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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
March 7, 2018 - Friendship Baptist Church Joaquin, Tx Annual Missions Revival: God is our Sufficiency!
March 11 at 6pm; March 12-14 at 7pm.
Guest Speaker Evangelist Monty Martin
Pastor Stewart Lowe - 936-269-4056.
March 7, 2018 - Patroon Baptist Church will be holding its second annual indoor garage sale this Friday and Saturday, March 9 and 10, from 7 am to 2 pm each day. Come rain or shine. Everything will be priced to sell. We have furniture, housewares, baby items, toys, clothes and much, much more. If you need it, we probably have it! Follow our Facebook page for sneak peeks throughout this week by searching Patroon Baptist Church. All proceeds will benefit our youth fund.
March 5, 2018 - When I was pastor of The First Baptist Church of Hemphill, Texas, a Pulpit Search Committee from the Hillcrest Baptist Church of Amarillo visited our morning service. Immediately afterwards we met in the Pastor’s Study. When Committee Chairman George Coffey handed me three hickory nuts and asked me what they were, I knew they were not from our part of Texas. “We found them under a tree at the motel last night and had no idea what they were,” he said. Two weeks later I made my trip to Amarillo and became the pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church.
Within my first few weeks at the church, I was asked to assist a Catholic priest conduct a funeral service in Turkey, Texas. When Deacon Doyle Huckabee and I got to the cemetery, I introduced myself to the priest. “I’m Doug Fincher”, I said. “I’m Father Rex”, he responded. “I don’t guess you want to call me “Father” so just call me “Rex“, he laughed. “I can’t call you Rex, either,” I replied. “’Rex’ is Latin for ‘King’ and I can’t call you Father… or King”, I laughed. The West Texas wind had all the cemetery trees leaning in the same direction… and I noticed that the wind was blowing everyone’s hair (except mine) straight up and right back down. When I asked a man how they kept their hair from blowing to pieces, he said, “Hair spray, son…plenty of hair spray.” I’d always figured that men should never use hair spray but since that day in 1970 I never leave home without it.
The funeral service in Turkey was the first one I’d conducted with a Catholic priest. He delivered a good message and afterwards we ate barbecue at the Turkey Hotel. The food was great… … and we drank our tea from quart (!) fruit jars.
I returned to Turkey about a year later to hunt quail with Deacon Doyle Huckabee… and we later hunted turkeys in Quail.
March 5, 2018 - Sunday was the Third Sunday of Lent. Unlike last Sunday, we all woke up to a pretty but cool day. It looks like the rain will return, though, later today. The gospel lesson for this Sunday in Lent comes from the John gospel. Even though this is the year of Mark in the Common Lectionary, several of the gospel lessons come from John. John was written in the last decade of the first century or the first decade of the second century. It is the most poetic and philosophical of the gospels. All four of the gospels were anonymous, not given the names we know them by until the end of the second century.
The lesson today is one found in all the gospels—Jesus cleanses the Temple. I enjoy this story for many reasons but am particularly impressed that injustice and misuse of the tenets of faith angered our brother into action. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels that have this story toward the end of Jesus’ life, in John’s telling it is at the start of his ministry. It follows after the first miracle that Jesus performs in the John gospel—turning water into wine at the Wedding of Cana. The two stories share a common trait, being about purification: This is more obvious in the temple story, but in the other one, he used for his transformation unclean water that was meant for guests’ freshening up.
Before reporting to Paxton, I went to Tenaha Methodist to listen to Matt preach. We both followed the lectionary this week, using John’s telling of Jesus at the Temple. It is always nice to see my many friends at Tenaha. I miss seeing Mr. Bowers and Christine as well as Maggie and Gene. When I got to Paxton, Fannie was busy teaching the Sunday school lesson: Genesis 22, about Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. I have to admit this is one of my least favorite stories. One section of the lesson was titled “Understanding God’s Providence.” My understanding of God’s providence, or divine intervention, has undergone many transformations—and is still evolving.
