A Wonderful Day

We had a wonderful time of worship and fellowship yesterday. Although we had a few people out, we still had 25 in attendance, for which we praise the Lord. I shared a message on the fact that Spiritual Growth is a choice that we must make. God has commanded that we grow, and it takes effort on our part. God has not left it all up to us, however. He has promised to help us and to bless us as we pursue Him. Following the message, we celebrated Holy Communion.

We were pleased to have the District Presbyter of the Church of God of Prophecy, Dr. Freddie Harding, in service with us.

Last night I had the honor of ministering to a joint service of the Petros and Oliver Springs (COGOP) Churches. We met at the Oliver Springs church and there seemed to be a pretty good representation from each church. Mother, Dad, and Josiah (my nephew) went with me. The Spirit of the Lord was definitely present to minister to the peoples needs. I am very thankful to Pastors Roy Massengale and Stewart Sloan for giving me the opportunity to minister in this joint service!

News From Guatemala

I received the following from David Byrd in Guatemala. Please join me in prayer for the people there.

We have a urgent request for you and for your people to pray. There has been a lot of rain here. In one village, there were 12 whole families lost due to landslides on their homes. People have been told to leave their houses. People are being put up everywhere (either with relatives or friends). We have been told that the rivers will crest tonight at 11:00 (1:00 your time) and will be the equilate to Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The levies in Honduras will break which will bring a mighty wall of water into Guatemala. Please pray that the Lord will keep the river from cresting and pray for God's protection for the people here.

We are hosting a single mom and her three children with us tonight.

Thanks for your prayers.

David

Pray for Revival!

What is revival? According to Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, revival is the act of reviving, or the state of being revived. Specifically: (a) Renewed attention to something... (b) Renewed performance of, or interest in, something... (c) Renewed interest in religion, after indifference and decline; a period of religious awakening.

How do we know when we need revival?
When it is easier to stay at home than to go to church.
When it is easier to work than worship.
When it is easier to be critical than kind.
When it is easier to read magazines than the Bible.
When it is easier to support the club than the church.
When it is easier to grumble than to praise.
When it is easier to hold grudges than to forgive.
When it is easier to condemn souls rather than pray for their salvation.
(from "When Do We Need Revival?")

What are the results of Revival? Revival brings transformation (Romans 12:2), encouragement (Psalm 51:10), strength (Isaiah 40:31), support (Psalm 103:1-5), and focus (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Let’s Have A Revival
Let’s have a revival
From the pulpit to the pew
Let’s have a revival
That starts in me and you..
Then it reaches out to a lost and dying world
Let’s bring them in
This is our joy—it’s our survival
Let’s pray for Holy Ghost revival
Let’s have a Revival

Arrangements for Jay Houston

I just learned the arrangements for Jay Houston. The family will receive friends at the Bilbrey Funeral Home tomorrow night (Friday) from 6p.m. to 7p.m. with a funeral service to follow.

Again, please join me in prayer for this family.

Death Announcement

I just returned from the hospital a little while ago, and I am very sad to announce that Jay Houston passed away as a result of the injuries he sustained in an accident earlier today.

I didn’t know Jay personally, but he was my sister-in-law, Brenda’s, uncle. My brothers, Chris and Bill, were both well acquainted with Jay, and they have talked about what a good man he was. Jay has children living in California and Nevada, I believe, and all of them were able to come and visit with him just a few weeks ago.

When death comes so suddenly it only reminds us of how short life really is. In the bible, James spoke of the brevity of life. “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). How very important it is, then, that we prepare ourselves for that day that will come to all of us.

Please join me in prayer for Jay’s wife, children, and grandchildren, for his extended family, and for all those who knew and loved him.

Saturday and Sunday

The past couple days have been exciting. On Saturday, we served the evening meal and had a service with the people at Bread of Life Rescue Mission. At the end of the service we met a young man, Pete, (that’s not his real name) whom the Lord had delivered of many things. It was awesome to hear him share what the Lord has done for him. Please join me in prayer for “Pete” that the Lord will give him strength to press forward in the name of Jesus.

Yesterday we had a wonderful service at New Beginnings. Our new drummer sounded just awesome in the worship service. I preached, “It’s Time for Revival,” and we had a wonderful time of prayer after the message. Everyone seems so excited about our upcoming revival. Last night we met at Lawson Memorial Chapel to pray and seek the face of the Lord.

Volunteer Event

I received the following announcement from Linda Kawicki at Bread of Life Rescue Mission.

