Martin's Creek Community Church

04/09/2026

Please remember the family of Alice Chastain:

View Alice Lovingood Chastain's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

04/05/2026

It’s Sunday. HE IS RISEN!🥹♥️🙌🏻

Not quiet anymore.
Not heavy anymore.

Empty.

The stone is rolled away.

Not so Jesus could get out,
but so we could see in.

The tomb is empty.

The place that once held death
now holds nothing at all.

No body.
No ending.

Just… proof.

Mary comes expecting to mourn.

But instead,
she’s met with a question:

“Why seek ye the living among the dead?”

Because He’s not there.

Not because He was moved,
but because He rose.

Death did its worst.

The cross was real.
The suffering was real.
The grave was real.

But none of it
was stronger than Him.

He said He would rise.

And He did. HE IS RISEN!!

Just as He said.

It’s Sunday.

The day everything changed.

The day the grave lost its hold.
The day hope stepped out of the tomb.
The day victory breathed again.

And this isn’t just His story,

It’s yours too.

Because the same power
that raised Him from the grave…

is the power that meets you
in your broken places.

What feels dead in your life?

Hope?
Joy?
Faith?

The tomb didn’t get the final say.
And it won’t in your life either.

Because resurrection
is what God does.

What feels “dead” in your life that you need to trust God to bring back to life?

Let this sink in…

If the grave couldn’t hold Jesus…
what makes you think your situation is too far gone?

God doesn’t just bring things back,
He brings them back different, restored, and redeemed.

What feels like an ending to you
might be the very place God is preparing a resurrection.

Don’t settle in the tomb
when God is calling you into NEW LIFE.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You that the story didn’t end at the cross. Thank You that You rose, defeating death and making a way for new life. Help me to trust You in the places that feel empty, broken, or beyond repair. Remind me that You are still the God of resurrection. Breathe life into what feels lost, and strengthen my faith to believe again. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

If you’re thankful today for Jesus comment HE IS RISEN!!

04/04/2026

04/04/2026

It’s Saturday.

A dark day. A day of grieving. Mourning.

The religious leaders pay another visit to Pilate.

They remind him that, before Jesus died, he told them he would rise from the dead after three days.

A request is made for Pilate to send guards to protect the tomb. They’re afraid Jesus’ disciples will steal his body and falsely claim he rose from the dead.

Pilate grants their request.

They arrive back at the tomb, seal it, and post guards to protect it.

But what they don’t know just yet is -

A stone can’t stop the rock.

It’s Saturday. But Sunday is coming.

Shared from Courtney Melton

04/04/2026

Saturday (The In-Between)

It’s the day between.
And as my heart hovers in the streets and homes of the ones who loved Jesus, I always come first to the door of John.
I can’t help it—it’s where Mary is.
The precious Mother of Jesus just hours after the most horrifying day.
Her tear stained faced.
The fragrance of her Son.
The images of yesterday’s nightmare screaming through her broken heart.
Her despair.
I want to run to her. Bang on the door, wrap my arms around her and tell her the Good News.
Mary, He wins! He defeats death! The rescue is complete ! Jesus, your perfect Son, is raised to life tomorrow and it’s going to be okay!
It’s going to be okay, Mary.
And then I want to find Peter.
I want to find him and shake him awake. The guilt and sorrow of betraying His friend.
Peter. I know you’d give anything for another chance. Another opportunity to stand up for Jesus.
It’s coming Peter. He knows you love Him. He’ll ask you to feed His sheep.
Peter, it’s going to be okay.
And then, because I can’t not, I think about us, too. And our long in-betweens.
The days and months. The years of confusion. Of living in seasons of sorrow and pain.
Of wondering where Jesus is. And why He isn’t as we thought He should be.
These are very hard days. The long, dark days in between.
Can I remind you?
The same Rescuer and Saviour Who defeated death on the third day, is never slowed by circumstance.
The One Who won the biggest battle ever faced, is not behind on His rescue of you.
He’s never late. He’s never lost.
His timing is perfect. And while the in between is long, His timing is exactly right.
Even here.
Even now.
Even in the silence of this Saturday.
Because what felt like the end…
was only the quiet before resurrection.
What looked like defeat…
was the unfolding of the greatest victory the world has ever known.
And what feels unfinished in your story
is still being written by nail-scarred hands.
So if today feels heavy—
if your prayers feel unanswered,
if your heart is sitting in the ache of what you cannot yet see—
Can I remind you…
hold on.
Hold on with the deep soul knowing that Jesus is still working. Even when we can’t see it.
The cross and the empty tomb taught us that.
Hold on to Him.
Sunday is coming.
And the same Jesus who walked out of the grave
is still bringing dead things back to life.
My friend, it’s going to be okay.
❤️ Nicole
“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.”
‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

04/03/2026

It’s Friday.

