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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 29, 2022 - Antioch Baptist Church in the James Community is holding a Blessing of the backpacks on Sunday, August 7th at 11am. All students and school personnel are invited from nursery age to college age. Please bring your backpack for us to pray over. For questions contact, Barbara Walton at 936-598-8306.
July 25, 2022 - Grace and peace from our brother and our teacher, Jesus. Amen. Last week I mentioned in my article how oppressive the heat has been. Then this week, on Thursday and Friday, Sue and I got 2 inches of rain in downtown Joaquin! On Friday, the temperature didn’t get out of the seventies until the afternoon. Oh, what a relief it was! It has been a nice break not having to water my gardens, fruit trees, and shrubs. But it is, after all, summer in Texas, so I know what we are in for. I sure hope the electric grid holds and the AC keeps working.
Fannie had a most wonderful Sunday School lesson for us this morning. Gene read a rather long scripture from Acts 15, which documented the first church council that had to make a decision affecting the Jesus Movement. The new way of seeing and believing was just beginning; more and more converts were not Jewish but Gentile. The question before the council would be just “how Jewish” did Gentile converts need to become. For example, should males be circumcised in order to become followers of Jesus. There have always been disagreements among believers—the reason there are so many denominations today. James the Just, who was seen as the leader of the Jerusalem followers, decided that God came to the Gentiles as well as to Jews, so roadblocks shouldn’t be placed in their way. We “United” Methodists could use a James today.
In our worship service, our Gathering Words were based on Psalm 85, and the affirmation was the Apostles’ Creed. The Gospel lesson was Luke 11: 1-13. Our songs this morning were two familiar ones, “Shall We Gather at the River” and “Hymn of Promise.” The second is a more modern one, with beautiful words and melody. Our first bulletin quote was from Maya Angelou, American poet: “Equal rights, fair play, justice, are all like the air: We all have it, or none of us has it.” The other was from Billy Graham, American evangelist: “True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency. Make it a habit, and when the need arises you will be in practice.” Both of these folks were wise and thoughtful, with advice worth repeating and remembering.
In today’s story, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray. It is in Luke and Matthew that we are introduced to the Lord’s Prayer, used more than any other prayer in Christian Churches today. At Paxton we recite this prayer each Sunday. It is not a complicated prayer—only five sentences, about forty words, in the Common English Bible that I used in preparing my sermon. I think what most writers find unique is the personal, almost intimate way Jesus addresses the God of the Universe. To the ancient world and among the priests and keepers of the Temple in Jerusalem, this would have bordered on blasphemy. To us, it seems comforting.
In July we have five Sundays, so Paxton Methodist will continue to collect cans of spaghetti, ravioli, and other Italian foods for Community Christian Services. Originally at Joaquin Methodist, August was the month we collected children’s underwear and socks. Gayle called one special Sunday “Undie Sunday” and kept the name even after expanding to the whole month. Paxton too will collect children’s underwear and socks during the month of August. New underwear for kids was to coincide with the beginning of a new school year. I saw where Joaquin teachers and staff are heading back on August 1st.
In downtown Joaquin, between Cindy’s Restaurant and the Community Center, are the Mini Library and the Blessing Box. Anyone can add nonperishable and canned goods to the Blessing Box and get a book from the library (or leave one). Mr. Shelby Johnson has been making good use of the produce section of the Blessing Box, leaving hundreds of tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelons, zucchini, summer squash, and potatoes. He’s an example to us all.
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.
July 25, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, July 25.
I love puzzles. All kinds of puzzles. But, most of all, I love crossword puzzles. The gold standard is the New York Times Crossword and I religiously complete it every day.
There are puzzles in the Bible - mysteries - questions that have no answers.
*Where was the Garden of Eden located?
*Where did Cain’s wife come from?
*What were the Behemoth and the Leviathan mentioned in the Book of Job?
*What year was Jesus born?
*What happened to Jesus between the ages of 12 and 30?
