ought be, to have him in our presence among us. He's a very busy man, but he thought enough of us to come by and worship with us and give us word. Now, our response is we want to undergird his vision. for the National Baptist Convention. We want to support him in full. We have taken out a full registration, what he has asked us to do, and he has a lot before it. He has cast vision, and we're excited about that. So, we want to make sure we undergird the National Baptist Convention under his leadership. in full. Now it requires a lot of monetary support. and a lot of going hither and tither. And I've been with him a whole lot lately. And I'm excited about what he brings to the table and what he plans to do for us as a Christian organization by way of the National Baptist Convention, USA Incorporated. Now, he's known as America's Baptist preacher. He is a civil rights activist. He has a strong political appeal and force in New Haven, Connecticut. He is known as a leader among leaders. Let me give you a little bit about Dr. Kimber, his education. He has completed his undergrad study. He has a master's of arts. He has a doctorate in ministry. He is yet learning. Let me give you where. Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. undergrad, Harvard Seminary, Masters of Art, and United Theological Seminary in Dane, Ohio, doctorate degree in ministry. He's well-equipped. I pray that we give him ear, pathway to the heart, so we'll be forever changed by his presence and preaching. I ask that you stand and welcome him to the New Bethlehem Baptist Church as a sign of receptivity. Come on, praise the Lord for Dr. Boise Kimball. Amen. Amen. Amen. Shake about two or three people's hands and tell them how good and glad you are to see him in the house of the Lord today. Amen. Amen. He is worthy, worthy for He is good. Yes, He is good. He is worthy, worthy for He is good. Yes, He is good. Give thanks unto the Lord. ♪ For He is good, yes He is good ♪ ♪ For He is worthy, worthy ♪ ♪ For He is good, yes He is good ♪ ♪ For He is worthy, worthy ♪ ♪ For He is good, yes He is good ♪ ♪ Oh give thanks unto the Lord ♪ Amen. He's an outlaw, and that's a mission title. And my grandfather was from Stockton, and his grandparents, his dad and they were dancing outlaw on outlaw. Amen. Certainly, I want to recognize the presence of Councilwoman Tate and Commissioner Tyson. Amen. They are part of our worship service and certainly to these preachers, our guest preachers, who have accompanied Dr. Boiza Kimball. Amen. Let us stand for our morning hymn, congregational hymn. in their name. Reverend Dr. Carr III will come with our altar prayer after the song. And then a little light from heaven filled my soul. It bathed my heart in love and wrote my name above. And just a little talk with Jesus made me whole. I may have doubts and fears My eyes be filled with tears But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night I go to Him in prayer He knows my every fear Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right Thank you for your voices. Amen. Amen. Let us look to the lord. Most gracious god, our heavenly father, we come once again just to say thank you. We thank you lord that today you've allowed us to gather in worship and give your name, glory, honor, and praise. God, we thank you today because but lord, you gave us another chance to rise early this morning that we might give your name glory and so god, we say thank you today. We thank you lord because in spite of what we haven't been, you've still been you and we thank you god because of your consistency in being god god that the stars are still aligned in the sky that the sun is still revolving in its orbit god that the earth is still where it is and god, we're been here in worship, Lord, and to share in giving your name, Lord. Thankful, God, that you have brought your people and your presence, that it's here with us today, Lord. We thank you, God, for all those, Lord, who are sharing in this moment. But now, God, we come and lay on this altar, God, those who stand in need of prayer. We stand, we stand God, looking for healing. We stand looking for hope. We stand looking for a rock in the weary land, God. We stand, Lord, searching for you in the midnight hour. God, we come today because there are those, Lord, who need you. who are struggling in this world, Lord, who are suffering at the hands of the economy, who are burdened, Lord, by problems in their homes. God, we come to you today to lift you, Lord, and to seek you, that you might help us in our situations. God, we're asking, Lord, that you would touch those, Lord, who have ailments in their bodies right now, God. Whatever it might be, Lord, that they're dealing with, whatever they're struggling with right now, God, touch their bodies. Remind them, God, of your presence. Remind them, God, of your power, even here today. And God, in all things, we'll give you glory. In all things, we'll give you praise. In all things, we'll lift up your holy name. For it's in the name of Jesus that we pray. And we all said, Amen. On behalf of our pastor and Sister Rogers, Pastor Meritus, William Walker and Sister Walker, on behalf of all our officers to Dr. Kimber, Mrs. Kimber, all these preachers and their wives, I greet all of you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our baptism scripture will be taken from the gospel recorded by St. Matthew, chapter 28, beginning at verse 16. This is how it reads. