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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
January 28, 2019 - In 1951 as I hitch-hiked back to Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, I stopped in for “chili dog” sandwich in Mena, Arkansas. The sandwich cost me twenty-five cents (the cheapest thing on the menu) and it left me a ten dollar bill in my wallet and some change in my pocket. But when I got back to school and reached for my wallet, it was gone. I had lost it somewhere between Mena and Springfield, so I figured I’d lost it in someone’s car that had picked me up. Most of the ministerial students at The Baptist Bible College were “pore”: and we depended on each other for survival food.
About two weeks later I got a package with my wallet and ten dollar bill still in it. A note was included: “Thought you might need this”…and it had no return address. I rushed down to a little store on nearby Route 66 and bought a huge jar of Jiffy Peanut butter, returned to the dorm and got the news out: “Peanut butter in my room… BYOC,” (Bring Your Own Crackers). That night Charlie Wisdom, Billy McCall and I had a feast in my room: peanut butter, crackers…and plenty of water.
I’ve heard a lot about preachers and chicken, but some of my fondest memories of Seminary days was a bunch of young preachers passing around a jar of peanut butter …..thanking the man for the ten dollars….holding hands…and thanking God …not for chicken…
….but for delicious Peanut Butter and crackers.
January 25, 2019 - Open Door Baptist Worship Center, 900 Cotton Ford Road, Center, Tx 75935, Pastor Alvin Davis.
- February 3, 2019 - Family and Friends Day 2:30pm Bishop W.C. Martin and Bennett Chapel Church Special Guest
- February 16, 2019 - Open Door Gala 6pm Piney Woods Outreach Center 255 Haley Dr. Center, Tx Tickets $10 Formal-Semi Formal
- February 24, 2019 - Pack the Pew 3pm Pastor Clarence Yarbrough and Star of Hope Special Guest Nacogdoches, Tx
January 23, 2019 - Open Door Baptist Worship Center announces their February schedule of events.
- February 3, 2019 is Family and Friends Day at 2:30 PM with Bishop W.C. Martin and Bennett Chapel Church as special guests.
- February 16, 2019 is Open Door Gala at 6 pm in the Piney Woods Outreach Center, 255 Haley Dr., Center, Tx. Tickets are $10 and it is a Formal-Semi Formal event.
- February 17, 2019 is the 19th Church Anniversary at 2:30 PM with Pastor Freddie Wilson and the St. Paul Baptist Church as special guests.
- February 24, 2019 is Pack the Pew at 3:00 PM with Pastor Clarence Yarbrough and Star of Hope of Nacogdoches as special guests.
Open Door Baptist Worship Center is located at 900 Cotton Ford Road, Center, Tx 75935 and is lead by Pastor Alvin Davis.
January 22, 2019 - The 4th Annual 100 Men in Black hosted by Bendford Chapel Missionary Baptist Church is Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 3pm.
Please bring your young men to listen to guest speaker Rev. DeMontre Palmer of Houston, Texas. Everyone is invited to attend and please RSVP by April 5, 2019.
Benford Chapel MBC is located at 126 Martin Luther King, Tenaha, Texas 75954. Pastor is Joseph Hall, Sr.
To RSVP go to https://www.eventbrite.com . Click register and tell us your name, email address and how many people will come with you. Once that is completed your registration is done. If you are a Preacher or a Pastor please let us know that by addressing yourself as such. Any questions about this event feel free to text (281)804-3749 and all questions will be addressed in a timely manner.
1 Corinthians 11 and 3 - "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God"
January 22, 2019 - Mark the date.. January 24th is the date.. Don't miss it..
Chicken Sausage Gumbo or Chili Fundraiser $10. Your choice of Gumbo n Rice, or Chili, Crackers, Slice Cake, and choice of drink..
**We will be sit up on 96 North, building next door to Goodwin Roofing from 10 till 1***
Preorder yours today give Nancy a call at 936-591-4729 or order from any church member.
All proceeds from donations and sales will go towards our church building fund at First Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ..
Our Pastor is Bro. M.D Lamon
Associate Pastor Bro. Richard Goodwin
Also a HUGE thank you for all the Love and Support and help with making this dream a reality.
May God bless and continue to pour out his blessings. Much love for the Church Family at First Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ.
January 22, 2019 - Lily of the Valley Church of God in Christ Announces the African American Heritage Celebration Sunday, February 17, 2019 at 12:30 p.m.
Join us as we celebrate the culture of African Americans.
Speaker: Evangelist Fred Ollie, Associate Pastor of House of Prayer in Silsbee, TX
The celebration will be held at
620 Greer Street: P O Box 191
Center, Texas 75935
Elder Cleon D. Williams, Sr., Pastor
All monies received will benefit the L. D. Suell Memorial Scholarship Fund.
For more information contact Sis. Shirley Suell at (936) 598-3041 or Sis. Debbie Suell-Tanner at (936) 462-9604.
January 21, 2019 Center – Gospel and Christian music fans need to circle Sunday, January 27, 2019 on their calendars! On that date, Nashville, Tenn. father-and-son duo Ernie and Jason Couch will be in concert beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Center located at 211 Porter Street.
Ernie and Jason will be bringing an exciting mixture of 20th century gospel classics and originals to town. These guys are known across the United States and Canada for their live music, good humor and genuine spirit. Many describe the group as refreshingly different and a lot of fun. Jason Couch stated, “We want to reach everyone from all age groups and backgrounds, with the message of the music. We enjoy what we do and want the people to enjoy it just as much. We certainly will give it all we got in the time we have.”
This duo has been traveling the road for almost three decades, presenting a professional evening of music. Besides a Grammy nomination, having a number of songs in the gospel charts both here and abroad, Ernie and Jason have recorded with such greats as George Beverly Shea, Jake Hess, George Jones, Petra, James Earl Jones, Pattie Page and Dallas Holm to name a few.
