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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
January 17, 2024 - The Calvary Boys will be in Concert at Providence Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. We invite all to come and share an evening of Blessings and Gospel music.
While many of you are just discovering the Calvary Boys Quartet (CBQ) you may be interested to know a little history about the group. In 1970, when the Beatles were at the top of the pop music charts, the Vietnam War was in full swing, Richard Nixon was the president, riots and protests rocked the nation, 8-track tapes were the norm and no one had even dreamed of a VCR much less digital video, a young group of gospel singers, coached and led by their mentor, Waylon Moore, emerged. Singing for churches, homecomings, radio programs and just about anywhere they were asked to, the young group began to develop a following. Encouraged to do so, the group (who were all FFA members at the local high school) entered competitions and won awards - most notably winning both state and regional FFA talent competitions. But they were known then as the Farmers Quartet.
Inspired by early success and with lots of encouragement from parents, friends and fans, the group changed their name to the Calvary Boys Quartet and started performing more and larger venues - on stage with other regional and nationally recognized groups.
Aubrey King (tenor) and Chip Roberson (baritone) are original members of the quartet. Their first album ‘Our First - At Last’ was released in 1972. In 1981 Ron Meadows joined the group as the lead singer and in 1983 Bill Smith joined the group as bass.
So as you can see, it is no accident that these men, performing together as a group for over 25 years + have developed the rich full and mature sound that you enjoy today. But it is more than just the music.
Aubrey, who in addition to singing tenor also emcees for the group, wants to keep the group going because he still enjoys singing as much as he did when he started and enjoys bringing the glory to God. Chip, who is also the music minister for his local church, enjoys traveling and feels that since God gave him the talent of singing, he needs to use this God-given talent as his ministry to glorify God. Bill just gets joy out of singing and takes pride in the fact that the hard work pays off - that the great harmony may touch the hearts of the audience. Ron Meadows put it quite well, ‘We enjoy each other’s company and we have something to sing about.’
And the beat goes on... It is inevitable that young men will grow up and want to emulate their fathers. That is particularly wonderful when their fathers are Gospel singers. In 2001 a group comprised of Andrew and Aaron King (sons of Aubrey) and Timothy Roberson (son of Chip), each individually blessed with his own singing talent, launched their group - The Calvary Boys Trio. Led by Andrew, their first concert was in 2001. The group regularly performs on stage with the Calvary Boys and released their own album in 2004. When Andrew left to sing with the nationally acclaimed Dixie Melody Boys, his place was filled by Chip for their on-stage performances.
The church is located at 1324 CR 1265 (Just off FM 711), Center, Texas 75935.
January 15, 2024 - In 1951 as I hitch-hiked back to Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, I stopped in for “chili dog” sandwich in Mena, Arkansas. The sandwich cost me twenty-five cents (the cheapest thing on the menu) and it left me a ten dollar bill in my wallet and some change in my pocket. But when I got back to school and reached for my wallet, it was gone. I had lost it somewhere between Mena and Springfield, so I figured I’d lost it in someone’s car that had picked me up. Most of the ministerial students at The Baptist Bible College were “pore” and we depended on each other for survival food.
About two weeks later I got a package with my wallet and ten dollar bill still in it. A note was included: “Thought you might need this”… and it had no return address. I rushed down to a little store on nearby Route 66 and bought a huge jar of Jiffy Peanut butter, returned to the dorm and got the news out: “Peanut butter in my room… BYOC.” (Bring Your Own Crackers) That night Charlie Wisdom, Billy McCall and I had a feast in my room: peanut butter, crackers… and plenty of water.
I’ve heard a lot about preachers and chicken, but some of my fondest memories of Seminary days was a bunch of young preachers passing around a jar of peanut butter… holding hands… and thanking God… not for chicken…
… but for delicious Peanut butter and crackers.
January 15, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 15.
Did you know that there are two national "service" days each year? One is September 11 and the other . . . is today. In 1994 a bill was sponsored by Congressman John Lewis to encourage Americans to serve their communities, to encourage Americans to make a difference, to encourage Americans to help those less fortunate than themselves. What better person to suggest a day of service than a man who devoted his life to service.
John Lewis was born in 1940, one of ten children of a sharecropper father in Alabama. As a boy he aspired to be a Baptist preacher, but one day he heard Martin Luther King speak - and his life went another way. At the age of 23 he spoke alongside Dr. King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington. Two years later he led a peaceful march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday". John Lewis was carried from that bridge with a fractured skull, and he carried scars from that day for the rest of his life.
His life ended in 2020, at the age of 80, after a long battle with cancer. His good friend Billy Graham had preceded him in death, but four ex-presidents played a part in the funeral, a funeral held at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta - Dr. King's church. The service began with the crowd rising to its feet and singing a song that has become known as the Black National Anthem. A song whose lyrics are a fitting epitaph to a man of service, a fitting message on this Day of Service.
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
January 11, 2024 - A preacher was having coffee in a local coffee shop with some men in the community and one asked him if a certain man and his wife belonged to the church where he was preaching. His reply was, “No, they do not belong to the church here. They are members, but they do not belong to the church.”
It’s like this, the preacher explained. “Neither their time, their affection, their energy, their money, nor their influence belong to the church.”
Does that cause us to wonder what kind of membership these people had in the church? The preacher said, “they came to us, and we received them in good faith, and we thought they were looking for spiritual fellowship and service. Sadly, their attendance has been so infrequent they have no sense of belonging to the church family and the church has not been a spiritual home to them. Truthfully, there is not an ounce of this man and his wife that belongs to the church. All they have ever added to the church is a name on the roll.”
