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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
July 5, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, July 5.
Yesterday we enjoyed the 4th of July (7/4). Today we continue our summer with July 5th (7/5). And so, this morning I’m thinking about an amazing pair of scripture verses, Matthew 7:4 and 7:5. You’ve heard them before...
How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye', when all the time there's a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
The 7th chapter of Matthew is the last part of the most famous sermon ever preached - the Sermon on the Mount. And here we catch a glimpse of Jesus' sense of humor. A picture of someone trying to remove a tiny, tiny piece of dust from their friend's eye, while sticking out of their own eye is a two-by-four!
But there's a great lesson here, too. And that lesson is this - We're not God! He is the Judge, not us. Does that mean we shouldn't care about the spiritual condition of our friends? Of course not. But how can we presume to help others with their sin, if we've ignored our own?
A 7:5 lesson for 7/5!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
July 4, 2022 - Mt. Olive Baptist Church is hosting a Family and Friends Celebration on Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 2:30pm and Bro Victor Frankin will bring the Word from above.
Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Timpson, Texas
Pastor Carlos A. Johnson
July 4, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, July 4th.
Today our country celebrates her 246th birthday - that’s a lot of candles! And we take a moment to look at the story behind the song “God Bless America”
Irving Berlin, a young songwriter, was a private in the US army during World War I. He wrote a catchy tune and was sure it would be a huge hit. It wasn’t. The song lay forgotten for twenty years until the world, once again, went to war. Berlin premiered it (again) on November 11, 1938. Today we call that Veteran’s Day. Back then they called it Armistice Day - the anniversary of the end of World War I.
Singing this “new” song was a young singer named Kate Smith. She went on to have a long and illustrious career, but this remained her signature song. And she would always include the seldom heard verse -
As the storm clouds gather far across the sea
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free
Let us all be faithful to a land so fair
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer . . .
Irving Berlin always referred to it as his “peace” song. In this time of war and rumors of wars, we sing it once again.
God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above
From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home
God bless America, my home sweet home
Have a wonderful Independence Day!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
July 1, 2022 - There is a tender story told in Mark 14:1-9 of something which happened during some very difficult days for Jesus. The Jewish leaders were plotting his death and He was surrounded by his critics and His enemies. In this narrative, we see Him going to the little village of Bethany. It is the night before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and He goes to a party in His honor in the home of Simon, a leper.
Picture the scene as Jesus is reclining at the table and John tells us Mary came and anointed the feet of Jesus (John 12:1-3). Well, the critics began to raise their voices and talk about her. Jesus said to leave her alone, she had done what she could.
Have you ever thought about the love that caused her to do this? Have you ever experienced that kind of love? An unexpected act of pure love, that is what you see in this beautiful story. She loved Jesus and she did what she could. She didn’t have much, but what she had she gave to Jesus. Not to Simon the Leper, not to Peter or James or John. What she did, she did for Jesus.
God loves us more than we can ever love Him. You see, we can never pay Him back for what He has done. God doesn’t require the debt to be repaid. He just wants us to accept what He has done and to love Him for it. He wants us to live a life obedient to His will. He only wants us to do what we can.
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 1, 2022 - The House of Refuge Apostolic Ministries Presents 'An Evening with Lady Nash' on Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 3:30pm. Special guest is Dr. Alma Allen, Vineyard Place International, Houston, Texas. The theme is 'Blessed and Highly Favored' from Luke 1:28. Lady Nash will be escorted by Tyrone Davis. Dinner will be served. Everyone is welcome.
The church is located at 215 Church Street, Center, Texas 75935.
June 30, 2022 - Homecoming at Old Home Baptist Church will be Sunday, July 10th. The meeting will begin at 10:30 followed by the Worship Service at 11:00. Bring your favorite dish and join us for lunch in the fellowship hall afterwards. Call or text for more information: 936-332-9293.
June 29, 2022 - Grace and peace from our brother and our teacher, Jesus. Amen. Summer is officially here as of last week: In downtown Joaquin, we got our first summer shower Sunday. It wasn’t much of a rain producer, but we will take what is given and be thankful. My phone says we are in for a week of cooler temperatures, only in the low and mid-nineties. Add to that the promise of lower humidity, and we all may be ready to venture out. I got up early Monday morning for my walk in the park with my canine companions, Gunter and Sam. We saw Doug pull up at the Community Center to get the Joaquin Senior Center off and running. It was nice to see that they were able to open again after being closed for illness. Gunter usually runs to the fence to bark at Doug but gave him a break this morning.
