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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
April 24, 2016 - Sunday was the 5th Sunday of Easter. The Holy Gospel for this Sunday was John 13: 31-35. Jesus is speaking to his followers for the last time. He gives them the “maundatum novum”—the new commandment--for the New Jerusalem. “Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another.” The New Testament reading was Revelation 21: 1-6, in which John describes the New Kingdom that Jesus ushers in. Once again God will dwell with his people. God will wipe away every tear. “Behold, I am making things new. It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega”—God is the beginning reality, and God is the final reality.
We had a wonderful Sunday school lesson from Luke about the Prodigal Son. I have a book about this parable and have been looking for it everywhere. When I read the Sunday school lesson Saturday, I knew I had to keep looking for it. At worship time we were in double digits! Yeah!
What a wonderful surprise it was to have Dianne and Keith from Los Angeles worshipping with us. Liz and Evie were also at church. Evie just turned one year old and is our youngest member; I used to be the youngest until they joined! Joe and Hilda had some help in the singing department with Keith and Liz, who have such nice singing voices. Hilda had a really nice visit last week with her sister from Atlanta.
The month of April is coming to an end. During this month Paxton Methodist has been collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste for Community Christian Services. Next month is cans of fruit. Next Sunday, the first day of May, we will celebrate Holy Communion as the church prepares for the end of the Easter Season and the beginning of Pentecost.
This Thursday is our monthly ministry at Lakeside Assisted Living in Center. Hilda told us that Joyce Hughes and Emily Taylor from Project String’s Super Group String Orchestra will be at Lakeside to perform. The program is at 2:00, and all are invited.
We heard from our good friend Lillie, who recently had a pacemaker put in. We hope she starts feeling better every day. We sure miss Lillie, Mike, and Liz and hope they can make a trip to Shelby County soon. Joy called Carolyn, who has been in the great state of Pennsylvania visiting family. We know she’s been a big help getting family members to doctor’s appointments and looking after them, but we really miss her at Paxton Methodist.
Sue and I made a trip to Dallas last week. Both our kids live there as do my brother Kent and his wife Mary. It was great seeing all of them. My brother Kent and wife Mary are now vacationing in Cuba! They both worked in Central America for many years so are fluent in Spanish. Going now means they can experience life in Cuba as it was in the 1950s (before the tourists take over).
For so many years my trips to Dallas were mainly to visit my parents—and then my mother. Sue and I went to the cemetery and put flowers at my parents’ graves. My mother’s marker from the Navy has come, and it looks really nice. Both my parents were Navy veterans of World War II.
“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, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:15 and 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 me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed!
April 24, 2016 - San Augustine County Cowboy Church is hosting their 4th Annual King of Cowboy's Ranch Rodeo & Built God Tough Roughstock Series on Saturday, May 21st at the San Augustine County Fairgrounds at 5pm.
Admission is free! Come enjoy Live Music by the San Augustine County Cowboy Church Band and more family fun!
Ranch rodeo events include Trailer Loading, Branding, Doctoring. 4 person team with men, women, or any combinatino. 5 minute time limit for the three events. Entry is $200 Ranch Rodeo Team with 100% payback paying out Top 5 - 1st 35%, 2nd 25%, 3rd 19%, 4th 14%, and 5th 7%.
The Built God Tough Roughstock Series began March 12th and runs through September 17th. Series 1 and 2 has passed; however, series #3 is May 21st at 5pm at San Augustine County Cowboy Church, San Augustine County Fairgrounds, San Augustine, Texas. Sign up for Jr Bulls, Open Bulls, Jr Mini, Sr Mini, Jr Ranch Broncs, and Sr. Broncs event. Added money to all events is $65 fee. Sr. Broncs entry is $65 fee with 100% payback and buckle.
The Roughstock series has free admission, concessions available, and guest speaker. To enter or for more information, contact Andy Holloway at 903-754-4123 or Vern Kaylor at 409-489-7329. Additional series dates are as follows: 2pm June 4th at Red River Cowboy Church, RRCC Arena, Caushatta, Louisiana; 2pm August 28th at Cross Brand Cowboy Church, CBCC Arena, Tyler, Texas; and 2pm September 17th at Cowboy Church of Ellis County, Cowboy Church of Ellis County Arena, Waxahachie, Texas.
For more information contact Crystal Sowell at 936-201-0023 or email: saccowboychurch@gmail.com.
Visit online at www.sanaugustinecountycowboychurch.org
April 23, 2016 - The Gates Chapel Baptist Church of Shelbyville will host its Family and Friends Day Program on Sunday, May 1st at 3pm.