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee. into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And Lord, I'm with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen. Let us bow, Heavenly Father. We bow again on behalf of these candidates about to go into the water. We bow thanking you, Lord, for saving their souls. We pray for them right now, Lord, that you hold over them your mighty hand of protection. Guide them with your finger of love. Grow them in the grace and in the knowledge of your word. And then, Father, let them know that our pastor and our members will have our arms wrapped around them. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's go down by the river. Let's go down by the river. I found love at the river. I found joy at the river. Jesus is there. Jesus is there. There was love at the river. There was love at the river. Somebody say hallelujah right there. Thank the lord. Hallelujah. Let's give our song being choir a hand as they come. and bless us today. Let's give him a They say they have something to tell you today, too. so so Is it true that you are the geek of me? Are you lonely? Who am I that you are mindful of me? Be friends ♪ By myself ♪ ♪ It won't work ♪ ♪ What I need ♪ ♪ I need your help ♪ ♪ By myself ♪ I need your help I can't It won't work Lord I need I need your help I can't It won't work Can't make it without you Oh God Can't make it without you Oh God Can't make it without you Oh God It won't work. It won't work what I need. I need your help by myself. It won't work. It won't work. Lord, I need, I need your help. I myself, it won't work. Thanks. you At all times I will bless the Lord At all times I will bless the Lord At all times Ain't God been good to you? He woke me up this morning. I know he's been good. As I travel down life's highways of trials great and small, I often wonder to myself if the journey's worth it all. All the pain I must endure, sometimes it's much to bear. And the only thing that gives me strength is knowing you really care. So let me take this time to say thank you, Lord, for every day. As you loved me and keep me in such a special way. You're the one who guides my footsteps along this narrow way. So we take this time to worship. And to you, oh Lord, we pray. As I travel down my lifeway of trials great and small, I often wonder to myself if the journey's worth it all. All the pain I must endure, sometimes it's much to bear. And the only thing that gives me strength is knowing you really care. So let me take this time to say thank you, Lord, for every day. As you loved me and keep me, as I travel a long life's way, you're the one who guides my footsteps. along this narrow way so we take this time to worship and to you oh lord we pray this time to worship and to you oh lord we pray I often look around and then I see what God did for me. He didn't have to bring me out of 2024, but he did. He brought me to 2025, and I'm so thankful. So I look around and do it so much. But sometimes, God puts you in problems so he can see what you can get through. It's knowing you really care. So let me take this time. So let me take this time to say. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for every day. You've been so good. That you love me. Ooh, it's so sweet. As I travel a long life away. You're the one. So we take this time. Praise him. Praise him. Praise the mighty name. So, we come again and we say, praise him. Praise him. Thank you, lord. Thank you. It's so good to me. Say praise him. Praise him. Sometimes I look around and I see how much is done for me. And it just makes me get up on my feet and start dancing. Because he didn't have to bring you out of there. You was in a tough situation, but now you're in this great situation. I just want to say thank you. Just praise him. Praise him. Ooh, just praise him. You got me out of bed this morning. I want to praise you. Say praise. Say praise him, praise him, praise him Say praise him, praise him, praise him They praise him. He's been so good. He's been so good. We praise him. He didn't have to do it but he did it. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. He's been so good. Ooh, thank you, Lord. Ooh, you put food on my table. Received by our President of the National Baptist Convention, Incorporated, in the person of Dr. Boise Kimball. The lord is blessing me. right now. Woke me up this morning. Blessing me right now. God our father, we thank you. for this day. these moments to come and to Take me and hide me behind the cross that more of Thee and less of me might be seen. