ANVIL OF GOD MONUMENT

In my post last night I mentioned being at Bible Baptist Church in Bangor, Maine and the fact that they are starting a building project soon.  They purchased several acres of land a number of years ago where they are going to build. 

On the property already stands a rather unique monument.  This monument has a great story to it and how it ended up on this property.  The short version is this: an older man and his wife lived in Maine with no good churches around them to go to.  They were saved and loved the Lord.  By and by Pastor Artie Dean met the couple and saw the monument.  This man put in his will that when he died, Bible Baptist Church was to get it.  He wanted to leave his impact on the cause of Christ and being a blacksmith he made this monument to the Word of God - the King James Bible. 

The monument weighs over 17,000 pounds and its foundation goes a little over four feet into the ground.  Pastor Dean said that on average several people a week stop to look at it and read what is on it.  I took these pictures on our first visit back in 2010 and I hope you enjoy it.  These are just a few of the pictures I took. 

Click here to go to the monument photo gallery on Photobucket (several close-up shots).
Click here to read about the monument on Bible Baptist Church's website.

Anvil of God Monument - Orono, Maine

Anvil of God Monument - Orono, Maine

Anvil of God Monument - Orono, Maine

Anvil of God Monument - Orono, Maine

BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH - Bangor, Maine

Today we had the privilege of being with the Bible Baptist Church in Bangor, Maine.  This was the second time we have been there this year.  Pastor Artie Dean invited us the first time back in 2010 to stop and preach on our way out of Maine and this has become a kind of a tradition for us.  When Pastor Dean found out we were going to be back in Maine for the tent meeting coming up at New Life he asked if we could come by again and we are thankful to be back.

I really believe we had a great day.  A group including Pastor Dean, his wife, some of his children and several other folks from the church were at a meeting in New Jersey this past week.  It was good to hear of the wonderful things the Lord did down there and they came back all fired up. 

God really moved in the special music this morning.  A young family visited for the first time and came as a result of the outreach program of the church.  This was a real encouragement to the folks.  Please pray for the Lord's will as they are searching for a good church.

There was great liberty in the preaching both morning and evening and I am thankful for the Lord's leading.  It is my prayer that the messages were a help and encouragement to the church.  One of the highlights of our times in Bangor is the opportunity to fellowship with Pastor Dean and his family on Saturday and Sunday.  This is always a good time and Stacie and I enjoy it very much.  The Deans have nine children who all love the Lord and they are a blessing to be around.  I know some preachers who don't think there are any spiritual young people.  Well I know plenty of them exist at this church and they not only LOVE the Lord but they SERVE Him and ENJOY it!  It is always sad to have to leave.

Please pray for this church as they grow and are in the beginning stages of a building program.  Final plans will be drawn up within the next few weeks and they will be ready to put out for bid.  Pastor Dean showed me the plans and drawings yesterday and I am excited for them.  I told the folks tonight I can't wait preach in the new building!

Click here to visit the website of Bible Baptist Church.

The church's theme for 2012 - Lord, Increase Our Faith

Pastor Artie Dean and Evangelist Craig Cobb

Bro. Delphin leading the congregational music

Great special music

More great special music!

NEXT STOP - Bangor, Maine

Tomorrow we will be at Bible Baptist Church in Bangor, Maine where Artie Dean is the pastor.  This will be our second time there this year and I will be preaching in the morning and evening services.  This is a growing church and I am praying for a mighty visitation with God tomorrow!!

Click here to visit their website.

TENT MEETING and CHURCH SERVICE

We arrived safely in Maine this past Monday from Connecticut and are thankful for the Lord's protection.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we drove each night about an hour and a half from Dover Foxcroft down to Northport on the coast.  Evangelist David Evans was preaching a tent revival at Cornerstone Bible Baptist Church (Pastor Ray Hedgepath).  Pastor Ireland from New Life Baptist Church and his wife joined us and we enjoyed the fellowship with them in the van driving back and forth.

The service Tuesday night was a blessing.  The Holy Spirit moved in a big way during the special music and then people started testifying.  It was great and I am glad I was there.  Bro. Evans preached two powerful messages each night.  We enjoyed some fellowship both nights after the service and then helped take the tent down Wednesday.

Last night we attended the church where Bro. Evans and I will be preaching a tent meeting together starting on August 5th - New Life Baptist Church in Dover Foxcroft (Pastor David Ireland).  It was good to get to see these folks again and we enjoyed listening to Bro. Ireland preach and encourage his people regarding the upcoming tent meeting. 

