Why Revival Tarries?

One of the oldest of our complaints and cries is "Why does revival tarry?" I have been thinking about this today because of the upcoming revival at Calvary SBC in Decatur. On Sunday, October 4 to Wednesday, October 7, the church will host Dr. Richard Tribble as the evangelist for these meetings. Richard is a good man and an excellent preacher; if a man could bring revival, Richard could!

But, we know that no man can. Only God can send revival, so we continually cry out to him as did the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 64:1-5:

1 "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?"

Of course, God's answer to this question is given in Isaiah 65... it is our sins that keep Him from sending His blessings!

May God use these meetings at Calvary to convict us, cleanse us, and change us!

I hope to see you there!

Friday Night at Revival!

Let me encourage you again to come out to revival at FSBC, Boody Friday night at 7pm to hear Dr. Jesse Powers! Tonight he preached one of the best sermons on the person and purposes of Jesus that I have heard in over 30 years of listening to preaching.

Come on out, bring the family. You will be blessed!

One of the "Greats" tonight and tomorrow at Boody!

All of us will be thankful that we had the privilege to sit under the teaching of Dr. Jesse Powers! He has been - over many years - one of the most fruitful and most used evangelists in America and around the world. In God's gracious providence, he has led many revival meetings in Illinois.

He will be preaching tonight (9/24) and tomorrow (9/25) at First Southern Baptist Church at Boody at 7pm. I hope you will be able to attend!

Pastors Luncheon with Roger Ellsworth

We will have a "Bring Your Own" lunch tomorrow (9/23) at the CBA Office at 11:30am with Roger Ellsworth. We will eat and talk together and have some time to "pick Roger's brain" about ministry and pastoring issues. I hope you will be able to join us!

Stand Still, and See the Salvation of the Lord!

They were out of Egypt, but they were up against the Red Sea and Pharoah and his army were in hot pursuit! Great fear had come upon them. In Exodus 14:13, Moses said to them, "Do not be afraid, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord..." You and I stand today, as we do on every Saturday, on the edge of our own challenges waiting to see whether or not God will move.

We, like they, are totally dependent upon the grace of God! If He delivers, they will be delivered; if He does not deliver, they will be defeated. Well, we know what Paul Harvey called, "The rest of the Story". God did move, and they were delivered!

The same God Who dried up the Red Sea can remove the great challenges and giants that stand between us and "The Promised Land". They were worried and discouraged not realizing that they were just minutes away from a mighty move of God that would bless them beyond measure...

I pray that the Lord moves on this Lord's Day! I pray that He mightly moves the obstacles and challenges before us; and the enemies that oppose us. I pray that we, like they, see the miracle-working hand of God in all of our services tomorrow and on every one of our services to come.

We at FBC Atwood, and our brothers and sisters at FSBC, Boody, are beginning revival services tomorrow. I pray that God's mighty deliverance will be seen this coming week in the salvation of many, the calling of many to ministry, new members added to our number, and a real spirit of revival in our churches. I pray for all of our churches, all of our people, and for all of our pastors that God will move on all of our churches in the days ahead.

We stand on the edge of the Holy Land of God's blessings! God can part the waters and move us over together this week, I pray that He will. God bless you!

UPCOMING REVIVALS!

Beloved Ones,

I hope you will pray for and be able to attend many of these upcoming revival meetings in our Churches:

September 20-23, FBC Atwood! Roger Ellsworth is the speaker. Sunday, 6pm; M-W @ 7pm.

September 20-25, FSBC Boody! Dr. Jesse Powers is the speaker. Sunday 6pm; M-F @ 7pm.

October 4-7, Calvary SBC! Dr. Richard Tribble is the speaker. Sunday 6pm; M-W @ 7pm.

Here are more opportunities for God to pour out real revival on us! Please pray for these Churches and these meetings, and attend as your schedule allows!

Welcome to the New CBA Blog!

Welcome to a new concept for my CBA blog! I hope that the idea of continual updates and "News You Can Use" about the Association, our Churches, and our People will be helpful for you.

Communication is really, really important and I hope this tool will facilitate better communication between the CBA Office and each of you. Please feel free to let me know how I can make this tool better and more helpful for you.

God bless you!