On Rescue Sunday at Millington Baptist Church, we welcome a special message from Destiny Rescue exploring a simple but powerful truth: our stories are rescue stories. Through Exodus 3–4 and the story of Moses, we see a God who sees suffering, hears the cries of the oppressed, and then calls His people to participate in His work of rescue. Just as Moses was rescued before God used him to bring freedom to others, the gospel reminds us that Jesus has rescued us from sin and given us a new identity as sons and daughters of God. Through the remarkable story of Diya, a trafficking survivor who later helped rescue others from exploitation, we’re reminded that rescue creates a ripple effect far beyond a single life. As people rescued by Jesus, we are called to rescue—using whatever God has placed in our hands to bring freedom, hope, and the love of Christ to people near and far.

To donate to Destiny Rescue, click the link below and write "Millington Baptist Church" in the notes.
https://www.destinyrescue.org/donate/

In this message from our Summer in the Scriptures series, Youth and Young Adult Director Johnny Graves walks through Hebrews 12:1-2 and the call to run the Christian life with endurance. Looking back at the great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11, Johnny challenges us to take inventory of our lives, cast aside both the unnecessary weights that slow us down and the sin that clings so closely, and faithfully run the race God has set before us. The Christian life requires patience, purpose, and endurance, but we do not run alone or without direction—we run with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who endured the cross for the joy set before Him. Whatever mile of the race you find yourself in today, keep running, cast aside what holds you back, and fix your eyes on Jesus.

In this message from our Summer in the Scriptures series, Noah Graves turns to Jesus’ warning in Matthew 23:25–26 about a cup that looks clean on the outside while remaining dirty within. From the Pharisees’ spiritual blindness to David’s devastating sin and repentance, we’re challenged to look beyond appearances and invite God to search what is actually happening in our hearts.

But the answer isn’t simply trying harder to clean ourselves up. Through David’s prayer in Psalm 51 and Jesus’ journey to the cross, Noah points us toward the only One who can truly make us clean. Jesus took the judgment our sin deserved and offers us His righteousness in return. Instead of obsessing over the outside—or endlessly trying to fix the inside ourselves—we’re invited to lift our eyes to Christ, receive His mercy, and live from the new identity He gives us.

Guest speaker Dr. Todd J. Williams, President of Cairn University, opens Mark 5:21–43 and the intertwined stories of Jairus and the woman who had suffered for twelve years. Though they came from radically different circumstances, both were driven to Jesus by desperation and faith—believing that He alone could meet their deepest need. Through the chaos of the crowd, a devastating interruption, and even the apparent finality of death, Jesus demonstrates His complete knowledge, compassion, and authority. Dr. Williams reminds us that the Gospel accounts are not simply stories about what Jesus once did; they reveal who Jesus is and strengthen our faith in Him today. When fear, suffering, uncertainty, or loss overwhelm us, Christ calls us to the same posture He called Jairus to: “Do not fear, only believe.” Jesus Himself is our portion, and faith in Him gives us confidence to follow Him no matter our circumstances.

God's mercy is easy to celebrate when it's extended to us—but what happens when He shows that same mercy to the people we believe least deserve it? In Jonah 4:1–4, Pastor Bob Erbig explores the surprising conclusion to Jonah's mission in Nineveh, where revival sparks resentment instead of rejoicing. As Jonah wrestles with God's grace toward his enemies, we're confronted with a searching question: Is it possible to know God accurately and still be at war with Him? This message challenges us to examine our own hearts, surrender our resentments at the foot of the cross, and embrace God's mission to bring the hope of the gospel to every nation and every neighbor.

In Jonah 3:1–10, Pastor Dave Hentschel shows how the God of second chances sends His Word again, brings an entire city to repentance, and responds with extraordinary mercy. After Jonah’s failure, God calls him back to the mission, and through one reluctant prophet’s simple message, the people of Nineveh—from the king to the least—believe God, humble themselves, and turn from their violence. This passage reminds us that no sinner is beyond God’s reach, no failure is greater than His grace, and no person in our lives should be written off as hopeless. Receive God’s mercy, obey His call, and carry the good news of the God of second chances to others.

In Jonah 1:17–2:10, guest speaker and MBC pastoral summer intern Oliver Aridi shows how God meets Jonah in the depths with mercy, discipline, and salvation. From inside the fish, Jonah learns to pray in panic, repent on the road back to God, and declare with grateful praise that “salvation comes from the Lord.” This message reminds us that God’s provision may not always look like what we want, but it is always what we need, and that even in our lowest places, God is able to bring us up from the pit. Stop running, surrender your heart, and trust the Lord who saves.

In Jonah 1:3–16, Pastor Dave Hentschel shows what happens when God’s people run from his voice and resist his mission. Jonah’s rebellion takes him down into danger, but God lovingly disrupts, exposes, and calls him to surrender—not to destroy him, but to bring him back. This message reminds us that God’s discipline is mercy, that sin is costly, and that Jesus is the greater Jonah who entered the storm of judgment so we could receive grace. Stop running from God, surrender to him, and join his mission.