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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
April 20, 2016 - Join us this Sunday at Shelbyville & Short UMCs! "Where is God when it hurts?" This is a question we commonly ask when we do not feel or sense the presence of God in our difficult or tragic situations. Often God seems aloof; but He is still with us and walking with us through tragedies and difficulties in our life. Join us this Sunday as we discuss this topic. Scriptures are Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-6.
Easter Worship Series: “You’ve Got Questions”. After the resurrection, the Apostle’s wrestled with what Jesus taught. We still have many questions about the Christian faith. Join us April 3 – May 8 to look at some of the questions such as “Where is God When It Hurts?,” “Why Forgive?,” “What is Eternal Life / Salvation?” This series will help us gain greater appreciation for our Savior and what He taught.
Sunday worship at Short UMC is at 9:00am and at 11:00am at the Shelbyville UMC. Live Stream: www.ShelbyvilleUMCWorship.weebly.com
If you missed this Sunday's sermon, be sure to watch it this week. www.shelbyvilleumcworship.weebly.com Devotionals & Past Sermons available at this link as well.
April 14, 2016 - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying; "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt 28:18 -20) NKJV
We know these 3 verses as "the Great Commission", the great command given the church to be carried out across all the planet, to all nations, to all classes of persons, to all individuals. By His own power as stated in verse 18, He is able to give power to the church to carry His Word to all people, everywhere.
You see, God has no regard for any person over another, He wishes for ALL to be saved. He loves one as much as the other, all colors, all nationalities, all individuals are judged the same to Him with the only difference being whether or not an individual does indeed accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Verse 19 speaks of baptism and it references three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the three aspects of God. This may be best explained as; all things happen "from" the Father, "through" the Son and "by" the Holy Spirit. Christ authorized the church to baptize all believers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, however, one is not baptized in order to obtain salvation, but to declare that he has already accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Verse 20 actually gives us both the assignment; "teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you" and the assurance that He, God will be with us always. We can rest assured that as long as we are obedient to His will, wherever we may be, He is there to guide us and protect us from evil.
However, as with the church, God's presence is based upon our obedience to His wishes and not the wishes of the world. This is all part of God's plan of salvation. As born again Christians, our salvation relieves us from the penalty of sin. Daily, through the study of God's Word, we are saved from the power of sin.
When we are finally at home, with Christ, we will be saved from the very presence of sin. Until that glorious day we are to teach the gospel of Christ every day, either through actually sharing His Word, or by the way we go about living our lives here on earth.
As Saint Francis once stated; "I am compelled to preach the gospel at all times, in all places, with all my might, even if it means resorting to words." Amen...
Please feel welcome to join us on Wednesday evenings at 6:00PM for our weekly Bible Study. For more info call, 936-615-1427.
May God bless you and keep you...
April 18, 2016 - Short United Methodist Church will be hosting a gospel concert on Saturday, April 30th at 7pm featuring Flint Thompson. Food and fellowship to follow. Come out for an evening of great singing and visiting with friends.
April 18, 2016 - “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Ps. 1).
Life is, and the quality of each day is largely based on the counsel or advice that we receive. The company we keep affects all aspects of our life. As the Psalmist said, we are blessed when we do not walk in the counsel or the influence of the ungodly.
It is like the wise man wrote, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed” (Pr. 13:20). Wise and foolish people are not determined by their likeability but by their actions. As the psalmist said back in vs. 3 walking in godly counsel will establish our lives. We will be free from unnecessary troubles and drama which could impact our lives for years or even for the rest of our lives. The ungodly have lives that do not prosper and are carried away by the wind and their way will perish.
For this reason we are blessed when we meditate on the ways of the Lord and do not walk in the ways or counsel of the ungodly. Our lives are framed by the people we associate with.
Church email: northsidecoccenter@gmail.com
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April 18, 2016 - Sunday was the 4th Sunday of Easter. The Psalter Lesson was Psalm 23, the best known of all psalms among Christians. The Second Lesson for the 4th Sunday of Easter was Revelation 7: 9-17. Both of these scriptures speak of God as a shepherd, who leads us to still waters and restores our soul. John’s Revelation, however, is certainly a wild story full of symbolism that we must really work at to understand. A few years back at Joaquin Methodist we did a Bible Study on Revelation and used the book Breaking the Code by Bruce M. Metzger. Dr. Metzger is considered the foremost scholar on John’s Revelation. What we all learned was that this book is not a kind of doomsayer’s handbook, even though there are over a half million websites that try to turn Revelation into a “be afraid—the world is ending” sort of book. My favorite is the book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. And honest to God—no joke—there was a 1989 second edition!
