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Faith
January 14, 2021 - Paul’s second letter to Timothy is the last of his letters that has been preserved for us. In chapter 1 and verse 12 he writes, “I know whom I have believed.” Dr. Moffatt’s translation reads: “I know whom I have trusted.”
Notice what Paul says. He does not say he knows what he believes. He says he knows the one he has trusted. It was personal with Paul. His trust was in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Paul trusted Jesus completely. No reservations. No hedging or contingency plans. No hesitation. He had placed his faith in a person, not merely a message.
A little later in this letter, chapter 4, he tells young Timothy that the time of his departure is at hand. However, he tells him that a crown of righteousness is waiting for him.
The faith that sustained Paul in his final imprisonment and execution is available to us. Paul had made Jesus Christ the Lord and Master of his life when he was obedient to the things Ananias told him to do. When we make Jesus the Lord and Master of our lives by our obedience and putting Him on in baptism and living obedient to His will, like Paul we can know whom we have believed, we can know whom we have trusted and we can face the end of life with the same confidence Paul had that a crown of righteousness is waiting for us.
It’s something to think about… tbp
Center Church of Christ, 110 Hurst Street, Center, Texas or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.
“Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.” Proverbs 26:11
January 11, 2021 - After working in the garden and piddling in my gun shop today, I came in to check my email. As I was reading it, I noticed a fly had flown into my half-filled glass of water. He was one of the bad ones (the green ones)… the kind that hang around carcasses and filth.
My first thought was to let him drown and periodically checked to see if he had. He incessantly buzzed the glass’s periphery and was a real fighter. When he finally quit moving, I felt guilty for letting him die. As a penitent gesture, I lowered a ball point pen down to him and when the seemingly dead fly crawled up on it, I lifted him to safety. After testing his wet wings for a moment, he took flight again and began terrorizing me with erratic bump-and-fly tactics.
My son Mark called about that time and as I was telling him about the dive-bombing insect, he landed again in the same glass of water (!) and resumed his “gasping for breath” routine. I opened a window and poured the water and the fly outside to fend for itself.
That fly reminds me of people who promise God everything if He will just save them. Then when the danger is over and their wings dry, they fly right back in. They can’t blame God for being back in their predicament. Rescuing us from the water is God’s part…
… but staying out of it is ours.
January 10, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was Baptism of Our Lord Sunday on the Christian calendar, the day to celebrate the baptism of Jesus by John. We have officially ended the Christmas season with the Epiphany—the 12th Night. I waited until the end of the twelve days of Christmas to take down the tree and the decorations; now our living room is back to normal. We at Paxton Methodist wish everyone a great New Year.
We certainly have had plenty of rain this past week. Snow is predicted for Sunday and early Monday morning. With the cold fronts that moved through along with the dampness from the rains, it feels really cold. But that doesn’t stop Gunter, Sam, and me from heading to the City Park each morning. I go to walk two miles. They go to sniff, run, and chase each other. It has become a routine, a good thing because I can so often talk myself out of doing what is good for me. My daughter gave me her old Fitbit, so I now monitor my steps trying to get in 10,000 steps each day. I have felt satisfaction reaching my goal daily.
Paxton Methodist is having in-person worship; we respect each other by wearing masks and keeping socially distant. Scientists and medical professionals say that we can do three simple things before the vaccines are generally available: To curtail the spread of Covid-19, we should wash our hands regularly, stay at least 6 feet apart—social distancing, and yes, wear a mask. Things are so dire that mask-wearing is the patriotic thing to do. It is also the Christian thing to do, loving your neighbor as you love yourself. Also, as soon as you can, get vaccinated against this scourge—twice.
We want to be as safe as we can. Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. We can hum the song under our masks but no vigorous singing! Our hymn this morning was Alan Jackson’s “When We All Get to Heaven.” To accompany our study of the Creation, we had “What a Wonderful World” by Louie Armstrong.
With help from Gene, our church treasurer, I submitted our End-of-Year Reports to the District and Conference. I mailed the signature page to the District, and now we can start looking toward this new year’s missions and projects. During the month of January, Paxton Methodist will be collecting cans of tuna for Community Christian Services.
Pastors and churches in the Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church received a letter from Bishop Jones, addressing the attack on the Capitol building this past week and the accompanying violence and death. I will print his letter in the weekly Paxton newsletter.
Our Sunday School lesson used Luke 7: 11-18 as its scripture. John the Baptizer sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him if he was the one people had been waiting for. Jesus didn’t give them a straight answer but told them to follow him, see what he did, and then report back to John. The author of our lesson reminded us to allow the Kingdom of God to break into the world. He goes on to say that we experience the Kingdom through life changes and through our relationships with others. The arc of justice certainly is long, but in time the world will see the truth behind the teachings of our Lord.
