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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
More Bibles have been bought and sold than any other book ever written.
This is good for within the contents of this book are all of the answers to the questions of life and death, of salvation and loss, of right and wrong, all questions can be answered by the study of God's Word.
There is a poem within the Bible entitled, "A Time For Everything" written by the great king Solomon, the man credited with being the wisest man who has ever lived.
It begins, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:" (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
There is much to be learned from the lines of this poem, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), it is most definitely worth your time to read and contemplate upon for it covers all of the works of man on earth, all of the seasons, not of weather, but of life.
The poem and its surrounding verses teach much of the life of man from his birth to his death and all points, past and yet to come.
We find from our studies that life is full of vanity, of false hopes and disappointments and that the only lasting things come from God, that only God and his holy plan for mankind are permanent, all else is vanity, a chasing after the wind.
"What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with." (Ecclesiastes 3:9-10)
God has placed mankind upon this earth and has given him work to keep him busy and out of trouble in life and God has given man a beautiful place in which to reside, as we look around us at God's creations we should marvel at his greatness and his glory.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God had done from the beginning to the end." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
God has put the longing for salvation into all people's hearts for without that yearning for something besides what we have from birth, we would die in our unrighteousness never knowing what was available to all who would simply ask.
"Ask, and it will be given you, seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)
God has also given us a knowledge of eternity, a question of enormous proportions that cannot be answered in its entirety here on earth for we are not God and are not to know all that God knows. We are only the clay, he is the potter who molds the clay into useful vessels. Adam and Eve lost their sanctuary in the Garden of Eden because they wanted to "be like God" as promised by the devil in his deception of Eve.
It is no different today, we always want more, but is that God's plan for us.
"I perceive that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil - this is God's gift to man." (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13)
Why is man meant to work for his living, that he can appreciate what that God has given him and be happy and joyful in it. People who refuse to do as God intends will find themselves living miserable lives no matter how rich or how poor. Be thankful for what God has given you, not bitter for what you do not have for if you love God and obey his will all good things will be given you.
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
"I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him." (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
All else is vanity, a chasing after the wind!
December 9, 2019 - Grace and peace from our brother and savior, Jesus, Amen. Thursday morning my four-legged friends, Sam and Gunter, went to the city park with me for our morning walk. On Wednesday, I was all bundled up, but that morning I didn’t even need a jacket. It is too good to last, so I will just enjoy it while I can. On Saturday Sue and I went to the Arbor Assisted Living in Nacogdoches and had Christmas Brunch with Sue’s mom, Dixie. We enjoyed visiting with Dixie and Amy, Sue’s sister. We also met some very nice folks sitting with us at the table. Later that day we went to the Joaquin Christmas Festival. Downtown Joaquin was bustling, and we saw many friends there including many from our old church, First United Methodist Church of Joaquin.
Christmas will be here before we know it: Sunday is the Second Sunday of Advent. The Paxton Community Christmas Program and Dinner is Tuesday, December 17th at 6:00. We have had to alter our schedule for our monthly programs to area nursing homes due to the holidays. Our Focused Care ministry will be this Thursday at 2:00. We hope that you can join us as we will sing Christmas carols and listen to stories of faith and this special season. During this month, Paxton Methodists are collecting cans of soup to take to Community Christian Services. Each month we collect a different non-perishable item for the food bank at CCS.
Fannie had a really good Sunday School lesson for us today. The main focus was how faith and hope are tied together. Our author says that when our childish ways of religion are stripped away, two things that remain to us as adults are faith and hope. Our author said, “It is with confidence, as Fredrick Buechner put it, that we can say that the “worst thing” isn’t the “last thing”—the last thing is always hope.”
Two of the Gospels have genealogies. Matthew and Luke both have a miraculous birth story, and both have family trees tracing Jesus back to Father Abraham and to the royal house of David. The two are different from each other, however. We are in a year of Matthew in the Common Lectionary, so I decided to preach on Matthew’s genealogy. I usually stay far away from those strange-sounding names. But this is how Matthew begins his gospel, so it is obviously very important to him. An odd feature of his lineage is that he includes four women in his list—and controversial ones at that. This is peculiar for the time period; yet I think it is quite telling of the early Jesus movement and what Jesus thought was important.
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.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and 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 me 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
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)
December 3, 2019 - Almighty God is my shield in battle every day as I go through this wicked world, is there anything of this world that is stronger than He? NO, God is bigger than the world, stronger than the universe, for all who follow him there is the comfort of knowing that He is in charge of all things.
For those who seek to do me harm; "When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall." (Psalm 27:2)
Who shall stand against the Lord, NO ONE! For He is God and there is none other. For the blessed of the Lord there is peace and joy, even in this world of sin and evil.