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Time has well been spent here. I'm grateful to be at the Bethlehem Church. And I'm grateful for Pastor Emeritus who laid a great foundation for this church. And then I am grateful for this stallion of a preacher and pastor. He is the only one that could get me to preach anywhere today. Anywhere. Many invitations and my plan was to stay at the hotel and just relax. I'm grateful for all of these preachers who are here If I had time, I would just call all of your name. Preaching is on my mind. There are two preachers who are here, and they are on the right pew. That's William Wine and Ed Rogers. They're on the morning bench. Let me just say grateful for my wife and kids. Thank you, honey. Amen. William Wyner is our biblical instructor. He will grade this sermon today, and he will talk to me later tonight. I can guarantee you that. that was found in the 12th chapter of the book of Acts verses 12 through 17. Acts 12 verse 12 through 17. When this had drawn on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John also called Mark where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entry and a servant named Rhonda, Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter's voice She was so overjoyed she ran back without opening and exclaimed, Peter is at the door. You're out of your mind, they told her. And when she kept insisting that it was so, they said, it must be his angel. But Peter kept on knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Tell James, The other brothers and sisters about this, he said, and then he left for another place. I'll talk for a few moments of the other side of prayer. There is this strong notion that supported this documentation that what do you see depends on where you're standing. Some people will never know your pain nor understand your testimony. nor will they appreciate your praise because they have never stood in your shoes. They don't know what you have gone through, what you have been through. nor what challenges you're facing. What you see depends on where you're standing. By standing, I mean your perspective, your angle, your view. your station in life and even your ability to stand in another person's shoes. Has anyone ever tried to show you a physical image and you just could not see it? and then they tell you to move over a little closer or shift to another angle of view so that you could see what he or she is trying to show you. You might not understand it. You might not be able to understand the homeless if you've never been homeless. You might not be able to understand chronic illness if you have never experienced sickness a day in your life. You may not be able to understand poverty If all your life has been filled with wealth, luxury, vacations, and weekend expenses, giveaways, what you see depend on where you stand. There's good news here. And the good news is that we are able to the human degree of possibility to shift. Dr. Walter Faulkner says in his book, Ethical Leadership. talks about the quest of character and civility in our community, that we must seek to understand the story of others. It is not just about your story, though we do not exactly walk in their shoes. If we are able to connect with them through emotional intelligence, we'll be able to see something we've never seen before. Something that we have never heard. You might have had an encounter with the other side of men understanding women and women understanding men. The educational engage with the uneducated and the uneducated engaging with the educated. We just might see We just might hear and understand the other side. The idea of being able to hear, see, and understand the other side is the core value of this text. Three things. with the possibility of a fourth, have preceded this text. And those three or four things have a huge infusion on this text. One, Heron had put James to death. He did not put James on probation. He did not put James on parole. He put James to death. James, part of the early church. Critical number of the believers have been put to death. by this vicious and evil king. And no doubt, this fact generated concerns for those that were a part of the early church. Black folks, we know that feeling. But we see how many in our community are being put to death by kings of what we call America. Put to death through poverty. Put to death through a lack of education. Put to death through racism. We know the concerns that is raised in our community. Herod put James to death. The second thing, putting James to death pleased the people. Massive upon Herod with favor because he had put James to death. In other words, not only did Herod get away with it, this perverted act, but it made the people happy. Everybody is not happy about your glory. And nothing makes evil flourish like quietness of victims and celebration of evil crowds. And the third thing happened with the possibility of a fourth. Third, because of the people celebration, Herod was killing James. Peter, been arrested. with the possibility of a fourth thing. This is Herod described that he would later bring Peter out on the public square for a trial. Those who called upon God and those who were trying to make the teachings of Jesus thrive did not have much in term of earthly goods nor policies that would protect Peter or anyone else. The early church did not have a political leader on their side. The early church did not have the academia on their side. The early church did not have the police on their side. And yet, despite they did not have the one thing that they did have, and that was prayer. They had the open door of calling on the name of Jesus who is all-powerful. They had the one door of calling on God who is all-knowing. They had the power. called on God who is in complete control. When my big mama down in Salem would say, he may not come when you want him, but he's always on time. The early church praying for Peter would see the other side of