Yesterday we toured the Grand Teton National Forest and the lower loop of Yellowstone National Park. The Tetons were spectacular, especially when seen from the vantage point of Jackson Lake. The lower loop of Yellowstone was beautiful, but it was not as great as I was expecting. The wildlife did not cooperate with us. I saw a chipmunk, a prairie dog and a few ragged buffalo. The ride from Yellowstone to Cody was the best part of the day. Driving through canyons and cliffs with vast mountain vistas was a breathtaking experience. Our accommodations in Cody are less than desirable; but it’s what we have. Today, it is 54 degrees in Cody, and it looks like it might rain. We are going to tour the upper loop of Yellowstone today; hopefully the wildlife will cooperate. I will try to post some pictures this evening, if time allows.

We are here. We got into town at about 9:00 PM. We rented 10 vans and set out for our hotel. It’s pretty swanky, too bad we were only here for about 10 hours. This morning we are heading to Yellowstone National Park. Lord willing, we will tour the lower loop today and wind up in Cody, WY this evening. All in all, the trip out here went surprisingly well. Outside of a minor glitch changing planes in Atlanta, and a dispute over van rentals with National Car Rental, shepherding 55 people to Wyoming was relatively tame. Please pray for safety as we drive from place to place. Please pray for the Lord to open doors for us to witness to the lost. Please pray that we will remain civil to one another. You know how it is when you travel with people. The old adage proves true: familiarity breeds contempt. More later, and perhaps pictures, if time allows.

Oh yeah, on the flight from Atlanta to Jackson Hole, Luke Brakefield proposed to Katie Hoover over the airplane PA system. She accepted. So, they are getting married July 2, 2010 on Myrtle Beach. It was a great moment!

Alan

The meeting at Eastwood Baptist here in Marietta, GA is going very well. The Pastor is Brother Mike Hatton. The Lord has met with us the last two nights and His Word has spoken to hearts for His glory. The folk are very responsive and engaged in the services. Please keep praying as the week progresses.

I appreciatw your prayers and your faithful visits to our web site. Pray for our various ministries and pray for Joan and me as we travel from place to place. Sometimes the flesh gets (stays) weary, but the spirit is always ready to preach and serve the Lord. God bless you all!

Alan

And will be until Tuesday morning. It is 72 degrees today and it is an absolutely perfect day. We have been busy since we arrived, but we have also taken some time to rest. We did a lot of that yesterday as it rained most of the day. Anyway, we rented scooters, which is a great way to travel down here. So, we have been riding our “hogs” all over the island. We visited Fort Zachary Taylor, the Ernest Hemingway House, the Southern White House, the Key West Lighthouse, the Southernmost Point, the Key West Cemetery, and other landmarks on the island. Tonight, I take my wife on a private, sunset dinner cruise. Tomorrow, we will go the Dry Tortugas, which lie some 70 miles west of Key West. We will take a ferry to and from the islands. It is about a 2 hour ferry ride each way. We will visit Fort Jefferson and see the sights around the Dry Tortugas.

The only problem I have with vacation is that they have to end. Our days are growing short already, but we have truly enjoyed our time together. Key West is beautiful, historical and nice to visit, but there is much here that is disturbing. Lat night Joan and I sat on Duval Street and watched humanity stroll by. I was reminded in vivid scenes of ho depraved lost men is. I was remidned that it takes great grace, God’s grace, to save any one of us. I was reminded again how thankful I should be for the salvation I enjoy in Jesus Christ. I praise Him that He changed my life and saved my soul. Otherwise, I might have been involved in some of the things I have seen just this week. Praise God for grace!

Here are a couple of shots I took at Fort Zachary Taylor today.

Here are a couple of tombstones from the Key West Cemetery. This first is from a woman who was known around town as a hypochondriac. The second is just funny.

Later!

Alan Carr

I just thought I’d drop a line from the sunny shores of Key West. We had a good flight down and we are staying in a NICE hotel. The part we are in is brand new, the TV’s and telephones aren’t connected yet, so they knocked $50.00 per night off the bill! That makes it even nicer. It is new, clean and quiet. Anyway, the weather is beautiful. It is 80 degrees and clear today. The crowds are not too big, so getting around is not too difficult. Just thought I’d rub it in. Will post later if I have time.

Here are a few photos I thought you might enjoy.

Alan

The Lord met with us at Pilgrim Progress Baptist Church in North Little Rock last night I preached from Galatians 5:16-25 on Living The Spirit Filled Life. The Lord truly blessed His Word and gave great liberty to this preacher. Lord willing, we will finish the meeting this evening and Joan and I will fly back home tomorrow. Pray for a safe frlight.

