Blodgett MO Church of Christ

02/12/2026

We are so happy and excited to announce that Britton was baptized into Christ last night by Aaron, his dad.

This young man has made a profound decision that will affect his life forever.

We could not be happier for or more proud of him for declaring his faith in Jesus as the Son of God and acting on that faith by being baptized.

We know that the influence of his godly parents played a major role in his decision.

We applaud him and we stand by to assist him and to help him grow as a young Christian man.

God bless Aaron, Kelly and Britton.

12/30/2025

From Biblical Creation:

HOW PENGUINS KEEP WARM

Penguin feathers are an incredible display of God’s design. Unlike typical birds, penguins have densely packed feathers, over 100 feathers per square inch, creating a waterproof and insulating barrier that keeps them warm even in sub zero Antarctic waters. These feathers interlock tightly, form a slick outer coat, and are constantly preened with oil from a special gland God gave them. This allows penguins to swim through freezing oceans without soaking their skin.

Beneath their feathers, penguins also have a thick layer of fat for insulation, perfectly suited for their harsh climate. Evolution cannot account for such a precise combination of traits working together. Dense waterproof feathers, oil producing glands, and insulating body fat must all exist at the same time for survival in extreme cold. This is not something that could slowly evolve. If even one part were missing, the penguin would freeze. God’s hand is clearly seen in this flawless engineering. He designed penguins fully equipped from the very beginning.

10/24/2025

A recent article by Dick Blackford.

The REAL TRUTH About “COMFORT ZONES”

It’s not wrong to have a comfort zone. Everybody has one. It’s a psychological state of familiar environment where you feel safe, in control, and experience low anxiety and stress. A “comfort zone” is a FEELING.

How many times have we learned that feelings are not a safe guide? Feelings misled Paul to thinking it was okay to persecute Christians, even though he had a good conscience about it (Acts 23:1; 24:16).

Feelings misled Jacob to believing that Joseph was dead, even to the point that he put on sackcloth and mourned for many days and nobody could comfort him (Gen 37:34-36).

He lived to see Joseph again and Joseph helped save his family from the famine and brought them (including Jacob) to live in Egypt.

Feelings also lead people into thinking they are “saved” when they put their feelings above what the Scriptures say.

Comfort zones become dangerously overrated when they keep us from doing the right thing. When your comfort zone becomes more important to you than doing the Lord’s will, you have removed God and put yourself in the driver’s seat.

Most of us haven’t thought of comfort zones in this way, but we really need to see the total picture of what they are and what they can do, for good or harm. In some situations comfort zones can be good things.

On a bitter cold day it’s much more comfortable to be in the house around the fireplace with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. Nothing wrong with that!

Helping a poor man who has been beaten and robbed was out of the comfort zone of the priest and the Levite and it kept them from helping the man (Lk 10:30-37).

After all, the thieves who did this terrible thing could still be in the area. Plus, helping the man with his wounds could get messier than they were willing to involved themselves.

It might also involve more obligations than they were willing to take on. And who knows, he could have been faking and rise up against you if you got too close. It’s easy to find excuses when something is out of your comfort zone.

Those same scenarios could also have taken the Good Samaritan out of his comfort zone but he was willing to kick it aside in favor of doing the right thing. The attitude of the priest and Levite seem to have been, “If we help him, what’s going to happen to us?”

Whereas, the attitude of the good Samaritan seems to have been, “If I don’t help him, what’s going to happen to him?” Kicking our comfort zones aside is what we should do when they become a hindrance and get in the way of doing right.

Comfort zones can be affected by circumstances. Admitting that he was a disciple of Jesus was out of Peter’s comfort zone on the eve of Christ’s crucifixion. He denied, and cursed, and swore with an oath – the Big Lie: “I know not the man” (Mt 26:72-74).

Only a short time earlier he was willing to defend Jesus to the bitter end - when he had a sword in his hand. Jesus rebuked him for attacking Malchus, the High Priest’s servant, and told him to put up his sword.

That took him out of his comfort zone and that led to his denying the Lord three times. You see how dangerous a comfort zone can be if not kept under control?

Talking with someone about the gospel may not be “your thing,” but a Christian won’t let the “comfort zone” obstacle get in the way.

