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Contributing Writers: David Mathis | Tim Perkins
Past Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard
Faith
January 29, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 29.
Have you ever been to Pittsburg? No, not Pittsburg, Pennsylvania... Pittsburg, Texas! It's an East Texas town that has several notable "claims to fame". It's the headquarters of Pilgrim's Pride Chicken, the birthplace of racing legend Carroll Shelby, and the location of a very unusual flying machine - the Ezekiel Air Ship. You can see a replica of that odd aircraft in a museum in Pittsburg, just down the street from First Baptist Church (where Bo Pilgrim was a deacon).
Burrell Cannon was an East Texas Baptist preacher in the late 1800's. But he also had a passion for engineering and inventing. He decided to build a flying machine based on the one described in the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel. You know the one - the King James Bible describes its "four living creatures" and the "wheels within the wheels.” Legend has it that Cannon's creation actually flew in 1902. That's a full year before the Wright brothers historic flight. Interesting story. And another weird little Texas trivia fact - of which there are many.
Ezekiel was given a rare opportunity. In his vision he saw not only the "air ship", but in verse 26 we read, "High above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire, and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and heard the voice of one speaking."
And so it appears that Ezekiel, like Moses and Isaiah before him, was given a "glimpse" of God. What a worship experience! But why did God give Ezekiel this experience? Was it to bless him? Was it to give him a warm, comforting feeling? Sometimes we evaluate our worship experiences that way, don't we? Were we blessed? Were we comforted? Were we pleased? But the Ezekiel airship story ends with God giving Ezekiel a command to service. The same was true after Moses saw God in Exodus 33. And the same was true when Isaiah (in chapter 6) saw the Lord "high and lifted up, seated upon a throne.”
We are saved to serve. And our worship experiences are intended to give glory to God and to give us inspiration and motivation to serve Him. When Ezekiel saw God he fell facedown. And when Isaiah saw God he said, "Here am I, Lord, send me."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
January 25, 2024 - In our day and time, we have become obsessed with the consumer mentality. To be sure, it has permeated every aspect of our lives. We look for a restaurant with the best price, menu, atmosphere and location. We shop for clothes at a store that carries our size, has our taste in clothes and the best sales.
Sadly, many take this same attitude with them when it comes to church. We call it “church shopping”. If we have little kids, we look for a church with a great program for kids. If we don’t have kids, we look for a church that doesn’t have a “bunch of noisy kids” bothering us. We want the music to be enthusiastic but not too loud and it must have a proper mix of contemporary music mixed in with the old hymns. The preacher needs to be youthful but not too young and relevant but not trendy. Most of all, he needs to deliver a life changing message in less than 20 minutes. And know this, if anything stops meeting our expectations, we are off, “church shopping” again.
Yet, the church was never intended to serve the consumer mentality. You see, the church is not about serving us, it is about serving God and serving others. In the church, we are to be more focused on seeking the desperately lost rather than meeting the felt needs of the saved community.
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 22, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 22.
Rain! Rain! Rain!
The sound of heavy rain woke me up before sunrise and the forecast is for a rainy week here in East Texas. We could see a half foot or more before all is said and done. But, as the old saying goes, "every cloud has a silver lining".
Silver lining #1 is that we could use the extra moisture. Silver lining #2 is that all this rain is coming just as the temps are climbing well above freezing. If this had happened early last week, we would have had an ice-catastrophe!
It's all about timing, and that's the subject of today's devotion - specifically, God's timing. The Bible promises us that God hears our prayers, but sometimes we doubt that promise when we feel our prayers go unanswered. Well, at least when we don't get the answers we want.
And so, we're reminded that God does answer prayer, but sometimes his answer is no. And many times, his answer is... wait. God's calendar, God's schedule, God's timing.
Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
January 19, 2024 - Smith Chapel B.C. will be celebrating their Pastor and Wife Appreciation Sunday, January 21 at 3pm.
Guest Speaker will be Pastor Carlos Johnson of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Timpson.
Everyone is invited to attend.
Smith Chapel Baptist Church is located at 919 CR 4704, Timpson, Texas 75975.
January 18, 2024 - In case you haven’t noticed, we are living today in a world that is in a hurry. It is a world which worships speed. The tempo of life has never been faster and the pressure of life has never been more intense. To be sure, there is something fundamentally wrong with this.
One of the leading causes of death in our day and time is heart disease. Oftentimes, it is brought on by the strains imposed on the human body by worry, anxiety, nervousness and the tensions of life in our fast paced modern world. Our lives are so geared these days that any contemplation is difficult if not impossible.
Down deep in our hearts we know that God did not intend for us to live like this. God did not intend for us to live life on a fast paced treadmill with the sort of struggle for existence that we have in our modern, fast paced world. Remember, it was Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount who told his followers over and over again to ‘be not anxious.”
The essence and core of Christianity is faith and trust in God. We need to pause, take a deep breath and stop and smell the roses. Remember the words of Paul in Philippians 4:6-7, “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” That’s good advice. Life will be richer and better if we will heed 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 17, 2024 - The Calvary Boys will be in Concert at Providence Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. We invite all to come and share an evening of Blessings and Gospel music.