OLD TIME BAPTIST CAMP MEETING - August 19-24, 2012

Today has been a very busy day in preparing for the 28th annual Camp Meeting at our home church - Old Time Baptist Church.  It is fast approaching -the dates are August 19-24.  Please be in prayer for all the work that still has to be done in preparation.

If you would like any information regarding the camp meeting, feel free to send me an email by clicking here.

Below is a picture of the flyer (front and back).  If you click on the picture it should enlarge it to make it readable.  We hope to see you in Hamburg in just a little over three weeks!!!

Old Time Baptist Camp Meeting Flyer (inside).  Click on picture to enlarge.

Old Time Baptist Camp Meeting Flyer (outside).  Click on picture to enlarge.

HEADED BACK TO MAINE

We leave this morning to go back to Maine for about three weeks.  We will again be staying in Dover Foxcroft at New Life Baptist Church (Pastor David Ireland).  We spent about seven weeks up there back in April and May. Please pray for safety as we travel.

This is going to be an exciting and busy time for us.  My friend Evangelist David Evans spends a vast portion of his summer in Maine doing tent meetings.  We will be supporting a meeting early in the week in Northport.  Then on Sunday (July 29th) I will be preaching at Bible Baptist Church in Bangor.  The week after that Bro. Evans and I will be preaching a tent meeting together at New Life Baptist Church.  It is going to be good to be with the Evans family again.

We are looking forward to our time back in Maine and are praying for God to be doing some great things.  I would ask that you please pray with us for these meetings.

FIRST BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH - PLAINVILLE, CONNECTICUT

On our way to Maine for a couple of meetings we decided to stop by and visit First Bible Baptist Church in Plainville, Connecticut.  Tom Benson is the pastor and this was our first time being in this church. I have known about them for a few years but we've never had the opportunity to get thru this area. 

We enjoyed going to church with these folks in the morning and evening services and it was good to meet Pastor Benson and the people.  They made us feel very welcome and that is always a blessing. 

A great blessing of the day was that a young man who has been coming to church for a couple of weeks trusted Christ after the service this morning.  I had the privilege of meeting him tonight when we got to church and he was so excited.  Please also pray for a man who is being sent out of this church to start a work up in Vermont in September.

ESSEX STEAM TRAIN AND RIVERBOAT EXCURSION

Yesterday we took a "daycation".  We are on our way to Maine and stopped in Connecticut for a couple of days to visit a new church on Sunday and so we took a ride on the Essex Steam Train.  We have been in meetings for seven weeks in a row and 18 of the last 19 days so it was a blessing to take a little break.  We purchased the combination that allowed us to also go on the Becky Thatcher, a riverboat that takes passengers on a tour of a stretch of the Connecticut River.  It was a great time and we enjoyed ourselves very much.

There were lots of beautiful sights to see from the boat.  Absolutely gorgeous homes (and very expensive!) are dotted all along the river.  I have posted just a few pictures here but if you would like to see more, you can click here to see the photo gallery I created on Photobucket.

Here is a link to the Essex Steam Train web site if you're interested.

Connecticut River as seen from the Becky Thatcher Riverboat

ALMOST HEAVEN, WEST VIRGINIA!

We left West Virginia and traveled 600 miles yesterday.  It took 13 hours and it was a rainy day all the way to Connecticut.  We wound our way thru parts of West Virginia and Maryland that we have never been before.  The scenery along the way was breathtaking - even with the rain.  We also drove another way we have never been before - thru New Jersey and around New York City -- and if I never experience that again for the rest of my life it will be too soon!!!  It was absolutely insane!

Anyways - back to the meeting in West Virginia.  As you may recall from my last post, we were with Evangelist Don Hardman and his wife, Laura for a meeting he started back in 1998 at the Ritchie County 4-H grounds in Harrisville.  I was a little off in my last post in that it was actually 2003 when Stacie and I were there for the first and only time until again this week.  It was good to see some folks we met last time and then some new ones.  Almost everyone who came to the meeting used to be a part of the churches Bro. Hardman pastored from 1980-1985.

We met each night at 7:00pm for the service.  I led the singing Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and then had the privilege of preaching on Wednesday.  During the day we visited with people, some of whom are not physically able to come out to the meeting.  These are just good, down-home mountain folks from the Appalachians - very friendly and hospitable.

