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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
August 10, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We have had more rain, slightly cooler temperatures, and lower humidity the last week or so—but that is changing. The temperatures are reaching the high nineties, and the air is really thick. A relatively mild August was too good to last.
For many years, this was when Sue and I geared up for the beginning of another school year. We are especially enjoying our retirement this year and would hate to have to make decisions on how to start a school year in the Covid pandemic. I saw the school parking lots full of cars here in Joaquin as the staff was getting ready to welcome the kids back on August 10th. But then I read Friday night that a staff member tested positive and that the school district was going to start the year remotely. Some are probably sighing with relief, while others are saying, “Here we go again.” Our hearts go out to them all.
Our Sunday School lesson was a difficult one, as it dealt with the radical hospitality of God. The word hospitality in Greek context refers to someone who has a love of strangers. Jesus certainly showed this love in the scripture for our Sunday School lesson about the Samaritan woman at the well. There had been distrust and dislike between Jews and Samaritans for generations. Our author said it was regrettable that prejudice and racism still separate people. He went on to say that some individuals or groups of people somehow conclude that they are better and more deserving than others. His point of view, by contrast, is that racism and other forms of discrimination are ugly and have no place in the body of Christ.
The Gospel lesson for Sunday came from Matthew 14: 22-33. In this story, a favorite of many, we see Jesus walking on water: Peter steps out of the boat in faith but weakens and must be rescued by Jesus, who calms the waters. Mark and John also have a story of Jesus calming the waters, but only Matthew tells of Peter stepping out. Luke doesn’t have this story at all. Our Old Testament Lesson was 1 Kings 19: 9-19, where we see Elijah having a close encounter with God. It doesn’t come accompanied by winds, earthquakes, or fire. Instead God comes to Elijah as “a softly whispering voice.” This mystical experience reminds us that God can appear to us in the most ordinary of circumstances if we have honed our spiritual eyesight and hearing.
All month long we will be collecting children’s underclothes and socks for Community Christian Services. Christian Services has collected these items at the beginning of the school year for thirty years. We hope and pray that everyone will be careful and safe during this deadly pandemic. We need to stay home as much as possible and at least six feet from others when we are out. And of course, we should wear masks in public. Health officials say that if we all wear masks, we can save over 70,000 lives between now and the end of the year. We need to care enough to help out.
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.
Randy & Sue Smith/Paxton United Methodist Church
August 6, 2020 - Once upon a time there was a man who called himself a Christian, but he was indeed an unusual one.
On Monday, while at work, something went wrong. He forgot about God and cursed and swore, using the name of God freely.
On Tuesday, he heard some “juicy gossip” about a brother and passed it on to another without determining whether it was true or not. He even embellished the story and made it worse than before.
On Wednesday, making a business transaction, he saw an opportunity to take advantage of someone by misrepresenting an article and did so for a few dollars involved in the transaction.
On Thursday night, he went to a friend’s home for a little game of cards – he didn’t lose too much. Naturally, there was a cocktail or two and a couple of beers. “A cheap night’s entertainment”, he said.
On Friday, he became angry at everyone at work. They simply could not see things ought to be done his way, so he told them off.
On Saturday, the grocer made a mistake and failed to charge him for a pound of butter. He said that was their own fault.
On Sunday morning, he went to church and took part in the services – you know, the part where you sit in the pew and mutter that the services are too long, and the sermon is boring.
This man was indeed a strange Christian!
It’s something to think about … tbp
Center Church of Christ
110 Hurst Street,
Center, Texas
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
August 5, 2020 - Friendship (Bobo) Baptist Church Cancels Annual Homecoming and Revival Services.
Pastor Jeremy Moore
August 5, 2020 - Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church would like to announce their upcoming dedication service to celebrate the completion of their new church building. Saturday, August 15th at 10:45. Everyone is welcome!
The new building is located on FM 139 in Joaquin, approximately 2 miles from Hwy 7.
August 3, 2020 - The Homecoming “2nd Sunday” for 2020 has been cancelled. The Revival also has been cancelled due to our concern for our neighbor in gathering in a closed setting. We are told to love our neighbor and we do not see how putting your health at risk is a show of love.