My wife Sue serves as the liturgist for the church: She read the Old Testament lesson for Sunday from Genesis 1: 1-5. This is one of the two creation stories found in the early chapters of the first book. The Scripture is so beautiful, reminding us not to take for granted the amazing world that God began and is still creating. The Gospel lesson was Mark 4: 1-11. All four Gospels speak of John baptizing Jesus, but the Mark version is the oldest of the four. With our own baptism we are invited to be part of God’s creative process as God is still speaking, still creating, still healing, and still loving.
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.
January 7, 2021 - In the “Sermon On The Mount”, Jesus tells us to “let our light shine before men” and he also tells us that we are “the salt of the earth”. What He means, of course, is that we are to live our lives in such a way that we bring honor and glory to Him and honor and glory to the church. Yet, I often wonder how well we are doing at that.
When we lose our temper in the store and “explode” on some clerk or manager, does that reflect well on Jesus and the church? Those times when we are engaging in idle gossip, whether listening to it or repeating it, does that bring honor and glory to Jesus and the church? Obviously, there are many things we can do that bring shame to Jesus and the church.
Well, the, we can hand out more tracts, we can set up more Bible Studies, we can invite more people to church, that will honor Jesus. Wait, I know, we can take meals to shut-ins and sick people. To be sure, there are numerous good works we can be involved in that will reflect well on the church and bring honor to Jesus.
However, when all is said and done, Jesus gave us the supreme way we can bring honor and glory to Him and to the church. In John 13:35, Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” There it is, short, sweet and simple. If we want to bring honor and glory to Jesus and the Church, we are to love one another. We are to love as Jesus loved. How are we doing with that?
It’s something to think about… tbp
Center Church of Christ, 110 Hurst Street, Center, Texas or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.
January 4, 2021 - "My cup runneth over…." Psalms 23:5
"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 1 Peter 1:8
When I was five years old, we moved to a house on the Henrietta Road north of Center, Texas. My memories about it are few: bitter weeds, bitter cow milk…. roasting hickory nuts in the fireplace…. our dog "Nellie"… and the yellow jackets that covered my brother Bill and me with stings.
While playing in the woods one day, we spotted a "church house" not far from our house. It was small, white, and had a cross on the top. We asked Mother to let us go to church there and the next Sunday we attended our first church service. I don't know its denomination…can't remember what the preacher or members looked like…but one thing I remember well. The Preacher repeated it over and over again: It was from the 23rd Psalm: "My cup runneth over".
Ten years later I attended a tent revival service just off the Center, Texas Square and learned what the preacher had meant. I trusted Christ as my Savior that night and raced home to tell Mother that I'd been saved. The whole world looked different the next day… old things had passed away and all things had become new. The Lord gave me "joy unspeakable and full of glory"….and because of Him…
”…my cup runneth over."
January 3, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the Second Sunday after Christmas. Happy New Year! I know we are hoping that 2021 will be a better year than 2020. A year ago at this time, I don’t think anyone imagined what the new year was going to be like. Also, Happy Day of Epiphany! On the Christian calendar, Wednesday, January 6th is the Day of the Epiphany, when we celebrate the coming of the Wise Men to Bethlehem searching out Jesus. On Sunday I selected the scriptures for Epiphany; the gospel, liturgy, and sermon spoke about the wise men, the New Year, and how the Christian faith is about new beginnings and new possibilities.
Paxton Methodist is having in-person worship; we respect each other by wearing masks and keeping socially distant. Scientists and medical professionals say that we can do three simple things before the vaccines are generally available: To curtail the spread of Covid-19, we should wash our hands regularly, stay at least 6 feet apart—social distancing, and yes, wear a mask. Things are so dire that mask-wearing is the patriotic thing to do. It is also the Christian thing to do, loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
We want to be as safe as we can. Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. We can hum the song under our masks but no vigorous singing! Our first song was “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scots language poem by Robert Burns. The second was the hymn, “We Three Kings,” sung by Leontyne Price. The 12 Days of Christmas are officially over on Wednesday, but I might still sneak in some Christmas songs.
The Day of the Epiphany is also Report Day for United Methodist Churches. All the Year-End Reports must be entered and sent to the district and conference. Our treasurer, Gene Hutto, really helped out by keeping and tabulating all the financial numbers and reports that needed to be entered.
During the month of January, Paxton Methodist will be collecting cans of tuna for Community Christian Services. I was able to deliver three checks and many, many cans of soup last Wednesday to CCS. The volunteers there always do a superb job but have really increased their output during the pandemic. Last Wednesday, they were busily handing out boxes of food. Thanks so much to these caring folks!
