Our church youth group is at the airport waiting to depart on the first leg of our mission trip to Wyoming. Barring a major catastrophe, we should be in Jackson Hole, WY tonight. Tomorrow and Saturday we will tour Yellowstone National Park, then From Sunday through Thursday, we will be on the Wind River Indian Reservation to do some mission work. Pray for our trip, and Lord willing, I will make regular updates via this blog. I will try to post some pictures, if I have Internet access.

Our annual Bible conference went very well this year. The attendance was good, the preaching was excellent and the presence of the Lord was overwhelming. I appreciate the 50 plus members of Calvary Baptist worked so hard to make the conference a success. I appreciate the preachers who came and preached the Word of God in power. I appreciate the singers who blessed us with their music. Most of all, I appreciate the sweet Spirit of God Who showed in power and glory in each service. I am especially thankful for our Wednesday evening service. The Lord moved in great power and touched many hearts. It was a time of soul-searching, repentance, and manifest love among the people of God. It was a powerful night in the Lord and I was greatly benefited from being there. Lord willing, our meeting next year will be August 1-5, 2010. I will do my best to post the audios of the sermons as soon as I have a little free time.

This Thursday, about 55 of the good folks from Calvary will join me on a mission trip to Riverton, WY. We will spend a week on the Wind River Indian Reservation among the Shoshone and Arapaho people. Please pray for safe travel and a good week of ministry in Wyoming. Before we leave for that meeting, I will be in Bryson City, NC on Monday – Wednesday evenings preaching at a youth camp. Pray about that, if you will, I am like a fish out of water trying to preach the young people. I do pray the Lord will save souls and get glory to His name through all these avenues of ministry He has opened for us.

I pray that you will have a great day in the Lord tomorrow. God bless!

Alan

The other night I received a call from an old friend. During the course of our conversation, he said that he had heard that I had changed churches. When I asked him what church I was supposed to have taken; he gave me the name of a church that would never tolerate my brand of preaching, nor could I tolerate their brand of worship. That conversation, along other incidents that have occurred during the past few days caused me to think about the matter of getting your words right.

In Col. 4:6, Paul said, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Among other things, that verse has the idea that we need to watch what we say and how we say it. Our words do matter. What we say does have an impact on those around us. When we tell something on someone, it hurts. When we spread a rumor on someone, it can cause them problems. When we gossip, we are working alongside the enemy to accomplish his purposes in the world. We should stop before we open our mouths and think about what we are about to say. We need to be sure that our words are “alway with grace“. That is, they should be gentle, truthful, godly, edifying, loving, thoughtful and wholesome. They should also be “seasoned with salt“. This means that our speech should not only reflect a Christian character, but they should also have a purifying influence on those around us. In other words, people should be changed and challenged when we speak to them. When we fail to do that, we fail to live up to God’s standards for proper use of our tongues.

Need I remind you that James said this, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:  But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.  Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?  Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh,” James 3:6-12.

So, before we speak, let’s remember the little verse many of us learned as children, which goes, “Be careful little mouth what you say.” If we can bring the tongue into submission to the will of the Father, we will be well on our way to a life of true holiness. James 3:2 says this, “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”

The fact is, many people love to tell things. They could care less if what they tell is true or not, so long as they get to tell somebody about it. The child of God takes into account the feelings of others, the will of God, the truth, and the facts before he or she speaks. At least they should!

Let’s get it right, or let’s keep our big mouths shut!

Alan

It’s been well over a week since I stopped by to say anything on this here blog. I just thought i’d comment on today’s services. It was good! No, I will say more than that. I preached about the ascension of the Lord Jesus into His glory. God blessed the preaching. That translates to, “I had great liberty and a great time.” I might as well have been preaching about the genealogy in the book of Numbers. Suffice it to say, it was a little quiet. Of course, that might have because I had to make a couple of corrective comments before the message. Anyway, all in all, it was a good service. I praise the Lord for the privilege of preaching to His people. I praise Him for allowing me to be a part of His ministry. I bless His name that He saved me and called me into the ministry. We all have dry days, we just do not like them. I am going back tonight, I look forward to what He will do in that service. Have fun.