Today we celebrated Holy Communion. We will be collecting cans of chili for Community Christian Services this month. I took our February donations to First Baptist Haslam last week, finding them in the midst of a busy giveaway day. It’s great to see so much participation in this service. On Thursday, we will have our ministry at Focused Care starting at 10:15. We have missed the last two times due to illness, but hopefully everyone is feeling much better.
Our friends Keith Knight and Guy Barton are in the hospital but are looking forward to being back home soon. Our prayers should also be for their caregivers during their recovery. To Jo Warr we wish a speedy recovery; when my mom had that same surgery, the doctor assured her it would be pain-free and she’d be so glad she did it. He was right! Carolyn reported that her Pennsylvania relatives got rain, but nothing like the tsunami effect we’d seen on the news at other places. Joaquin’s Cathy Dickerson, also known at the Tenaha Pickin’ and Praisin’s, passed away this week—a lovely lady.
“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. Godspeed.
Randy & Sue Smith
Paxton Methodist Church
February 27, 2018 - The 8th Anniversary Service for Rev. and Sis. Timothy Teel will be held at Bell Chapel Baptist Church.
It will be held Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 2:30pm in San Augustine. The church is located at 2172 FM 353 San Augustine, Texas
Rev. Amos Harton, Reed Chapel Baptist Church San Augustine Texas, is the guest church.
February 27, 2018 - A question for many whom God has lifted from the pit of destruction and into the light of the righteousness of our Lord is; “What is it that I should do for the Lord? Can I repay for my salvation? How can I show my gratitude to our Lord?
The Bible says; “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. (Psalm 107:1-3)
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”
Redeemed - which means to recover by some payment; the very thing Christ Jesus did when he gave his life on the cross for the sins of all mankind. He paid, in full, for our sins, he offered redemption to all who would accept him as Lord.
If you have been saved by the blood of Jesus, lifted from the pit of destruction then your duty as a born-again child of the Most High God is; “to say so.”
To tell all of the wonderful saving grace of our Lord for saving your soul from hell.
“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:8-9)
Yes, he fills us with good things, he fills us with his love for others as he shows us his wonderful works. By his example we are to live our lives in service to him as he lived his life on earth in service to all mankind. Let us thank him to all people for the steadfast love he shows us, even when we turn and fall short of his wishes for us. His love never wavers, this we must show to others that they too might seek his face and his grace and salvation.
“Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. (Psalm 107:10-11) “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” (Psalm 107:13)
“Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.” (Psalm 107:17-18) “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” (Psalm 107:19)
We see a pattern here, man gets himself into trouble, almost to the point of death, then for those who call upon the Lord, he delivers from their distress. Oh, the joy to be had in his steadfast love for all mankind. Stand up Christian and say so!
“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extoll him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” (Psalm 107:31-32)
“Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.” (Psalm 107:43)
A word to the wise; “He has told you, O Man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) May the rich blessings of our Lord be upon you this day and may you tell the world of the joy of living with the Lord Jesus. Just say so!!!
February 26, 2018 - Sunday was the Second Sunday of Lent. It was a cold and rainy morning, but we were in double digits again. That is very exciting for a small church like Paxton. Lillie, Liz, and Mike were still in East Texas and were once again at worship with us. They unfortunately had a second funeral to plan for last week. We love having them, but we know they are more than ready to get home for some down time. It was wonderful to see Vera and Keith this morning; they have had a tough beginning to 2018 health-wise, and we all hope they are on the mend!
The Gospel lesson for the 3rd Sunday of Lent was Mark 8: 31-38. This bit of scripture is one of the hard sayings of Jesus, in which he shares with his followers what is in store for him as he takes the Good News of the Kingdom to Jerusalem. It is certainly not something they wanted to hear. But Jesus said that to be a faithful disciple, one must take up the cross and follow in his footsteps. Most of us really don’t want to hear about that difficult path, preferring to concentrate on the love and joy part of his message. But there is much to a deeply spiritual life, even though some of it is difficult.
During the month of February we have been collecting soap and shampoo for Community Christian Services. During March it will be cans of chili. We decided that a bowl of hot chili sounded like a pretty good lunch on a cold and wet day like today. We are planning to restart our nursing home ministries in March after a couple of months of having and/or avoiding sickness and the flu.
“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 Speed.