The special guest speaker will be the Rev. Chris Jefferies of the Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church of Gary, Texas. Everyone is invited to attend says Paster Frank Cooper.
April 22, 2016 - The Gates Chapel Baptist Church of Shelbyville will host its Family and Friends Day Sunday, May 1 at 3 pm. The special guest speaker will be Rev Joseph Pipkins of Travelers Rest Baptist Church of Kechi, LA. Everyone is invited to attend says Pastor Frankie Cooper.
Sesquicentennial Celebration: 150 Years to Celebrate, 150 Ways to Serve
Center, Texas – April 21, 2016 – Commemorating their year-long sesquicentennial anniversary milestone “150 Years to Celebrate, 150 Ways to Serve,” the First United Methodist Church (FUMC) of Center welcomes Reverend Carol Clifford Turner on Sunday, April 24 at a combined worship service beginning at 10:15 a.m. Sunday School begins at 9:45 a.m. and a covered dish luncheon begins at 11:15 a.m. following the worship service.
Rev. Carol Clifford Turner is an ordained elder with 37 years of pastoral experience. She is currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Methodist Church in Palestine, Texas. Carol graduated from Center High School, Stephen F. Austin State University and Southern Methodist University. Since 1979, she has pastored churches in Galveston, Douglassville, Texarkana, New Boston, Maud, Nacogdoches, Longview, Lufkin, and Baytown. Carol has served on many district committees, is active in the Walk to Emmaus and is involved in numerous community activities relating to child welfare, Habitat for Humanity, shelters for women, medical care ministry and youth education.
Carol began her Christian training in the nursery of our church, was active in Sunday School and United Methodist Youth Fellowship, and in November of 1974 was recommended by our church as a candidate for ministry. She was granted her License to Preach by the Nacogdoches District Committee on Ministry on August 30, 1976.
Additional information regarding FUMC’s 150th anniversary celebration plans for July and October during 2016 will be announced as details become available or by contacting Rev. Karen Jones at FUMC (936) 598-2707.
April 20, 2016 - Join us this Sunday at Shelbyville & Short UMCs! "Where is God when it hurts?" This is a question we commonly ask when we do not feel or sense the presence of God in our difficult or tragic situations. Often God seems aloof; but He is still with us and walking with us through tragedies and difficulties in our life. Join us this Sunday as we discuss this topic. Scriptures are Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-6.
Easter Worship Series: “You’ve Got Questions”. After the resurrection, the Apostle’s wrestled with what Jesus taught. We still have many questions about the Christian faith. Join us April 3 – May 8 to look at some of the questions such as “Where is God When It Hurts?,” “Why Forgive?,” “What is Eternal Life / Salvation?” This series will help us gain greater appreciation for our Savior and what He taught.
Sunday worship at Short UMC is at 9:00am and at 11:00am at the Shelbyville UMC. Live Stream: www.ShelbyvilleUMCWorship.weebly.com
If you missed this Sunday's sermon, be sure to watch it this week. www.shelbyvilleumcworship.weebly.com Devotionals & Past Sermons available at this link as well.
April 14, 2016 - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying; "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt 28:18 -20) NKJV
We know these 3 verses as "the Great Commission", the great command given the church to be carried out across all the planet, to all nations, to all classes of persons, to all individuals. By His own power as stated in verse 18, He is able to give power to the church to carry His Word to all people, everywhere.
You see, God has no regard for any person over another, He wishes for ALL to be saved. He loves one as much as the other, all colors, all nationalities, all individuals are judged the same to Him with the only difference being whether or not an individual does indeed accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Verse 19 speaks of baptism and it references three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the three aspects of God. This may be best explained as; all things happen "from" the Father, "through" the Son and "by" the Holy Spirit. Christ authorized the church to baptize all believers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, however, one is not baptized in order to obtain salvation, but to declare that he has already accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Verse 20 actually gives us both the assignment; "teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you" and the assurance that He, God will be with us always. We can rest assured that as long as we are obedient to His will, wherever we may be, He is there to guide us and protect us from evil.
However, as with the church, God's presence is based upon our obedience to His wishes and not the wishes of the world. This is all part of God's plan of salvation. As born again Christians, our salvation relieves us from the penalty of sin. Daily, through the study of God's Word, we are saved from the power of sin.
When we are finally at home, with Christ, we will be saved from the very presence of sin. Until that glorious day we are to teach the gospel of Christ every day, either through actually sharing His Word, or by the way we go about living our lives here on earth.