While many of you are just discovering the Calvary Boys Quartet (CBQ) you may be interested to know a little history about the group. In 1970, when the Beatles were at the top of the pop music charts, the Vietnam War was in full swing, Richard Nixon was the president, riots and protests rocked the nation, 8-track tapes were the norm and no one had even dreamed of a VCR much less digital video, a young group of gospel singers, coached and led by their mentor, Waylon Moore, emerged. Singing for churches, homecomings, radio programs and just about anywhere they were asked to, the young group began to develop a following. Encouraged to do so, the group (who were all FFA members at the local high school) entered competitions and won awards - most notably winning both state and regional FFA talent competitions. But they were known then as the Farmers Quartet.
Inspired by early success and with lots of encouragement from parents, friends and fans, the group changed their name to the Calvary Boys Quartet and started performing more and larger venues - on stage with other regional and nationally recognized groups.
Aubrey King (tenor) and Chip Roberson (baritone) are original members of the quartet. Their first album ‘Our First - At Last’ was released in 1972. In 1981 Ron Meadows joined the group as the lead singer and in 1983 Bill Smith joined the group as bass.
So as you can see, it is no accident that these men, performing together as a group for over 25 years + have developed the rich full and mature sound that you enjoy today. But it is more than just the music.
Aubrey, who in addition to singing tenor also emcees for the group, wants to keep the group going because he still enjoys singing as much as he did when he started and enjoys bringing the glory to God. Chip, who is also the music minister for his local church, enjoys traveling and feels that since God gave him the talent of singing, he needs to use this God-given talent as his ministry to glorify God. Bill just gets joy out of singing and takes pride in the fact that the hard work pays off - that the great harmony may touch the hearts of the audience. Ron Meadows put it quite well, ‘We enjoy each other’s company and we have something to sing about.’
And the beat goes on... It is inevitable that young men will grow up and want to emulate their fathers. That is particularly wonderful when their fathers are Gospel singers. In 2001 a group comprised of Andrew and Aaron King (sons of Aubrey) and Timothy Roberson (son of Chip), each individually blessed with his own singing talent, launched their group - The Calvary Boys Trio. Led by Andrew, their first concert was in 2001. The group regularly performs on stage with the Calvary Boys and released their own album in 2004. When Andrew left to sing with the nationally acclaimed Dixie Melody Boys, his place was filled by Chip for their on-stage performances.
The church is located at 1324 CR 1265 (Just off FM 711), Center, Texas 75935.
January 15, 2024 - 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… holding hands… and thanking God… not for chicken…
… but for delicious Peanut butter and crackers.
January 15, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 15.
Did you know that there are two national "service" days each year? One is September 11 and the other . . . is today. In 1994 a bill was sponsored by Congressman John Lewis to encourage Americans to serve their communities, to encourage Americans to make a difference, to encourage Americans to help those less fortunate than themselves. What better person to suggest a day of service than a man who devoted his life to service.
John Lewis was born in 1940, one of ten children of a sharecropper father in Alabama. As a boy he aspired to be a Baptist preacher, but one day he heard Martin Luther King speak - and his life went another way. At the age of 23 he spoke alongside Dr. King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington. Two years later he led a peaceful march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday". John Lewis was carried from that bridge with a fractured skull, and he carried scars from that day for the rest of his life.
His life ended in 2020, at the age of 80, after a long battle with cancer. His good friend Billy Graham had preceded him in death, but four ex-presidents played a part in the funeral, a funeral held at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta - Dr. King's church. The service began with the crowd rising to its feet and singing a song that has become known as the Black National Anthem. A song whose lyrics are a fitting epitaph to a man of service, a fitting message on this Day of Service.
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
January 11, 2024 - A preacher was having coffee in a local coffee shop with some men in the community and one asked him if a certain man and his wife belonged to the church where he was preaching. His reply was, “No, they do not belong to the church here. They are members, but they do not belong to the church.”
It’s like this, the preacher explained. “Neither their time, their affection, their energy, their money, nor their influence belong to the church.”
Does that cause us to wonder what kind of membership these people had in the church? The preacher said, “they came to us, and we received them in good faith, and we thought they were looking for spiritual fellowship and service. Sadly, their attendance has been so infrequent they have no sense of belonging to the church family and the church has not been a spiritual home to them. Truthfully, there is not an ounce of this man and his wife that belongs to the church. All they have ever added to the church is a name on the roll.”
Sadly, the rolls of local churches are loaded with names that are “members only”. This is their only indication of love for Christ. Yet, Bible love is active and not passive. Jesus expressed His love by dying for us. Will we show our love by living for Him? Do you belong to the church? Where will you be this coming Lord’s Day?
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 8, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 8.
There's a particular part of our worship service at First Baptist Center that we try to keep simple - our invitation. We use just a few songs that are frequently repeated. I want our congregation to be listening to the moving of the Spirit in that moment, not worrying about the lyrics and melody of some new song. Our focus this morning is on the hymn we sang at our altar call yesterday.
Judson Van DeVenter was a gifted artist. Born in 1855, he toured Europe as a young man, studying with famous painters. He returned to America to continue his art and to become an acclaimed teacher. But despite his talent, despite his success, there was always a feeling that something was missing. At the age of 40 DeVenter surrendered his life to the gospel ministry, left his art behind, and became a renowned evangelistic preacher. He wrote a hymn, as a personal testimony, and titled it "I Surrender All".
Judson DeVenter retired in his eighties and moved to the Tampa, Florida area. His home was near a college for young preachers and he would often invite students to join him there. One of those preacher boys was named William Franklin Graham. Years later Billy Graham counted DeVenter as one of his greatest mentors. A man who listened to the moving of the Spirit, a man who heard God's call, a man who . . . surrendered all.
All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live
I surrender all. I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour. I surrender all!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
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