I wish I could take everybody who has never been in the mountains to this part of the country.  Most people don't even realize that there are still places in the United States like what is there.  It is a totally different culture and way of life.  There were no malls, Walmarts, or shopping plazas within miles and miles of where we were - just houses, hollows, and single-lane roads (mostly dirt) that go on forever.  You just have to be there and experience it for yourself to appreciate it.

We had a great time and have put this meeting on our schedule for next year.  We got to the know the people so much and they were appreciative of us coming.  We are already looking forward to next year!

For those who may be interested, I have created a photo gallery with more pictures.  For those who know the Hardmans, I would like to point out that there are some pictures of Bro. Hardman's relatives on the photo gallery who came out to the meeting.  Click here to view the photo gallery.  

Here are some pictures from the mountains...

Monday night was the best crowd with 35 in attendance. The rest of the week varied between 10 and 25

Bro. Hardman preaching Monday night

Stacie and Mrs. Hardman sang a couple of specials

Evangelist Craig Cobb preaching Wednesday night

Sign by the main road advertising the meeting

Main meeting hall at the 4-H grounds where we had services

Inside the meeting hall

NEXT STOP - WEST VIRGINIA!

We are traveling today to Harrisville, West Virginia.  Evangelist Don Hardman used to pastor a couple of churches in this area back in the 80's.  There's not many churches in these parts that have revival meetings so Bro. Hardman felt led of the Lord to start one.  Every year he rents out the Ritchie County 4-H grounds and holds a four-day revival.

Stacie and I joined the Hardmans for this meeting about five or six years ago and have been wanting to get back with them for it.  After the meeting in Columbus last year he called and told me to put it on the calendar for 2012 so that is what we did.

We will be deep in the mountains of West Virginia with no internet or cell phone service until Friday.  The meeting starts tonight and goes thru Thursday.  We are looking forward to spending some time with our dear friends and also to be part of the meeting.  I will post a report when we are back in "civilization"!!!  When we leave West Virginia we are going to work our way towards our next meetings up in Maine.

Evangelists Don Hardman and Craig Cobb

DAYS #7 and 8 - AMAZING GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH TENT REVIVAL - Columbus, Ohio

Well it's hard to believe that another tent meeting has come and gone.  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the time goes by.  It seems like a meeting starts and in just a couple blinks it is already over.  Yesterday (Saturday) we had just the evening service.  Stacie and I did some running around and some packing getting ready to leave for West Virginia (those details will be posted tomorrow).

I had the privilege of preaching last night's service and then the morning service today.  The only two out-of-town preachers left last night and today were Evangelist George McDowell and myself.  Bro. McDowell preached in Sunday School this morning.

Tonight was a good old-fashioned preaching/testimony service.  There was special music, Pastor Hood preached a great message on praising God and then we ended with testimonies.  Lots of people spoke about how they were helped during the meeting and some mentioned specific messages that they needed.  Pastor Hood said the devil fought the meeting like he never has but that it was the best tent meeting they have had in the 17 years of doing it.  When the devil fights you know God really wants to do something!

Saturday's message-

Evangelist Craig Cobb - "What's All The Fuss About?"

Today's preachers and messages-

MORNING SERVICE:
Evangelist George McDowell - "I Have Made Thee A Watchmen"
Evangelist Craig Cobb - "How To Finish Your Course"

EVENING SERVICE:
Pastor Jimmy Hood - "Praise Ye The Lord"

Link to Photo Gallery
Here's a few pictures from yesterday and today... (these are not in the photo gallery)

The Miller Family

More special music...

Pastor Jimmy Hood - Amazing Grace Baptist Church - Columbus, Ohio

Evangelist & Mrs. George McDowell singing in Sunday School

Special Music...

Pastor Hood admonishing the folks on Sunday morning!

Evangelist Craig Cobb preaching on the local church

Pastor Hood fiddling around!  (ha - get it?!?!)

The "Grace Girls"

Mrs. Miller and Miss Ellen

Evangelists George McDowell and Craig Cobb

Stacie Cobb, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. McDowell

The old-fashioned gospel tent being packed away for another year.

AMAZING GRACE TENT REVIVAL PHOTOS and OTHER LINKS

I have created a photo gallery from the tent revival at Amazing Grace Grace Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio.  The meeting is not over so I will probably be adding some pictures to the album in a few days, but it will give you a good history of what happened during the meeting.  I also have included a link to the church's sermon page where you can listen to any of the messages from the meeting.  You will just have to scroll down to the dates (July 8-15).

