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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
July 17, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, July 17.
On this day, in 2009, Walter Cronkite died. He was the anchorman of the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981. That was a time before 24-hour cable and the Internet, a time when people watched the same TV program at the same time. And most of America watched "Uncle Walter" deliver the news of the day.
I always had a special interest in Cronkite, because he was a "Houston boy", like me. But he connected with all of us. It was impossible to remember the day that John F. Kennedy was killed, without also remembering Cronkite removing his glasses and delivering the fateful bulletin in a choking voice. Cronkite was there when man stepped on the moon. And when he declared that the Vietnam war was unwinnable, President Johnson said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost the country".
Year after year, polls pronounced Walter Cronkite "the most trusted man in America". When he closed his broadcast with the words, "and that's the way it is" - we believed him. Who do we have in America like that today? Whose voice carries that kind of weight? Who can we truly trust? Tough questions. I won't try to answer them. Instead, I'll leave you with these thoughts.
Psalm 9:10 - Those who know Your name trust in You, Lord, for You have never forsaken those who seek You.
Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are set on You, because they trust in You.
Psalm 56:14 - In God I trust, and am not afraid.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
July 13, 2023 - James would write for us, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” If you want to make God laugh, really laugh, tell Him what you are going to do tomorrow.
The Bible is filled with examples of those who had great plans for tomorrow, and yet, tomorrow never came. When Felix heard Paul preach, he trembled upon hearing the word of God. He told Paul to go his way and he would call for him at a more convenient time. He told Paul he would wait until tomorrow and for Governor Felix, tomorrow never came.
Jesus tells us of a rich farmer who had an abundant harvest in Luke chapter 12. He was planning to tear down his old barns and build greater barns to have a place to store all his abundance. He had great plans for tomorrow, but God had other plans. God called that man a fool and told him his soul was required that very night. Tomorrow never came for that farmer.
Paul would write to the church in Corinth, “now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2) Do not put off serving the Lord until tomorrow, but begin today, right now, to serve the Lord and live His kind of life, His way.
It’s something to think about... tbp
Join Us for Worship this coming Lord’s Day at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com
July 12, 2023 - Blount Chapel Missionary Baptist Church cordially invites all area churches to our 9th Annual Pastor and Wife's Anniversary honoring Pastor Byron Coutee, Jr. and First Lady Sis. Larissa Coutee on Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 3pm.
"Preach the word of God; Be ready in season and out of season." 2 Timothy 4:2
Guest speaker is Pastor Derrick White with Bethesda Baptist Church, Lufkin, Texas. Dinner will be served.
Blount Chapel Missionary Baptist Church is located at 298 County Road 3760, Center, Texas.
July 10, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, July 10.
Yesterday, at First Baptist Center, we featured our pipe organ in the worship service. It had been silent for a year. Our beloved organist is no longer physically able to join us. We miss her. And we've missed the organ.
The Old Testament (at least in the King James Version) mentions organs several times. But, at that time in history, the instrument, as we know it today, did not exist. The reference is most probably to a flute. The prototype for the modern organ appeared in the 700's, the pipes fed by human-powered bellows. By the 1700's, the instrument looked, and sounded, pretty much as it does now, and was the single most complex machine of its time.
The largest organ in the world is in, of all places, Atlantic City, New Jersey. It has over 33,000 pipes. The largest is 64 feet long, the smallest barely an inch. This monster hasn't been fully operational since the 1940's. A 16-million-dollar renovation project is currently underway, a reminder that an organ is expensive to build and expensive to maintain.
Our church is blessed to have our pipe organ. I hope you've been blessed to have the opportunity to hear one. It is a unique experience. The sound, literally, gets inside of you. It has the power to inspire. And, in a place of praise, in a cathedral of worship, it has the power to lift our spirits . . . to God.
Psalm 150 - "Praise Him with stringed instruments and organs . . . Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord!"
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
July 06, 2023 - The House of Refuge presents an evening with Lady Pearl Nash on July 9, 2023 at 3pm. Special guest speaker - Senior Pastor Carol Beard of New Birth Reconciliation Ministry Moss Point, MS. Everyone is invited and lunch will be served.
July 6, 2023 - Northside Church of Christ is hosting July 7-9 a weekend series of lessons presented by B.J. Sipe of Danville, KY.
What God has said lessons about our life:
- Friday, July 7 at 7pm - Compromise and Conformity “Our life in the world”
- Saturday, July 8 at 9:30am - Fellowship
- Saturday, July 8 at 10:30am - Holy Spirit
- Saturday, July 8 at 1:30pm - Gender Roles in the Church “Our life in Christ”
- Sunday, July 9 at 9:30am - Eschatology (end times)
- Sunday, July 9 at 10:30am - Heaven/Hell “Living in the Next Life”
The church is located at 192 Highway 96 North, Center, Texas. For more information, contact Nathan Cox, minister at (936) 332-1091, website: northsidechurchincenter.com, or Facebook: @northsidechurchofchristcentertx
July 6, 2023 - Though it is not one of my favorite activities, and it will come as a shock to many people, but I will confess that I have been fishing once or twice in my life. It will never be at the top of my list of “preferred recreational activities”. In fact, it probably would not make the top 100. But I have tried it. I remember using a cork and watching it float on the surface of the water. I know that even when the cork is submerged, it will float to the top. I have even done some reading on this subject and found that you can press a cork down 10 or 50 or even 100 feet below the surface of the water and release it and it will rise again. Yet, I also read if that same cork is pressed down 200 feet below the surface of the water, it cannot rise again. The reason being that the water pressure at that depth is too great. The cork will collapse. That made me stop and do a little thinking. That scares you doesn’t it?
You see, it’s the same way with sin. The lower a man or woman sinks in the depths of sin, the greater the difficulty and less the probability of his or her ever rising again. The pressure of persistent sin can so damage the conscience of an individual that they cannot hear the call of God through the Gospel and therefore cannot be lifted from the mire of sin.
May our hearts ever be tender and alive to the call of the gospel and the pleadings of tour Savior. Let’s make sure we don’t get so deep in sin and neglect that we never rise again!
It’s something to think about... tbp
Join Us for Worship this coming Lord’s Day at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com
July 5, 2023 - Mount Calvary Full Gospel Church is hosting 5 days of uplifting revival starting Monday, July 17th and each day through Friday, July 21st at 7pm nightly.
Monday - Wednesday the speaker will be Bro. Lamar Denby and Thursday and Friday as well as Sunday Morning, July 16th the service will be lead by Bro. Dave Boyd. Sunday Morning service is at 11am.
Music will be by the Mount Calvary Praise & Worship Team. Specials are welcome.
Finger Foods will be served after Friday evening Service.
For more information, call 936-590-1040.
Jully 5, 2023 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church's Revival begins July 24th at 7pm with Evangelist Bro. Pete Underwood. The Revival continues each night at 7pm through Friday, July 28th.
July 5, 2023 - St. John Baptist Church, Center, Texas is hosting their Annual Homecoming and Revival starting Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 2pm.
Special guest on Sunday is Pastor Mario Osby, Smith Chapel Baptist Church, Timpson, Texas.
The Revival begins Monday, July 17 and continues through Thursday, July 20 starting at 7pm nightly. Come listen to Pastor Cedric Grace, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, San Augustine.
Everyone is welcome to attend. St. John Baptist Church is led by Pastor Winston Kibbles.
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