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.

October 5, 2023 - Good Morning!  It's Thursday, October 5.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes about New York City.  ”If you stand on the corner in Times Square long enough, every person in the world will walk by”.  It’s a thought both clever and illuminating.  And it comes to mind as we sit in our church ice cream booth at Poultry Fest, our town’s fall festival.  There's always a huge crowd that attends this event and it seems like, over the weekend, that every person in Shelby County walks by.

I'm also reminded of another time, another place, another county.  Fifteen years ago,  I was Minister of Worship at First Baptist Church Rosenberg, Texas, in Fort Bend County, just west of Houston.  While there, our staff did a study and discovered that within a fifteen mile radius of our church there were 75 different people groups.  There was a huge Asian community, a large Indian community, and thousands of Muslims.  First Baptist Rosenberg was a church that had always gone above and beyond in supporting world missions.  But, in that moment, we realized that God . . . had brought the world to us.

Well, you say, that was the Houston area, known for being an international place.  But even here in East Texas we have brothers and sisters from Asia and Africa and South and Central America.  The planet Earth is still a big place, but every day it seems to get a little smaller.  Every day we’re reminded that missions start just outside our front door.  Every day . . . God brings the world to us.  

Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org

October 4, 2023 - One of the great inventions of the 20th century was the washing machine. It totally changed the back-breaking way that laundry had to be done. With the washing machine, you can put the clothes in, turn it on, come back in a few minutes and clean clothes are ready to be put in the dryer or hung on the clothesline (yes, some folks still do that!)

Yet, have you ever noticed how clothes sometimes come out of the washing machine? Often the shirts come out with the sleeves all twisted. Aprons come out with the strings tied in knots. This is caused by the outward pressure as the clothes are squeezed dry on the tub of the machine.

If you think about it, the spin of the washing machine often illustrates the way we live our lives. We spend out lives in a whirlwind of activity. Consequently, we often feel like we have been through the spin cycle and come out all tied in knots.

God never intended for us to live like that. Remember, Paul would write; “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request s be made known unto God. And the peace o God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6) Let’s stop living our lives in the spin cycle!

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 4, 2023 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church is hosting Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 21, 2023 from 4pm until 6pm. Come and enjoy the fun and candy!

White Rock’s Awana Club meets on Wednesdays at 6pm.

The church is located at 12545 State Hwy 7, Center, Texas.

October 3, 2023 - Bright Morning Star Baptist Church is celebrating its 115th Church Homecoming at 11am on October 22, 2023. Reverend Deshmond Jolenson will be the speaker of the hour. There will be a Special Dedication to the Great WJ Star, I.

Pastor Anthony Jackson and Reverends Deshmond Johnson and Stephen Fields.

Bright Morning Star Baptist Church is located at 623 Martin Luther King Drive, Center, Texas.

October 2, 2023 - Mt. Gillion Baptist Church will celebrate their Annual Harvest Day on October 8th, 2023 at 11am. A Harvest Luncheon is at 12:30pm. Every one is welcome to come and celebrate with us.

Mt. Gillion Baptist Church's address is at 5545 State Hwy 87 N, Center, Texas 75935. Rev. Rayford Caraway, Pastor

October 2, 2023 - It was in 1938. Daddy had just moved us to a rent house owned by William Henry Smith located just north of Center, Texas on the Henrietta Road. There were only three Fincher children in our family at that time: Bill was 7 years old, I (Henry Douglas) was five years old, and John was not quite four. We had a dog named “Nellie” and a cow that my Grandmother “loaned” us in those struggling days. We kept the cow behind the house in a patch of grass and yellow bitterweeds. We found that no amount of syrup could kill the taste of a biscuit buttered with bitterweed butter.

One day Bill, Nellie and I were exploring the back woods when we saw some Yellow Jackets flying into a hole in the ground. We didn’t know what they were so we punched a stick into the hole. Suddenly, the bees were everywhere and Nellie fell down on Bill and sheltered him. Bill got stung six times and I got four. We later found a “scaly bark” tree and learned they were great after being roasted near the coals in the fireplace.

While walking through the woods, Bill and I discovered a little church building at the end of a dirt road. We asked Mother if we could attend church there and the next week we walked to the building. I don’t remember what the preacher looked like or much else, but I do remember him repeating over and over, “My cup runneth over.” It was only later that I learned it was from the 23rd Psalm, some of the most beautiful words in the Bible. As I look back, I have wondered why Mother did not attend with us that day. But I later knew why. Times were very hard back then and there’s no doubt she didn’t have a dress to attend church… and that was true for many years later.

Mother, Daddy and all nine of my siblings were wonderfully accepted into the family of God… and then we all understood why David said years ago.

”My cup runneth over.”

October 2, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, October 2.

On October 2,1950, a little comic strip was first published called "Li'l Folks". Doesn't ring a bell? Well, the name was changed to "Peanuts", and it went on to become the most successful comic in history. At its' peak, it was featured in over 2600 newspapers, with 350 million daily readers. It was expanded to TV shows, movies, even a Broadway musical. And it earned its' creator, Charles Schulz, over a billion dollars.

Schulz was a devoted Christian and he included many scripture references in his cartoon. In one, the character Linus is speaking to Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy. "Does it bother you when the Bible doesn't speak very highly of dogs?". The beagle replies, "Sure it bothers me, but I just turn the other muzzle". And then there is the lovely scene in the holiday TV classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas", when Linus quotes directly from the Luke 2 nativity story.

Charles Schulz died in 2000, but the earnings from "Peanuts", 23 years later, still make him the third highest deceased celebrity, right behind Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. But his influence is much more profound than that. Here's one of his quotes.

"Little things we do and say are like pebbles thrown into water. The ripples spread out into circles, touching people we may never even know."

Charles Schulz threw a lot of pebbles.

Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org

September 28, 2023 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church is collecting socks of all sizes for the men, women, and children for the month of October.

Bring one or more packages of new socks during the month of October to White Rock MBC, 12545 State Hwy. 7 W (Aiken).

  • Sundays - 10am Sunday school, 11am worship service
  • Wednesdays - 6pm

Or bring your donation to the White Rock MBC “Trunk-or-Treat” on Saturday, October 21 from 4pm to 6pm!

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