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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
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
January 4, 2024 - As the book bearing his name comes to a close, we find that Joshua “waxed old and stricken in age” (Joshua 23:1). He called the people together and gave his farewell address to them. We read the declaration he made in Joshua 24:15 when he said, “choose ye this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
As we stand here at the beginning of a new year, that seems an appropriate challenge for each of us. We must choose whether we are going to serve the Lord or we are going to serve the devil. Will Jesus Christ be Lord and Master of our lives in 2024 or will he not? I have said this and written this many times, but it is ever true that if Jesus Christ is not Lord of ALL of your life, He is not Lord AT ALL in your life.
I would like to encourage you to make Jesus Christ the Lord of ALL of your life in 2024. This coming Sunday is the first Lord’s Day in 2024. Make your plans to meet the Lord at His house for worship. Resolve that meeting the Lord at His House for Worship will be a part of your activities not just this coming Sunday, but EVERY Lord’s Day throughout the year. Choose to serve the Lord!
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 3, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, January 3.
Houston is my hometown. And on January 3, 1962, something extraordinary began there, a dream really. On that day, ground was broken on a new kind of sports stadium, a "domed" stadium. It was the first of its kind in the world. There are many in the world now, but the Astrodome was the first.
The dream belonged to a man named Roy Hofheinz. He had been the mayor of Houston in the 1950's, when I was born, and during that time he took a vacation to Rome. He would say later that seeing the ruins of the Roman coliseum was the inspiration for his dream. The astrodome was built on former swampland, came in under budget, and was dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World".
In 1970, just six years after his dream opened, Hofheinz suffered a stroke that left him in a wheelchair. He died in 1982, and in 2008 the Astrodome was closed. It still stands today, a slowly crumbling echo from the past, Houston's very own Roman ruin.
Texans have always been dreamers, Americans too.
Big dreams, small dreams, dreams that bring great success, dreams that end in great disappointment.
Do you have dreams for this new year? Does God have a dream for you? Perhaps you can find your inspiration in a simple scripture verse - Micah 6:8.
"He has shown you what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
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