Alan

but it is winding down fast. Today is the last day of Bible Conference here at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Vanntown, TN. In the 10:00 AM service, Brothers Ronnie Galloway, David Clemons and Bob Weldon will preach. Brother Doug Bearden will preach the final message of the meeting tonight. It has been a good week with the Lord helping His people for His glory.

I was thinking about some of the friends I have made while I have travelled from place to place. Some of them I do not get to see for w whole year at a time, but when we meet, we pick up where we left off. It’s as if we had never been apart. That’s the kind of people I like to associate with. Not too needy, not too clingy, just steady. Thank God for real friends.

Please continue to pray for Brother Milton Martin. He is doing well and is now out of the critical care unit. Please pray for him and his recovery, Remember his family as well. These are hard days for them all.

Lord willing, we will head back to North Carolina tomorrow. I miss my bed!

Alan

The meeting at Pleasant Hill Baptist is going very well. The preaching in the morning service was good and Brother Doug Bearden did an excellent job preaching about the crucifixion of Jesus last evening. God spoke to my heart in the services and I received some help. This morning, Brother Ken Bowman, Brother James Stutt and another preacher yet to be announced, will preach. Lord willing, I will preach tonight. As I mentioned previously, the Pastor, Brother Milton Martin, had heart valve replacement surgery on Monday. He is doing very well and may be moved out of the critical care unit today. Please continue to pray for Brother Milton and for the meeting here.

Alan

After a terribly late start and a long trip, Joan and I finally arrived in Huntsville, AL. I am preaching just north of here this week at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Vanntown, TN. The Pastor, Brother Milton Martin, had heart valve replacement surgery yesterday in Nashville. He did well, and is on his way to, what we hope and pray, is a full and speedy recovery. Please pray for Brother Milton, his wife Barbara and his daughters Lois and Carrie. The meeting is going on the Pastor’s absence. Pleasant Hill is blessed to have Brother Craig Clemons for their Associate Pastor. Brother Craig is a man of God who is very sensitive to the moving of the Spirit. He will moderate the meeting.

After arriving, Joan and I got ready and went to the meeting last night. Given their Pastor’s surgery, and the fact that they had a death in the church on Sunday, the people were just a little subdued. Nonetheless, we had a great service. I preached last night, and the Lord helped in a great way. It always amazes me that God can take His Word, and it through a frail, faulty human instrument and get glory to His name. Some folks said they got some real help last night. To God be the glory!

Brother Brian Calhoun and Elwood Seamster will preach this morning. Brother Doug Bearden will preach tonight. I suppose that I am off the hook until Wednesday evening. So, I just get to go to church and feed like everyone else.

Pray for the meeting, and if you are in the area, please stop by. The church is located at 353 Stewarts Chapel Road in Vanntown, TN. The morning services begin at 10:00 AM and the evening services begin at 7:00 PM.

Alan

I wanted to drop by today to remind you good folks to pray for Brother Milton Martin. Brother Milton is the Pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Vanntown, TN. Brother Milton will have heart valve replacement surgery Monday (07-13-09) morning in Nashville, TN. Please pray for Brother Milton, his wife Barbara, their daughters Lois and Carrie, as well as the church. Brother Milton has a great Associate Pastor in Brother Craig Clemons, so the church will still be in good hands. I would appreciate it if you would keep this special man of God in your prayers. Lord willing, I will be at Pleasant Hill Baptist next week for their annual Bible conference. Brother Craig will moderate the meeting. Pray about the meeting as well. I am expecting the Lord to do some great things for us during those days of meeting. I am not sure who all will be there. I know that Brother Doug Bearden and I will be doing the night preaching. I am sure there will be a number of great preachers there in the AM services. Pray for the meeting and come if you can! God bless.