Jesus is in custody.

Judas is ridden with guilt. He returns the silver, his betrayal payment, and hangs himself.

Religious leaders deliver Jesus to Pilate, the governor. Each Passover, Pilate releases one prisoner to the crowd. Barabbas, a prisoner guilty of theft, insurrection and murder, is brought in.

Pilate asks Jesus - are you the king of the Jews? Jesus confirms.

Pilate asks the crowd who to release. Barabbas.

He asks what he should do with Jesus, they shout - Crucify him. Crucify him.

Jesus is delivered to the soldiers. They place a crown of thorns on his head. They mock him, beat him, strip him of his clothes.

They head for Golgotha. Jesus bears the burden of carrying his own cross. He is too weak. Simon, a passerby, takes the cross and carries it on Jesus’ behalf.

Jesus, spotless and innocent, is hung on the cross. A nail in each hand and a nail in his feet. A sign is placed above his head reading - King of the Jews.

They mock him, insult him, spit on him, pierce his side with a sword.

Hours of agony pass. Jesus cries out - Father, forgive them. Jesus, in his final moments, prays mercy over his enemies that they may come to know and believe in him.

With one final cry Jesus proclaims - it is finished.

Jesus hangs his head. He gives up the ghost. The veil of the temple is torn, top to bottom, in two.

Joseph takes Jesus’ body. He wraps him in clean linens. He places him in a tomb, a borrowed tomb, belonging to Joseph. He seals the tomb with a stone.

With that, the plan for salvation is complete.

Sin, paid for. Debt, paid for. A promise of hope, mercy, forgiveness, eternal life. Free, if we’ll just trust him. Believe in him.

It’s Friday. But Sunday is coming.

Shared from Courtney Melton

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04/02/2026

It’s Thursday.
Jesus gives instructions to the disciples on where to prepare the Passover.
It’s evening, supper time. The last supper.
They begin to eat. Jesus reveals that one of the disciples will betray him. They all ask individually if it is themself. Judas asks last. Jesus confirms.
Jesus knew, but Judas ate too.
He breaks bread and gives to them to eat, a symbol of his body. He gives them a cup to drink, a symbol of his blood that will be shed for the forgiveness of sin.
My sin. Judas’ sin. Your sin. All sin.
They head for the Mount of Olives. Jesus predicts that another disciple will betray, deny him. Three times. Peter insists he never would.
Now in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays. He asks God - if possible, take this cup from me. A second time He prays - if possible, take this cup from me. He calls upon God for once more but this time He prays - if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.
Soon after, Judas shows up with a crowd of men. And with a single kiss, Judas follows through. He commits the ultimate betrayal.
Arrested and in the hands of the enemy, Jesus is brought back to town. Religious leaders again try to find fault in Jesus, even seeking false witnesses. They deliver an unjust verdict - guilty.
Jesus is beaten, spat on, mocked.
Peter is found. He is asked if he knows Jesus, he denies. He is asked again, he denies. And for a third time, just as predicted, Peter denies knowing Jesus.
Betrayed again.
It’s Thursday. But Sunday is coming.
Share from Courtney Melton

