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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
October 17, 2023 - Everyone is invited to First Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ for Fall Family Fun Night on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 6:30pm.
Come enjoy good food, games, and a hayride. Everyone is welcome.
First Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ is located at 480 FM 2026, Center, Texas.
October 16, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, October 16.
Yesterday morning, in the worship service at First Baptist Center, our pastor asked us to do something that was a bit unusual for a Sunday morning service. He asked us to gather in small groups in our sanctuary to pray. He asked us to pray . . . for Israel.
We've all been following the news reports this last week about the terrorist attack. A moment in history that rivals September 11, 2001 in its level of cruelty. Wars and rumors of wars are so common today, that we have grown numb to the stories of soldiers lost in battles. But when the focus of terrorism turns on civilians, on innocent people, on innocent children, we are left with heavy hearts.
I leave you this morning with a single verse of scripture, just six words, a simple thought.
Psalm 122:6 - "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
October 12, 2023 - Women's Conference, “l am Beautifully Broken, Perfectly Imperfect” is scheduled for October 28, 2023 starting at 10am.
The conference is hosted by Hosted by the Women's Ministries Open Door Worship Center located at 900 Cotton Ford Rd. Center, Texas 75935.
List of speakers include: Pastor Annette Jones; Sister Stephanie Hicks; Sister Isha Brown; Prophetess Donna Martin; and Minister Sogunda Strange
(NOTE: This is not original, it is a very yellowed clipping in one of my files. I have had it for a number of years, but I felt it was worthy of sharing. It is timeless and provides something we need to think about. tbp)
October 12, 2023 - “Last Sunday, I voted to close the church. Not intentionally, not maliciously, but carelessly and thoughtlessly, lazily and indifferently. I voted! Yes, I voted to close the open Bible that had been given us by many years of struggling and by the blood of martyrs, who had died, that we might have it to read. I voted for our minister to stop preaching the glorious truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I voted that the children of the Bible School no longer be taught the stories of the Bible.
I voted for the voice of the congregation to be stilled and no longer heard in song. I voted for the darkness of superstition and the degrading influence of sin, the blight of ignorance and the curse of selfish greed once again to settle their damning load on the shoulders of an already overburdened world. Carelessly, lazily, indifferently, I voted.
For you see, I could have gone, and I should have gone, but I didn’t. I stayed away from church last Sunday!
This coming Lord’s Day, how are you planning to vote?
It’s something to think about... tbp
Join Us for Worship this coming Lord’s Day at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.
October 11, 2023 - Clever Creek Baptist Church 199 CR 1042 at FM 417 West, Center, Texas 75935 will host Evangelist Michael Durham from Denton, Texas, for a special study event on Sunday, October 15, 2023. Evangelist Durham will preach during the 10:55 am worship time and then again in the 7 pm service Sunday evening. The meeting will continue on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 7 pm. Clever Creek Baptist Church will support Evangelist Durham’s continuing meetings with Parkway Baptist Church in Carthage on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, October 18-19, 2023, at 7 pm.
Michael Durham is an evangelist and founder of Real Truth Matters Ministries. He served as a pastor for 23 years before going into full-time evangelism. Michael’s burden is to see Christians cultivate an all-surpassing fascination with the Lord Jesus. His preaching exists to pursue the recovery of New Testament Christianity by promoting the pursuit of Christ as the Gospel. His wife, Karen, and he have been married since 1981 and have three children and two grandchildren.
October 11, 2023 - First Baptist Church of Tenaha invites everyone to High Attendance Sunday on October 15, 2023. Breakfast is at 8:30am with Sunday school starting at 9:30am. Worship service is at 10:30am. Bring a friend and invite your neighbor.
The church is located at 200 S. George Bowers Drive, Tenaha, Texas 75974.
October 11, 2023 - Jefferson Christian Academy (JCA) Music Department Fall Tour swings through Center at the First Methodist Church Sunday night, October 15 at 6 pm. Their vocal choir and hand bell choir has performed all over the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
“We are excited to host these talented young people,” church music director Chris Watlington said. “The kind of joy they bring to their music will give you a much-needed shot of positivity in these not-so-positive days. The Lord is definitely at work through the JCA musicians.”
Everyone is invited. Come on out Sunday night and share in the music!
First Methodist Church is located at 211 Porter Street, Center, Texas 75935.
October 10, 2023 - Please come and help us celebrate our Harvest Program the theme is Harvest of Blessing on Sunday October 15, 2023 at 3:00pm at Blount Chapel Missionary Baptist Church with Pastor Byron Coutee, Jr.
Speakers: Sis. Stephanie Hicks, Sis. Yolanda Neal and Sis. Pearl Nash.
October 10, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, October 10.
On October 10, 1966, the Beatles song, "Yesterday", became the #1 song in America. In 1999, Rolling Stone magazine declared it the greatest pop song in history. It's been recorded ("covered") by over 2000 artists, and performed over seven million times.
It's a simple little song, just two minutes long, just a voice, a guitar, and a string quartet. Beatle Paul McCartney has said that the melody came to him in a dream. The lyrics came much later, and connected the melancholy tune and minor chords, with words of regret and remorse.
There are certainly words of regret in the Bible. And there can be no forgiveness without remorse over sin. But God's Word also speaks of moving forward, of new beginnings, of fresh starts.
Jesus warned us about living only in the past when He said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah spoke for God when he wrote, "Do not remember the former things, nor dwell on the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing!"
And then we have the words of the Apostle Paul to the Philippian Church, "Forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee….” Hebrews 13:5
October 9, 2023 - Soon after I preached my first sermon in Center, Texas, the pastor of The Baptist Church in Hornbeck, Louisiana invited me to preach an evening service for him. The next Saturday I “thumbed a ride” from a soldier on his way back to his unit at Fort Polk, Louisiana. His ’41 Ford’s speedometer was so loud that we had to shout to be heard. Just as we passed through Fisher, Louisiana, the car went “Ka-BOOM”… and we both shouted “YAAAAA!”” when we realized the cable had finally snapped. An hour later he dropped me off at Hornbeck and I found Deacon Green’s house and spent the night.
I could hardly believe my eyes when I entered the sanctuary Sunday evening! It was packed with young people… elderly people… children… and a large number of soldiers from nearby Fort Polk. After the music service, the Pastor introduced me and I walked to the pulpit… opened my Bible…. and went completely blank! I finally managed to read my text and stuttered through a five minute sermon. As the pastor prayed the closing prayer, I slipped out the side door and headed toward the highway. Running up behind me, the Pastor slipped a $10 check in my pocket and said, “Thank you for doing a good job, Son.” After thanking him, I hurried to the highway and caught a ride home.
This all happened when I was 18 years old… the year was 1949… that was 74 years ago! During my many years, I have rehearsed what happened that day in Hornbeck many times. It was always how I felt… what the Pastor thought and what the people must have thought that bothered me. But I finally asked myself the most important question… the one that I had completely overlooked all these years: What did God think that night? I suddenly realized that God did not require that I be successful or that I produce great results… he just required that I live up to the light He had given me and to be faithful.
So this is what I now know about that night. When I stuttered through that sermon… when I slipped out that door in embarrassment… when I was worrying about what the people thought… when I made my way to the dark highway that night… I was never alone. The same Savior that saved my soul was walking with me all the time…
… and I didn’t even realize it.
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