As Saint Francis once stated; "I am compelled to preach the gospel at all times, in all places, with all my might, even if it means resorting to words." Amen...
Please feel welcome to join us on Wednesday evenings at 6:00PM for our weekly Bible Study. For more info call, 936-615-1427.
May God bless you and keep you...
April 18, 2016 - Short United Methodist Church will be hosting a gospel concert on Saturday, April 30th at 7pm featuring Flint Thompson. Food and fellowship to follow. Come out for an evening of great singing and visiting with friends.
April 18, 2016 - “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Ps. 1).
Life is, and the quality of each day is largely based on the counsel or advice that we receive. The company we keep affects all aspects of our life. As the Psalmist said, we are blessed when we do not walk in the counsel or the influence of the ungodly.
It is like the wise man wrote, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed” (Pr. 13:20). Wise and foolish people are not determined by their likeability but by their actions. As the psalmist said back in vs. 3 walking in godly counsel will establish our lives. We will be free from unnecessary troubles and drama which could impact our lives for years or even for the rest of our lives. The ungodly have lives that do not prosper and are carried away by the wind and their way will perish.
For this reason we are blessed when we meditate on the ways of the Lord and do not walk in the ways or counsel of the ungodly. Our lives are framed by the people we associate with.
Church email: northsidecoccenter@gmail.com
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April 18, 2016 - Sunday was the 4th Sunday of Easter. The Psalter Lesson was Psalm 23, the best known of all psalms among Christians. The Second Lesson for the 4th Sunday of Easter was Revelation 7: 9-17. Both of these scriptures speak of God as a shepherd, who leads us to still waters and restores our soul. John’s Revelation, however, is certainly a wild story full of symbolism that we must really work at to understand. A few years back at Joaquin Methodist we did a Bible Study on Revelation and used the book Breaking the Code by Bruce M. Metzger. Dr. Metzger is considered the foremost scholar on John’s Revelation. What we all learned was that this book is not a kind of doomsayer’s handbook, even though there are over a half million websites that try to turn Revelation into a “be afraid—the world is ending” sort of book. My favorite is the book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. And honest to God—no joke—there was a 1989 second edition!
We had a small group this morning. Fannie as usual had a really good lesson for us at Sunday school. Gene was back this morning—after jumping out of an airplane at 14,000 feet! Joy wasn’t feeling well, and we all hope she is feeling better soon.
This Tuesday is our Holiday Nursing Center ministry. Volunteers from many churches join us as we visit, sing, and share stories. The program will start at 2:00. This month we are collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste for Community Christian Services. In May, cans of fruit.
The Joaquin Methodist Church really shone this weekend with its Heritage Fair. The original idea was to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the church with an old-fashioned gathering—but they went way beyond that!
The fellowship hall featured local art of all kinds: paintings, sculpture, books, poems, quilting, needlework, and a slideshow of 7th graders’ models of old Texas buildings. A partial quilt was set up on a frame, and ladies patiently worked their craft on it. Outside on the front lawn stood a storytelling tent where listeners could enjoy such practiced narrators as our Mrs. Fannie.
The majority of the fair was spread out on the church garden. Many of those who had tables, booths, and the like were dressed for the period—around Civil War times. We visited with Daughters and Sons of the Republic, who were displaying dyes, food products, musical instruments, and other relics along with explanations of their uses. In the corner, a re-enactor had set up a tent from the era (and slept in it Friday night); he demonstrated ax-throwing and musket-shooting nearby. A woman was teaching a fascinated group how to make rag dolls and woven products.
Some booths were selling items like painted gourds and canned goods. Two men used a huge roaster to make corn on the cob, and near them was an old-fashioned lemonade stand. The City Christmas Lights committee fried fish, hush puppies, and French fries—which I can testify were delicious. While we waited for that, an ice cream cart set up, cranking it out the traditional way.
A brush arbor in the middle of the garden hosted various singers, musicians, and raconteurs, entertaining everyone within earshot. We saw a beautiful stagecoach and talked to the man who built it—a fellow Shelby County teacher retiree.
All this was Saturday. On Friday they hosted the Joaquin fourth and seventh graders, who are studying Texas history this year, as well as Logansport junior high students and other attendees. Friday’s visitors saw some of what we did, plus demonstrations such as Dutch oven cooking, live horses, and poetry reading. A big thank you to the Joaquin Methodist folks who put all this together. The entire experience was phenomenal, like delving into a different 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, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:15 and 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 me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed!
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