February 23, 2018 - Each day we see acts of kindness and compassion for which we are grateful, and yet, we see acts of hate and persecution from which we wish to hide.
We see babies being born into this world as old people are dying and leaving this world.
In all this we are uncertain and this uncertainty causes us to worry or be fearful of the future.
This uncertainty causes every human being, at some time, to look for answers to life's questions.
Some look to a higher power while others look to man for these answers. Humanists will tell you that you must look within yourself for strength, for answers.
I tell you, NO, you must look to God for strength, for answers, to look within yourself is to look into the same flawed, imperfect mirror which put you in this situation.
If you find yourself today in this condition with more questions than answers about what is happening around you and wanting to know why these things do happen let me suggest a place to go for knowledge, the Word of God, it contains all the answers.
In the Psalms we find one answer as the Psalmist says; "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7)
The Psalmist knows where to look, to the One who sees all, the One who knows his heart, the Lord God Almighty.
The Old Testament Prophet, Zephaniah, tells us what to do if we are to escape the wrath of God on His final judgment day. "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do His just commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord." (Zephaniah 2:3)
Both of these prophets knew where to find the answers to life's questions. They both knew the majesty and power of the Lord, they both understood from where their strength came.
This is a lesson all people must learn of they are to be saved from the anger of the Lord. Unless, we accept Jesus as Lord, we cannot be saved, it's that simple.
You either believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, that he did die on the cross for all sins, that God did raise Him from the dead and then confess this belief with your mouth or you will be lost, destined to an eternity of torment in the fires of hell. There is no other way to salvation, as the Psalmist says; "Where can I go, where can I flee from Your Spirit or You presence?" The answer to that question is " no where".
You see, God is Omnipresent (meaning He is everywhere), God is Omnipotent (meaning he is all powerful), God is Omniscient, (meaning He has unlimited knowledge, He perceives all things), you cannot hide from Him.
God is the only answer, look to Him today for; if you seek Him, you will find Him and you will then know the joy of the Lord.
"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen... (Romans 11:36)
May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you all the days of your lives...
February 22, 2018 - Toledo Bend Cowboy Church is hosting Terry Terrell in a concert Sunday morning at 10:30 and again at 6:30 PM on Sunday, March 4th, as well as Monday, March 5th, at 7:00 PM. There will be a covered dish dinner Sunday night at 5:30.
Terry Joe Terrell grew up in the small Mississippi town of Foxworth. He was brought up in Pleasant Hill Pentecostal Church, where his father, Bro. Marvin Terrell, was the pastor, and after 48 years, still is. His mom, Annie Faye Terrell, was a prayer warrior who made everyone that came there feel like family.
At the young age of eleven, Terry experienced a tragedy. His mom passed away. Over the next seven years Terry grew bitter that his world had fallen apart. During this troubled time, Terry fell in love and married a girl from his church. God later blessed their home with a son and daughter. This brought some comfort to his life. However, he knew something was missing...
Then one night, while visiting his dad’s church, Terry was filled with the Holy Ghost. He finally found the Friend he had heard his mom speak of so many times.
In 1992 Terry took a leap of faith. He went to Big Stone Gap, VA, to cut a project with the Singing Cooks. With just a small sound system and his sound tracks placed in the trunk of his car, he and his family set out to be a witness through songs.
Twenty-two years later God is still opening new doors across the United States. Terry hopes for many more years to continue to have the opportunity to tell about his Friend, Jesus Christ.
Toledo Bend Cowboy Church is located at 2543 Fm 3172, Shelbyville, Texas 75973.
February 21, 2018 - Triumph Church in the Todd Spring Community would like to cordially invite you and your church family to the Pastor and Wife Appreciation for Elder LaKendrick and First Lady Denesha Bluford. The speaker will be the Shepherd of Triumph Church in Tyler, TX, County Presider Corey McCowin.
Mark your calendar for 3pm on March 4, 2018 at the Center Triumph Church, 908 Daniels Street, Center, TX.
Speaker is County Presider Corey McCowin. Come out and help us celebrate and praise God while appreciating our Pastor and Wife!
Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ is located on Hwy 87 South in Shelbyville, TX 75973.
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