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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 7, 2025 - The Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church is hosting a Bake Sale on Saturday, October 11, 2025 on the Timpson Square from 10am until sold out!
October 6, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, October 6.
On October 6, 1952, a new play opened in London. It was called “The Mousetrap”. Written by mystery author Agatha Christie, it got decent reviews from the critics, and Agatha thought it might run for a year, maybe two. It is STILL running! After 73 years, 400 different actors, 30,000 performances, and 10 million audience members, The Mousetrap has the record for the longest consecutive theatrical run in history. That’s a fantastic legacy of incredible longevity.
The power of longevity is often underestimated, as our culture is constantly pulled toward the next new thing. The things that have stuck around for years, lasted for decades, endured for centuries - even millennia - shape our lives in countless ways. The plays of the author William Shakespeare still delight us and inspire us. And the words of the biblical authors continue to light our path and guide our steps.
How old is the Bible? It’s difficult to answer that question with any specific accuracy, but most scholars believe His Word began to be written down over 3000 years ago. The Book of Job may be the oldest, maybe 1500 B.C. The last Old Testament book, Malachi, is thought to be the final one penned, about 400 years before Bethlehem. The writing of the New Testament was compressed into a much smaller time frame, from about 50 A.D. - Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia - to about 95 A.D. - John’s mighty Revelation.
Ancient words.
Christian music artist, Micheal W. Smith, penned a song by that title. I leave you with a few of those words this morning.
Holy words long preserved
for our walk through this world
They resound with God’s own heart
Oh, let the ancient words impart
Words of life, words of hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where e’er we roam
Ancient words will guide us home
Ancient words, ever true
Changing me, changing you
We have come with open hearts
Oh, let the ancient words impart
We have come with open hearts
Oh, let the ancient words impart
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
October 3, 2025 - Mt. Herman Missionary Baptist Church, 9181 State Highway 7 West, Center Texas, will have revival services October 8th, 9th and 10th at 7:00 each evening. Evangelist will be Bro. Brandon Jones. Pastor is Bro. Don Moore. Looking forward to seeing you there.
October 2, 2025 - 2nd Sunday, Mt. Gillion Baptist Church In Center, Texas will be celebrating their Annual Harvest program on October 12, 2025 at 10:30am. Everyone Is cordially invited to attend.
Rayford Caraway, Pastor
October 2, 2025 - Is the message of the cross relevant for today? What is there for men and women of the 21st century? Can the events on a hill so long ago affect us now? Can the death of one man by crucifixion affect men and women when thousands can now be killed with one bomb? The answer is yes, yes the message of the cross is current and relevant. There are two short words in John’s Gospel (John 19:28) that show us how current this message is. Those words are when Jesus says, “I thirst”.
Jesus said, “I thirst” because Jesus died as a man. John’s primary purpose was to show the deity of Jesus but in this passage he shows us the humanity of Jesus. Jesus came to feel what we feel and to know our needs. The human race had sinned and must die.
The fact that Jesus experienced that painful thirst brings new meaning to other passages. Even in our day and age with all its advancements, with cell phones and the internet and supersonic plane travel, people still die and go to hell.
Jesus knows our pain and our temptations. He knows the deep waters we pass through and he knows the storms that blow through our lives. Yet, through obedience to Jesus’ commands and living His kind of life, the storms can be calmed and our thirst can be quenched. What we must do is surrender our stubborn human will to the will of Jesus. We must make Jesus Christ the Lord and Master of our lives. Not just part of our life, but ALL of our life.
It’s something to think about. . . tbp
Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
September 29, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, September 29.
I made a new friend last week. He lives in a beautiful part of Washington D.C. called Embassy Row. The neighborhood got that name because it’s where many ambassadors from around the world have their homes. It’s also the location of a very special church - the National Cathedral.