Please take the time to check these guys out for yourself at www.erniecouchandrevival.com or on their Facebook page at Ernie Couch & Revival. If you want to enjoy a great evening of music, don’t miss seeing Ernie and Jason in concert!
Additional information regarding the concert can be obtained by contacting the church office at (936)598-2707. There will be no charge for the concert, but a love offering will be taken.
"Take heed that ye do not your good deeds before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 6:1
January 21, 2019 - Back in the seventies I opened a Gun Shop in Mauriceville. Texas. Early one morning I heard a loud motor in front of the shop --- so loud that I stepped outside to see what it was. It was an old vintage pickup idling at a dying throb. A man with a badly scarred face stepped out and walked me to the back of his truck. “Look at what I caught for supper,” he smiled as he pointed at three small perch flouncing around in the bed. "I caught’em down the road," he said.
He brought an old .22 in the shop and began our conversation by telling me how he stepped on a land mine in Korea and almost died from it. "I promised God I’d serve Him forever if He let me live." "Have you lived for him," I asked. "Naw… I should have but I aint." He told me that his Dad had given him the rifle (a 510 Remington single shot) when he was 11 years old. "The safety don’t work no more and sometimes it goes off." Even though it needed to be re-blued and stock repaired, he told me to "just make it safe to shoot." "I can’t afford nothing else." I told him he could pick it up in two weeks.
I felt so sorry for the man that I decided to restore the rifle completely and make it a gift to him. I ordered a new Fajen black walnut stock for it, completely polished it, blued it, and fixed his safety and trigger sear. I was really proud of that rifle! It actually looked better than it did from the factory. Exactly two weeks later, I heard a loud-idling truck drive up and knew who it was. I handed the beautiful .22 to him (which should have cost him $200) and with absolutely no emotion whatsoever he asked, "How much?" When I told him ten dollars, he calmly pulled out his billfold. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw SCORES OF $100 BILLS crammed in his wallet. After slowly extracting a ten dollar bill, he said, "Thank ’ye," strolled to his idling truck, and rattled up the highway.
I’m glad no one saw the look on my face as I stood speechless that day. My first thought was... "I can’t believe this." My second thought was... "How stupid can you get?" My third thought was... I’m a Christian, but God never told me I’d understand everything. He told me to do everything for the right reason. So the more I thought, the more I figured... that man didn’t have to appreciate me...
... as long as God did.
January 21, 2019 - Sunday was the 2nd Sunday of Epiphany. The Gospel Lesson comes from the second chapter of the John Gospel. The other three gospels are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels because they are similar—they borrow from each other and possibly another source that German scholars simply refer to as “Q.” John’s Gospel is a theological statement, full of “signs” pointing to Jesus as much more than the Hebrew messiah or the savior of the Gentiles: more like a preexistent being coming from heaven and becoming God Incarnate (in flesh). The first sign in John comes when Jesus changes water into wine at the wedding in Cana. All three of today’s scriptures speak of God’s love for his creation, including us. Words such as “enjoy” and “delight” are used to describe God’s great love.
We were in double digits this morning, although we certainly missed Gene at Sunday School and worship time. Hopefully he will feel better soon. Our Sunday School lesson used Philippians 1: 12-21 as its scripture, where we hear Paul speaking about demonstrating Christian love even in difficult situations. The purpose of the lesson is for us to practice our devotion to Christ daily in the ordinary things of life. This really goes along with the book I am reading about mystics of faith.
It is Saturday morning as I start writing this article. It was 53 when I got up and by the time I walked my two faithful companions, Gunter and Sam, it had already dropped to 40! It was so windy that it felt much colder than that. And, of course, Sunday morning was forecast to be below freezing. My uncle in Maine says, though, that we Texans don’t really understand winter. I’m thankful for that!
This past Tuesday a group of us met at Holiday Nursing Center for our monthly program. Mrs. Hilda was our able pianist. Sue read a funny story about a class field trip, The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash. Nora has her voice back; she sang a zippy song about Dr. King and another song that many of the residents knew. Monday is MLK Day, when we remember one of his quotes, “It is always the right time to do what is right.” Jo is on the mend and added her voice to our singing. Sally sang “How Great Thou Art.” Matt spoke about the wedding at Cana, and I talked about the baptism of Jesus. When we started, there were just a few residents, but not long into our program the dining hall filled up.
All month long we will be collecting cans of tuna. At the end of the month we will donate them to Community Christian Services in Joaquin. This coming Thursday we head to Lakeside Assisted Living for a program. Sue contacted our faithful folks by email and phone to remind them of the Lakeside ministry. Next month the worldwide communion of the United Methodist Church will meet in General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The church is trying to figure “a way forward” over questions of sexual orientation. Disputes have divided the church worldwide and in the United States; church leaders as well as the folks in the pews are looking for “a way forward” that will honor and respect everyone, despite differences. That is a pretty daunting task.
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.
January 18, 2019 - An evening of southern gospel music is being planned at Yellowpine-Macedonia Baptist Church for Saturday, January 26, 2019. This special service, beginning at 6:00 p.m., will be highlighted by the Southern Plainsmen Quartet. There will also be congregational singing and locals offering special music. The singing will be followed by a time of fellowship. No admission will be charged, only a love offering received. Yellowpine-Macedonia Baptist Church is located at the intersection of Texas Hwy. 87 and FM 2343 in Sabine County's Yellowpine Community. Contact Pastor T.A. Lane at 409-584-1144 or 409-382-8765 for information. The Southern Plainsmen, pictured here, include, from the left, Marcelle Slaughter, Aaron Allen, Timothy Thomas, and Gabriel Austin.
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