Russels Chapel Church

Russels Chapel Church Non-denominational Church in Hardin County. Established in 1904.

09/08/2026

Discipline for Our Good

For [our fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Hebrews 12:10

The New Testament occasionally uses the earthly family to illustrate God’s familial relationship with us (Romans 8:15-17). The writer to the Hebrews compares how earthly fathers discipline their children to the ways that God disciplines us (Hebrews 12:1-13). His purpose is for us to be “partakers of His holiness.”

Recommended Reading:
James 1:2-4

The story of Jonah is a good example of God’s discipline. The discipline started with a storm at sea that resulted in Jonah being thrown into the deep where he was swallowed by a great fish. During his three days in the fish, Jonah called out to God and repented of his sin. After Jonah was deposited onto dry land, he obeyed God’s original commission to go to Nineveh and warn them of God’s impending judgment. While Jonah struggled with yielding to God’s purpose, the hardship he endured at least led him to repent of his initial disobedience.

If you find yourself in a season of hardship, seek the Lord and ask Him if there is something He wants you to do or learn.

Those that would enjoy the dignities and privileges of Christ’s family must submit to the discipline of it.
Matthew Henry

09/07/2026

Your First Impulse

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.
Jonah 1:17–2:1

When we find ourselves faced with a seemingly unsolvable challenge, someone usually reminds us, “When all else fails, read the directions!” A similar reminder is sometimes issued among Christians: “When all else fails, pray!” We often have to be reminded that prayer should be our first impulse, not our last.

Recommended Reading:
Psalm 32:6-7

Jonah would have done well to have received that reminder when he found himself cast into the Mediterranean Sea. He had rebelled against God, been accused of causing calamity by his shipmates, and been thrown overboard in hopes of placating the storm “gods.” And adding insult to injury, he was swallowed by a great fish! Finally, Jonah decided it was time to pray: “Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.” He didn’t exactly confess his sins, but at least he repented of his pride by calling out to God for help.

Don’t wait until you have tried every solution before turning to prayer. Regardless of the situation, make prayer your first impulse.

Before we can pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My kingdom go.”
Alan Redpath

09/06/2026

Arianna Interpreting the Church Service in Sign Language⛪️✝️💜🤟🏻🫶🏻

09/06/2026

“At the cross, justice was satisfied and mercy opened the way home.”

Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
1 PETER 3:11 KJV

Dear God, thank You for Your forgiveness and for giving me another chance to do good according to Your Word. Forgiving others is not always easy so help me to be forgiving like You. I know that by adopting a forgiving mindset, I will be able to let go of unwanted pain and unnecessary negative emotions. Allow the relationships in my life to be full of grace, patience, and forgiveness. Please help me to let go of past behaviors that do not benefit me or my purpose in life. Continue to transform my heart to be more like You. Amen.

RABBI SCHNEIDER ON SUNDAY SERVICE
God does not brush sin aside as though it never mattered. He meets it with mercy that is holy, costly, and complete. From the altar to the cross, Scripture shows a scarlet thread of love: a substitute given, a debt answered, a way opened back to God. Today, let that truth quiet your shame. You do not have to earn forgiveness or carry what has already been paid for. Bring your confession honestly, receive grace humbly, and praise the One whose sacrifice changes everything. Ask the Lord to help you live forgiven, walk lightly, and extend mercy from the place where mercy first met you

09/05/2026

Great Reunions: Joseph and His Brothers
SEPTEMBER 5, 2026

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And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.”
Genesis 45:4-5

Recommended Reading: Genesis 50:19-21
Families have the possibility of great conflict because of close quarters and constant interaction. But when conflicts are resolved and relationships repaired, family “reunions” can be sweet.

That is what happened with Joseph and his brothers. When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, God’s providence caused Joseph to rise in stature in the royal Egyptian court. When a famine struck Joseph’s family in Canaan, his brothers journeyed to Egypt to buy food. There they encountered Joseph and were reunited with the brother they had sold into slavery. But Joseph saw God’s hand at work, sending him to Egypt to prepare a way for his family to stay alive.

If you have been separated from friends or family, trust that God has a purpose in your pain (Romans 8:28). Do everything you can to be reunited with those you love (Romans 12:18).

Christians ought at all times to be making contributions towards reunion, if it is only by their prayers.
C. S. Lewis

09/04/2026

Guard Your Influence

Then [the sailors] said to [Jonah], “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
Jonah 1:8

In 1624, the English poet John Donne penned a meditation whose title comes from the first line: “No Man Is an Island.” The theme of the short poem is the interconnectedness of human experience—what happens to one affects all.

