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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
January 27, 2026 - Because First Baptist Church - Center is currently being used as a shelter for those without electricity, there will be no church activities Wednesday, January 28th.
January 27, 2026 - New Hope Congregational Methodist Church fed 200 linemen today, Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 1pm in the Tractor Supply parking lot in Center.
Any church, group, individual, or organization wishing to support continued efforts to feed our linemen, please DM me (Sherry Riley) or donate via Venmo: @Annette-Doyle-1 or via PayPal: @ADoyle827.
Special thanks to Shawn Whiteside Smoke Wagon BBQ!
January 24, 2026 - All Masses at St. Therese and St. Mary’s Catholic Churches are cancelled this weekend because weather conditions are very dangerous. The Bishop has granted a dispensation.
Fr. Luis
January 22, 2026 - Shelbyville First Methodist Church will not have church this Sunday, Jan. 25 due to the weather.
January 22, 2026 - It was at a wedding feast, in Cana of Galilee, where Jesus performed his first miracle. They had run out of wine, a real social miscue in that day and time. So, Mary told Jesus the problem and then told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Well, you remember the story. Jesus changed 6 water pots filled with water into wine, better wine than they had before.
Yet, the greatest example of the transforming power of Jesus Christ is not that He was able to change water into wine. The greatest example of the transforming power of Jesus is how He can change lives. He took a blustering fisherman named Simon, a creature of impulse and made him into a rock of Christ-like character. He found a “thunderbolt” named John, a man capable of such hot hate that he wanted to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village and changed him into the Apostle of love. He took a greedy tax collector named Matthew and used him to write one of the gospels. There was a demon possessed woman named Mary who became the first person to spread the word of the resurrection. Then, who can forget the intellectual giant named Paul, the greatest menace that existed to the early church, and he was transformed to be the world’s greatest preacher.
The same Jesus who changed those lives will change every life that surrenders to him. Would you surrender your will to His will?
It’s something to think about... tbp
Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
January 20, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, January 20.
I went to college at Houston Baptist University, in the town where I grew up. I worked my way through college as a minister at a church there. After graduating I left my hometown to move to Fort Worth to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a school designed to teach young ministers how to minister. Looking back, I learned a lot more “on the job” than I ever did in the classroom. But there was one seminary course that I have made use of time and time again throughout my career. It was called “Comparative Religions.”
It was a challenging course, filled with all the details and facts about all the denominations and faiths, all the doctrines and beliefs, of all the religions all around the world. I haven’t traveled all around the world, but as I’ve ministered in big and small towns, I’ve seen the world come to America, and I’ve met Buddhists and Hindus and Sikhs and Muslims. I’ve also had the opportunity to talk with people who follow faiths that began here in the United States, like Mormons and Christian Scientists and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientologists. It has been a fascinating experience.
I’ve gone back to the notes and text books from that seminary class many times, reviewing all the complicated details about all those religions. But I’ve also recalled the simple advice my professor gave us in his very first class. He instructed us to always begin our study of any faith with one simple question. And the question was this - Who do they say that Jesus is? That, when you think about it, is a question that each of us must answer. Jesus asked His disciples that very question, and the Apostle Peter, in one of his better moments, rose to his feet and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
Janaury 16, 2026 - Huxley Helping Hands drive thru food pantry will be Saturday, January 17 at Hillcrest Baptist Church, Center, Texas. Must be in line by 8:30am to receive a box. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
January 15, 2026 - Among the many fables given to us by Aesop is the one of “The North Wind and the Sun.” It seems a dispute arose between the north wind and the sun, each claiming that he was stronger than the other. At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveler, to see which could soonest strip him of his cloak. The north wind had the first try; and gathering up all his force for the attack, he came whirling furiously down upon the man, and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him by one single effort. But the harder he blew, the more closely the man wrapped it round himself. Then came the turn of the sun. At first he beamed gently upon the traveler, who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulders. Then he shone forth in his full strength, and the man, before he had gone many steps, was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journey more lightly clad.
