The Lord is truly helping us in the revival meeting at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church this week. The services have been very good and there ahd been great liberty to preach the Word. Last night, a precious lady was saved and I praise the Lord for His saving grace and power. Please continue to pray for the services as we meet seeking the Lord for revival in our area.
Alan
A lot has happened since I last took the time to sit here and blog. Week before last, the family took a much needed vacation and spent some time together at a cabin in the mountains above Pigeon Forge, TN. We had a very relaxing week together. For many years we were not able to take vacations because we could not afford to. Now we can, so we do.
This week has been very unusual. I preached Monday evening at Piney Grove Baptist Church here in our county. We had a great service. The Lord moved and several decisions were made. Tuesday morning I received a call from a brokenhearted mother that her 24-year-old son had been killed in a car wreck late Monday night. His name was Mark Garnhum and he was saved and called to preach under our ministry at Gilead Baptist Church in Burke County. Mark was like a son to Joan and me when he was growing up. He was in our home on mnay occasions because he and our son Jesse were best friends. At any rate, we had his funeral Wednesday night in Morganton, NC and the burial was Thursday afternoon in Burnsville, NC. Mark will be missed by his family. Please pray for his widow Kayla, their two children Kassie and Kayden, his mother, his father Frank and his sister Virginia. There are some great spiritual needs in the family so please pray that God will be glorified through the death of this fine young man.
One of our men, Brother Norman Tester, has been in intensive care since Wednesday evening. Brother Norman is a walking miracle. A few years ago he had throat cancer. Docotrs removed his tongue, larynx and interior throat muscles. Norman can’tr swallow, so he has to be fed through a feeding tube. Even without a tongue and a larynx, Norman can still speak and often stands to thank the Lord for saving his soul. Last year Norman had lung cancer and lost his riht lung. Now, he is having siezures. He had been in the hospital for three weeks due to these seizures. Wednesday afternoon Norman had a seizure and aspirated a bunch of the liquid food they feed him. His left lung is full of that material and he is now on a ventilator, with pneumonia and other problems. Please pray for Norman, his wife Earlene, and his daughters Renee and Sherry. They would appreciate it.
I am schedules to be with Pastor Ken Frady and the folks at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Connelly Springs, NC. Please remember the meeting and come if you can.
God bless!
Alan
We had a wonderful meeting in Tallapoosa, GA with Pastor Alton Stamey and the good folks at Westview Baptist Church. They were vocal and responsive during the meeting and I enjoyed tremendous liberty to preach in all the services. On Thursday, the Lord did something special for the church. The people shouted, testified and used the altars for over 2 hours! We never did get around to preaching, at least, there was no preaching from the pulpit; there was plenty from the pews. It was a great night to be in the house of God! Please pray for Pastor Stamey and the folks at Westview. The Lord is there! Thank you also to Pastor Ken Bowman and the folks at Liberty Baptist Church in Bowdon, GA for allowing Sister Joan and me to stay in their prophet’s quarters for the week. We appreciate you folks!
I am looking forward to being with the good folks at Calvary Baptist tomorrow. I enjoy preaching meeting, but it is always good to get back to Calvary. God is so good to us when we gather at His house and I am thankful.
When the services are over tomorrow evening, My son Jesse, my son-in-law Chad, my grandson Clayton and I will join our wives (an Clayton’s mother) in Pigeon Forge, TN for a few days of rest and vacation. The ladies went ahead on Friday and we will join them when our respective Lord’s Day duties have been fulfilled. Pray for a safe trip.
That being said, I may or may not be blogging this week. It all depends on the Internet situation at the cabin. That’s all for tonight. It’s bedtime here in North Carolina. God bless you all and have a great day tomorrow!
Alan Carr
All I can say is “Praise the Lord!” Our second annual Bible Conference was amazing! Every sermon came to us with the breathe of Heaven on it. I have never heard so many men preach such Christ-exalting, heartrending, and soul-searching messages. The Lord truly met with His people in a powerful manner. As soon as time permits, I will post the audios to The Sermon Notebook Audio page. When that happens, I will post a notice here. I hope you will check back to obtain the messages.
Every service in the meeting was powerful and rich, but the Lord did something very profound on Wednesday evening. During that service the Lord met with His people. There was such brokenness and conviction in the service. It was a truly profound experience. I know the Lord broke my heart and left me weeping at His feet. I praise Him for all He did. I wish I could tell you more about what the Lord did, but it seems to me that it was such a holy time, to talk about seems almost like sacrilege. Mark your calendars. Our meeting next year will be August 2-6, 2009.
Alan
here and there this week taking care of business. Yesterday morning I went to Morganton, NC with my son Jesse. He was preaching at a tent meeting there. As usual he did a great job. He preached in the power of God and he was faithful to exegete the text and allow it to speak. That is my kind of preaching!
This morning I went to the hospital. One of our young ladies was having some surgery, and all went well. I have an eye exam this afternoon. Then, tonight, the family will go to my parent’s home for a visit. My brother and his wife, who live in Ohio, are down here for a few days and we want to see them before they get away. Besides that, today is Mom and Dad’s 49th anniversary. Congratulation’s Mom and Dad! I love you folks!
