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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
September 8, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, September 8.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. has been in the news a lot lately. But its story began over fifty years ago on September 8, 1971, with a premier performance of a piece by musical legend, Leonard Bernstein. An exceedingly eclectic work, it blended the styles of classical, jazz, and pop, and featured an orchestra, three choirs, and a rock band. He called it “Mass”.
Bernstein was the first American to take the world stage as a conductor. But he was also a renowned pianist, educator, author, and larger than life personality. And, on top of all that, he was a composer of Broadway music - “West Side Story” - as well as a long list of classical works. Many of these “serious” pieces, like Mass, were centered on religious themes.
His first symphony, “Jeremiah”, followed the story of the famous Old Testament prophet, and featured verses from the Book of Lamentations. A work for orchestra and chorus, “Chichester Psalms”, sung in Hebrew, focused on the poetry of King David. I had the blessing of being part of a performance of it in 1984, as a college student in Houston. It was conducted by the Maestro, and was the most memorable musical moment of my life.
In late 1963 Bernstein wrote another symphony and called it Kaddish, for the Hebrew prayer for the dead. It was performed as a solemn tribute to John F. Kennedy, shortly after his assassination. And so it was not surprising that Jackie Kennedy commissioned Bernstein to write the music to open the performing arts center that was built to honor the legacy of the fallen president.
Another president, Richard Nixon, was notably absent from that first concert. Bernstein, a longtime liberal, was on Nixon’s infamous “enemies list”, and, as the Vietnam War raged, Nixon was afraid that the work would include anti-war themes. In a way, it did, but not through modern messages. It employed the ancient language of the Church. The choir, in a deeply moving passage, repeated the Latin prayer phrase, “dona nobis pacem” (“grant us peace”).
In 2022, the Kennedy Center celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of notable events. The final one was a restaging of this work, this vision, this message by Leonard Bernstein. And once again, just like on the evening of September 8, 1971, the piece closed with these words - “The mass has ended. Go in peace”.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
September 4, 2025 - Can you see by an eye of faith, Jesus, as he is hanging on the cross? He has been hounded, betrayed, denied, tried before an unjust court, led out of the city and nailed to a rough hewn wooden cross. Yet, hanging there, his first words were not a complaint. Though he was innocent, his first word was not a plea for his own innocence. Neither was his first statement a cry for vengeance against those who crucified Him.
Rather, Jesus first words from the cross were a prayer for forgiveness. A prayer for those who put Him there. He prayed, “Father, forgive them they know not what they do”.
There is in our world today a pressing need for the grace of forgiveness. It is needed in our nation, it is needed in our community, it is needed in each individual life. There are many who are unstained from sensuality, free from immoral practices and they attend church services regularly. They can sing “O How I Love Jesus” louder than anyone in the building. Yet, these same people carry enough malice in their hearts to damn their souls to the fires of an eternal hell.
If we do not learn to forgive, malice will multiply in our souls and stifle every noble impulse. Hatred will rob us of the joy of the Christian life and the leaven of enmity will embitter us taking from our soul the sweetness implanted there by Jesus.
The prayer on our lips must ever be the prayer of Jesus, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”.
It’s something to think about. . . tbp
Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
September 3, 2025 - Mark your calendar! Strong Triumph Church will be hosting a Thanksgiving Women's Conference on Saturday, November 22, 2025. Time 10am to 3pm. Breakfast served 9am to 9:45am. Lunch served at 12 noon to 12:50pm. We invited everyone to come and listen to God's Powerful Women of Christ.
For more information, contact Elder FayeDell Allen 936-572-5810 or Strong Triumph Church 936-368-2478. The church address is 2611 County Road 2545, Shelbyville, Texas 75973.
September 2, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, September 2.
Have you ever sent a bouquet of flowers to someone? Have you ever received one? I’m guessing you answered “yes” to at least one of those questions, maybe both. And that’s why the Flower Industry brings in over 100 Billion dollars each year! But I was thinking this morning about that moment in each of our lives when we probably get the most flowers. I’m talking about that last moment of our lives and all those flowers at all those funerals.
Here’s a thought - WHY WAIT? Why not send bouquets while people can enjoy them? And now I’m not talking about bouquets of flowers, but bouquets of encouragement, compliments, support, thanks, love. Here’s what the Bible says -
- I Thessalonians 5:11 - Encourage one another and build each other up.
- Isaiah 41:6 - Each one help his neighbor and say to his brother, “Be strong!”
- Hebrews 3:13 - Encourage one another day after day.
So, send a bouquet of encouragement today - send several (they’re free!)