We had an extra good Sunday School lesson today. Gene read the scripture, Luke 3: 1-8, which talks about John the Baptizer and his ministry along the Jordan River. Our author spent some time on opportunities for a New Year and new beginnings. One thing he said was, “With God’s help, we can live into the new reality of the Kingdom of God.” Amen to that. I always thought of John the Baptist as a bit extreme—the way he dressed, what he ate, and how he seemed to cry and scream his message. But the lesson writer pointed out that what John was calling people to do wasn’t extreme at all—it was very mainstream in Jewish and Christian thought. John says we are to share with those less fortunate, to be fair in our dealings with everyone, and to be merciful in how we treat others. John surely sounds a lot like Jesus!
The Gospel lesson for Sunday was Matthew 2: 1-12 about the Magi coming to Bethlehem looking for Jesus. I also used several images of new beginnings since it was the first Sunday of the New Year. In fact, my sermon title, “The Land of Beginning Again” was stolen from a poem by the same name. The scholars (kings, magi, wise men) coming to Bethlehem is really less abut the moment they discover Jesus and more about humanity’s life-long journey to find God and to live in God. The Epiphany speaks of the Divine shining light on our path as we journey through a sometimes dark world.
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.
December 31, 2020 - Have you ever thought about the role that scales play in all of our lives? Remember those scales outside stores years ago? The ones you put a penny in for your weight or a nickel and you got your weight and your horoscope. I remember getting on some talking scales one time, put in my money and the scales said “one at a time please!”
We also make use of scales to purchase things by weight, especially in the meat market. Yet, we also purchase things like flour, sugar, meal, dried beans and other items by their weight. I remember as a boy, going in to the 5 and 10 cent store to buy candy by weight.
At the candy counter, they had those old fashioned balance scales. The clerk put a weight on one side of the scale and candy in the hopper on the other side of the scale. They kept adding candy to the hopper and when they “balanced” or “equaled” you had the desired amount of candy.
Someday, God is going to put us on the “balance scales.” For this coming year, let’s resolve that we are going to live God’s kind of life and live it God’s way. We don’t want to come to the end of our journey and have it said of us as it was Belshazzar, “thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” (Daniel 5:27)
It’s something to think about… tbp
Come join us for Worship, in person this coming Lord’s day at Center Church of Christ, 110 Hurst Street, Center, Texas or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com
December 28, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the First Sunday after Christmas. We at Paxton hope you had a safe but merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. We are all ready to say goodbye to the problems of 2020!
Sue and I had a really nice Christmas. Our daughter and her faithful four-legged companion, Stella, spent several days with us. Sue and Megan went to see Grandma Dixie in Nacogdoches on Christmas Eve, finding Dixie quite cheerful. They also visited with Sue’s sister, brother-in-law, and nephew—who was born about a month after Meg. My brother and his wife came on Christmas Eve with their new dog, Scally. Scally is still very much a (large) puppy but got along with the other three dogs and all the people. Sue and Megan fixed a great Christmas meal, and we had fun opening presents. I sure got some neat stuff.
Christmas week for the most part was chilly but nice. On Saturday, it warmed up to near 70, which thawed out my blood: I spent some needed therapy time in the yard and garden. Our company left Saturday, and our dogs, Sam and Gunter, just collapsed after all the excitement. We don’t have any New Year plans and probably won’t even stay up for midnight. We are pretty boring, I guess. Actually I read last week that people who like routines and staying at home are not boring but content. That sounds better!
Paxton Methodist is having in-person worship; we respect each other by wearing masks and keeping socially distant. Scientists and medical professionals say that we can do three simple things before the vaccines are generally available: To curtail the spread of Covid-19, we should wash our hands regularly, stay at least 6 feet apart—social distancing, and yes, wear a mask. Things are so dire that mask-wearing is the patriotic thing to do. It is also the Christian thing to do, loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
All during the month of December we have been collecting cans of soup for Community Christian Services. In January 2021, we will collect cans of tuna. Paxton Methodist Church wants to thank the anonymous person who sent a generous amount of money to the church. We will certainly use it in the ministries of the church.
We want to be as safe as we can. Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. We can hum the song under our masks but no vigorous singing! We started with “The First Noel,” sung by Elvis. We tried this song last week; unfortunately, the CD didn’t work—or perhaps Elvis left the building! But Elvis was back this week. The second song was our New Year hymn, “Morning Has Broken.” This is my absolute favorite in the Methodist hymnal; I particularly like this version by Cat Stevens.
Fannie had a really good Sunday School lesson for us this morning. Gene read our scripture, John 14: 8-14. This Gospel is certainly the most mystical of the four Gospels, showing us the cosmic as well as the human nature of the Christ. In the reading, the disciples are still having trouble figuring out what kind of Messiah Jesus is. For John, when one sees Jesus, one sees God. Fannie mentioned that the earliest Christians were known as Followers of the Way; they didn’t think of being true to Jesus as a religion but as the pathway to God and fulfillment. Jesus was the living presence of God among people.
