Aynor First Baptist Church

09/03/2026

Rest for the Weary

Come unto me, all ye that labor ...

—Matthew 11:28

Jesus had a great deal to say about labor. He knew that a laboring man needs rest and recreation. We Americans have Labor Day—a day in which the wheels of industry stop and the entire nation is reminded of the tremendous contribution that labor has made to the American way of life. Jesus Himself was a laboring man. In His biography we are told that He was a carpenter. Wouldn’t you like to have been able to spend a day in Joseph’s little shop and to watch Jesus use the hammer and saw? Sometimes we forget that Jesus was human as well as divine. He had calluses on His hands. If the chisel had slipped and cut His fingers, His blood would have been red and warm like ours. He knew what it meant to work long hours, to come in at night tired and weary.

Prayer for the day:
Remembering Your labor here on earth helps me to realize that all work is sacred if done as unto You, Lord Jesus. Help me to rest so that, refreshed, I may seek to please You in everything I do.

09/02/2026

The Struggles of Life

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

—Ephesians 6:12

All life is a struggle—that is the nature of things. Even within our physical bodies, doctors tell us, a conflict for supremacy is going on. The bacteria in our bloodstream are waging a constant war against alien germs. The red corpuscles fight the white corpuscles constantly in an effort to maintain life within the body. A battle is also raging in the spiritual realm. “We fight,” the Bible says, “against the rulers of the darkness of this world.” Darkness hates light. I have a dog that would rather dig up a moldy carcass to chew on than to have the finest, cleanest meal. He can’t help it—that is his nature. Men cannot help that it is their nature to respond to the lewd, the salacious, and the vile. They will have difficulty doing otherwise until they are born again. And until they are changed by the power of Christ, they will likely be at enmity against those who are associated with Christ.

Prayer for the day:
The battles of life must be faced, but I know they will not be faced without You, my heavenly Father.

09/01/2026

The First Missionary

Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

—Matthew 4:19

Jesus Himself was the first missionary! He went out where the sick, the sorrowing, and the sad were, and expounded His message of joy, healing, and salvation. Even at a tender age, He went to the Temple and “taught” the doctors and lawyers who were entrenched in the old traditions. He found His way to the seaside and intruded upon the life of the commonest of laborers, saying, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Wherever He went He challenged, uprooted, and changed men. And at length they nailed Him to a cross because He had upset their selfish, secure, smug way of life. Not only was Jesus a missionary, but He pledged His followers to be missionaries, too!

Prayer for the day:
Wherever I go, it is a mission field for You, Lord. Help me to be conscious of this, so that I may tell others the joyous message.

08/31/2026

Hope Beyond Death

The righteous hath hope in his death.

—Proverbs 14:32

We don’t like to talk about death; it’s the forbidden subject of our generation. Yet it’s real for all of us. Sometimes on television I see motion pictures featuring actors who are no longer living. They seem very much alive in the picture, but they are dead. Some of them were my personal friends. Death is real, and when we die, that is a battle we have to fight all alone. Nobody can be with us in that hour, but David said he had found an answer that would take the fear of death away. David said that there is an answer to death, there is a hope beyond death. That hope is centered in the risen Christ. Paul wrote that to be “absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord.” So the fear of death is removed.

Prayer for the day:
Lord Jesus, with complete trust I look toward that day when my soul will be with You for eternity.

08/30/2026

Sermon Series: Jesus said what? Part 3
Precedence over Priority
Matthew 8:21-22
Sermon points:
1: FACTS about FOLLOWERS
2: We are FULL of EXCUSES
3: We are not FREE from COMMITMENT
4: We are not EXEMPT from COMMINTMENT

08/30/2026

**UPDATE**
We are now live on here! But, to see the full sermon still make sure to head on over to our YouTube channel!

Good morning, church family!

We’re having a little trouble going live on Facebook this morning, but we are LIVE over on YouTube!

Just click the link below to join us for this morning’s service. We hope you’ll worship with us!

👇 **Watch Live Here:

Sermon Series: Jesus said what? Part 3 Precedence over Priority M...

08/29/2026

Just As I Am

You are living a brand new kind of life ... more and more like Christ who created this new life within you.

—Colossians 3:10 (TLB)

A long-haired blonde from a southern university seemed to be enjoying a satisfactory student career when her grades began to slip. “Life had become one long case of the blahs,” she confessed later. “I wasn’t walking around with a steady load of blues, but I wasn’t enjoying life. Small things made me blow up. I met some kids who seemed to know something I didn’t know, but I couldn’t get in on it. We went to several meetings, and one night the speaker said that we don’t earn God’s love. He takes us as we are. It was then I realized it wasn’t a matter of clocking up a certain number of hours doing good deeds. Instead, I had to make myself available. Through faith, I had to let Him take over. It came together all at once, when I accepted Christ as my personal Savior. I know that God is in me in everything I do. My life has taken on a new dimension.” Does your life have this new dimension? It can! Just begin now with Jesus Christ! When you make this beginning, it will be your first step toward realizing personal fulfillment, meaning, and joy.

Prayer for the day:
By faith, loving Father, I ask You to take over every part of my life—draw me closer to Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ.

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

Grace and Peace

Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

—Ephesians 4:7

The Christian life is never spoken of in the Bible as a bed of roses. It is uphill, because society is coming one way and the Christian is going the opposite way. But Jesus said that in the midst of your problems, in the midst of your difficulties, He will be there to give you grace and peace. Underneath all the troubles, will be the “still waters” that the Great Shepherd can provide. Many people are trying to steady themselves by taking tranquilizers. Jesus is the greatest tranquilizer of all. He can straighten out your life and put you back on center. Let Him take full control. You’ll go on your way rejoicing, as did those in the New Testament who met Jesus.

Prayer for the day:
I need Your calmness and strength, for there are many trials to face, Lord Jesus. By faith I reach out to You, and receive the gift of Your peace in my life.

08/27/2026

The Secret of Surrender

Just as you used to be slaves to all kinds of sin, so now you must let yourselves be slaves to all that is right and holy.

—Romans 6:19 (TLB)

We have heard the modern expression, “Don’t fight it—it’s bigger than both of us.” Those who are meek do not fight back at life. They learn the secret of surrender, or yielding to God. He then fights for us! Instead of filling your mind with resentments, abusing your body by sinful diversion, and damaging your soul by willfulness, humbly give all over to God. Your conflicts will disappear and your inner tensions will vanish into thin air. Then your life will begin to count for something. You will have the feeling of belonging to life. Boredom will melt away, and you will become vibrant with hope and expectation. Because you are meekly yielded, you will begin to “inherit the earth” of good things, which God holds in store for all who trust Him with their all.

Prayer for the day:
Let me yield to You this day, Father, all my innermost thoughts. I cannot hide from You.