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." (Psalm 46:1-3)
Even when the earth and the heavens are destroyed and the lost fear and tremble and run for the hills to hide, the blessed of the Lord will rejoice for the time comes closer when we will all be forever at home with the Lord.
"You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek." (Psalm 27:8)
All that God asks is that we seek his face, that we call on him for salvation and redemption from our sinful lives.
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)
All one must do is to allow the Lord Jesus Christ to come into one's heart, to cleanse his heart off all sin and shame and to accept one into the kingdom of God, forever. Do you seek after the Lord? Do you live in that emptiness that is to be apart from the Lord? Seek and you will find!
"One thing that I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." (Psalm 27:4)
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
If you seek to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, then you must first accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior for there Is no other way into the kingdom of God except through him.
How must I come to accept Jesus as my Lord?
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
Do you believe today that God raised him from the dead? If so, then finish the verse, "confess with you mouth that Jesus is Lord", and you will be saved, today and forever...
December 2, 2019 - Several local talents are scheduled to present live music entertainment during the Christmas Festival on Saturday, December 7th in downtown Joaquin. Beginning at 10:30 to kick off the festivities Mark Lawrence is inviting everyone to join in singing Christmas Carols an old fashioned Sing A Long to get everyone in a festive mood! Mark Lawrence is an accomplished vocalist and musician. Most know him as Coach Lawrence.
At 11am Sherry Lee (Morris) with Family and Friends will present a mixture of secular and Gospel Christmas Favorites. Sherry Lee (Morris) has performed many years traveling the U.S. and producing shows. She is a graduate of Joaquin. Rest of the group (Cox-Lambert Family) and friends are also graduates of Joaquin.
At 12:00 noon Trey Wilson performs. Trey Wilson is graduate of Joaquin and has performed in Branson as well as many other places.
These are accomplished musicians, composers and vocalists. Come on out and support these Joaquin Alumni who are joining us for this day of festivities. This is just part of the activities planned for the day. Hope to see you there!
December 2, 2019 - Pastor Jeremy Moore and the Friendship Missionary Church would like to invite everyone to their annual youth day program on Sunday, December 8, 2019 at 3pm with Rev. Treyland J Richmond and under the direction of Pastor Richmond of the New Light Baptist Church from Shreveport, Louisiana. Everyone is welcome.
December 2, 2019 - Grace and peace from our brother and savior, Jesus, Amen. We have begun a New Year on the ancient Christian calendar. This is the year of Matthew, so most of the lessons will come from Matthew’s Gospel in 2020. That sounds so weird—2020! It seems like just yesterday we were worried about all the computers shutting down as we entered a new century! Well, that obviously didn’t happen, as most all of us carry a powerful computer in our hands—the smart phone.
Texas weather brought us some warm temperatures and high humidity along with strong winds. I have used the leaf blower several times to no avail. When I got up this morning (Thursday) one of the big national news stories was SFA men’s basketball team beating #1 Duke. Go, Lumberjacks! I went by Community Christian Services this past Tuesday to drop off beans and rice for their food bank. Rev. Jody was busy at work; it’s always nice to visit with him. During the month of December Paxton Methodist members will collect cans of soup for CCS.
I hope everyone had a really nice Thanksgiving. Our kids and my brother and sister-in-law came to our house for Thanksgiving. Jacob brought Audrey—we really enjoyed having her visit and getting to know her. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, chocolate pies, and other traditional foods, but also a fair number of vegan dishes for our son. We all ate more than our fill: The only downer was the Cowboy game. They looked really weak. Friday our company headed home, including our grand-dog Stella, who has been with us while our daughter was in Morocco.
We started a new unit in Sunday school simply titled “Hope.” Gene read our scripture lesson from Genesis 12: 1-9, where God asks Abram to leave everything and go to a land that would be given to him. Ms. Fannie had a great lesson, and we shared memories about moves in our life times. Our author stressed hope and trust, which are definitely strong Advent themes. Life would certainly seem futile without hope.
On this first Sunday of the month we celebrated Holy Communion. Fannie is our faithful communion steward who prepares the bread and juice. She also had such pretty candles set out for our Advent reading. Caroline gave Sue a series of prayers to read during the lighting of the Advent candles. The poinsettias, artistically rendered by Roy at Sunshine, looked beautiful at the altar. Fannie had the bulletin ready for the Paxton Community Christmas Program on December 17. We always enjoy hosting so many of our friends and neighbors. Last year, it was cold and rainy for our program, but I hope for better this year.
The First Sunday of Advent is like starting to circle back to Bethlehem, revisiting that first Christmas with all its accompanying stories. I read in preparing my sermon that Christmas is a season of childhood, while Advent is a season for adults to grow spiritually. I am trying to read very carefully the words from Matthew about the coming of the Kingdom and the coming of Christ. Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote, “Earth is crammed with heaven…” That statement is so true, but we often are oblivious to Kingdom moments that happen all around us.