On September 29, 1907, a crowd of 20,000 people that included President Teddy Roosevelt, gathered to see the cathedral’s first stone laid. On September 29, 1990 - 83 years later - President George H.W. Bush was present when the great church was finally completed. Cathedrals take a long time to build. The one in Cologne, Germany has the record of 632 years!
Our National Cathedral has hosted the funerals of countless famous figures. President Bush, himself, was one. And so were presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, Ford, and - just this past January - Jimmy Carter. Services were held there for Martin Luther King, Helen Keller, and Neil Armstrong. The legendary astronaut’s casket was illuminated by sunlight streaming through a stain glass window containing a rock he brought back from the moon.
This church is considered, by many, to be America’s church, a “house of prayer for all people.” People gathered there to pray at the end of World War II and at the close of the Vietnam War. And on September 14, 2001 - three days after 911 - they gathered there once again. The second President Bush brought a moving message of comfort and hope, as did evangelist Billy Graham.
The man who has been called “America’s pastor” shared a sermon about foundations. He told the crowd, a congregation that included leaders of our government and ambassadors from around the world, that the only part of the Twin Towers the terrorists could not destroy were their foundations, concrete platforms reaching seven stories down into the earth. He then reminded our wounded country that God’s love was a firm foundation as well, a foundation that would give us hope and confidence and strength to go on. Billy Graham is gone now, but the mighty National Cathedral remains, and so does the love of God.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
September 25, 2025 - Faith is a common denominator in all of our lives. We daily express faith in something. In fact, we cannot live a single day without exercising faith. To be sure, we have faith in the physical world.
When you woke up and went into the bathroom this morning, you flipped a switch and you had faith the light would come on. When you get in your car, you have faith that it will start. When you mail a letter, you have faith the postal system will get it to the right address. When you go to the pharmacy, you have faith that the pharmacist will give you the right drugs. When you get in an elevator in a high rise building, you have faith in the low bidder on the construction project.
In his first epistle, John writes of victory in overcoming the world. The world to which John refers are those things which are in the world. John writes in I John 5:4-5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the word, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Our faith must be a faith that leads us to live Jesus’ kind of live, His way. Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
Faith in Jesus that leads to victory must come from the Word of God. We must spend time letting God speak to us through His word and speaking to God through prayer. There can be victory in overcoming the world. This victory is the victory of faith.
It’s something to think about... tbp
Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
September 22, 2025 - David Mathis is spending time with family this week and his Daily Devotion will return on Monday, September 29.
September 22, 2025 - The historical Old East Hamilton Cemetery will have its annual Homecoming and Dinner on the grounds on September 28, 2025, from 11am to 3pm. This is always a wonderful time of visiting, honoring our loved ones, and singing, as well as conducting the annual business meeting for the cemetery.
As always, donations are welcomed and encouraged for the upkeep and maintenance of this beautiful cemetery. We look forward to seeing everyone this year!
If you are unable to attend but would still like to donate, please contact Doyle Miller at 936-368-2246, and he will be glad to accept your donation on behalf of the cemetery. For those who may not know, Dudley Cox passed away on August 21, 2025. He very diligently took care of the cemetery many years, and will certainly be missed.
September 19, 2025 - Did you ever wake up early Sunday morning, the neighbors are all in bed, the streets are quiet and the yards are empty? The world is asleep as you prepare for worship on the Lord’s day. That’s what you get for being a Christian.
Did you ever leave dishes in the sink, a blouse un-ironed and the floors un-swept to visit a sick friend or run an errand for someone confined to home? That’s what you get for being a Christian.
Did you ever work with a group of people who use profanity and live loose lives morally who think you are strange because you are a Christian and not like they are?
All of that is what you get for being a Christian. Yet, think what is yours for being a Christian:
- You are a child of the King.
- You are loved and cared for.
- You have a peace and happiness the world does not know and cannot take away.
- You shall inherit eternal life.
- You have a Father to whom you can take all your unresolved problems. A Father who abolishes fear and doubt.
All of those things are yours when you become a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, living His kind of life, His way.
It’s something to think about... tbp
Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
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