I used the Gospel lesson for this Sunday—the First Sunday after Christmas—which came from Luke 2: 22-40. One of the days of Christmas is set aside to remember Jesus’ circumcision and his naming. In the Gospel lesson we see Jesus presented at the Temple and two elderly, faithful people, Simeon and Anna, realizing that this Jesus was the Promised One. Most of my sermon, though, spoke about how people in the Middle Ages celebrated the 12 days of Christmas and the importance of Christmastide to the people.
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.
December 24, 2020 – The First United Methodist Church of Center invites the community to a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service on Thursday, December 24 from 6pm to 6:30pm on the downtown square in front of the historic Shelby County Courthouse.
The entire community is invited to come together for this festive family time of singing carols and celebrating the joy of Jesus’ birth. Everyone should bring their own candle. Hot cider will be provided before the event. The evening will conclude with everyone singing Silent Night by candlelight!
“First United Methodist Church Center is overjoyed to be able to provide this festive community candlelight gathering, especially during this time of social isolation,” said Pastor Malcolm Monroe. “Hopefully, many people will feel comfortable singing the old familiar Christmas carols while outside and respecting the social distancing suggestions to keep everyone healthy.”
In case of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled with no alternative service. (Santa Claus will not be with us because he will be on the other side of the world delivering toys to the children there).
For more information about the Christmas Eve Candlelight Gathering or First UMC, please contact Pastor Malcolm Monroe at the church office (936) 598-2707, visit the church website at www.fumccentertx.org or follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FUMCCenterTexas/.
December 21, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Instead of using the scriptures for that Sunday, however, I used Luke 2: 1-14, often read on Christmas Eve. Paxton Methodist will not have worship on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so we celebrated these wonderful days today. We at Paxton United Methodist Church wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Paxton Methodist is having in-person worship; we respect each other by wearing masks and keeping socially distant. Scientists and medical professionals say that we can do three simple things before the vaccines are generally available: To curtail the spread of Covid-19, we should wash our hands regularly, stay at least 6 feet apart—social distancing, and yes, wear a mask. Things are so dire that mask-wearing is the patriotic thing to do. It is also the Christian thing to do, loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
All during the month of December we have been collecting cans of soup for Community Christian Services. In January 2021 we will collect cans of tuna. Our church also contributed gifts and money to CCS’s children’s Christmas. Some of our members gave gifts and money for the Silver Bell nursing home Christmas at the request of Pastor Sarah from Timpson and Tenaha Methodist. We received a letter and a certificate of appreciation from Bishop Jones for our 100% financial support of the Texas Conference and all the ministries of the church, in Texas and globally.
I am working on the end-of-year reports, including the financial reports of the church. I couldn’t do that without the hard work and help from Gene, our church’s treasurer. I am hoping to have everything figured out and entered by the end of the year. Dr. White, our East District superintendent, called me this week so we could have our end-of-year meeting. Usually pastors go to the District Office in Lufkin, but due to the strangeness of 2020 we did a “teleconference.” It is always nice to visit with Dr. White, who is a very kind and caring leader. The plan is for me to continue to serve Paxton Methodist as a part-time retired pastor. I guess there are a few miles still in my engine.
Our Sunday School lesson came from the first chapter of the John Gospel. It begins by stating four times that Jesus is the light that came into the world. John was written much later than the other three—probably in the first decade of the second century. John certainly had the most cosmic description of Jesus; John the Baptizer is also crucial in this gospel, letting folks know that the Light of the World was going to overcome darkness. We ended up in quite a discussion about some of what John said, which is good for our minds and our souls. One is never too old for school—in this case, Sunday School.
We want to be as safe as we can. Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. We can hum the song under our masks but no vigorous singing! Both songs today were Christmas hymns. We started with “The First Noel,” sung by Elvis. Unfortunately, the CD didn’t work—or perhaps Elvis left the building! Maybe next week. The second hymn was a country version of “Silent Night.”
The thought of those two teenagers, Mary and Joseph, heading to Bethlehem and beginning a new life together is really pretty ordinary. Seeing a young couple starting out is exciting and hopeful, but still these events happen all the time. Mary and Joseph’s new life is complicated by the fact that Mary is in the family way. The idea that the God of all would become flesh and blood in a tiny helpless baby is not ordinary. To absorb such a mystery requires us to call on our mystical nature, seeing these events not in a historical way but spiritually. It also becomes very clear that the God of all has a special place in his heart for the poor and downtrodden. The first folks who receive the angelic news flash about the birth are not the powerful and well-connected but the lowest of the low—shepherds. The world is being turned upside down by this birth and all its meanings.
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.
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