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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
February 13, 2023 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, February 13
Today we focus on a famous Bible passage, so famous that it has its own nickname - The Love Chapter. Today we focus on I Corinthians 13.
A third of the books in the New Testament are named after churches - the church in Philippi, the church in Rome, the church in Ephesus, etc. At first glance, it would seem to be a great honor for these churches to be remembered in this way. But, then we realize that Paul wrote to them because they had problems. And none of these churches had a greater number or a wider variety of problems than the church in Corinth.
You name it - Corinth was dealing with it - doctrinal issues, worship issues, division, immorality. The list goes on and on, and it includes questions about spiritual gifts. In verse 1:7 Paul tells this congregation, "you do not lack any spiritual gift." This was truly a gifted church, this was a blessed church - but this was a church that was not living up to its potential.
We see the solution for their problems when we look at how Paul structures this letter. In chapters 12 and 14 he speaks about spiritual gifts - how to use them, how not to abuse them, their place and priority in the church. And then . . . he places his words about God's highest priority directly between these two chapters. Could Paul be any clearer in the point that he is making? Corinth church, you are gifted - but it willl all come to nothing if you have not love.
We return over and over again to these letters of Paul, don't we? I think it's because, unfortunately, we often see our own church reflected in these early churches. I encourage you to return once again, this morning, to this beloved chapter. Read it through. It wil only take you a couple of minutes. You will be reminded of priorities, Paul's priorities, God's priorities. And you will be reminded of the power of love.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love . . .
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 9, 2023 - St. John Baptist Church presents "Overcoming Diversity" at 2pm on Sunday, February 19, 2023. Guest speaker will be Pastor Jerius L. Marshall with Getsemane Baptist Church, Mansfield, Louisisana.
Winston Kibbles, Pastor
Jacklyn Moton, Mistress of Ceremony
February 9, 2023 - King David could not build a temple, but he wrote a psalm! Three temples, one after another, crumbled in the dust, but the psalm lives today in the hearts of millions. Through three thousand years, the Twenty-Third Psalm has been a source of inspiration. It is the Christian’s great symphony, the theme of which is God’s care for His own.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Or, as Paul says it, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”
After announcing the theme, the writer gives us the three R’s of the abundant life. They are Rest, Refreshment and Restoration. First, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” Second, “He leadeth me beside the still waters.” Third, “He resotreth my soul.”
Rest and relaxation are essential to our well being. Many a man or woman is in the hospital today because they could not afford to rest or could not rest. God makes us rest and then he leads us beside the still waters for refreshment. Restoration just naturally follows rest and refreshment. How wonderful are the still waters that God leads us to. Make your plans to be in Worship this coming Sunday. You just might come away rested, refreshed and restored.
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
February 6, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, February 6.
Hope you enjoyed yesterday - your "day of rest". Sundays, for church people, can often be everything but days of rest. Busy churches have busy Sunday schedules - worship services (often multiple), Sunday School, small group Bible studies, rehearsals, committee meetings, fellowships, etc, etc, etc! I grew up in a pastor's home and Sundays were always long and full.
When the pandemic hit - three years ago now! - Sunday schedules were greatly reduced. Many churches were shut down for months and months. Those that opened usually only had one worship service for a while. The "day of rest" was actually pretty restful. But, Sundays are busy once again. And on Monday mornings, church folk can sometimes have a "spiritual" hangover!
Another term for Sunday is worth noting today as well - The Lord's Day. And so, whether we spend it at church all day, or on other activities at home or in the community, Sunday should always be a day where we give special focus to God, and to our relationship with Him. The Bible reminds us that He is our strength when we are weak - or tired. It reminds us that "those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 3, 2023 - At His Feet Ladies Retreat Friday. February 3, 2023 at 7 o’clock in the evening Sardis Pentecostal Church, 4352 County Road 3047, Center, Texas 75935.
Special speaker is Cindy Fish.
February 3, 2023 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church, Center, welcomes Jill Neave in concert at 6pm on Saturday, February 11, 2023.