Dear Friends in Christ,

You are invited to take part in our volunteer event. Date is July 26th from 10 – 3 pm with lunch being provided. This will not only be a fun day, the meeting will provide understanding about what the mission’s needs are. Come and here about the future! If you would so kindly place this message in your bulletin or on your bulletin board, it would be appreciated. RSVP by July 23rd by calling 931-707-0503 and ask for Linda. Become a part of the team.

Hope to see you there,
Linda K. Secretary

Revival Announcement

Click on image for larger view.

Revival at Sparta

I received the following e-mail announcing revival at the Sparta church:

Bro. Chip, I wanted to invite you guys to join us, "By His Grace" Ministries for revival services at Sparta COGOP. We will begin services Friday night @ 7 PM thru Sunday morning. Hope you can join us and help us pray for revival!

God bless you! Gary Baker
www.byhisgrace.faithsite.com

The past few days...

We had an awesome service on Wednesday night. My mother ministered from the book of Jonah, “You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide.” Following her teaching, we had a powerful time of prayer. As we prayed for one another the Holy Spirit seemed to sweep through among us. The children came from the back and joined in the celebration. It was so exciting to see them express the joy of the Lord along with us “older folks.”

Friday, my family went to the lake in Spring City to celebrate Independence Day. We had a great time! I got to see many of my maternal relatives—the Weaver clan. It is always a joy to be around them.

Today we had an awesome service. Pastor Tony Cathey was with us (filling in for our Worship leader who took some extra time with his family). Tony did an awesome job. I preached “Understanding the Seasons of Your Life.” Although we had about 10 of our regular people out, we still had 30 people in attendance with several first time guests! Today was also the first service in which we had a drummer, and we are looking forward to having her play on a regular basis as part of our worship services. We are excited about the future!!

Plateau District Fellowship

I received this from Freddie Harding.


Click image to enlarge.

Week-end update

Saturday was the 7th Annual Block Party hosted by Bread of Life Rescue Mission. Mother, Dad, and I went around noon and it was very crowded. It was good to see so many people interested in the ministry of this mission. We enjoyed visiting and look forward to our continued cooperation with them.

Saturday afternoon I went to Grandview for my niece's birthday party. It was a western theme and free horse rides were offered. Jurnee had a great time opening all her birthday presents (who wouldn't, heh?)

Yesterday we had a great service. I preached "Wake up, take off your night clothes, put on your day clothes, and go to work" with Romans 13:11-14 as my text. We had some 2nd time guests and Aaron (Rhonda's son) who is visiting from CA.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful week ahead!

Just A Reminder

I received the following note from Linda Kawicki, Bread of Life Mission Secretary.

Just as a reminder: 

Tomorrow is the BLOCK PARTY hosted by the Bread of Life from 10:30 am to 6:00 pm.  Lots of food and fun for the kids.  And lots of praise and worship.

Hope to see you all there.  Bring your favorite lawn chair and enjoy the day with us. 

God Bless

Restoration Ministries Newsletter

On Eagles Wings
Restoration Ministries Newsletter
February – March, 2008

In February, we had a meeting with the NUFED schools. The purpose of this meeting was to decide which schools wanted which project. The projects offered were: reforestation, water cisterns, raising fish, and raising chickens.

On February 8, Vickie and I began raising 500 Tilapia. They are growing very well. Starter food has been given to them three times a day. We started out at 9 ounces, then 12 ounces, and now they receive 1 lb of food. The Tilapia were just minnows when purchased. Now, some are about 3 to 4 inches long in two months. However, 63 fish have died. Please pray for the fish to stop dying. The fish will be sold, and the proceeds will be used for construction.

 
The day finally came to hand out certificates of thanks and the showing of a Jesus film. Twenty two of the twenty eight families who installed water cisterns during the past two years received their certificate of thanks. After a time of thanking the people, we also praised the Lord for supplying rain to fill the cisterns. There were approximately 100 men, women, and children in attendance.

Following the time of thanksgiving, we showed the Jesus film. The movie was enjoyed by all. No one came forward afterwards for prayer. However, we ask that you partner with us in continued prayer for the village of Cajon de Rio.

On March 3, Don Julio came to teach us how to graft our fruit trees. Four people were present to learn how to do the grafting process. Two hundred thirteen trees were grafted in all. The trees grafted were 70 tangerine, 70 limes, and 73 grapefruit. We are now waiting to make sure the grafts took hold.