I have heard people say they don’t come to worship because they don’t like to be around crowds. There’s that comfort zone excuse again.

Not only have they not considered that hell is also going to be crowded, so is heaven – “I beheld…a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne…” (Rev 7:9).

So, what will the person who doesn’t like to be around crowds do? Who wants to “mix” with all those foreigners from all those nations? Staying here is not an option (2 Pet 3:10).

The best thing to do is to kick your comfort zone aside and put it in its place. It would be a terrible, and a horribly sad thing to miss heaven because of a pesky “comfort zone.”

Don’t let your comfort zone lead you to a place where you won’t want to be for eternity. -db

06/24/2024

Helping her dad lead singing.

02/14/2024

A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay." So she persuaded us.

— Acts 16:14–15

In the 16th century BCE, a precious treasure emerged from the Mediterranean Sea: Murex brandaris, a type of sea snail. During the Bronze Age in the Phoenician city of Tyre (modern-day Lebanon), the sea snails were used to make Tyrian purple dye, also known as “Royal” or “Imperial” purple.

To create the dye, a yellow fluid was extracted from the snails and exposed to light until it turned a brilliant shade of purple. The fabric dye became fashionable across Phoenicia because it was more vibrant and longer-lasting than existing dyes.

However, it was also much more expensive to make. It took up to 12,000 mollusks to produce just 1 gram of dye, and Murex snails became worth their weight in gold.

At the time, 1 pound of Tyrian purple wool cost more than what most people made in a year, so the only members of society who could afford the color were nobility and royalty.

Because of this, the hue became associated with wealth. It was later adopted by Persian rulers such as Cyrus the Great, as well as most of the ancient Roman emperors, including Julius Caesar, who donned a purple toga.

In the Byzantine Empire, not only did rulers wear purple, but they also signed their documents with purple ink. It’s believed that the saying “born in the purple” (to denote a noble birth) originated in Byzantium, where children of high-ranking citizens wore purple.

Although the color’s popularity dwindled after the fall of the Byzantine Empire (in 1453), it never entirely went out of style.

Purple finally became widely available after British chemist William Henry Perkin invented the world’s first commercial synthetic dye in 1856, called “aniline purple,” later named “mauve.”

08/21/2023

An interesting article by Brother Dick Blackford.

CHANGING A BABY’S DIAPER

When I was a young man, an elder in the church said to me that “Changing a baby’s diaper will make a Man out of you.” I’m sure I looked puzzled because I didn’t “get it.” He was talking about God’s view of a man, not the world’s. Some equate manhood with the tough guy who can ride a mechanical bull, chew to***co, cuss, and “hold his own liquor.” I believe what the elder meant was, it is showing maturity.

YOU ARE LEARNING RESPONSIBILITY. You are being dependable. If you do it with a good attitude, you are also forming a bond with the child and you are doing something for someone who is unable to do for themselves. The child develops trust and confidence in you. So don’t be surprised that when you are lying on the floor that the child crawls all over you, giving you kisses and affection. That relationship means the time is ripe to be reading Bible stories and teaching Bible principles because those formative years are some of the best for teaching and learning. Children learn things much earlier than previous thought. We call it “early childhood development.” So we begin taking them to Bible class at six months instead of six years.

YOU ARE LEARNING STEADFASTNESS AND PATIENCE. Changing diapers is not a “one & done” situation. It will be needed repeatedly, again and again and….as long as needed until the child matures and grows out of that stage. God wants us to be steadfast in doing good (1 Cor 15:58). Be patient, but not as though it is “tribulation.” “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (Eccles 7:8).

YOU ARE LEARNING HUMILITY. You are putting someone else first and thinking of their need instead of yours. It shows that doing what may seem a menial task is not beneath you. We need to reach the point where we realize “it’s not all about ME.” “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (Js 4:10), and so will the child, in due time. “…He that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Mt 23:12).

This has become a little more convenient with disposable diapers over the cloth ones that had to be laundered, hung on the clothesline, gathered and folded. Though these are valuable lessons to be learned, there is a sense of refreshing, joy, and celebration at the graduation and surpassing of this milestone in the child’s life. The child will be a “changed” person. And so will you.