Recommended Reading:
Matthew 16:11-12; Galatians 5:9

When the prophet Jonah was fleeing from the call of God on his life, the ship he was on encountered a bad storm. The sailors concluded that it was Jonah who was the cause of their dangerous misfortune. They demanded to know who he was and what he had done to put them in danger. Jonah’s situation illustrates the point in John Donne’s poem: We do not act alone in life; our behavior impacts those around us. It raises the rarely discussed dimension of stewardship called the stewardship of influence. We are responsible for the influence we have on the lives of others.

Ask God today for grace to be a godly influence on those with whom you come in contact—to be salt and light in their life (Matthew 5:13-16).

Your influence is negative or positive, never neutral.
Henrietta Mears

09/03/2026

Storms

There was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up…. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
Jonah 1:4; Acts 27:20

Jonah encountered a storm in the Mediterranean Sea that nearly took his life. A similar thing happened to the apostle Paul in Acts 27 on the same sea and with the same raw terror. In Jonah’s case, the prophet’s sin precipitated the storm. In the case of Paul, the storm arose for other reasons. In both cases, God used the storms to develop the souls of his two servants.

Recommended Reading:
Acts 27:21-25

Not every storm happens because of sin, but every storm can be used by God to shape our faith and character and draw us closer to Him. How we wish we could avoid storms! Bereavement! Illness! Anxiety about our loved ones! Yet there has never been a storm beyond the reach of our Savior’s outstretched arm. We often learn more about Him in the storm than in the sunshine.

When you experience a difficult trial, look for how God is helping you to grow in your relationship with Him.

The Lord’s our rock, in Him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm.
Vernon Charlesworth

09/02/2026

An Attempt to Hide

“Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “do I not fill heaven and earth?”
Jeremiah 23:24

An online article featured hilarious photos of children trying to play hide-and-seek. One boy was betrayed by his shadow. Another thought hiding under a blanket in the middle of the kitchen was the perfect spot. A third crawled beneath a rug, unaware of the obvious hump she created. And a fourth removed the lampshade from a lamp, placed it over his head, and assumed he had disappeared completely.

Recommended Reading:
Jonah 1:1-6

The Lord must look with amusement at our attempts to hide from Him. We cannot run away; He fills heaven and earth. When Jonah ran from God, the Lord sent a storm after him. There was no place he could have gone where the Lord wouldn’t find him. Yet doesn’t that show us how much God loves us? When we move away from God’s presence, we can be assured He will find us.

If you’re hiding from God or if you are trying to hide something from Him, admit it. Ask the One who fills heaven and earth to fill you with His love and mercy.

When you feel like running away, claim your privilege as a child of God and approach the throne of grace.
Warren Wiersbe

09/01/2026

Door

Do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.
1 Samuel 12:21

In the 1940s, radio listeners tuned into a suspenseful new dramatic episode of Quiet Please entitled, “Nothing Behind the Door.” Three men climbed to the top of a mountain to break into a mysterious little house near an observatory. Inside they found a sealed door, which they forced open with great foreboding. As it turned out, it led to nowhere. Behind it was nothing but emptiness. It was a psychological image that shocked listeners with the emptiness of human existence.

Recommended Reading:
1 Samuel 12:20-25

The prophet Jonah once mistook an available ship for an open door. But open doors are not always God’s doors, especially when we force them open. Some opportunities lead nowhere spiritually. Behind them we find only disappointment, regret, and hollowness.

As we go through life, we will see many doors, but unless God is leading us to them and through them, they will lead nowhere. Let God open the right doors for you. Do not turn aside to other doors or opportunities, for we do not want to go after empty things which cannot profit and which are nothing.

When God allows one door to close, it may be because he is preparing to open a more effective door.
Henry Blackaby

08/31/2026

Love God With Your Mind

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2

When Jesus was asked which of the commandments was the greatest, He quoted from Deuteronomy 6: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (verse 5). But to heart, soul, and strength He added “mind”—encompassing the totality of the human being.

Recommended Reading:
Mark 12:28-31

How do we love God with our mind? When we are born again, our mind needs to be renewed, or transformed, from its focus on the kingdom of this world to the Kingdom of God. The New Living Translation of Romans 12:2 is helpful: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Renewing our mind means to think like God thinks about everything, thus showing our love for Him.

Meditating on and memorizing the Word of God is the best way to renew your mind daily.

The Bible redirects my will, cleanses my emotions, enlightens my mind, and quickens my total being.
E. Stanley Jones

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Russel Chapel Lane
Savannah, TN
38372

Opening Hours

8am - 9:30am

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