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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
February 16, 2022 - St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Center will be celebrating our annual black history program at the 11 o’clock hour on Sunday, February 20, 2022 with Rev. Chandler Pettis of the St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Tenaha as the speaker. The theme is "Don't Give Up." Everyone is invited.
February 14, 2022 - Today we conclude our week-long series on the subject of love. Maybe some of you, on this Valentine’s Day, will be blessed to receive the gift of a dozen roses. Well, here’s a dozen scripture verses about love. Hope they’re a blessing to you!
Psalm 63:3 - Because your steadfast love is better than life, O Lord, my lips shall praise You!
I John 3:18 - Let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.
Romans 5:8 - God showed His love to us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 15:12 - This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Ephesians 4:2 - With humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another in love.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...
I John 4:19 - We love Him because He first loved us.
Colossians 3:14 - Above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
I John 4:8 - Anyone who does not love, does not know God, for God is love.
I John 3:1 - See what kind of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of God.
Matthew 22:37 - And Jesus said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.
I Corinthians 13:13 - So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
As I am writing this, our pretty spring-like days have changed back to winter. It is Saturday morning and as Sam, Gunter, and I were walking our miles at the city park, we could feel the wind pick up and change directions. Now, about noon, it has dropped ten degrees and is rainy and windy. Oh my, Mother Nature is fickle. Mrs. Fannie will for sure have the heat going at church tomorrow. Thanks, Fannie!
Paxton Methodists wish every one a happy St. Valentine’s Day. Sue and I both have doctor’s appointments on Monday, so I ordered flowers for my Valentine early this week and picked them up today. Roy at Sunshine Flowers always does such unique and creative work, and the flowers for Sue were no exception. As usual, her gift to me was heavy on sweets—we know each other well, after 47+ years.
All during the month of February we are collecting soap and shampoo for Community Christian Services. We got such a sweet card from Mrs. Ruby at CCS this week, which I will read to the church tomorrow morning. Delta Gamma will have their meeting at Paxton Methodist Church on Valentine’s Day. I have heard that the meal will be catered by Jason and Glenn Gill. I should sneak by to get some of that good food from two guys who really know how to cook!
Also during February, our church pays Conference and District apportionments. Paxton, like all United Methodists, helps each year to keep Methodist hospitals, universities, and other good causes going. Our church denomination is referred to as a connectional church: One way we stay connected is our giving to keep the worldwide church relevant and effective in its ministries.
Our Sunday School lesson was based on Matthew 5: 14-16, exploring how our actions make God’s glory and love evident to the world. Toward this end, our author says that we as Jesus followers allow Jesus to transform our emotions, beliefs, and actions. It is the light from Christ that begins the change deep inside us. One quote we all liked came from the Quaker theologian Elton Trueblood: “You cannot go to church; you are the church wherever you go.”
Our Gathering Words were based on Sunday’s Psalter lesson—Psalm 1. For the last two Sundays we have used a modern 21st Century Affirmation to declare our faith. Our songs today were two good old hymns, “He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought” and Fanny Crosby’s “Blessed Assurance.” The bulletin quote was from Joseph Campbell: “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe.”
The Gospel lesson that I used in my sermon was Luke 6: 17-26, Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. Calling it the Sermon on the Plain, Luke offers just four blessings and adds four woes. Jesus said that the poor, the hungry, those who grieve and weep, and those pushed to the edges of society are blessed in God’s Kingdom. Unlike Matthew, Luke includes some “woes” which always have me wondering if Jesus could be talking about me. Jesus says woe to those who are rich, who have plenty to eat, who are laughing and having a good time, and who are spoken well of. Luke’s beatitudes get right down to the nitty gritty, while Matthew’s seem less harsh and much more poetic. Today’s Gospel tells us our first move—our first action toward someone should always be compassion and respect, not judgment.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
February 13, 2022 - We continue our series of devotions on love, a series that will conclude on Monday, Valentine’s Day.
The books that have been written about love - the plays, the songs, the poems - would fill a million libraries. But perhaps the most famous words on this subject are found in a letter, a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to a church in Corinth, Greece, two thousand years ago. In the Bible it’s found in the 13th chapter of I Corinthians.