We close this piece with three observations. (1) I heard of a sign on the wall of a church nursery: “1 Cor 15:51 - Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” (2) Disclaimer: No, I don’t want to change your baby’s diaper, but I if you, your spouse, and nanny are unable, I will. (3) If you are a preacher you might be able to develop this into a three-point sermon outline, but I highly don’t recommend it. -db

(from the Bulletin, StoneRidge Church Of Christ, 8-20-23)

05/19/2023

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
and THE HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA

--Jefferson David Tant, [email protected]

America’s public-school system in many places is falling prey to the agenda being promoted by the homosexual agenda, which seeks to make homosexual behavior perfectly normal and acceptable. To help achieve this goal, the prime targets are our public-school system.

One of the agents promoting this is the Southern Poverty Law Center. This organization was originally chartered as a national “civil rights” organization, whose original aim was to help fight against racial discrimination, but it has transformed into an organization that seems to label any organization that upholds traditional moral values as a “hate group.”

The SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance program is used in many K-12 schools. Hundreds of teachers are using this program around the nation, and some are not aware of the goals of SPLC. The organization has a publication for educators promoting an “LGBT Inclusive School Environment.”

The goal of its “Teaching Tolerance” campaign is to put pro-LGBT curriculum in every p***c school in the USA. They seek to reduce or eliminate the influence of any parental organizations, such as the PTAs, which object to their agenda by labeling them as “hate groups.” The SPLC has a “Toolkit for ‘gender spectrum’” which encourages teachers to host a “gender-neutral day” where boys become girls and girls become boys even beginning in the third grade.

SPLC has a “Best Practices” handbook which aims to help school personnel to create an “LGBT-inclusive Climate” and urges leaders to “use gender-inclusive language,” while calling for students to cross-dress and attend events with same-sex dates. They also seek to ostracize students, parents or organizations who have objections to these goals.

Teachers have been paid to attend SPLC training programs to help them put into practice the goals of the homosexual advocates. They also promoting open attacks on parents, Christians, teachers or anyone else who is opposed to their agenda.

In Hawaii, state rep Bob McDermott filed an ethics complaint against SPLC, because they were paying teachers to promote their agenda. But Hawaii law prevents outside organizations from paying teachers. Their program was also biased against Christians. Teachers are also trained how to respond to parents who oppose cross-dressing their children or object to their agenda. These parents are labeled as “haters.

A group of Minnesota parents fought against the LGBT program, and they were sued by the SPLC and were labeled as a “hate group.”

In view of these disturbing facts, Christian parents need to be involved in their children’s school programs and let their voices be heard. If things are not going well, parents might consider home schooling or a private school. We cannot let the world mold our children after the ways of the world.

And this becomes even more serious when we consider that, according to some estimates, 90% of college professors are liberal, and their agenda is to destroy the faith of the ignorant, Bible-believing students that come into their classroom. Some surveys have determined that as high as 70% of young people from church-going denominational homes lose their faith while in college. One reason is that these students have no foundation for their faith.

It is vitally important that local congregations need to teach classes on evidence to give our young people a solid foundation for their faith.

Consider the following quotes that clearly show the agenda the some have for the remaking of America and the destruction of the faith of our children.

“We try to arrange things so that students who enter as bigoted, homophobic, religious fundamentalists will leave college with views more like our own…We are going to go right on trying to discredit you (fundamentalist parents) in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your view seem silly rather than discussable. We are not so inclusivist as to tolerate intolerance such as yours.” (Prof. Richard Rorty, in his essay “Universality and Truth”)

“Every child in America entering school at the age of five is insane because he comes to school with certain allegiances towards our founding fathers, towards his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being… It is up to you teachers to make all of these sick children well by creating the International Children of the Future” (Chester M. Pierce, Harvard Professor addressing public school teachers. [Berit Kjos, Brave New Schools, p. 161)

In view of this, we must be diligent, and we must ground our children’s faith, that they be strong to resist the forces of Satan that seek to destroy us and our children.

“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:13)

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)

04/20/2023

To all:

We have decided to keep the modified service schedule.