Jill Neave has spent the last 33 years singing southern gospel music. The majority of that time was spent traveling the southeastern U.S. with a group called “The Singing Christians.” After the group retired, Jill continued to sing as a soloist and has a love for the old-time gospel songs, harmony, and spirit.
She shared a few words about Vestal Goodman who has always been her favorite singer. “Vestal could sing a song and make you feel every word. That’s what I strive to do… and to help you feel a little closer to Jesus when you leave than you were when you came.”
Jill and her husband, Mike, will soon celebrate their 30th anniversary and have spent the last several weeks helping build a house for some of their Nacogdoches friends, Brandon and Amanda Jones. The Neaves and Jones' relationship stems back to 1997, where they met at the National Quartet Convention in Kentucky.
“Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood.” (Psalms 73:17)
February 2, 2023 - The value of attending the public meetings of the church is a matter of dispute in the minds of many people. There are some folks who go to church regularly while others do not go at all. Then there are those who are in the services occasionally on days like Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day.
What is the merit of going to church? Does it help? Is the outlook of the regular church goer different on other points from the outlook of those who do not go to church or only go occasionally?
In the passage above, the 73rd Psalm, the Hebrew poet expressed himself on this matter. He had almost given up trying to do right. He saw the prosperity of the wicked and envied them. He saw the ease of the sinful and wondered why he must be burdened.
Seeing these things he had about decided that God didn’t care. That conclusion is fatal to spirituality. Then one day he went up to the sanctuary of the Lord – that is, he went to church. It was here he got his bearings again. When he left, his feet were on firm ground. He understood God’s plan when he went to church. Why not try it?
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.
January 30, 2023 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, January 30.
The Library of Congress is the official library of the United States. It was started in 1800, but during the War of 1812, the British burned it to the ground. On January 30, 1815, 6000 books from the personal collection of Thomas Jefferson were purchased to restore the library. Today it boasts over 170 million books. You can visit your national library in Washington D.C. - in the Thomas Jefferson Building. But, unless you’re a high government official, you can’t check anything out.
Lots of Americans love books. And we love collecting books. I have about a thousand at my house (I’m no Thomas Jefferson!). I know that you, at the very least, have 66 books in your home. The first one is titled Genesis and the last Revelation. The Library of Congress has The Gutenberg Bible and a copy of Jefferson’s Bible. Over the centuries, some, in protest, have chosen to burn the Bible. In 2009 there was even a church in South Carolina that burned Bibles - all the ones that weren’t in the King James Version.
But the Bible endures, and continues to be “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path”.
Isaiah 40:8 - “The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever”.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
January 26, 2023 - A laugh may be the sweetest or the most bitter sound that comes from the human voice, according to the sentiment it expresses. To be sure, laughter is not an unimportant incident in a happy life, but a gift of God to serve a definite purpose and is even more useful in less happy lives.
Laughter is one of life’s greatest shock absorbers. Many of the things at which we laugh would be very annoying if we did not think them funny, and laughter is nature’s device for taking up the jolt. Laughter is a better response than annoyance to a horde of petty annoyances that dog our heels.
Laughter is also a source of strength. Men endure and achieve as they learn to break the monotony of routine work with laughter. The burdens of many lives are beyond the normal power and endurance of human beings. There are various sources of strength for ush and one of them is laughter. It is a familiar fact that Lincoln said that laughter, relieving the strain of care, was what kept him from breaking beneath the load he had to bear.
Laughter is the magnet that draws. It may be a very quiet unostentatious laugh, perhaps not more than a twinkle of the eye, but it is the key that unlocks the hearts of people. Laughter is a fine art when it covers a heart that may be heavy but is undaunted and unafraid. Such laughter is a principle of life. It is an expression of a noble courage, a genuine love and a deep and abiding faith in God.
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
January 24, 2023 - There will be a 5th Sunday Singing this coming Sunday, January 29, at 6pm at First United Methodist Church.
All area churches are invited to attend and bring any music and singers to perform.
Afterwards there will be a pot luck finger foods snack time.
All are welcome
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