August 3, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was also the first Sunday in August—hard to believe it is already August. We have been lucky so far in that we have gotten adequate rainfall and have had no triple digit temperatures. I got up early this morning so I could water my gardens. It was 67 outside, and I actually felt chilly! I know it is not going to last, but the rainfall and slightly cooler temperatures have made summer more bearable.
Because it was the first Sunday of the month, we celebrated Communion. We are using the same liturgy that we always do, but when sharing the bread and juice we are staying at a social distance—and using prepackaged cups and wafers. We are small in number so that is not difficult. All of us are also wearing masks in the church building.
In August we will be collecting children’s underclothes and socks for Community Christian Services. Gayle and Joaquin Christian Services started this collection over 25 years ago, and Paxton Methodist is continuing the tradition. This collection always coincided with the beginning of school, the idea being that kids could start with new underwear. After Undie Sundays were so successful, we chose different items to collect for Christian Services each month. We are not sure what school will look like this year, but we are praying for students, teachers, and staff.
Last month we collected cans of ravioli and spaghetti for CCS. I delivered the cans along with checks and donations from church members. It was great to see so many wonderful people volunteering and helping others, especially in this time of huge need. We had a request from one of Lillie’s granddaughters for a Paxton scholarship. She is studying to be a nurse, and the church voted to give her a scholarship. We sure do need good nurses, now more than ever!
We had a great Sunday School lesson about Zacchaeus. Most of us learned that song about Zacchaeus climbing the tree as children. Our author said that “Christ bids all to seize the ‘now’ of this moment in discovering the wonders of God’s love.” Ms Fannie said that God is still calling. The only question is if we are listening. I am always amazed how the Sunday School lesson and the Sunday sermon tie together.
My sermon continued with the idea of searching and being open to God moving among us in our daily living. Christian mystics have taught this for centuries, but most denominations and churches focus on creeds and dogmas. This includes my denomination—The United Methodist Church. One of the first mystical experiences in the Bible was when Jacob dreamed about the ladder joining heaven and earth and encountered angels as well as God. Later, as Jacob was heading home , he had a wrestling match with God and came away with a blessing. These mystical experiences should give us pause and encourage us to look for the Divine in the ordinariness of life.
I closed my sermon with some words from the late Congressman, John Lewis. He said, “Never hate, for hate is too great a burden to bear.” In an essay written shortly before his death, he said, “Walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.” Amen to that!
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.
July 30, 2020 - During the middle part of the 20th century, one of the most popular religious writers was Norman Vincent Peale. He was most famous for his book, “The Power of Positive Thinking”. Many today would not recognize his name, however, they would recognize the names of Max Lucado, Joel Osteen, John McArthur, Charles Swindoll and others.
The books written by these writers are quite popular and widely read. Yet, I remember reading the advice that an old preacher one time gave a young preacher when he said, “be careful young man that you don’t find yourself some day reading more and more books about the Bible and reading the Bible less and less.”
I wonder how much of that is going on in our world today. How many people are reading more and more of the writings of popular religious authors and reading less and less of the Bible.
Perhaps we should give consideration to spending more time in the reading of the word of God. How much time do we spend in reading the Bible? We might say we don’t have time to read the Bible, and yet that is just one more of the many excuses we offer for not living God’s kind of life. Friends, we find the time to do almost everything we really want to do. If we don’t have time to spend in reading God’s word, it’s because we really do not have the desire to spend time studying the Bible.
When we offer some lame excuse for not reading and studying God’s word, do we really think God is buying what we are selling?
It’s something to think about…..tbp
Center Church of Christ, 110 Hurst Street, Center, Texas or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com
July 27, 2020 - When I was in college, I joined a “Preacher” Club called 'The J. B. Gambell Society.' We were a bunch of young preachers seeking advice from our elders. Our Club sent a letter to Dr. W. A. Criswell, the famous pastor of Dallas’ First Baptist Church. In the letter we asked him what was the last thing he did before going to the pulpit to preach. We were both shocked and amused to get an immediate reply - “I checked to see if my pants are zipped up.”