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
August 30, 2025 - The annual Folsom Homecoming will be held on the grounds of Folsom Cemetery at 12 noon on Sunday, September 21, 2025. Family and friends are encouraged to bring their lunch and donations for the upkeep of the cemetery. Donations can be mailed to : 3471 FM 2026 Center, Texas 75935.
Danny Paul Windham Secretary/Treasurer
August 28, 2025 - Jesus was a man of few words, that was His general character. He was not one of those who would tell you how to make a watch. Neither was He one who used flattery or exaggeration. When Jesus complimented someone, the things He said were very few.
When Jesus gave someone a compliment, it was not superficial. It had nothing to do with a person’s clothing or style. It had to do with their heart and their character.
When Jesus was first introduced to Nathaniel, he said, “behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile” (John 1:47). When Jesus spoke of John the Baptist, he said that among those born of woman, there was none greater than John (Luke 7:28).
When Mary anointed Jesus with the costly ointment, Jesus said that wherever the gospel would be preached, that would be spoken of as a memorial to her.
Some day, when our forms have been bended low and we cross the great divide into eternity, I want to hear a compliment from the lips of Jesus. I want to hear Him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant”. I want to live my life so that I will hear Him speak those words. If we are to hear those words, we must live His kind of life and live it His way.
It’s something to think about. . . tbp
Come join us for worship Center Church of Christ www.centerchurchofchrist.com
August 28, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, August 28.
Ten years ago this week, I rode on a train to New York City. That’s a long, two-day trip, but I’ve always loved traveling by train. I went there to visit my youngest daughter, Caroline. She had moved to the Big Apple a few years before, as a 20-year-old, to pursue a career in modeling. Caroline had grown up mainly in the big cities of Dallas and Houston, but NYC is a BIG city, and her mother and I worried about her more than a little. But she’s still there, has done well there, has made a good life there. I’m a proud father.
On the last night of my visit I took her to the Broadway show “Les Miserables”. Great show, and we had a great time. The next morning, I sat in Grand Central Station waiting to board my train back to Texas. As I waited, I read a copy of The New York Times, and suddenly saw a disturbing story. A young man, about my daughter’s age, had been killed in an accident late the night before. As I read further I discovered that he was a member of the cast of “Les Miz”. Just 10 hours before, we had seen him performing on the stage. He had been full of life and youth and talent and promise. He was living his dream of being on Broadway, and was full of dreams for a bright future.
And, just like that, it was over.
I sat there, surrounded by multitudes of big city travelers, moving through their busy lives, and was struck by the uncertainty of life, how fragile and fleeting it truly is. And the words from James 4:14 came back to my mind - “Your life is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away”. A few verses later, James tells us that, if we know the good that we should do, then we should do it now . . . while there is time.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
August 28, 2025 - Pastor Hill and the members of Carroll Chapel CME Church in Shelbyville invite you to their Annual Homecoming Sunday, September 14, 2025 at 3pm.
Guest speaker will be Rev. Desmond Johnson of the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church in San Augustine, Tx.
August 26, 2025 - Logansport MBC Revival. Revival at Logansport Missionary Baptist Church September 15-19 7pm nightly.
Join in for inspiring worship and preaching. Bro. Ben Brittain will be the speaker. Specials are welcome.
1109 Main St. Logansport La. Hope to see you there!
August 25, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, August 25.
“Fake news” is a term you hear a lot these days. But, as King Solomon told us, “there is nothing new under the sun”. Myth and misinformation have been around as long as man has been around. On August 25, 1835, the New York Sun newspaper printed a story on the front page. The article reported the invention of a super telescope that had made possible an amazing discovery . . . life on the moon. Through the lens of this powerful new device, scientists had seen roads and buildings and strange animals of many kinds, including unicorns. And the big headline - the astronomers had witnessed humanoid figures with wings. The Sun called them “bat-men”!
P.T. Barnum famously said, “there’s a sucker born every minute”. The newspaper, a few days later, announced that it was all a hoax, but not before thousands of readers had taken it as truth. It was the talk of the town, and the Great Moon Hoax of 1835 is still an item on the internet. Speaking of the internet, it has opened the floodgates of rumors and gossip and unfounded theories, and there are plenty of folks who are quick to swallow them hook, line, and sinker. The invention of Artificial Intelligence, with its amazingly “real” video and audio, is turning that flood into a deluge.
So, what are we to do? What are we to believe? That same King Solomon said, in I Kings 3:9, “Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, and to discern between good and evil”. The wise king trusted the wisdom that comes only from God and from His Word. Solomon’s father, David, prayed these words in Psalms 119:66 - “Teach me, O Lord, good discernment and knowledge”. With any information, the key is finding a reliable source. We have access, through prayer and Bible study, to the supreme source - the truth of God.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
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