In Chapter 12 Paul writes about all the many gifts and talents and abilities that God blesses us with, gifts that He wants us to use to accomplish His will and His plan. He mentions preaching and teaching, healing and helping. But at the end of the chapter, after acknowledging the good in all these gifts, he says this -
But now I will show you the most excellent way . . .
And thus begins chapter 13, The Love Chapter. The word love is found nine times in the 13 verses, and each time it’s the Greek word “agape”. This is a term for an unselfish, giving, sacrificial kind of love. This is the love of God. And Paul encourages us to make this the kind of love that characterizes our lives, a love that’s patient and kind, selfless and faithful. Paul teaches us that we can have everything else - knowledge, wisdom, generosity, faith - but if we don’t have love, then we don’t have anything.
Another Mighty Man of God, Peter, said it this way -
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Meet you back here on Monday,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 10, 2022 - Huxley helping hands drive thru food pantry will be Saturday, February 12 at 9am at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Must have identification and only box per household will be given.
Must be in line by 9:30am to receive a box.
February 10, 2022 - I remember in elementary school, in the school office we had a cardboard box that was the “lost and found” collection. In that box you were likely to find notebooks, gloves, sweaters, jackets and various other articles. They were things that had been left on the playground, on benches, in the cafeteria and in classrooms. At the end of the year, most of those articles had gone unclaimed. However, occasionally, someone would have “lost” something and the teacher would tell them to go to the office and look through the “lost and found box.”
The idea of looking for something that is lost is something that Jesus talked about in Luke chapter 15. He said in verse 4, “Which of you having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost, until he finds it.” Jesus said in another place, recorded in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Aren’t those comforting thoughts for us? There is one who is actively seeking those people who have been cast off or lost. One who is actively seeking those who are lost in sin. Ordinary people like us. When we obey his will and live his kind of life, we are no longer in the “lost and found box” we are His children, part of God’s family.
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
February 7, 2022 - I am starting the Paxton Methodist News article on Saturday afternoon. What a pretty day! After the last few days, including experiencing Friday’s sleet and snow in Shreveport, it almost feels balmy outside. I am setting up a new 3’ x 12’ raised garden bed in which I am hoping to raise a different kind of watermelon—without vines — that grows on a low bush. Weird. I came back in and called our dear friends Keith and Vera. It was Keith’s birthday on Saturday. On Sunday we wished happy birthday to Sue DeFee, who will reach the milestone 90 on Monday.
Sunday is the 5th Sunday of the Epiphany. Most years, the season of the Epiphany is four Sundays, but this year—because of Easter’s date on the calendar—there are seven Epiphany Sundays. Transfiguration Sunday, which marks the end of this particular season, isn’t until February 27.
I delivered checks and canned tuna to Community Christian Services this last week and got to visit with some of my all-time favorite students and friends. My understanding is that CCS has applied for a large grant to expand its space and services. Wow, that is so great for the community! We’ll be collecting soap and shampoo this month for CCS.
Our Sunday School was an exceptionally good one. There were two scriptures that served as the basis for the lesson—one from Deuteronomy and one from Matthew. The purpose of the lesson was to renew our commitment to the Great Commandments: to love God and to love neighbor. Our author told us that deeds of love are what the earliest Christians were noted for. He went on to say that the best way to express our love for God is to love our neighbor. We of the Christian faith are convinced that is exactly what Jesus’ life and teaching showed us. Echoing this idea was our bulletin quote from Maria Robinson, a U.S. Representative: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
The Gospel Lesson for Sunday was Luke 5: 1-11. This wonderful story is centered on fishing. When Jesus intervenes, the fishermen—Simon, James, and John—are overwhelmed by the catch, with nets nearly breaking and the boat almost sinking under the weight. Fish was as vital to these people as was their daily bread. This story says that in Jesus’ Kingdom there will always be plenty for all, no one excluded.