And guess what happened to me on the first Sunday as pastor of The First Baptist Church of Hemphill. I was seated in my chair on the platform with fifteen Choir members singing behind me when I glanced down and saw my pants unzipped wide open. At the end of the choir special, I asked everyone to close their eyes and asked Deacon Douglas Butler to pray. Meanwhile I slipped quietly into a room, zipped up returned while Douglas was still praying. No one said anything about it but after the service organist Freddie Cousins eased up and whispered, “Brother Doug, did you get sick this morning?” “Almost”, I replied… as we had a laugh together.
The experience that morning must have taught me a lesson. And I made a special prayer to God that day: Lord, with your help I’ll never let that happen again. And by the grace of God, it never has…
… and I’m an old feller now.
July 26, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. But these sure don’t seem like ordinary times right now! Our world is engulfed by a pandemic that is crippling economies, sickening millions, and killing tens of thousands. With many of us staying at home more, we need to carve out some time in our daily routines to look for the divine in the ordinary events of our lives. This is what the ancient Christian mystics called on people to do. Before there were dogmas, doctrines, and denominations, early Christians looked for God in their daily living. We have, for the most part, lost that focus and that part of our faith.
In our Gospel lesson for Sunday from Matthew 13, Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. He goes on to say that this Kingdom is like a mustard seed, yeast, fishing, finding a lost treasure, and acquiring a precious gem. These are certainly not ideas of kingdom that most people then or now have. When we think of kingdoms, we see images of crowns, robes, palaces, kings, queens, princesses, and princes. But Jesus saw the kingdom in ordinary daily life—right here, right now.
The great paradox of these parables is that Jesus says this kingdom is worth a great treasure and gems. And yet this kingdom is made of mustard bushes, nets and fishing, yeast and bread breaking. Really, though, this isn’t so much a paradox when you consider that all was created by God and is of God.
It was so nice having Carolyn back in our class and at worship. I know she had a great time visiting family in Pennsylvania, but we sure do miss her wisdom when she is gone. The scripture that was the focus of our Sunday School lesson was Nehemiah 9: 9-17 and 32-33. Nehemiah and Ezra are trying to bring back to life a people and a nation that had somehow survived generations of captivity and slavery. The conditions on the ground were dire and there seemed to be little hope. Our author said, “Reality has a way of challenging our faith, especially in times of grave need and tragedy.” Nehemiah’s starting point in this rebuilding was to remind the people what the God of Israel had done for their ancestors—and that he had never forgotten them. He describes God as ready to forgive, merciful and compassionate, very patient, and truly faithful.
It is hard to believe it is almost August. Our church has been collecting cans of ravioli and spaghetti for Community Christian Services. Sue and I will see that these cans and some checks get to CCS this week. It is always nice to see friends among the wonderful volunteers there. In August we will be collecting children’s underclothes and socks (the original “Undie Sundays”). We usually do this in coordination with the beginning of school, which is, of course, a big question mark right now for districts around our nation. But the need is there: greater this year as parents, families, and seniors worry about rent, mortgages, bills, jobs, and just getting food on the table. As retired educators, Sue’s and my hearts go out to school districts everywhere trying to balance safety, health, and instruction.
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.
July 22, 2020 - I know this will come as a shock to many people, but I will confess that I have been fishing once or twice in my life. I will not go so far as to put it at the top of my list of “preferred recreational activities,” in fact, it probably would not make the top 100. But I have tried it. I remember using a cork and watching it float on the surface of the water. I know that even when the cork is submerged, it will float to the top. I have even done some reading on this subject and found that you can press a cork down 10 or 50 or even 100 feet below the surface of the water and release it and it will rise again. Yet, I also read if that same cork is pressed down 200 feet below the surface of the water, it cannot rise again. The reason being that the water pressure at that depth is too great. The cork will collapse. That made me stop and do a little thinking. That scares you doesn’t it?
You see, it’s that same way with sin. The lower a man or woman sinks in the depths of sin, the greater the difficulty and less the probability of his or her ever rising again. The pressure of persistent sin can so damage the conscience of an individual that they cannot hear the call of God through the Gospel and therefore cannot be lifted from the mire of sin.
May our hearts ever be tender and alive to the call of the gospel and the pleadings of our Savior. Let’s make sure we don’t get so deep in sin and neglect that we never rise again!
It’s something to think about…..tbp
Center Church of Christ
110 Hurst Street
Center, Texas
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
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