This is my third year with the fine folks at Pilgrim Progress. Not that it matters, but this church is an inner city, African-American congregation. The Pastor, Dr. Gerald Parker Sr., truly took a chance inviting a white preacher from North Carolina to preach in his pulpit. I must say that I have never been treated any better by any congregation anywhere. I enjoy the lively worship in this church. Some of the music is different than the tradition I am used to, but it is biblical and honors the Lord. One things that has arrested my attention each time have come to this church is the emphasis they place on the Word of God. In every service the Scripture is read and expounded many times. The service opens with a deacon reading a passage. Later in the service there will be a devotion, a lecture on some topic, an evangelistic appeal from the Bible and then the sermon. I have never been in a church that uses the Bible more than this church. Praise the Lord. Along with that, there is also a great emphasis on expository preaching. The men who share in the meeting are opening the Word of God and giving biblical exposition of the text. That is a rare find in this day of dead topical preaching and anemic sermons designed to meet the felt needs of the people. I am thankful to find a church that holds up the Word of God as its final authority.

Pray for us as we conclude the meeting this evening. Pray for Sister Jaon and me as we travel back home tomorrow. God bless and thanks for visiting The Sermon Notebook!

Alan

is off to a good start! Sister Joan and I had a good flight from Charlotte, NC to Little Rock, AR yesterday. It was the best kind of flight: uneventful! That just means it went up and came down in the right places.

We arrived here to find ourselves booked into a nice suite at a good hotel. The room is spacious, quiet and nicely appointed. Dr. Gerald Parker, the Pastor of Pilgrim Progress Baptist Church in North Little Rock met us at the airport and treated us to lunch. It was a good time of fellowship.

The service last night was lively and well attended. The folks responded well to the preaching and filled the altars at invitation. We had a great evening in the Lord.

Please pray for me as I preach here this week. I had great liberty last night, but the needs of the meeting and the congregation are great. Pray that the Lord might be glorified and that His church might be edified. Thank you for your prayers.

Alan

The Lord blessed us in the meeting last evening. Well, He blessed me anyway! He gave great liberty to preach His Word and I praise Him for that. The response in the altar call was less than it should have been, but that is a matter between the individual and the Lord. My duty is to go to the church house prepared to preach His Word. I did my best to do that, and He honored His Word. What a Savior! What a God! Keep praying for the services. I look forward to what He will do for us today.

Let me just say that there is nothing in the world quite like expositional preaching. The blessings in taking a text, finding the meaning of that text, then applying it to people where they live, is an amazing process. The Word of God is so rich and so powerful. We preachers need to be in the business of preaching the Word. The world does not need our theories. They do not need or intellectual gymnastics. They do not need out clever outlines and our catchy titles. The world needs the Word of God! They need to hear the Bible preached in power and in purity. They need to hear the voice of God. They need to hear “Thus saith the Lord!” That happens when we take His Word and preach His message. That happens when we preach expositional sermons in the power of the Spirit. Far too many preachers are trying to impress other preachers with their outlines. Far too many preachers are trying to make a name for themselves. Our business should be only to preach His Word in His power to people who need to hear from Heaven. My thoughts, opinions and cleverness will die when I do. His Word will stand forever!

Preacher, preach the Bible! Stay away from shallow, easy topical preaching. Dig into the Word of God and serve your people a meal of biblical meat for the glory of God. You will grow in the preparation and the preaching. They will grow in the hearing and application. God will bless it because it allows His voice to be heard in the world today. So, my brothers, let us take a text and preach that text! Let us never use the Word of God as a grab bag of texts that are strung together to form a sermon. Rather, let us take our text and preach all the truth it contains. Let us preach the Word as it was given, how it was given, and for the purpose it was given. Preach the Word!

Have a blessed day!

Alan Carr

Well, we had a great day in the Lord’s house yesterday. I appreciate the Lord blessing us like He does. He is a great God and I praise Him for it. I’ll never figure out why He would want to meet with folks like us, but He does. Praise His name!

I left after the PM service and drove to Macon, GA and spent the night. I finished the trip to Perry, FL this morning and I arrived here around 2:30 PM. I studied a while and went to church. The service was good, with several making a move in the altar. Pray for the meeting this week. There are several needs that only the Lord can meet.

On the way down, I listened to some lectures by Dr. Steven J. Lawson. He is the Pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, AL. Anyway, he has some lectures on the early church fathers. I listened to a lecture on Ambrose of Milan; a lecture on Jerome and five lectures on Augustine of Hippo. They were very enlightening and challenging. Click this blue text to access his site. You can find them on your own from there. Listen to some of his sermons. They are excellent as well.

God bless!

Alan Carr