We had a small group this morning. Fannie as usual had a really good lesson for us at Sunday school. Gene was back this morning—after jumping out of an airplane at 14,000 feet! Joy wasn’t feeling well, and we all hope she is feeling better soon.
This Tuesday is our Holiday Nursing Center ministry. Volunteers from many churches join us as we visit, sing, and share stories. The program will start at 2:00. This month we are collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste for Community Christian Services. In May, cans of fruit.
The Joaquin Methodist Church really shone this weekend with its Heritage Fair. The original idea was to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the church with an old-fashioned gathering—but they went way beyond that!
The fellowship hall featured local art of all kinds: paintings, sculpture, books, poems, quilting, needlework, and a slideshow of 7th graders’ models of old Texas buildings. A partial quilt was set up on a frame, and ladies patiently worked their craft on it. Outside on the front lawn stood a storytelling tent where listeners could enjoy such practiced narrators as our Mrs. Fannie.
The majority of the fair was spread out on the church garden. Many of those who had tables, booths, and the like were dressed for the period—around Civil War times. We visited with Daughters and Sons of the Republic, who were displaying dyes, food products, musical instruments, and other relics along with explanations of their uses. In the corner, a re-enactor had set up a tent from the era (and slept in it Friday night); he demonstrated ax-throwing and musket-shooting nearby. A woman was teaching a fascinated group how to make rag dolls and woven products.
Some booths were selling items like painted gourds and canned goods. Two men used a huge roaster to make corn on the cob, and near them was an old-fashioned lemonade stand. The City Christmas Lights committee fried fish, hush puppies, and French fries—which I can testify were delicious. While we waited for that, an ice cream cart set up, cranking it out the traditional way.
A brush arbor in the middle of the garden hosted various singers, musicians, and raconteurs, entertaining everyone within earshot. We saw a beautiful stagecoach and talked to the man who built it—a fellow Shelby County teacher retiree.
All this was Saturday. On Friday they hosted the Joaquin fourth and seventh graders, who are studying Texas history this year, as well as Logansport junior high students and other attendees. Friday’s visitors saw some of what we did, plus demonstrations such as Dutch oven cooking, live horses, and poetry reading. A big thank you to the Joaquin Methodist folks who put all this together. The entire experience was phenomenal, like delving into a different world.
“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 9:15 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!
“Let your lights shine before men….” Matt. 5:16
April 18, 2016 - Jaime cooks at the Waffle House in Norcross, Georgia. His cooking prowess, mild manner, combat boots, jeans and large earring kept Pam and me entertained long after we finished eating. As stressed-out waitresses barked their orders, Jaime calmly flipped omelets while arranging chicken strips and burgers on the crowded grille. Thanking the waitresses for each order, he intermittently washed dishes and answered the phone.
As we left, I asked the cashier if he was the owner. “Oh, no,” she replied. “He’s just the cook…his name is Jaime Mitchell…he’s my boyfriend.” “He’s pretty good”, I remarked. “Yeah”, she replied. “He don’t know how good he is….…he’s the ‘humblest’ man in the world.”
Although the Bread of Life is on our church menus, many don’t ask for Him.
Maybe we should take some tips from Jaime Mitchell.
April 16, 2016 - Bell Chapel Baptist Church Youth Revival will be April 18th, 19th and 20th at 7:00 pm. The Evanglist for the week will be Charles Tutt from Nacogdoches, TX. The pastor of Bell Chapel is Timothy Teel who would like to invite everyone to attend.
April 14, 2016 - Pastor Byron Coutee Jr. and Blount Chapel Baptist Church in Center, TX would like to invite the public to our Annual Choir Day on May 1, 2016 at 3:00PM. Please come out and help us lift the name of Jesus in songs and praise dancing. We ask each choir and group to render an A&B selection. All praise teams to render an A selection. We would like to thank you in advance and pray that God continues to bless you. Guest Speaker Brandon Owen Sr. from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Center, TX. Please feel free to call on us, the distance is the same. For more information please contact Choir President, Sis. Carolyn Hinson at 936-591-2497.
April 14, 2016 - Elder LaKendrick Bluford & Triumph Church San Augustine invites everyone to our PACK the PEW Program on Sunday April 17, 2016 at 3pm. Guest Speaker will be Pastor Dwight Gatlin from St. Peter Church of God in Christ, Logansport, La.
April 13, 2016 - The Gates Chapel Baptist Church will celebrate its 2016 Usher Program on Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 2:30pm. The special guest speaker will be Bishop Roosevelt Swindle of Triumph First Pentecostal Church of Shelbyville. Everyone is invited to attend says Pastor Frankie Cooper.
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