+ Church Directory
+ Read the Bible Online (Link)
Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
July 21, 2022 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church is having revival services July 25-29, 2022 at 7:00 pm each evening. Bro. Brandon Jones will be our evangelist.
July 20, 2022 - Lydia Missionary Baptist Church is hosting “Zoomerang” VBS for ages 3 years old – 12th grade starting July 31 through August 3!
VBS is from 6pm until 8:30pm Sunday through Wednesday with the Closing Program held on Wednesday, August 3 at 7:30pm.
"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14
July 19, 2022 - North Jericho in Center is having the Annual “Dinner on the Ground” the first Sunday in August which is August 7th. Service is at 11am followed by a pot luck meal. Hope to see you there.
“Master, teach us to pray…” Luke 11:1
“Serve the Lord with gladness.” Psalms 100:2
July 19, 2022 - Mother and Daddy didn’t attend church till I was a teenager, but they both taught us to pray and read the Bible to us when we were young. Bill and I were taught to pray a prayer before meals; ‘Dear Father, bless the food we take and bless us for Jesus' sake,” but most of the time, Daddy “asked the blessing.” His prayer was not loud — was very short — and was always the same: “Dear Lord, make us thankful for these and other blessings. Amen.” For many years, I wondered what “make us thankful” meant, but now I know. His prayer was wonderful because he prayed for a thankful heart!
Another prayer I remember was a phrase that Deacon T. O. Ellington always included in his prayer. He’d say, “Lord, thank you for giving us the desire to come to Church today”. It took me a while to understand how meaningful his prayer was. Many people attend church because they were forced to, or came for some other unworthy reason. But how wonderful it is to look forward to the Lord's Day and as David said, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the Lord.”
The third prayer that I especially remember was the prayer that Pam taught our twin Granddaughters when they were about four years old. Before meals, they loved to say it together: "God is good, God is great. Let us thank Him for our food... Amen." One summer when they visited us, Zoe said, “Meme, can we say a different prayer today? It’s still a prayer to God… we learned it in Vacation Bible School.” Then we all held hands and the girls prayed in perfect unison, "But give honor to Christ in your hearts as your Lord; and be ready at any time when you are questioned about the hope which is in you. 1 Peter 3:15."
I have prayed the same exact prayer before meals all of my adult life. Pam and I hold hands and pray, “Dear Lord thank you for our food. May it be blessed for the good of our bodies... Amen." And I don’t feel guilty in repeating the same prayer before meals because I mean every word of my prayer every time. The value of our prayers are not dependent on how long we pray… or how loud we pray… but must be sincere. If our heart prays it right…
…our mouth can’t pray it wrong.
July 18, 2022 - Grace and peace from our brother and our teacher, Jesus. Amen. Sue and I spent a couple days this week in Kilgore, at the Texas Shakespeare Festival seeing two great plays. One, of course, was Shakespeare’s play, Taming of the Shrew. It was really funny, even for people who were watching hundreds of years after it was written. We also saw that great American musical, The Music Man. The actors, orchestra, scenery, singing, and dancing—all were amazing. Sue and I have been humming Music Man songs ever since.
The heat is downright oppressive. On a regular weekday I get up early to do my walk. Of course Sam and Gunter, my trusty dogs, accompany me. I do a little work outside, like watering my plants, but then take refuge inside until that evening. My afternoon walk with the dogs has turned into a 7:30PM walk. One of the TV stations said Shreveport has had fourteen days over 100 degrees so far this year and that every day next week will see highs in the hundreds. Dallas has an upcoming day forecast to be 108 degrees—no telling what the “feels like” temperature will be!
We had a good Sunday School lesson. The title of the lesson was “The Quest for Inclusive Fellowship.” Gene read our scripture, Acts 11: 1-19. After a vision, Peter comes to embrace new Gentile converts to the Jesus community. The author said that the early Christians saw themselves as believers in a New Covenant. And the overarching teaching of Jesus is to love God and love one another (even us Gentiles).
Carolyn was off with family on an adventure: We really miss her ideas and insights when she isn’t there. We hope Fred will be better soon—he and wife Sue are two of our favorites. Several of us had spoken with or emailed other absent members—Joe, Hilda, and Lillie. Like they say about prizes, “need not be present to win,” these folks are close to our hearts even when not physically among us.
We began our services with a responsive reading based on Psalm 15, in which the poet asks who gets to live in God’s tent and on the holy mountain. For our affirmation, we had the Apostles’ Creed, the most used statement of faith in the Christian Church. As usual, we sang the Gloria Patri and the Doxology; hymns today were “Amazing Grace” and “Blessed Assurance.” We did a pretty good job with all the songs, as they are quite familiar to us. With only scant room on the front of the bulletin, our quote from Suzy Kassem, an American poet, was brief: “Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them.” The longer one on the inside of the bulletin was by Tim McGraw, country singer: “Blind faith is not true faith. Asking questions and dissecting faith—and still having faith? That represents a truer faith.”