prayer. Not just kneeling on their knees. Not just lying prostrate before God's presence. Not just poetic language and not just loud volume. Rather they, like we, through their efforts, saw the intensive value of life that is depending on prayer. Other side of prayer, Dr. Warren tells us several things. The first thing is, the other side of prayer tells us that God is working. even when we don't have in the indication that he's working. We live in a society, we live in a world of knowing. We operate on knowledge. And we have the evidence of that knowledge. If we take a trip, we know how we gonna get to the airport. We know what time the plane is going to depart. We know the hotel that we gonna stay in. We know the activities that we're going to do when we get there. We operate on knowledge and we have the evidence of knowledge. And sometimes God is working. and you will not have a single piece of evidence that God is working. The church is praying, but the church has no idea that God has already dispatched an angel to set Peter free. to hide Peter as he walks out of prison and to guide Peter where Peter ought to go. There is this scripture before us this morning. Acts twelve and five and seven. So, Peter was kept in prison. But the The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping. Sleeping between two soldiers. Bound with two chains. I wish I had some Bible readers to help me. And there he stood. Guarded at the entry. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared. And Elijah, you know that story, shone in the cell, struck Peter on the side, woke him up, and the angel said, get up, quickly get up, and the chains fell off of Peter. No one, uh, Ed Rogers sends a text message to the early church that said God is working. Nobody sent an email to the church saying, here are the steps that God is taking. Nobody put anything on Instagram or Twitter. what is going on from heaven's perspective. But that does not mean God will not work it. I want to, I want to say this morning, I know you're praying and you don't see evidence of God's hand at work, but be assured that God is working. Even when you don't see God working, Even when you don't see the evidence that God is working. I come by to tell you this morning that God is on your side. There is this second thing in this text. other side of prayer tells us that God has a way of working that is beyond our recommendation. We use the word recommendation in many ways. One may use the word recommendation in a personal reference. whole lot of people. Uh sometime, so Dr. Kimber, uh may I use your name as a reference? Yes. Sometimes they ask me to write the letter. Yes. Of recommendation for them. And so the term recommendation can be used as a reference of a goodwill. but the term recommendation can also be used in the sense of direction. While getting ready to take a drive, take a trip, someone might tell you, I recommend that you go this direction rather than that direction. term. Recommendation can be used in terms of direction and that is the way I use this term here. We are big. Not only having requests we make to god but we are also big on We don't ask God to give us a spouse. We ask God to give me this person as a spouse. I don't ask God to give us a career. We ask God to give us this career. Let me say that there is not anything drastically wrong with God's recommendation. long as you understand that God has something to work with. It's beyond any recommendation that you give. And so we as human don't have the capacity to know all the ways that God can answer our prayers. I like verse 5 of this chapter. describe how the church prayed. Yeah. Verse five says, so Peter was kept in prison. Yeah, yeah. But the church was earnestly praying for God for him. And no other statement of what to do. No other statement of how it should be done. Yeah. The text You and I have to learn that though we have something that we want God to do in our lives, here is the reality. Sometime we need to understand that God has more to work with. than we can even imagine or think of. Who would have thought that God had to use frogs to get Pharaoh's attention? Whoever thought God would have used a lion's calmness to show his power to Daniel? Whoever would have thought that God have you, the poor little girl, in a carpenter to bring the earthly parents of Jesus. God has people, places, and all things to work with that you have no clue even that it exists. God used an angel. People may have been praying for grace. They may have been praying for military help. People no doubt praying out of their frame of reference. But God used an angel. The other side of prayer tells us that God has more to work with. than you can ever imagine or conceive. The kind of thing in this text. Oh, the sound of prayer tells us if you are going to pray, then pray believing. that were going to the church to pray. Prayer meeting because there was a drought in the area. And they were going out to join the other folks at the church to pray for rain. And however, the man's daughter was late coming out of the house. And the father asked her, why are you so late? And little girl responded, I wanted to go back to get my umbrella. And the father explained, an umbrella? It has not rained in months. Why are you bringing an umbrella? Little girl responded, Aren't we going