This week we would normally be going to Focused Care, but both our piano players are out of pocket, so we rescheduled. November’s day for Lakeside would have been Thanksgiving—that too was rescheduled, to last Tuesday instead. As usual, I emceed, speaking about Advent, and sharing anecdotes between songs. Minnie was our trusty pianist, leaving Hilda free to sing with the group. I honored both of them, plus our faithful Margie, during the program. Ollie read a poem called “The Night Before Jesus Returned,” in the style of Clement Moore. Sue followed with a book that did the same, titled The Night Before Thanksgiving. Gene did non-traditional versions of “Jingle Bells” and “Away in a Manger.” Good to have him and Maggie with us again. Nora “sang a book,” an illustrated “Over the River and Through the Woods.” She also dedicated to the audience her stirring song, “Thank You for Giving to the Lord.”
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, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and 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 me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
November 21, 2019 - Come join us at the Senior Nutrition Site on Thursday, November 28th from 11am – 1pm for our annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner! It will be a great time of fellowship and food. Turkey’s, hams, and all the usual Thanksgiving dishes will be available. If you are interested in putting in a to-go order to be picked up, or if you would like to volunteer, please call Mrs. Dee at 936-598-7768. All orders must be turned in by November 25th.
November 27, 2019 - Dr. Luke records a story for us in Luke 17 that occurred one day when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and was passing through Samaria and Galilee. Jesus was approached by ten lepers, miserable creatures afflicted with a horrific disease. They cried out to Jesus for mercy and He told them to go and show themselves to the priests. While they were on their way, they were cleansed. We are told that only one of the ten returned to Jesus to say “thank you”. Jesus asked the question, “were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God save this stranger”.
How much like those nine lepers are we? This is the season of the year that we refer to as the “Thanksgiving Season”. November 28th has been set aside on our calendar as “Thanksgiving Day”.
Yet, do we really take the time to show our gratitude to God for all that He has done for us or has “Thanksgiving Day” simply become a day when we gorge ourselves with copious amounts of food and watch football and spend time with family enjoying a day off from work? Let’s show our gratitude to God for what He has done for us, not just on one day a year, but let’s express our gratitude daily both in word and in deed.
One way of showing our gratitude to God is to meet Him at His House regularly for Worship. Will you be doing that this coming Lord’s Day?
It’s something to think about… tbp
Join us for worship this coming Lord’s day at the Center Church of Christ, 110 Hurst Street, Center, Texas or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.
November 26, 2019 - On Sunday, December 1 at 10:45am, the gospel music group Trinitas will join First Baptist Church in Timpson in leading the worship service and at 6pm they will perform in concert.
Spanning more than 30 years of heartfelt, sincere ministry, the members of Trinitas have consistently tried to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a professional, passionate way. Their main goal, which is obvious in every service, is to see the Lord ‘high and lifted up’ (Isaiah 6). It is their firm belief if He is lifted up, His word says, He ‘will draw all men’ to Him.
Trinitas was formed December 2016 by Chanin and Mandy Barker of Shreveport, LA and Keith Copley of Tyler, TX.
Trinitas has seen many lost souls come to know our Lord as their personal Savior. They will be quick to let you know, it’s not by their efforts, but the drawing power of the Holy Spirit. Trinitas’ ministry has expanded within the last few years from concert performance to more intimate ministry opportunities in small groups and homes.
Their latest independent release, “I Will Sing” has blessed hearts nationwide while sharing the hope for life only found in a personal relationship with Jesus.
November 25, 2019 - When I was pastoring a church in Portland, Oregon , a young man walked into our morning service. He was on our membership roll but had not attended in several years. The members gathered around him and joyfully welcomed him back home.
As we left the service that morning, Deacon Gene Stufflebeam stopped to talk with me. “We need to go slow with that returned member,” he said. “He joined our church several years ago and everyone fell in love with him.” Gene went on to say that the man became a Sunday School teacher and added a lot to the church with his enthusiasm and dedication. “He taught his class for two months and then totally disappeared.” “In other words,” Gene said, “He popped in, popped off… and then popped out.”
For a while, the man entertained his fellow members with his wit and enthusiasm. He shouted “Praise the Lord” and “Amen” so loudly while I preached that I had a hard time staying on subject. For several months, he was a model member… attended all the services… and then… as he had done before… he suddenly disappeared.
We were lamenting how sad it was that the man had left again. “Yep,” Gene mused, “Your walk with God is not determined by how loud you holler… or how high you jump.”
“It’s how straight you walk after you come down.”
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