Our Bible Conference kicks off Sunday morning with Evangelist Tom Hayes from Saluda, NC. He will be preaching both services on Sunday. Our morning services are Monday – Thursday at 9:30 AM. We will have three or four preachers each morning, Lord willing. And, we will be providing lunch each day. The evening services will feature two preachers and will begin each evening at 7:00 PM. Please pray for the meeting and come if you can! I will do my best to post the audios as soon as possible. Click here for more information about the conference.
Alan
The Lord gave a us a great day in His house on Sunday. I have been preaching through the book of Mark for about 18 months now. I was in chapter 11 this week, preach about our Lord’s Triumphant entry in to Jerusalem. As you know, Jesus made this journey on the back of a donkey, in fulfillment of Zachariah’s prophecy, Zach. 9:9. As I was preaching, I began to think about that donkey and kind of got hung up there Sunday morning. I came back on Sunday evening and finished the message. The Lord moved in power in both services.
Anyway, I want to share a thought with you about that donkey. There are three truths about him that make him special and that allowed him to be used of the Lord.
That Donkey Had To Be Redeemed – Ex. 13:13; 34:20. That little donkey was alive and useful to the Lord because it had been redeemed by the blood of a lamb. Praise God that is why I have life today. That is the only reason you and I have any usefulness to the Lord today. Praise God for the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus
That Donkey Had To Be Released – Mark 11:2 – It was bound and had to be set free before the Lord could use it. Before you and I can be of any use to Him, the chains of our sins are going to have to be broken and we are going to have to be set free. I praise His Name that is just what He does for His saints, Rom. 6:14; John 8:36.
That Donkey Had To Be Ruled – Mark 11:2 – Someone had to take charge over that donkey. Verse 2 tells us that the donkey had never been broken to ride. Yet, it submitted itself to the Lord Jesus and yielded to His control. That donkey wasn’t frightened by the crowds or by their noise. It surrendered itself to the Lord totally. That is what He expects of us! He is looking for total submission and total surrender, Rom. 12:1-2.
I just thought I would share that with you today. It isn’t so bad being a donkey if the Lord can use us and get glory to His Name. Hallelujah!
Alan Carr
Our 2008 Bible Conference will be held here at Calvary Baptist Aug. 3-7. If you are interested in more information, you can find it here: Calvary Baptist Church – 2008 Bible Conference.
As usual, we have had some people sick and in the hospital this week. One of our dear ladies was in very serious condition on Monday evening. She was put into ICU and the docs got pretty aggressive with her treatment. I am pleased to report that the lord touched her and she is doing much better today. Praise the Lord. I am grateful to God that He hears and answers the petitions of His people. Of course, that is His promise, Jer. 33:3; Matt. 7:7-11. God is good to His people!
One of the major problems on battlefields down through the generations has been battlefield communications. Soldiers in the field have had a difficult time communicating with the commanders behind the lines. In our modern age, with cell and satellite communications, most of those problems have been
solved. When God fielded His army, the church, He did not leave us here without a means of communication. He gave us the tool of prayer. Through prayer we can speak with Him any place, any time and for any reason. I am grateful for the privilege of prayer. I would recommend that we utilize it more often than we do. In fact, I think I will get off here and go talk to Him.
Have a great meeting tonight!
Alan Carr
What a morning! The Lord showed up and showed out at Calvary this morning. The saints of God worshiped Him, praised Him, testified of Him and loved on one another. It was a special time in the Lord. Best of all, we had one of our precious young people saved today. Hallelujah! God sure is good to us! I am looking forward to getting back to the house of God this evening to see what He will do next. I praise Him for being so amazing and for blessing our church like He does. We never know when God is going to bless like He did today, but I can honestly say that I am always a candidate for it. Pray for our church and for the other souls at Calvary that need to be saved.
Alan Carr
These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, with church, family and preaching business occupying nearly every minute of our time. Joan and I just returned from a week in Vanntown, TN with Pastor Milton Martin, Associate Pastor Craig Clemons (This is for you friend!) and the great folks at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. I was there preaching in their annual Bible Conference. Some of the other preachers in the meeting were Bob Weldon, Keith Purser, Ken Bowman, Chuck Ivey, and Ronnie Galloway. Singing was provided by the excellent church choir, the Hendersons from Fort Payne, AL and others in the church. This meeting is one of the highlights of my year. I truly enjoying going to Pleasant Hill and worshiping with these fine folks. They sure know how to take care of God’s men. Thank you Brother Milton and Brother Craig! I love you fellows!
Now, it’s time for us to get ready for our own Bible Conference here at Calvary. Our meeting with be August 3, 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM and August 4-7, 9:30 AM and 7:00 PM. Our featured preachers in the morning services will be Scott Moneyham, Rick Safriet, Eric Snider, and James Lockee. Our evening speakers will be Steve Dagenhart and Tom Hayes. Special singing will be provided by The Fortune Family of Toomsville, GA. We will also be providing a delicious, home-cooked lunch each day fee of charge. Please pray for the meeting and come if you can!
See you soon!
Alan Carr
Fat Baptist 
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