to church to pray for rain? If we are going to pray for rain, then we need to take our umbrella. That is praying while believing. That is the power of this text. And we see that though the church was in prayer, they were not completely believing that God would deliver. In Acts 12, 13, and 16, Peter knocked at the door, knocked at the outer entry, and a servant named Herod came to answer the door. and when she recognized Peter's voice, she was overjoyed. Ran back without even opening the door. And she said, Peter, is that the door? And they said to her, you out of your mind. They told her when she kept insisting that it was so. They said, it must be his angel. Peter kept on knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. They were praying, but did not think Peter would greet them at the house while they were praying. That's a challenge for us today. If you're going to pray, you got to pray believing. Bible tells us over and over again that we must pray believing. If you're praying for healing, believe your healing is going to come. You're praying for deliverance. believe that your deliverance will come. If you are praying for clarity and understanding, believe that your understanding clarity will come. When I was growing up in the And she used to sing a song before when they was at the altar. And there was this lyric in the song. She said, when you bow at the altar, please remember, you know the story, the song, pray for me. That's part, part that you could not do for them was pray. They understood. The other part was on them believing. They had to do the believing. Listen, being a believer is not just in who you are, but being a believer is also in what you do. I'm not only a believer, but I believe. And so every time I say I'm a believer, it's testimony that I believe. I'm done. Thank you for the invitation. And I hope I said something that will help you. I, I, I, I believe in that song that Timothy Wright wrote and he said, yes, I'm a believer. I don't know about you but I'm I'm I'm a believer. Yes, sir. I am a believer in Jesus Christ. Do I have a witness here? I'm a I am a believer that he started me on my way. Yes, sir. I'm a believer. That one Friday. Yes, sir. On a hill called Calvary. Yes, sir. He died. Amen. But right early. Sunday morning. Everyone to your feet if you will. The doors of the Lord's house stands ajar. If you're here and you're not saved, come. Give the Lord your soul. Give him your life. He's able to do beyond what you could ever imagine. He's able to save you from the uttermost. Whosoever will, let him come. Believing in your heart, confessing with your mouth, the lord Jesus. The Bible says, thou shalt be saved. Secondly, if you're here in need of a church home and the lord has laid New Bethlehem Baptist Church on your heart as a faith Come. He's in the restoring business. He's able to pick you up and turn you around. Plant your feet on solid ground. Come salvation. Come faith family. Come restoration. Come. Come. Bless your heart. The doors of the Lord's house stands adjourned. Come on. Bless the lord. Bless the lord. Bless the lord as they come. Come. Salvation. Restoration. Come. Faith family. Come on. Join the choir if you will. Come on the doors of the Lord stands ajar. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not promised. You only have now. That's why the Bible says, now is the day of salvation. Now, faith is the substance of things. Hope for the evidence of things Come on the doors. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on the doors, the doors, the doors. There's room at the cross. Come on. Give the lord a hand clap of praise. Come on. They coming. They coming. Come on. Come on. The Don't you let this opportunity pass you by. You'll never get this thunder again. Amen. Amen. Come on. Give the lord a hand clap of praise. Amen. Yes, sir. We have four candidates for baptism. Amen. Amen. Sister, who do we have? We have Macy McIntosh candidate for baptism. Amen. Five. Five. Amen. Amen. Listen, The Bible says, believe and be baptized. Believe what? Believe who? We believe Jesus came from heaven. to earth. to die in our place. We believe that Jesus Christ is God's son. He did come in the flesh, not a figment of our imagination, not a fantasy, but he came. He lived for 33 plus years. And he decided, because he says, no man take my life, but I lay it down of my own. And if I lay it down, I can take it up again. He died Friday on Calvary for us. We believe that to be saved. Do you believe Jesus died for you? Yes, sir. Do you believe Jesus died? Yes, sir. Do you believe Jesus died? Yes, sir. Do you believe Jesus died? Yes, sir. Do you believe Jesus died? Yes, sir. Amen. Amen. They took his lifeless body. down from Calvary's cross and put it in a bar or tomb. He only needed it for three days and three nights. Sunday morning, God raised him from the dead. Do you believe Jesus got up and he lived? Yes sir. Amen. Do you believe Jesus is in your heart to save you? Yes sir. Amen. Do you believe Jesus got up and live? Yes sir. Do you believe Jesus is in your heart and in your life to save you? Yes sir. Do you believe Jesus got up and he live? Yes sir. Do you believe Jesus is in your heart to save you? Yes, sir. Amen. Do you believe Jesus got up and live? Yes, sir. Do you believe he's in your heart to say? Yes, sir. Amen. Do