We had everyone back for Sunday School. Fannie was in prime teaching mode with a really good lesson on character building. Wearing a commemorative tee shirt, Fannie shared a project that her students did some eighteen years ago about developing positive character traits. Everything Fannie brought up fit right into our Sunday School lesson and worship service. It was wonderful to have Joy and Claudia back and hope they keep feeling better. We send our good wishes to Fred, that he’ll be back in the pink next week. Larry is back from his Arkansas trip, reporting a good time.
We began our worship with Psalms 43-43 as the gathering words. Our first song was “It Is Well with My Soul,” a little ambitious for our small group. Fortunately, the accompanist played slowly, or we might still be trying to get on the same page. We did much better with “Near to the Heart of God,” which was shorter, easier, and more familiar. Our affirmation was a modern statement of 21st century faith.
Reflecting the gathering words, our bulletin cover quoted Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief: “When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.” Inside was a quote from Jon Meacham, the writer who eulogized George H.W. Bush: “We’ve always grown stronger the more widely we’ve opened our arms.” And one of our illustrations was from 1 Peter: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Lots of good advice!
I felt like I got very little done last week, putting things off to the last minute. I can’t operate like that for long before I get out of whack. So I am trying to get an early start on next Sunday. Usually in my sermon I choose one of the four traditional lectionary scriptures to focus on: Old Testament, Psalms, Gospels, and Epistles. However, this time—maybe because I was so unfocused last week—I covered a little bit of each one. My wife, a retired high school English teacher, said I connected each idea to the others; I’m happy she didn’t find anything to correct with her red pen!
The first part of Paxton’s mission statement says that we “gladly minister to our entire community.” That was evident as we loaded up my truck bed with rolls of toilet paper and paper towels. Obviously there was no shortage of paper products in our area during June! In July we will collect cans of ravioli and spaghetti.
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.
“For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.” Jeremiah 5:26
June 27, 2022 - When my brothers and I were growing up in Center, Texas, we discovered a little stretch of woods just out of the City Limits that was our closest place to hunt squirrels. The woods were so close to our house in East Center that we had time for a quick evening hunt after we got home from school.
After school one day, I grabbed my shotgun and hurried down to “the squirrel woods.” Just as I entered the woods, I heard the screaming cry of a dog coming from the dried-up creek bed. I ran down the creek and found a young beagle hound struggling in the jaws of a steel trap. When I saw his horribly injured front leg, I reached down to take the tension off the trap, the dog continued crying and snapping at my hand. After being bitten several times, I found a nearby limb that I carefully pressed the trap’s spring and… VIOLA!!!... the puppy sprang from the trap at full speed and quickly disappeared over the hillside. And as he ran off, I felt almost as happy as he did.
There are millions of people the world over that are crying in pain for the same reason that this little beagle did… their painful cries might not be their fault… they may have stepped in one of the world’s steel traps and can find no way out.
But if we aren’t afraid of getting bit… and show a little patience and understanding… we might be just the person to get the trap jaws open for someone… and if we do, they won’t just run off over the hill, but will hug and thank us… and when they do…
… we’ll be just as happy as they are.
June 27, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, June 27.
Here at First Baptist Center, we’re working to grow and nurture a Ministry to Men. During the last three months, about 40 guys have been part of weekly prayer meetings. And tomorrow night at 6:00 we’re sponsoring a community Men’s Fish Fry. One of our deacons has a huge and amazing “man-cave” at 717 CR 1140. Any man is welcome to join us for some great food and great fellowship.
In our 21st century world, it’s challenging to live as a Christian man. The culture around us is constantly trying to move men in a different direction, away from God's light and into darkness. The Bible uses the term "man of God" 35 times. So, what are the characteristics of a man of God? We can answer that question by examining the lives of the great male characters in the Bible story.
Men like Abraham and Moses and Elijah and David and Solomon and Isaiah and Peter and Paul and John were examples of strength and courage and faithfulness. But they were also human and when they fell short of God's best, they were willing to admit their sin and ask for forgiveness. And when they fell down, they got back up again - not through their own strength - but through the power of God.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
June 27, 2022 - The Men's Ministry of First Baptist Center is hosting a Community Men's Fish Fry on Tuesday, June 28 at 6pm at 717 CR 1140. Great food - Great fellowship - and it's Free! Every man and boy from our community is warmly invited. For more information, text David Mathis at 979-533-1575.
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