Link to Photo Gallery
Link to Sermon Recordings

DAY #6 - AMAZING GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH TENT REVIVAL - Columbus, Ohio

Today was the last weekday of the meeting.  The morning services (the first ever for this particular meeting) were absolutely wonderful and full of help and encouragement.  The Lord sure did direct Pastor Hood in not only starting them but in giving wisdom as to who was to preach.  There were good sized crowds each day numbering in the 50's.  This morning there were two preachers and some testimonies before lunch.

Tonight was also another good service.  The Lord brought the temperature down a bunch and it was wonderful.  When the service started at 7:00 it was a breezy 80 degrees out.  It was by far the coolest day we have seen in over two weeks of temperatures non-stop in the 90's and even several very hot triple-digit days.  There was a bunch of special music before the only preacher of the night got up.  What a wonderful message we heard on "A Lack of Communication" from Evangelist Earl Ankrom.  One lady came forward during the invitation and was dealt with.  When asked why she came she very plainly and tearfully said "I need to get saved"!  What a blessing!

It has become a tradition over the last several years to have a big cookout after the Friday evening service.  Most folks stayed around for the food and the fellowship.

Being Friday, many folks from out of town will be leaving tomorrow.  There will be groups from New York, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Virginia hitting the road.  We will still be having service tomorrow (Saturday) night at 7:00 and expect to see folks from other churches be under the tent.  Most of the preachers and singers will be gone but a couple of us will stay behind to finish the meeting.

Today's preachers and messages-

MORNING SERVICE:
Pastor Keith Woodby - "Beat the Heat"
Pastor Toure Carter - "You Can End Well"

EVENING SERVICE:
Evangelist Earl Ankrom - "A Lack of Communication"

Pastor Keith Woodby (left) preached first this morning

Joel & Melissa Berkheimer were a blessing each service

Mrs. Carter :singing her heart out"!

Wonderful singing all week from the children groups

Special music played during the offering

Listening and looking during the preaching

Pastor Toure Carter preached on "You Can End Well"

DAY #5 - AMAZING GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH TENT REVIVAL - Columbus, Ohio

Well it was an action-filled day here in Columbus.  As you may remember by a previous posting a few days ago, the area where we are having the tent meeting is known as "The Bottoms".  It is a place of crime, prostitution, drugs, murder and so on.  When I got to church this morning I found out that somebody (or probably a couple of somebodies!) had taken a bolt cutter and cut the chain link fence around the property and also cut the lock on the tent supply trailer.  They then stole the generator we have been using to provide power to the tent!  Praise the Lord that is all they took.

After the first preacher this morning Pastor Hood told the folks about the generator and that it would be about $600 to replace it. He also mentioned that somebody had already given him $100 towards a new one.  Well the Lord laid it on my heart to take up an offering so I asked Pastor Hood if I could say something.  He said no problem so I got up and encouraged the people to give.  Long story made short, we took up a total of $605 towards a new generator.  The assistant pastor went out and was buying one while we were in service and didn't know what was taking place.  The new one ended up costing $599!!!!  Praise the Lord!!!! God supplied the money at the exact time the new one was being purchased!!!!

It was another tremendous service this morning at the church.  Pastor Hood asked me to close out the meeting and just lift up the Lord so we could worship HIM!  The Lord let me get up and brag about Him a little bit.  The other preachers did a great job and again it was a help.  Tomorrow will be that last morning service of the meeting.

We had a very good service again tonight.  There was good special music and good preaching from a couple of preachers.  The Lord was really dealing with lots of people and one gentleman in particular who has been struggling for a few days since the meeting began.  He was dealt with during the invitation and gave testimony afterwards how he really wants God to use him and his life.  That's what these meetings are all about!

Today's preachers and messages-

MORNING SERVICE:
Pastor Kenneth McFadden - "Why People Don't Enjoy the Things of God"
Evangelist George McDowell - "Here Am I, Send Me"
Evangelist Craig Cobb - "I Love the Lord"

EVENING SERVICE:
Pastor Toure Carter - "The Way of the Mountain"
Evangelist Don Hardman - "Who Will You Be?"

The Carter Family singing

Evangelist George McDowell preaching

The group of ladies from our church with Mrs. Karen Hood (Pastor Hood's wife).

Old Time Baptist Church ladies singing special music

Pastor Taure Carter from West Memphis, Arkansas

Me and one of the Torres children

Ain't we just a sweet couple!!!