Sadly, the rolls of local churches are loaded with names that are “members only”. This is their only indication of love for Christ. Yet, Bible love is active and not passive. Jesus expressed His love by dying for us. Will we show our love by living for Him? Do you belong to the church? Where will you be this coming Lord’s Day?
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
January 8, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 8.
There's a particular part of our worship service at First Baptist Center that we try to keep simple - our invitation. We use just a few songs that are frequently repeated. I want our congregation to be listening to the moving of the Spirit in that moment, not worrying about the lyrics and melody of some new song. Our focus this morning is on the hymn we sang at our altar call yesterday.
Judson Van DeVenter was a gifted artist. Born in 1855, he toured Europe as a young man, studying with famous painters. He returned to America to continue his art and to become an acclaimed teacher. But despite his talent, despite his success, there was always a feeling that something was missing. At the age of 40 DeVenter surrendered his life to the gospel ministry, left his art behind, and became a renowned evangelistic preacher. He wrote a hymn, as a personal testimony, and titled it "I Surrender All".
Judson DeVenter retired in his eighties and moved to the Tampa, Florida area. His home was near a college for young preachers and he would often invite students to join him there. One of those preacher boys was named William Franklin Graham. Years later Billy Graham counted DeVenter as one of his greatest mentors. A man who listened to the moving of the Spirit, a man who heard God's call, a man who . . . surrendered all.
All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live
I surrender all. I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour. I surrender all!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
January 4, 2024 - As the book bearing his name comes to a close, we find that Joshua “waxed old and stricken in age” (Joshua 23:1). He called the people together and gave his farewell address to them. We read the declaration he made in Joshua 24:15 when he said, “choose ye this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
As we stand here at the beginning of a new year, that seems an appropriate challenge for each of us. We must choose whether we are going to serve the Lord or we are going to serve the devil. Will Jesus Christ be Lord and Master of our lives in 2024 or will he not? I have said this and written this many times, but it is ever true that if Jesus Christ is not Lord of ALL of your life, He is not Lord AT ALL in your life.
I would like to encourage you to make Jesus Christ the Lord of ALL of your life in 2024. This coming Sunday is the first Lord’s Day in 2024. Make your plans to meet the Lord at His house for worship. Resolve that meeting the Lord at His House for Worship will be a part of your activities not just this coming Sunday, but EVERY Lord’s Day throughout the year. Choose to serve the Lord!
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.
January 3, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, January 3.
Houston is my hometown. And on January 3, 1962, something extraordinary began there, a dream really. On that day, ground was broken on a new kind of sports stadium, a "domed" stadium. It was the first of its kind in the world. There are many in the world now, but the Astrodome was the first.
The dream belonged to a man named Roy Hofheinz. He had been the mayor of Houston in the 1950's, when I was born, and during that time he took a vacation to Rome. He would say later that seeing the ruins of the Roman coliseum was the inspiration for his dream. The astrodome was built on former swampland, came in under budget, and was dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World".
In 1970, just six years after his dream opened, Hofheinz suffered a stroke that left him in a wheelchair. He died in 1982, and in 2008 the Astrodome was closed. It still stands today, a slowly crumbling echo from the past, Houston's very own Roman ruin.
Texans have always been dreamers, Americans too.
Big dreams, small dreams, dreams that bring great success, dreams that end in great disappointment.
Do you have dreams for this new year? Does God have a dream for you? Perhaps you can find your inspiration in a simple scripture verse - Micah 6:8.
"He has shown you what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
January 2, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, January 2.
What kind of person are you? Glass half empty or glass half full? How we experience life, how we evaluate it, often comes down to how we perceive it. Do your perceptions tend to be positive or negative? Something to consider as we begin this new year.
My last devotion was sent out on Friday, December 22. That same day, my daughters and their families were coming in, and we were looking forward to a restful and festive Christmas. And then, very early on Christmas Eve morning, my wife suffered a stroke. She was rushed to the hospital, and instead of gathering around the Christmas tree, my family gathered around her bedside. She is in a temporary rehab program now and doing much, much better.
When these events began to unfold, I thought that this would certainly be a Christmas that we would want to forget (glass half empty). But then I considered the fact that, typically, the only week of the year that my family is all together, is the week of Christmas, and I couldn't imagine having to go through all that happened without the love, care, and support of our daughters and their families (glass half full). It will surely be a Christmas that we will always remember.
I've never been a big fan of making New Year's resolutions. But, in 2024, I'm going to try my best to have a positive perspective about the circumstances and challenges that come my way. I'm going to try to see things through God's eyes, through His perspective. And we can all choose to claim the promise found in Romans 8:28 - "And God works all things for good to those who love Him, and are called to His purpose."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
December 29, 2023 - Pastor Marlin Cloudy Sr. and Abundant Love Ministries will host “Watch Night” services on Sunday, December 31st, 2023, beginning at 10pm.
Regular Sunday morning worship will be held Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 10am.
Everyone is welcome and invited.
Abundant Love Ministries is located at 1426 Shelbyville St. Center, TX 75935
December 28, 2023 - Patroon Baptist Church is hosting a blood drive on Sunday, December 31st from 9 til 1:30. These donations will help offset the product used in Kevin Windham's infusions so please make plans to donate.
You can register at giveblood.org for your time or just come by. If you're not able to come on this date you can stop by the Blood Center in Nacogdoches and let them know you're giving for the Patroon Baptist Church blood drive.
You're also invited to stay for church and receive a great message. There will also be a potluck lunch after the service.
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