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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
October 4, 2023 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church is hosting Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 21, 2023 from 4pm until 6pm. Come and enjoy the fun and candy!
White Rock’s Awana Club meets on Wednesdays at 6pm.
The church is located at 12545 State Hwy 7, Center, Texas.
October 3, 2023 - Bright Morning Star Baptist Church is celebrating its 115th Church Homecoming at 11am on October 22, 2023. Reverend Deshmond Jolenson will be the speaker of the hour. There will be a Special Dedication to the Great WJ Star, I.
Pastor Anthony Jackson and Reverends Deshmond Johnson and Stephen Fields.
Bright Morning Star Baptist Church is located at 623 Martin Luther King Drive, Center, Texas.
October 2, 2023 - Mt. Gillion Baptist Church will celebrate their Annual Harvest Day on October 8th, 2023 at 11am. A Harvest Luncheon is at 12:30pm. Every one is welcome to come and celebrate with us.
Mt. Gillion Baptist Church's address is at 5545 State Hwy 87 N, Center, Texas 75935. Rev. Rayford Caraway, Pastor
October 2, 2023 - It was in 1938. Daddy had just moved us to a rent house owned by William Henry Smith located just north of Center, Texas on the Henrietta Road. There were only three Fincher children in our family at that time: Bill was 7 years old, I (Henry Douglas) was five years old, and John was not quite four. We had a dog named “Nellie” and a cow that my Grandmother “loaned” us in those struggling days. We kept the cow behind the house in a patch of grass and yellow bitterweeds. We found that no amount of syrup could kill the taste of a biscuit buttered with bitterweed butter.
One day Bill, Nellie and I were exploring the back woods when we saw some Yellow Jackets flying into a hole in the ground. We didn’t know what they were so we punched a stick into the hole. Suddenly, the bees were everywhere and Nellie fell down on Bill and sheltered him. Bill got stung six times and I got four. We later found a “scaly bark” tree and learned they were great after being roasted near the coals in the fireplace.
While walking through the woods, Bill and I discovered a little church building at the end of a dirt road. We asked Mother if we could attend church there and the next week we walked to the building. I don’t remember what the preacher looked like or much else, but I do remember him repeating over and over, “My cup runneth over.” It was only later that I learned it was from the 23rd Psalm, some of the most beautiful words in the Bible. As I look back, I have wondered why Mother did not attend with us that day. But I later knew why. Times were very hard back then and there’s no doubt she didn’t have a dress to attend church… and that was true for many years later.
Mother, Daddy and all nine of my siblings were wonderfully accepted into the family of God… and then we all understood why David said years ago.
”My cup runneth over.”
October 2, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, October 2.
On October 2,1950, a little comic strip was first published called "Li'l Folks". Doesn't ring a bell? Well, the name was changed to "Peanuts", and it went on to become the most successful comic in history. At its' peak, it was featured in over 2600 newspapers, with 350 million daily readers. It was expanded to TV shows, movies, even a Broadway musical. And it earned its' creator, Charles Schulz, over a billion dollars.
Schulz was a devoted Christian and he included many scripture references in his cartoon. In one, the character Linus is speaking to Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy. "Does it bother you when the Bible doesn't speak very highly of dogs?". The beagle replies, "Sure it bothers me, but I just turn the other muzzle". And then there is the lovely scene in the holiday TV classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas", when Linus quotes directly from the Luke 2 nativity story.
Charles Schulz died in 2000, but the earnings from "Peanuts", 23 years later, still make him the third highest deceased celebrity, right behind Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. But his influence is much more profound than that. Here's one of his quotes.
"Little things we do and say are like pebbles thrown into water. The ripples spread out into circles, touching people we may never even know."
Charles Schulz threw a lot of pebbles.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
September 28, 2023 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church is collecting socks of all sizes for the men, women, and children for the month of October.
Bring one or more packages of new socks during the month of October to White Rock MBC, 12545 State Hwy. 7 W (Aiken).
- Sundays - 10am Sunday school, 11am worship service
- Wednesdays - 6pm
Or bring your donation to the White Rock MBC “Trunk-or-Treat” on Saturday, October 21 from 4pm to 6pm!
September 28, 2023 - Not long ago, I read a story about a businessman who considered himself to be extremely busy. He was harassed, discouraged and overwhelmed with all the pressure in his life. There were deadlines to meet, projects to complete and a never ending list of things he needed to take care of. He was desperate and in his desperation he turned to a psychiatrist. The good doctor immediately told him to slow down and work less. There were also further instructions. He told the man to spend one hour every week in the cemetery. The puzzled businessman was puzzled and asked, why? He was told to just go to the cemetery, look around and get to know some of the names of the permanent inhabitants located there. The doctor informed him these people did not finish their work either. They went to the cemetery with tasks uncompleted. They had not accomplished everything they set out to do. No one ever does.
What about you? What about me? Do we become so involved, obsessed and burdened by the things of this life that we crowd the Lord out of our lives? Are we so “involved” with this world that we have no time to give faithful worship to God? You see, some day, we will take time away from all the things that seem so important to us now – permanently. When we do, the world will go right on without us.
Perhaps it’s time to slow down, stop and smell the roses and take the time to put God first in our lives.
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
September 26, 2023 - Wallace Chapel Baptist Church invite you to their Church Anniversary Sunday, November 5, 2023, 3pm.
Theme: "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. "II Corinthians 5:1
Guest Speaker: Superintendent Marvin Jackson I, Clayton Temple Church of God in Christ, Timpson, Texas 75975
Wallace Chapel Baptist Church
108 South Marcus Street
Timpson, Texas 75975
Reverend Derrick Rhodes, Pastor
Sister LaQuista Garrett - Secretary
Sister LaQuista Garrett - Mistress of Ceremony
September 25, 2023 - The man who made that statement famous was Evangelist Billy Sunday. William Ashley Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was a popular outfielder in the National League during the early 20th century. Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry in the Midwest and during the early 20th century became the nation's most famous evangelist. One of Billy’s many famous quotes was: “They tell me that I rub the fur the wrong way. I don't; let the cat turn around.”
People, like cats, are known for having their way. Daddy used to say, No one owns a cat—they own you.” Man can feel real independent too. Since God knows we’re headed in the wrong direction, His words are not flattering, I felt God rubbing my fur in the wrong direction at that revival in 1947. I was told to turn around, to repent and pray for forgiveness. That was the night God rubbed my fur the wrong way… and I’m glad He did…
I’m eternally grateful that He turned this cat around!
September 25, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, September 25.
How many hours did you work at your job last week? Maybe you're retired and your time is your own. But for you that are still part of the workforce - did you work 20 hours, 40, 60, more? On this day, in 1926, Henry Ford made a revolutionary decision. He limited all of his factory workers to five eight-hour days, a 40-hour work week.
Doesn't seem very revolutionary? Well, for that time, it was. Just a few decades before, in the late 1800's, factory workers would toil 12-15 hours a day, six days a week, sometimes totaling up to 100 hours! By 1940, the 40-hour week was U.S. law, but Ford was the first to pioneer it. Why did he do it? Ford wasn't particularly known as a humanitarian. He was a "bottom line" kind of guy. And he came to understand that more hours did not necessarily mean more production. And, as workers fatigue increased, workplace accidents and mistakes increased as well.
Ford, a businessman, realized that a rested employee was an effective employee. I'm not sure what his level of Bible knowledge was, but if he had read Mark 6:31, he would have found that none other than Jesus Christ supported his theory. Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as they returned from "two by two" ministry journeys.
"Come away and rest awhile, for many are coming and going, and they have no time for leisure..."
Good advice!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
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