you believe Jesus got up and live? Yes, sir. Do you believe Jesus is in you to say? Yes, sir. Amen. Father in heaven, we thank you. Come on. Come on. Come on in. Come on in. Come on in. Father in heaven, we thank you for salvation. Lord, ye are forever saved. Your spirit is in them, Father, as a guarantee. Lord, that they are sealed unto the day of redemption. Father, now I pray that as a church you help us to teach them the way, Lord, that they will live their lives in a way that's pleasing to you. Because, Lord, when you are pleased with us, you bless us. Lord, I pray that they be mighty men and women Lord, to represent you, walk in marquees to express your saving power, your grace, and your mercy. Father, we dare not close this prayer without asking you to forgive them of their sins and cleanse them from unrighteousness. That, Father, you have made them brand new. that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away and behold, all has become new in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Glory to his name. Amen. Glory to his name. Amen. Amen. Go with the clerks. They'll give you all baptism instruction. life is not I give myself, I give myself to you. Oh, my life is not my own, so you are me. final instructions tonight or this evening at five. We're kicking off our musical for our National Baptist Convention board meeting right here at New Bethlehem. Our choir would sing along with other choirs and and uh very renowned personalities uh that have the gift of voice and gift of singing. Uh we want to uh be Uh the convention board meeting will uh convene tomorrow morning all the way through Thursday, I believe and uh excited. We have tickets already. I think the ball of the banquet is is sold out and so uh you can't get a ticket but listen, send your prayers downtown. And if you are able, make sure your presence is there. We want to undergird our president in his first year, inaugural year. The inauguration will be on tomorrow at 6, at 16th Street Baptist Church. Amen. We want to pray for our convention and we want to undergird our convention with with adequate support. I'm excited about what God is going to do this week. Listen, we're so thankful to have Dr. Edward E. Rogers of Hopewell and Dr. Wyne, William Wyne. Amen. He preached for doctors morning and he thought enough of us to come by and worship with us. All hearts and minds clear. Come on. Thank you so very much. That's Rogers. Listen, Bethlehem, this is a young preacher, and he is the assistant dean of our Congress of Christian Education. Amen. I want you to support him and all that he does. The Lord laid it on my heart to choose him because of his Christian education background. And I appreciate what you are doing. And don't let nobody tell you like they told me, go sit down. We've given you an opportunity to work in the National Baptist Convention. I want you to take it serious. And I want you to do what is necessary to father yourself in the National Baptist Convention. Thrive. Be there at the appointed time. Do like I did. Work. And if you work, somebody gonna shoot. Your Word. And so, I'm grateful for him. John Harrell is from Chicago. Pastor of two churches in Chicago. Listen, you've seen the fires in California. He's in charge of our whole mission. Chair of our whole mission. We have already responded. We responded yesterday with two truckloads. What was all them trucks? Everything was on. And they sent us pictures where people were in line receiving what we had already sent there. And that came from the National Baptist Convention. We have six more trucks that we will be sitting there by the 22nd of this month. We are partnering with people across this country. We could not have done this by ourselves. We made one call and people got together. And so you, you pray, you pray for us. And then this young man here called Washington III, special assistant to me. And I've surrounded myself with all ages that could help move this convention forward. I'm thankful for Dr. Ed Rogers, who is the general secretary for the moderator's department. and the work that you are doing. And William Wine is the director of the ecclesiastical department of all chaplains across the country. And then he is, he directs me too. We are thankful for him. I thought I saw my kids. Raise your hand. My daughter and my son is here. And uh, where is, where is my grandson? He sleep a London, a man and my sister-in-law, uh, is here. Listen, this church here, this pastor here, And I want you to continue to do what you are doing. You are organized. I thought I wasn't going to get out of the car, because all the security was around the car. But I'm grateful for what you are doing. The chairman, I meant the chairman, raise your hand. Thank you for your hospitality. And we will keep you in prayer. Shall we pray? God, you have been good to us. You've blessed us. in spite of ourselves. and thank god for T. Jefferson Rogers. his family. this church family. guide him with your I pray for the leadership of this church. Crown us with more wisdom and knowledge to do your will. And God, as we ascend upon the Birmingham, Alabama, pray for your leadership this week. I pray for your guidance. Stand with us. Stand by us. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Is Sandra still here? She left. All right. Thank y'all.