You see, it is better to persuade than to coerce. We need to realize that God does not force obedience from mankind. God gently warms our hearts with His love. It was the warmth of God’s love that sent Jesus to this earth to live among men. It was the warmth of the love of Jesus that caused Him to go to the cross to die for our sins. God wants us to respond to the warmth of his love by living His kind of life, His way, in loving obedience. How can men and women turn their back on the kind of love that God has so graciously shown us?
It’s something to think about... tbp
Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com
January 12, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, January 12.
On this date, in 1969, the singer, B.J. Thomas, released the song “Hooked on a Feeling”. It went on to become his first big hit, selling a million records, and he went on to have a big career, a career that spanned seven decades, and lasted until his death in 2021. But today’s devotion isn’t about B.J. Thomas. It’s centered on this thought - you never know what you’ll find when you go to church.
In 2009, I was on staff at First Baptist, Rosenberg, Texas. The church secretaries were in the middle of a project to transfer all the old church records onto computer files. One day they came across a membership card from 1952. It was signed by a ten-year-old boy named Billy Joe. It turned out that Billy Joe grew up in Rosenberg and sang in the church choir, before he used his remarkable voice to become the world famous B.J.
I remember another time when I was serving in a church in Grand Prairie, Texas. They were remodeling their children’s area, and when they pulled down some ancient paneling, out fell an ancient offering envelope, containing 25 cents from a first-grade girl. They were eventually able to track down the little girl, but by that time she was a grandmother. She said the church could keep the quarter.
One day, years ago, at my home church in Houston, they were doing some remodeling, too. And when they removed some old paneling, they found hundreds of messages written on the wall behind it. They were messages of encouragement to the pastor, my father. Messages that had been quietly waiting to be seen - for over 50 years.
Hidden treasures. Sacred surprises. Unexpected blessings.
You never know what you’ll find when you go to church! Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
November 24, 2025 - At Center MBC, we care about families. We are inviting Shelby County families to attend a Marriage and Family Renewal Conference, hosted by Center MBC, January 9-11, 2026. This event will focus on Faith, Family, and Finance.
Our Purpose:
- To build Marriage and Family strength through the application of Biblical principles.
- To learn and apply Biblical Financial principles in order to build a solid and peaceful future.
- To glorify God in all that we do. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Schedule of Sessions:
Friday, January 9, 2026
- 6:00 – 6:30 PM Finger Foods (Couples and Singles)
- 6:30 – 8:00 PM Faith & Finance (Couples and Singles)
Stewardship is often misunderstood. When the pastor mentions stewardship, we may assume it is going to be a fund-raising event, but that is not the purpose of this session. Instead, we will examine Biblical financial principals that will guide us into a secure financial future.
Saturday, January 10, 2026
- 9:00 – 10:00 AM Built for Connection (Couples Only)
“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18). By God’s design, we were created with a need for intimate connection – first with our parents, then with our mate. How does that happen and how do we keep it strong? - 10:00 – 10:10 AM Break
- 10:10 – 11:00 AM Benefits of Connection (Couples Only)
We easily see some immediate relationship benefits in our secure connection with our mate. There are, however, other benefits than these. We will explore those benefits in this session. - 11:00 – 11:10 AM Break
- 11:10 – 12:00 PM Battle for Connection (Couples Only)
All married couples have conflict. That is in our human nature. What causes us to have the marital “fights?” How do we overcome them and resolve our differences? Great questions, glad you ask! - 12:00 – 1:30 PM Lunch
- 1:30 – 2:00 PM Relationship Attachment Model (Singles Only)
How do we develop our intimate connections with a possible future mate? How do we know we are getting the right person? - 2:00 – 2:30 PM Commitment & Compatibility (Singles Only)
As we explore who the right person is, we also see how to be the right person in a relationship. How do we determine if we are compatible with a potential mate?
Sunday, January 11, 2026
- 11:00 – 11:45 AM Q&A Time (Couples and Singles)
This is your opportunity to ask follow-up questions about the things discussed in the earlier sessions, or to ask questions you hoped would be answered during a session but was not covered. - 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM The Parallels of Godly Marriage and God and the Church (Couples and Singles)
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