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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, 2026 - Shelbyville’s First Baptist Church is hosting the 2nd Annual Gumbo Cook-Off and College Football on Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 6pm. Entry fee is $25. All proceeds go to Shelbyville FBC Youth!
October 6, 2026 - Harvest Program at Mt. Gillion Baptist Church in Center will start at 11am on Sunday, October 11, 2026. The church is located at located at 5920 St. HWY 87 N, Center, TX 75935.
October 19, 2026 - New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church in Tenaha, Texas will host its Harvest Program at 1pm on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Pastor Mario Osby will bring the message.
New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church is located at 8033 FM 2026 Timpson, Texas 75975.
October 5, 2026 - Mark your calendar for the 2026 Women’s Conference on Saturday, December 12 at 1pm and hosted at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 102 Booker T. Washington Drive, Tenaha, Texas 75974.
The conference theme is “Woman at the Well.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” John 4: 13-14
Conference speakers are Lillie Price-Standley and Stephanie Hicks.
To order a Faith T-Shirt, contact Latrice Gates, because faith never goes out of style! Shirts will come in peach or lavender and display a woman at a well along with the words “It wasn’t the water He came for, it was Me!"
October 5, 2026 - Mt Calvary's Fall Fest is coming Saturday, October 17th starting at 4pm and lasts until 7pm. Come hungry, bring the kids, and invite your friends! There will be games and candy/prizes for the kids, cake walk, and other activities.
The church is located at 2925 FM 417, Shelbyville, TX 75973.
October 5, 2026 - Blount Chapel Baptist Church is hosting its Annual Harvest Program at 2:30pm on Sunday, October 18, 2026. The theme of the program is “The Harvest is Plentiful” Matthew 9:37-38.
Speakers are: Sis. Donna Thomas, Sis. Yolanda Neal, Sis. Stephanie Hicks, Sis. Pearl Nash, and Sis. Krystal Chimney.
The church is located at 298 County Road 3760, Center, Texas 75935 with Pastor Byron Coutee, Jr.
October 5, 2026 - The Patroon Cemetery Association will hold its Annual Meeting and luncheon on Sunday, October 18th at 12:30pm.
After consideration of whether to return the meeting to the cemetery, the Cemetery Board decided Patroon Baptist Church Fellowship Hall would be the most cost-effective location. You are encouraged to visit the cemetery and your loved one before or after the meeting.
The Annual business meeting will begin at 12:30pm and lunch will follow. Please bring your favorite covered dish or dessert.
You are welcome to attend Patroon Baptist Church Services; Sunday School is at 10am and Church Service is at 11am.
The importance of a Cemetery Reunion
Donations are needed for the maintenance and preservation of the cemetery. Patroon Cemetery is a historical cemetery and this event has always brought together families and friends to honor their loved ones.
For those unable to attend and who would like to donate please mail checks to:
Patroon Cemetery
c/o Mary Wilburn,Treasurer
18755 St Hwy 87 S
San Augustine,TX 75972
Hope to see you there!
October 5, 2026 - Good Morning. It’s Monday, October 5.
I’ve always thought of myself as a forward thinking person, focused on the future, not dwelling on the past. But as I get older, I look back more and more. Last week I saw the name of an old friend in the newspaper. In our twenties we were in a band together, me on keyboard, him on bass. We had a love of music in common and we had other connections as well. And then we had a falling out. At the time I was 100% sure he was at fault, but with the wisdom of hindsight I realize that I played a part too. That was over forty years ago and I haven’t seen or spoken to him since. Did that moment of remembrance motivate me to reach out to my old friend? No. I saw his name in the newspaper’s obituary section.
Friendships don’t always last. Sustaining relationships over time can be challenging. People come into our lives and sometimes they go. Memories. Lost chances. Regrets. Sorry to start off a new week with such a melancholy devotion. Maybe it’s just the time of year. I’ve always considered autumn to be the most melancholy season, with the turning of the leaves and each day growing a little shorter..
As I was musing over all of that last week, a scripture came to mind. That’s one of the wonderful things about being a student of the Bible. Whatever event or situation or circumstance arises in our lives, God will send us a verse. A word of wisdom, of guidance, of comfort. My scripture was Psalm 37:25 - “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken.” What a promise. And there’s another in the verse that comes right before - “though we stumble, we will not fall, for the Lord holds our hand.”
The Lord holds our hand. A comforting thought for this melancholy morning in autumn.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
October 1. 2026 - According to the teachings of Jesus, every person is going through one of two gates. Either they are choosing to enter the narrow gate and the narrow way or they are choosing the broad way which leads through the broad gate.
Of course, these two ideas represent two ways of life. One is the way of good while the other is the way of evil. The thought taught by Jesus in Matthew 7 is that more people will follow the easy, popular way of life than the one prescribed in the scriptures.
This teaching is harmonious with another of the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 22:14. Here he says, “For many shall be called, but few chosen.” That indicates that there will be only a few people who are interested in the Lord’s way enough to follow it and be saved. Jesus makes his call this way, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in there at. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.”
Jesus is warning people to be very careful how they live. Too many people, who may think they are on the narrow path, might be surprised to find themselves on the broad way. Jesus wants everyone saved, but he must have the cooperation of every person who wants to be saved, before he can confirm them before the great judgment bar at the end of all things.
It’s something to think about. . . tbp
Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
October 1, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, October 1.
Welcome to a brand new month! The first day of autumn was a week and a half ago, and here in East Texas we’e about to finally get a break from our summertime temperatures. Change is in the air, literally. Here’s ten memorable and momentous events that happened in the month of October.
*Russia launches Sputnik, the very first satellite, and the space age begins. (1957)
*British general Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington and America begins. (1781)
*Christopher Columbus sets foot in The New World. (1492)
*The first Model T rolls off Henry Ford’s assembly line. (1908)
*The stock market crashes, ushering in the Great Depression. (1929)
*Thomas Edison invents the light bulb. (1879)
*Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday have a Gunfight at the OK Corral. (1881)
*The Statue of Liberty is dedicated. (1886)
*Anna Taylor is the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. (1901)
*John Lennon is born. (1940)
What will happen in October 2026? Most probably there will be a few surprises, perhaps an event that will go down in history. We cannot know what lies in the days ahead, but we can claim the promise found in Jeremiah 29:11.
“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
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