Shelby County Today

We find humor in that because it comes so close to the truth of our own lives. Of all the things that Jesus commanded, the command to “Love our enemies” in Luke chapter 6 and verse 27 is perhaps the most difficult.

I may not love God like I should, but I’m determined to get a handle on it. I may not love my wife the way I should, but I intend to work at it. I may not love my neighbor as I should, but I have nothing against trying.

But, love my enemies? That is something we struggle with. They have hurt us. They have spoken out against us. They have threatened our self worth, our standing in the community and subjected us to mental cruelty.

Truthfully, I don’t want to love these people, but Jesus said I must. When someone wrongs us, our first instinct is to get even. We want to make them hurt as much as they have hurt us. Jesus tells us that is not the way He wants us to live.

He also tells us we must do good to those who hate us. We must bless those who curse us. We must pray for those who mistreat us. It may not be what we want to do, but loving our enemies shows others we belong to Christ.

It’s something to think about… tbp

Center Church of Christ, 110 Hurst Street, Center, Texas or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com

May 24, 2021 - Grace and peace from our friend and brother Jesus. May 23rd was the Day of Pentecost on the Christian calendar. Traditionally this marks the beginning of the Christian mission: Some call it the Christian faith’s “birthday.” Next Sunday is Trinity Sunday. I no longer even pretend to understand the concept of the Trinity—well, not exactly true, as I keep trying to understand.

Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. Still no vigorous singing! The songs I chose were very different from our usual hymns. The first was “Peace to the World” by one of the greatest guitarists of all time—B. B. King! Then we had “What the World Needs Now” played by Burt Bacharach—and, of course, the answer is “love, sweet love.” Next week we are going to try some for-real singing, though since we’re out of practice, we’ll use familiar songs. With our music, we are reminded yet again how much we miss Hilda being here. Hilda called Sue and me Saturday night, sounding so strong! She is working hard at her physical therapy.

Our Sunday School lesson was a peculiar one. Gene read the very long passage from Daniel 7: 1-14, which describes a vision or dream Daniel had. Like Revelation, this part of Daniel is classified as Jewish apocalyptic literature. And like Revelation, it sounds so strange. But both these books brought comfort to the people with their promise that goodness—love, AKA God—would win out in the end.

My sermon this morning mainly focused on that first Day of Pentecost described in Acts 2: 1-21. But I started with the last of Jesus’ longest teaching session found at the end of John (chapter 15 and the beginning of chapter 16). Jesus tells his disciples that he will never leave them. He adds that God’s Spirit will be with them always. Then Jesus prays to God, asking him to protect and comfort his friends. So this is yet another Biblical passage serving to bring comfort to listeners and readers.

We are collecting canned fruit for Community Christian Services. This is a five-Sunday month, and next Sunday is part of Memorial Day weekend. In June we will be collecting paper towels and toilet paper for CCS. This Wednesday, May 26, CCS will be hosting a Farmers to Families truck, a pandemic program set up to aid farmers as well as those in need of food.

Joaquin Senior Center, closed for over a year because of the pandemic, plans to reopen on Tuesday, July 6. Sue will send out the new procedures, which include showing proof of vaccination, to the Seniors on their list. If you haven’t been a Senior Center participant but would like the details on becoming one, you can call 936/269-3975 and leave a message with your name and address or send it to PO Box 567, Joaquin TX 75954. Joaquin Senior Center serves eastern Shelby County and western DeSoto Parish.

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.

May 17, 2021 - Shelby County Outreach Ministries’ Senior Programs are happy to announce the reopening of the Senior Nutrition Site with guidelines and new safety procedures. We will open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2 beginning on May 18, 2021. Starting June 1, 2021, our program will be open M-F from 9-2. Please call the director, Darlene Mitchell should you have any questions or concerns. The phone number is 936-598-7768.

May 16, 2021 - Grace and peace from our friend and brother Jesus. May 16 was the 7th Sunday of Easter, as well as Ascension Sunday. In bygone days Christians would go to their places of worship last Thursday to celebrate the Day of Ascension, when Jesus left his friends behind. Last week I had no article in the paper and no weekly newsletter because my four-legged friend Sam and I went to Dallas right after church. I had a really nice visit with my daughter, son, future daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother.

As is always the case at Paxton Methodist, Fannie had a really good Sunday School lesson for us. Read by Gene, the scripture focus was Luke 9: 28-36 about Peter, John, and James joining Jesus on the mountaintop and witnessing the Transfiguration. This story places Jesus right up there with Moses and Elijah for these Jewish folks. From the cloud they hear God saying that Jesus is the Son of God, the chosen one, and telling Peter, John, and James to listen to him. This was a one-time, spectacular event, but our author encouraged us to look for the holy ourselves in ordinary life. Even our lives today contain these special moments, if we’ll just be attentive to them.

Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. Still no vigorous singing! The songs I meant to share this week were related to each other: “I Saw the Light” by Hank Williams and Jackie DeShannon’s “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” Technology and age don’t always go together, and I couldn’t get them to play on my tablet. Plan B was a good one, though: Sue DeFee had two Elvis CDs, so we heard the King singing “He Touched Me” and “Amazing Grace.” Can’t go wrong with those!

My sermon this week continued with the Easter Season theme of Jesus showing his disciples—and us—how to be caring and compassionate. As John the Elder said, “God is Love.” The Gospel Lesson came from John 17: 6-19. Jesus asks God to protect the disciples as they continue bringing the Good News of God’s love into the world. And remember, WE are his modern-day disciples and are, therefore, charged with that same mission.

We are collecting canned fruit for Community Christian Services. Sue also saw a call on Facebook for diapers and took a variety of sizes by CCS last week. The volunteers at CCS have been working hard throughout the pandemic to help those in need. They still have in place some social distancing procedures, optionally available.

Joaquin Senior Center, closed for over a year because of the pandemic, plans to reopen on Tuesday, July 6. Sue will send out the new procedures, which include showing proof of vaccination, to the Seniors on their list. If you’re not currently a Senior Center participant but would like the details on becoming one, you can call 936/269-3975 and leave a message with your name and address or send it to PO Box 567, Joaquin TX 75954.

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.