An extended service on Sunday morning with worship services at 10:00 AM and Bible study at 11:00 AM, no Sunday evening service and mid-week Bible study on Wednesday nights at 7:00 PM.

Everyone is welcome to join us in our worship services and Bible studies.

Russell Rice
Minister
Blodgett Church of Christ

12/30/2022

Borrowed from Brother Dick Blackford:

A memory from 9 years ago.

“HAST THOU ENTERED INTO THE TREASURES OF THE SNOW?” Job 38:22

It’s that time of year again. So come on in out of the cold and have yourself something warm to drink. Then sit down and let’s chat a spell.

While the cold is on your mind, let’s discuss a related Bible question. “Have you considered the treasures of the snow?” I’m not sure what all God had in mind when he asked job that question, but let’s explore some possibilities.

From the standpoint of AGRICULTURE, scientists tell us that snow contains nitrogen and other chemicals which help make the land more fertile. It also helps the farmer’s pocketbook. In mountainous regions the snow usually melts at just the right time in the Spring to water the fertile plain below.

From the standpoint of BEAUTY, even the atheist has to be impressed. How many artists have been inspired by a beautify snowfall – or eve an tiny snowflake? Some of the most beautify greeting cards at this time of year contain snow scenes. And don’t forget those lovely pictorial calendars we receive. And those wonderful songs about snow.

Snow provides opportunities for us to REC-REATE. Children, as well as those older in body but young at heart, like to play in the snow. From sledding and skiing to making snow critters – and the ever popular snowball fight; snow instills a sense of vigor and give us a chance to renew.

Snow also provides JOBS! Think of the snow shovels, snow blowers, window scrapers, snow plows, and other snow removal equipment. They provide jobs for the maker and the user. Not to mention snow tires, ski, sled and sleigh makers, ski resorts clothing, artists, songwriters, and photographers. A job, in itself, is a treasure to have.

In addition, snow provides us with a beautiful symbol of PURITY and cleanness, giving us some of our most beautiful passages in Scripture: “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Ps. 51:7); “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: (Isa. 1:18); “If I wash myself with snow-water” (Job 9:30); “His raiment was as white as snow” (Dan. 7:9; Mt. 28:3; Mk. 9:3; Rev.1;14).

Snow should be a reminder of GOD’S POWER over the elements of nature. “For he saith to the snow, Fall thou upon the earth” (Job 37:6). In Bible times God used the snow in aiding His people in battle (Job 38:22,23). From a historical standpoint one of the apocryphal books relates a very exceptional snow fall heavy enough to prevent the movement of troops (I Mac. 13:22).

Well, I hope you enjoyed our little chat around the fire. I’m feeling a little flakey, if you catch my drift. While snow also has a negative aspect, we have tried to look on the bright side.

And, oh…, before you go, how about a little dish of snow cream? - Dick Blackford

07/17/2022

Two young men of whom we are very proud. Blake Wade and Zach Weiny.

They delivered both sermons in our worship services this morning.

Shown here, holding their baby daughters during the closing prayer.

07/17/2022

03/26/2022

To all:

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sister Shirley Boley on Thursday afternoon, March 24, 2022 at around 4:00 at the Sikeston Convalescent Center.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends and with all of us who knew and loved her.

Sister Shirley did not want a funeral and her wishes are being honored.

But, to honor her we are announcing a potluck dinner and singing at the Blodgett Community Building this coming Sunday afternoon, March 27th.

The doors will be open at noon. The meal will begin between 12:30 and 12:45.

There is no stove at the building. But there is a microwave and outlets on the west wall for plugging in crockpots, etc.

If you know someone who would like to attend, please feel free to invite them.

This includes family, neighbors and friends who knew and loved Sister Shirley.

This also includes Brothers and Sisters from other congregations in the area who knew and worshipped with Lloyd and Shirley over the years (Vanduser, Matthews, Sikeston, Cape, etc.)

After the meal, we will have songbooks available for singing together.

Thank you for your prayers and your thoughts on Shirley's behalf.

She has been a great influence in the lives of so many people in our churches and in our communities.

She will be missed very, very much.

Rusty Rice
Minister
Blodgett Church of Christ