Santos and Amabilia, two students from the Intermach school in Jacotan planted radishes. We planted approximately 800 radishes. The radishes will be sold, and the proceeds used for construction. The radishes are growing well and will be ready to harvest in about 3 weeks.

On March 28, Jorge Rosales from NUFED schools and I went to Guareruche. For two days, Moringa limbs were cut down in preparation to be handled out at the school inn Guarecruche. The teacher was excited about the trees as were the students and parents. Twenty seven limbs, three feet long, were given to the school. The limbs were placed in a dark room for four days. Then, they will be planted around the school property.


The students and I visited San Jocinto and another village about 10 minutes from Chiquimula. They graciously gave us permission to cut 100 Moringa limbs from each location to hand out at the NUFED schools. It is our goal to plant the Moringa limbs at each school. Six months later the limbs will be cut off and half given to the school and the other half to us so other schools will benefit from the limbs. The Moringa trees have a three fold purpose. The leaves are a good vitamin resource, the seeds are used to purify water, and the wood can be used for firewood for cooking. Every six moths the limbs can be cut. Since the tree grows so fast, the tree is a good resource for firewood.

The students mixed dirt to put into bags to plant seeds. Six hundred bags were filled with dirt. The mixture was six parts dirt, three parts manure and one part sand. Six hundred Ramon seeds were planted in the bags.

The Ramon trees can supply food for the people. The Ramon seeds can be ground and made into tortillas and atol, a drink which the people like.

We thank you for helping us with our personal support. Without your faithful financial support, we would not be able to serve the Mayan people of Camotan and Jacotan, Guatemala.

God bless you for all you do.
Love and prayers.
David, Vickie, and Melissa

Service at Bread of Life

Saturday night was awesome! New Beginnings prepared the evening meal for the residents of Bread of Life Rescue Mission. We served about 30 people and there was plenty of help and food. After the meal, we had a service with them. Representatives of the Lantana Road Baptist Church opened the service and led in singing, and then I preached. I used Matthew 20:30-34 as my text. The Spirit of the Lord was awesome in that place. Several came forward for prayer during the altar service, and one man gave his heart to the Lord. God is awesome!

On Saturday, June 28th, Bread of Life will host their 7th Annual Block Party and Open House. This will be an all day event, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and concluding at 6:00 p.m. There will be fun and games for the kids, plenty to eat, and lots of worship, music, and praise.

Praise Reports

I just received word a little while ago from the families of Veness Diden and Rhonda Turner. Sister Veness had her surgery this morning in Knoxville and she came through it quite well. She had a tumor behind her right eye about the size of a golf ball. The doctors were able to get it all, and it was benign.

Rhonda had her surgery in California. She had an aneurysm in the brain. I am told the surgery was successful and Rhonda is doing great.

We give praise to the Lord for watching over each of these ladies today. Please continue to remember them in prayer that they will have a full and speedy recovery!

Prayer Requests

Today both Veness Diden (from Sunbright) and Rhonda Turner (my cousin) will be having surgery. Please join me in prayer for both of these ladies.

Christian Unity

Here is an interesting quote I found on Christian unity.

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. --A.W. Tozer

Why Another Church?

I am often asked, "Why would you want to start another church in Crossville?" In some ways, I suppose this is a legitimate question, although I do sometimes tire of hearing it. Nevertheless, I would like to answer the question here.

First of all, starting a new church is biblical! Paul said, “My one ambition is to proclaim the gospel where the name of Christ is not known, lest I build on someone else's foundation” (Romans 15:20). The New Testament church was very aggressive in planting churches.

Second, starting a new church gives people options! Usually, churches are afraid of competition from a new church that is planted across town. It is possible, however, for two churches to complement one another rather than to be in competition. People are not all the same, and some aspects (style of worship, average age of congregation, etc.) of one church may not appeal to everyone.

Third, starting a new church may be more effective in reaching the lost. Numerous studies have shown that 60-8- percent of the new adult members of new congregations are people who were not actively involved in the life of any worshiping congregation immediately prior to joining a new mission.

Father's Day

In my preparation for our Sunday service, I ran across this poem and thought I'd share it here.

Mender of toys, leader of boys,
Changer of fuses, kisser of bruises,
Bless him, O Lord.

Mover of couches, soother of ouches,
Ponder of nails, teller of tales,
Reward him, O Lord.

Hanger of screens, counselor of teens,
Fixer of bikes, chastiser of tykes,
Help him, O Lord.

Raker of leaves, cleaner of eaves,
Dryer of dishes, fulfiller of wishes,
Bless him, O Lord.