Shelby County Today

May 9, 2022 - Sunday was the 4th Sunday of Easter. We have had a couple of good rains and some humid summertime weather. Not to mention some middle 90s—in early May! It is Saturday evening, and as I proofread my sermon again, I finally think it is ready to go. I will see tomorrow if I put anyone to sleep. Just joking! This Sunday in the Season of Easter is sometimes referred to as The Shepherd’s Sunday. We began this day with the 23rd Psalm as our Gathering Words.

We had a small Sunday School class and congregation, as some members were sick and others out of town. The Sunday School lesson was to encourage good stewardship: Much of our discussion focused on what tithing meant to the agricultural folks of ancient Israel/Judea and to us in the 21st Century. The text was Deuteronomy 14: 22-29. The purpose of the tithing system in the ancient society was to make sure no one would be disadvantaged permanently or consigned to second-class status. It recognized the reality of poverty and hoped to alleviate it. With the tithe, one conferred worth, dignity, and belonging on those who had been less fortunate. That is still true today.

Sue read the Gospel from John 37-30, with Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Scholars and temple folks wanted Jesus to state plainly if he thought he was the promised messiah—trying to trip him up as usual. Jesus didn’t feel as if he owed these people anything. He said look at what I do—healing and trying to lessen people’s pain. He told his questioners that they were too preoccupied to hear the call of the Good Shepherd.

Our songs were two favorites of our church—“When We All Get to Heaven” and “Hymn of Promise.” The first one is a lively, toe-tapping hymn, and the second is a heartfelt poem set to beautiful music. The affirmation was The Apostles’ Creed, probably the best-known ancient creed. During the merry month of May, our church folks will be collecting cans of fruit so we can take them to Community Christian Services at the end of the month. Later this month will be Joy and Gene’s anniversary. This past weekend they celebrated their twins’ 50th birthday. We all gave thanks for our mothers—and mother figures—for the impact they had on our lives.

In my sermon, I spoke a little about each Scripture on today’s traditional lectionary. From the Old Testament, we had the story of Dorcas, devout servant to her church, and Psalm 23 about the shepherd. In earlier times, shepherds such as David were steadfastly guarding sheep for the family and tribe; by the time of Jesus, however, the flocks and most everything else were owned by absentee landlords, leading to many shepherds doing only a “good enough” job. In Revelation and in the Gospel of John, we again find the shepherd motif: Like Psalm 23, the shepherd symbolizes care and trustworthiness.

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, and Open Minds.” 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 your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.

May 9, 2022 - Good morning! Today is Monday, May 9.

I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother’s Day. At First Baptist Center, a “mother’s trio” sang a song called “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again.” We dedicated it to all those who were remembering mothers that have gone on to heaven. My mom passed in 2010 and nothing has been quite the same since.

Losing a parent is one of those milestone moments in life. It changes how we see ourselves. It redefines who we are. This past Thursday our pastor lost his dad, after a long and lingering illness. I'm driving up to Tulsa, Oklahoma early tomorrow for the funeral service. And so, I'll be reprinting a favorite devotion from the past. Hope you enjoy it.

And I hope you'll remember our pastor, Bobby Bressman, and his family in prayer during their time of loss.

Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org

May 5, 2022 - The annual Powdrill Cemetery Homecoming will be Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 12 noon. The event will be held the Grant barn, located 1 mile north of Arcadia. A short business meeting will follow. Bring your favorite dish and enjoy fellowship and visiting the cemetery grounds.

If you are unable to attend, donations may be mailed to Powdrill Cemetery Fund, c/o 549 Lakewood Dr., Center, Texas 75935.

May 4, 2022 - Sunday was the 3rd Sunday of Easter. We have had rain, wind, nice low humidity days and not-so-nice high humidity days. Typical spring in East Texas—with some wild weather thanks to climate change. In last week’s Sunday School lesson, the author spoke about our denomination United Methodist) and our stand to protect the planet from misuse by us humans. We are supposed to be the stewards of this beautiful earth, but we haven’t done a very good job.

I am late sitting down at my computer (I almost said typewriter—that dates me!) because I went to the hospital in Shreveport to have an injection in my spine. It was the third one, giving me some relief. Regardless, though, I am not ready to halt my pandemic therapy—gardening. I have 21 raised beds and containers; I really enjoy “playing in the dirt.” Gene and I were discussing how gardening isn’t a money-making proposition, but it is fun. On May 17th Joy and Gene will celebrate their anniversary. They will also be heading to Houston sometime in May to help their twins celebrate their 50th birthday.

Sunday was the first day of May: I can remember celebrating May Day, like field day, at my elementary school. Once, maybe in fourth grade, I was entered in the sack race. I was given a defective sack—it had no bottom. So I didn’t have to jump—just ran full out and won...or so I thought. I was disqualified because of my defective sack. Not my fault! Later that day I won the 50-yard dash and went home with one blue ribbon. During the 50s and 60s we were all fearful of communism. May Day sounded a little communist, so many schools in Texas changed the day to Americanization Day. We kids really didn’t care—a full day of recess was fine no matter what they called it. I remember that week of the Cuban Missile Crisis, going to the A&P, where a company was selling bomb shelters in the parking lot. They had several models you could choose from and tour. My brother and I were sold but couldn’t convince my dad that it would be a good investment.

Beginning a new month, we are collecting cans of fruit for Community Christian Services. I already delivered a couple of checks and the toothpaste and toothbrushes Paxton Methodists have been bringing to church all April long. Mrs. Ruby wanted me to thank the Paxton Methodists, and invited me to come back for lunch. I had a doctor’s appointment so I couldn’t stay.

Our Sunday School lesson was not an easy one to digest. This ancient law text from Leviticus made perfect sense to primitive agricultural people who lived in a tribal family system. Much of the text, however, fell on puzzled 21st Century ears. When the passage spoke of leaving some of the fields fallow we did understand that. The author tried to use the text to remind us of our role in creation and our function in preserving God’s Kingdom on Earth.

Our Church service began with words based on Psalm 30 as we gathered for worship, and our affirmation was The Apostles’ Creed. Sue read from the last chapter of the John Gospel; as I started my sermon, I read from the last chapter of the Mark Gospel. I wanted to stress how God more often than not meets us in the “ordinary” of life and not the extraordinary. In the Gospel, Jesus fixes breakfast for his disciples—can’t get much more ordinary than that! The writer of John says this was the third appearance of the resurrected Christ.

Our first song was “Savior, Like Shepherd Lead Us.” I felt it went along with Jesus asking Peter three times if Peter loved him, then telling the disciples to feed his sheep. The Hymn of Joy was “Blessed Assurance,” which heralded both the appearance of the resurrected Jesus in our Scripture and our commemoration of the Lord’s Supper. Because it was the first Sunday of the month we celebrated the Service of Communion and Remembrance.

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, and Open Minds.” 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 your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.