These are just a few of the Bible mysteries that I will be solving over the next week in our Daily Devotions... KIDDING! Some things are just meant to remain unknown to us.
Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing.”
How presumptuous of us mortals to think that we should understand everything about the Creator of the Universe. And so, we continue to ask our questions, continue to search the scriptures, as we should. But, at the end of the day, we are left with this thought from 2 Corinthians 5:7 - We live by faith, not by sight!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
July 21, 2022 - When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, we find these words in chapter 12 and verse 2, “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, when he becomes the Lord and Master of our lives, we change, we are transformed. We have a new way of looking at things, we have a new standard of conduct, we have a new way of life. One of the great tragedies of our day and time is that too many people claim to know Jesus Christ, they talk loudly and say “I am proud to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior” and there is no visible transformation in their lives. If Jesus has not changed your life, if there is not a visible transformation, then perhaps you are still conforming to the world and have not truly allowed Jesus to be your Lord and Master.
This is also one of the great tragedies of the church in our day and time. There is too much of the world in the church and not enough of the church in the world. If Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, we don’t have to shout it from the housetop, people will see Him living in us on a daily basis. If others cannot see Jesus living in us, maybe, just maybe we ought to examine our way of life.
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 21, 2022 - Mt. Calvary Full Gospel Church is hosting a 5 Night Revival from August 1 through August 5 starting at 7pm nightly. Guest speakers are:
- Monday - Kevin Windham
- Tuesday - Billy Windham
- Wednesday - Chris Collins
- Thursday - James Goodwin
- Friday - Lamar Denby
On Friday night only enjoy New Day Spirituals. Finger foods will follow the service on Friday as well.
Mt. Calvary Full Gospel Church is located at 5527 FM 417 East, Shelbyville, Texas 75973.
July 21, 2022 - White Rock Missionary Baptist Church is having revival services July 25-29, 2022 at 7:00 pm each evening. Bro. Brandon Jones will be our evangelist.
July 20, 2022 - Lydia Missionary Baptist Church is hosting “Zoomerang” VBS for ages 3 years old – 12th grade starting July 31 through August 3!
VBS is from 6pm until 8:30pm Sunday through Wednesday with the Closing Program held on Wednesday, August 3 at 7:30pm.
"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14
July 19, 2022 - North Jericho in Center is having the Annual “Dinner on the Ground” the first Sunday in August which is August 7th. Service is at 11am followed by a pot luck meal. Hope to see you there.
“Master, teach us to pray…” Luke 11:1
“Serve the Lord with gladness.” Psalms 100:2
July 19, 2022 - Mother and Daddy didn’t attend church till I was a teenager, but they both taught us to pray and read the Bible to us when we were young. Bill and I were taught to pray a prayer before meals; ‘Dear Father, bless the food we take and bless us for Jesus' sake,” but most of the time, Daddy “asked the blessing.” His prayer was not loud — was very short — and was always the same: “Dear Lord, make us thankful for these and other blessings. Amen.” For many years, I wondered what “make us thankful” meant, but now I know. His prayer was wonderful because he prayed for a thankful heart!
Another prayer I remember was a phrase that Deacon T. O. Ellington always included in his prayer. He’d say, “Lord, thank you for giving us the desire to come to Church today”. It took me a while to understand how meaningful his prayer was. Many people attend church because they were forced to, or came for some other unworthy reason. But how wonderful it is to look forward to the Lord's Day and as David said, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the Lord.”
The third prayer that I especially remember was the prayer that Pam taught our twin Granddaughters when they were about four years old. Before meals, they loved to say it together: "God is good, God is great. Let us thank Him for our food... Amen." One summer when they visited us, Zoe said, “Meme, can we say a different prayer today? It’s still a prayer to God… we learned it in Vacation Bible School.” Then we all held hands and the girls prayed in perfect unison, "But give honor to Christ in your hearts as your Lord; and be ready at any time when you are questioned about the hope which is in you. 1 Peter 3:15."