Sue read the Gospel story from Luke 10 about Martha and Mary, which was also the main focus of my sermon. We know that Martha was busy preparing a meal for Jesus and the other guests while her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, drinking in every word he said. Martha wanted Mary to help, but Jesus told her Mary listening to and visiting with him was the “good part.” I have always heard that Mary chose the “better part,” but I read several writers who said “good” was a more faithful translation of the Greek. The point was that we need to make time to feed the spiritual, contemplative side of our beings, just as important as living the Gospel and working for the kingdom.
All during the month of July, Paxton Methodists will be collecting cans of spaghetti, ravioli, and other Italian foods for Community Christian Services. Sue or I also check the Blessing Box in downtown Joaquin just about every day. Many people work at keeping the box full of food basics; there is also a new annex for fresh produce, most recently, watermelon, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. Right next to the Blessing Box is the Little Library where you can take a book or put a book in. This is Sue’s special project, and it is getting some traffic. I read that teachers in Joaquin ISD will head back for in-service on August 1st. Boy, summer vacation is going to have an abrupt end pretty soon! However, I really like Joaquin’s school schedule the last few years where the kids and staff go for six weeks and then get a week off. It works out to the same number of days but allows periodic R and R to help recharge.
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.
July 18, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, July 18.
Have you ever taken a wrong turn in your life? Found yourself going in the wrong direction? Douglas Corrigan became famous for doing just that. He was born in Galveston, Texas in 1907 and was always fascinated by one thing - airplanes. He became a pilot and flight mechanic, and was part of the team that prepared “The Spirit of St. Louis,” the plane that Charles Lindbergh piloted across the Atlantic in his historic flight.
Corrigan was obsessed with following in Lindbergh’s footsteps, but was never able to get clearance for a Tran-Atlantic journey. Officials took one look at his plane - a cobbled together rattletrap - and turned him down time and time again. And then, on July 18, 1938, Corrigan was supposed to take off from New York City and fly to California. Instead, he took a wrong turn, headed East, and 27 hours later, landed in Dublin, Ireland!
When "Wrong Way" Corrigan returned to New York, he was greeted with a ticker-tape parade bigger than Lindbergh's. He became a national celebrity and made a fortune endorsing products like a wristwatch that ran backwards. And until the end of his life in 1995, he continued to swear that it had all been an accident, a mistake, a wrong turn.
Wrong turns in our lives don't usually lead to fame and fortune. They typically lead to damage and disappointment. So, if you find yourself moving away from God, headed away from His best for your life - don't follow the example of Wrong Way Corrigan. Turn around!
Acts 3:19 - Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
July 12, 2022 - St. Therese of Lisieux Parish is having a Cheeseburger fundraiser on Friday, July 15th at the Center Square from 11:00AM - 2:00PM. Please come to support our fundraising efforts.
Proceeds benefit St. Therese of Lisieux Parish construction projects. Please help us raise funds to build a soccer field, remodeling project in the Parish Hall and build a new Conference Center to continue with our evangelization mission. God bless you!
July 14, 2022 - Due to Covid, Pleasant Grove MBC is canceling their Revival, which was scheduled for this upcoming week, July 18-22. We are sorry for the inconvenience. We will regroup and plan a Revival in the future. Please pray for all those dealing with Covid within the churches and our community. God Bless.
July 14, 2022 - Take a leafy branch from a tree. Lay it carefully aside and watch. Slowly the color fades, the leaves go limp, they curl up and it is dead.
Take a fish out of the lake. Lay it carefully on the sand and watch. Frantically it twists and struggles and gradually weakens, moving its gills slower, then quivers and it is dead.
Take a church member. Carefully allow him to be separated from God in Bible Study, worship, fellowship, prayer and active service. Gradually his conscience quivers as he misses the Lord’s Supper. He frets at himself for being absent as questionable activities begin to occupy his time. Soon, there are many hypocrites in the church, the church is always asking for money and finally he takes a stand against Christian living and he is dead.
When members of the Lord’s church do not attend worship because they sleep late, they forsake the assembly. When members of the Lord’s church do not attend worship because of inconvenience, they forsake the assembly. If you have separated yourself from the family of God, re-attach yourself to the tree, get back in the water, make your plans to be in Worship 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
July 14, 2022 - Local pianist extraordinaire Tim Verner will present a program at the Golden Harvest Senior Club Luncheon, Monday, July 18, 11:30 at First Baptist Center, 117 Cora. This community club meets to greet and eat every third Monday of the month. Lunch is free and any senior adult is welcome. Contact David Mathis at 979-533-1575 for more information.
Pages