04/02/2026

Thursday: Peter Denies Jesus
Jesus gathers the twelve disciples together for the last supper.
He gives them bread to eat, representation of his body.
He gives them wine to drink, representation of the blood he will soon shed on Calvary.
Jesus warns Peter that he would deny him, and deny him three times at that.
Peter is shocked and insists he would never.
After all, Peter was the first disciple called by Jesus.
Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is praying and the soldiers arrive to take Him away.
Judas has officially committed his plan of betrayal.
They take Jesus before the court and Peter sits watching, later approached three separate times and asked if he knew Jesus.
And all three times, he denied.
He immediately goes to the courtyard and weeps.
But I wonder –
Being so faithful to Him for so long, the first disciple called, why?
I truly believe that Judas was always one foot out the door and doing the hokey pokey daily.
But Peter, he was all in. Steadfast in his following.
He’s known to be one of the most faithful, always there to stand up for Jesus and protect Him.
Was he afraid there was no one to protect him if he said yes?
Afraid of the consequences because of those around him?
Would it have made things worse for Jesus in that moment if Peter had said yes?
Just in distress at what his friend, his master is enduring?
How was Peter feeling in that moment?
From what we read we was in his own personal anguish because of what he’s just done.
I imagine He had a hard time getting up, for awhile.
In disbelief, full of disappointment and pain for what He had just done.
What would have happened if Peter stepped in or spoke up for Jesus?
Just as we all put on Judas’ shoes and betray Him, we also all put
on the shoes of Peter and deny Him.
My first thought of a denial of Jesus is the denial to accept Him.
Did you run when He first came calling? Are you running now?
Did you struggle and wrestle with it or just fall into the arms of the Lord as soon as conviction hit.
But then there’s denial as a believer.
Our consequences of proclaiming Jesus and publicly declaring Jesus most likely aren’t the same as the punishment Peter would’ve been given then.
But we still do it.
We deny Him.
And sometimes denial isn’t saying the words out loud.
Sometimes its when we don’t say anything at all when we should.
We deny His voice, His instructions –
To pray with that coworker having a hard time, to talk to that stranger in the parking lot, to give to the homeless man on the side of the road, send that message, call that person.
When we don’t listen, we’re denying Him.
And sometimes we’re afraid of rocking the boat, of people being mad at us.
Especially those closest to us.
We unfortunately risk our jobs, our friendships, our relationships, etc. when we proclaim Jesus publicly.
A conversation about Jesus isn’t always received well.
Sometimes it feels easier to just leave Jesus on the shelf or put Him in our pocket in certain situations to save face, to keep the peace.
We shouldn’t let those things stop us but the honest truth is that we do.
And the bigger truth is, that’s just fear.
If we’d just obey Him, speak the name of Jesus, He’ll take care of it all after that.
But no matter the denial -
Forgiveness is always there.
We learn later that after the resurrection and before Jesus ascends into Heaven he has a chat with Peter again.
Peter denied three times so Jesus confirms Peters love three times.
“Peter, do you love me?”
I truly believe that Peter’s three reassurances of “yes” to that question served as his testament of his true faith in Jesus and that
forgiveness was given to him just as it is us today.
In a world as cruel and ugly and evil as ours has become, sometimes it’s easy to just sit back and be quiet.
Someone else will speak up but not me, Lord.
And sometimes denying Jesus isn’t denying that you know Him, but denying what He’s asked of you.
Disobedience. Denying his request, His call for you.
Sing that song. Announce your call to preach. Take that Sunday School position.
Our choice to be obedient or disobedient ultimately determines who hears the gospel.
How a backslid believer or nonbeliever could or could not come into contact with Jesus through us.
Despite the way in which we deny Him, because we all do it in some way at some point..
Forgiveness is still there.
Just as He did Peter, and just as I believe He would’ve done Judas, He’s always ready to forgive and welcome us back into His arms.
I wonder – what was it like to be in the shoes of Peter?
Shared from Courtney Melton

04/01/2026

Harold is Home!!!!

It is with great sadness, I post of the passing of one of the most kind, funny and wonderful men I have ever known. Harold Coleman passed away peacefully at home this afternoon surrounded by his family.

If you knew Harold, well that is all I have to say because he was one of a kind! I will miss you and our shared love of coffee and bringing along an extra copy of the weekly Sunday sermon just for you.

I am grateful that we had time with you and am a little jealous that you are where we all long to be now, in the Presence of Jesus. What a great week to go home, Holy Week!

We will see you again Mr. Harold, one day! I was honored to be your pastor!

04/01/2026

It’s Wednesday.

Jesus is still teaching.

It seems as though things are quiet around town. But that isn’t the case.

Plots and schemes are made. The chief priests and the elders devise their plan to arrest Jesus and kill him.

Back in Bethany, in the home of Simon, Jesus is sitting at the table. A woman arrives and pours ointment, perfume, on Jesus’ head.

The disciples are angry. They question why she would waste it by pouring the entirety of it on His head. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

Jesus calms them, assuring them that she is doing a beautiful thing, preparing his body for burial, and that wherever the gospel is preached, what she did will also be told in her memory.

Back with the chief priests Judas, a disciple of Jesus, has arrived. Negotiations are made. Judas is desperate, greedy. He agrees to deliver Jesus to the chief priests in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. Betrayal.

It’s Wednesday. But Sunday is coming

Shared from Courtney Melton

03/31/2026

It’s Tuesday.
Jesus is teaching.
He passed by the withered fig tree he had cursed the day before and taught of faith.
Back in town, Jesus has made it clear who He is. The King of the Jews. Lord. Savior. Messiah.
The Pharisees are angry. They want to discredit Jesus. They question him, interrogate him. Tried to trap him in his own words, catch him in a lie. They fail.
He teaches again. Of hypocrisy, being a hinderance to the kingdom of Heaven, spiritual blindness - the seven woe’s.
Jesus heads to the Mount of Olives with his disciples. He teaches again. Of the end times, of the second coming of the Lord, of judgement day.
Jesus is still teaching. We just have to listen.
It’s Tuesday. But Sunday is coming.
Shared from Courtney Melton