Our songs this morning were “Rescue the Perishing” and “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” The second hymn, by Charles Wesley, is considered the anthem of Methodism. It is the first hymn in the Methodist Hymnal, but we don’t use it much at Paxton Methodist. We listened, sang, and hummed along with all six verses of a Bluetooth version. Kind of reminded me of my growing up years in the Lutheran Church when we would sing every verse of every hymn. There was none of this “first, second, and last,” in my boyhood church.
We celebrated Holy Communion this morning. Holy Communion is sometimes call The Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. Methodists, like most Protestants, believe there are two sacraments of the church: baptism and communion. In my studies this week, I read that the story of the overwhelming catch on Simon’s boat was a eucharistic miracle because it showed how following Jesus was a most fruitful avenue.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
February 7, 2022 - Good Morning! It's Monday, February 7.
Today we begin a devotion series that will take us to Valentine's Day - a series on the subject of love.
I've been a worship leader for over 40 years. In that time, I've been involved in many, many weddings. This usually included having meetings with the couple to discuss their song choices for the ceremony. Most churches are particular about what songs are used in weddings. After all, a church wedding is, in reality, a worship service. So, many of these meetings would have uncomfortable moments when I would have to tell the bride and groom that they couldn't use that song that was playing on the jukebox the night they first met!
One choice, however, that was never a problem, was the choice to include a scripture reading in the ceremony. Often, it would be the passage that we'll look at later this week, I Corinthians 13. But, in the old days - not so much anymore - it was often Ruth 1:16.
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
That's one of those passages that just doesn't sound right unless we read it from the King James version. Beautiful words. And these words weren't spoken by a husband to a wife, or by a wife to a husband. They were spoken by a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law, by Ruth to Naomi. Sometimes the Valentine's holiday can be a painful experience for those who are not in a romantic relationship, to those who have gone through a divorce, to those who have lost a spouse. But there are all kinds of "love" relationships - friends, siblings, even in-laws! And they can all be a blessing and they should all be celebrated.
Meet you back here tomorrow as we continue our series on love.
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 5, 2022 - It’s Saturday, February 5.
In 1922, the New York Herald newspaper published an article titled “What the World Will Look Like in One Hundred Years.” They chose novelist W. L. George to write it. Never heard of him? Few have. And even fewer have read one of his novels. But you have to admit, the man knew a thing or two about predicting the future.
In the article, about life in 2022, George predicts wireless phones, commercial air travel, working women, and nuclear power. To be fair, he also predicts glass domed cities and flying cars. But hey, nobody’s perfect. Telling the future is hard work.
Want to take a crack at predicting what life will be like a hundred years from now? No? Well, how about fifty years? Ten? Let’s make it easy. Tell me what’s going to happen... tomorrow.
The truth is we cannot know what the future holds. But, thank heaven, we can know who holds the future. The gospel songwriters Bill & Gloria Gaither put it like this -
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
My life is worth the living just because He lives!
Meet you back here on Monday, as we begin a series - leading to Valentine’s Day - on the subject of love.
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 4, 2022 - Good Morning! It's Friday, February 4.
Our lives are filled with all kinds of prayers. There's the prayer we learn as children - "now I lay me down to sleep." And the prayer we learn as adults - "our Father, who art in heaven." There's nothing wrong with memorized prayers. They can be a comfort to us, a touchstone, just as memorized scriptures can be.
But when we consider the true definition of prayer - talking to God - we see the need to improvise, to express our feelings, to share our heart. Imagine what the relationship with your spouse or friend would be like, if your only communication was a series of memorized, rehearsed phrases! Sometimes our communication with God isn't as personal as it should be.
There's a kind of prayer that's been nicknamed "The 911 Prayer." That's the one we pray when we're in trouble, in crisis, at the end of our rope. Those prayers are always very personal. We definitely speak to God from our heart during challenging times. But what kind of relationship would we have with a friend or loved one, if we only spoke from the heart when we needed help?
God just wants to talk. For reasons beyond our comprehension, the Creator of the Universe is interested in hearing from you. And not just in times of crisis, but every day. That's the kind of prayer life that builds a relationship with God, a relationship that, when troubles come, will give a firm foundation and "a peace that passes understanding."
So, talk to God today. He's waiting. He's listening.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
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