I have prayed the same exact prayer before meals all of my adult life. Pam and I hold hands and pray, “Dear Lord thank you for our food. May it be blessed for the good of our bodies... Amen." And I don’t feel guilty in repeating the same prayer before meals because I mean every word of my prayer every time. The value of our prayers are not dependent on how long we pray… or how loud we pray… but must be sincere. If our heart prays it right…
…our mouth can’t pray it wrong.
July 18, 2022 - Grace and peace from our brother and our teacher, Jesus. Amen. Sue and I spent a couple days this week in Kilgore, at the Texas Shakespeare Festival seeing two great plays. One, of course, was Shakespeare’s play, Taming of the Shrew. It was really funny, even for people who were watching hundreds of years after it was written. We also saw that great American musical, The Music Man. The actors, orchestra, scenery, singing, and dancing—all were amazing. Sue and I have been humming Music Man songs ever since.
The heat is downright oppressive. On a regular weekday I get up early to do my walk. Of course Sam and Gunter, my trusty dogs, accompany me. I do a little work outside, like watering my plants, but then take refuge inside until that evening. My afternoon walk with the dogs has turned into a 7:30PM walk. One of the TV stations said Shreveport has had fourteen days over 100 degrees so far this year and that every day next week will see highs in the hundreds. Dallas has an upcoming day forecast to be 108 degrees—no telling what the “feels like” temperature will be!
We had a good Sunday School lesson. The title of the lesson was “The Quest for Inclusive Fellowship.” Gene read our scripture, Acts 11: 1-19. After a vision, Peter comes to embrace new Gentile converts to the Jesus community. The author said that the early Christians saw themselves as believers in a New Covenant. And the overarching teaching of Jesus is to love God and love one another (even us Gentiles).
Carolyn was off with family on an adventure: We really miss her ideas and insights when she isn’t there. We hope Fred will be better soon—he and wife Sue are two of our favorites. Several of us had spoken with or emailed other absent members—Joe, Hilda, and Lillie. Like they say about prizes, “need not be present to win,” these folks are close to our hearts even when not physically among us.
We began our services with a responsive reading based on Psalm 15, in which the poet asks who gets to live in God’s tent and on the holy mountain. For our affirmation, we had the Apostles’ Creed, the most used statement of faith in the Christian Church. As usual, we sang the Gloria Patri and the Doxology; hymns today were “Amazing Grace” and “Blessed Assurance.” We did a pretty good job with all the songs, as they are quite familiar to us. With only scant room on the front of the bulletin, our quote from Suzy Kassem, an American poet, was brief: “Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them.” The longer one on the inside of the bulletin was by Tim McGraw, country singer: “Blind faith is not true faith. Asking questions and dissecting faith—and still having faith? That represents a truer faith.”
Sue read the Gospel story from Luke 10 about Martha and Mary, which was also the main focus of my sermon. We know that Martha was busy preparing a meal for Jesus and the other guests while her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, drinking in every word he said. Martha wanted Mary to help, but Jesus told her Mary listening to and visiting with him was the “good part.” I have always heard that Mary chose the “better part,” but I read several writers who said “good” was a more faithful translation of the Greek. The point was that we need to make time to feed the spiritual, contemplative side of our beings, just as important as living the Gospel and working for the kingdom.
All during the month of July, Paxton Methodists will be collecting cans of spaghetti, ravioli, and other Italian foods for Community Christian Services. Sue or I also check the Blessing Box in downtown Joaquin just about every day. Many people work at keeping the box full of food basics; there is also a new annex for fresh produce, most recently, watermelon, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. Right next to the Blessing Box is the Little Library where you can take a book or put a book in. This is Sue’s special project, and it is getting some traffic. I read that teachers in Joaquin ISD will head back for in-service on August 1st. Boy, summer vacation is going to have an abrupt end pretty soon! However, I really like Joaquin’s school schedule the last few years where the kids and staff go for six weeks and then get a week off. It works out to the same number of days but allows periodic R and R to help recharge.
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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