PRAISE THE LORD!

WELL, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO THOUGHT I HAD DIED BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN NO NEW POSTS TO THIS BLOG...I DIDN'T! I AM STILL ALIVE AND WELL! This has been a very busy last few months for sure. I won't put you to sleep with all the details but needless to say we have been hopping every day.

We have suffered the loss of some dear saints of our church family (Cal Burhoe and Katheryn Young) as they have traveled on to glory ahead of us. We were hoping and praying that we ALL could go Home on the "family plan" in the rapture but such was not the Lord's will. Praise the Lord we know where they are and we WILL see them again...soon!

These last few months we have seen a wonderful harvest of souls as many have heard the gospel and were gloriously saved by His marvelous grace! Last Sunday morning (November 21st) we saw two men (one in his 30's and one about 17 years old) walk the sawdust trail and call upon the Lord to save them! GLORY! We also had a young husband and wife (in their 20's) who were recently saved get baptized and join the church! The evening service I preached on being THANKFUL and then opened up the service to the church family and there was about an hour of great testimonies about the Lord Jesus Christ! It was a wonderful day!

We have been 6 years now in our new building and we have never been able to save enough money to be able to finish the fellowship hall below the auditorium. Brother Joe Kaiser from Northeast Vision (out of Solid Rock Baptist Church in New Jersey) was here with us for our Missions Conference and he challenged us to try and raise the funds to get started. As a result the Lord has enabled us to raise some of the monies needed to be able to do a good portion of the room and as a result the Lord is sending brother Kaiser and a crew of about 6 of his men to come to FBBC next Monday to install the ceiling, ceramic tile, plumbing fixtures, and finish our kitchen. I am still amazed at what the Lord is doing here at FBBC!!!! I am grateful to have such godly friends as Brother Kaiser! He is a blessing everywhere he goes! He is a blessing to me and to FBBC. Thank you Lord for crossing our paths!

"ONE HEARTBEAT AWAY"

The play "One Heartbeat Away" performed by our teens from FBBC last Friday and Sunday evenings was a blessing beyond words. I have no ability to explain the blessing that I personally received as I watched the play both nights. I was amazed to see all that was involved (stage crew, actors, etc) be so blessed by God! I too experienced the moving of the holy Spirit as I gave the invitation. Then the ultimate blessing...to see 4 adults get saved Friday night and 4 young people get saved on Sunday night! WOW! Glory to God! I am also rejoicing to know that there were probably 60-100 lost folks that heard the gospel and surely were brought to holy Spirit conviction as a result of all the scripture they heard on both nights. God's word never returns void! Who knows how many others will be saved down the road as a result! There is fruit that will remain and be added to the accounts of all the young people and adults involved in this play.

Thank you all for the many months of labor, fasting, prayer and witnessing that has taken place since last November! Most of all, THANK YOU LORD for glorifying yourself through our teens and teen workers!
Philippians 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Church Visitation

Praise the Lord! Thank you to all of you who took an hour of your Saturday morning today to take gospel to the streets of Plainville today! I heard many good reports from the faithful brethren who went out into the highways and hedges for the Lord! (Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.) May the Lord bless you for your compassionate heart for the souls of the lost. (Jude 21-23 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh).


My wife and I really only had one prolonged conversation with a man about 80. But we know that the word will not return void and that the Lord blesses the proclamation of His word! (Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it). Also ran into three teens playing catch in the streets and they seemed very interested in what I told them about our GREAT SAVIOUR and the wonderful Teen department at FBBC!!

Stop Fretting! God is still God!

Isaiah 40:21-24 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

Worried about world powers? World War 3? Terrorists? Market crashes? Biological warfare? Understand this from Isaiah: “That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.” Whatever happened to Napoleon? Didn’t he die in exile on an island somewhere? Or Alexander, the not-so Great? Hitler? Or the maniac leaders of our generation—Osama bin Laden or what was his name, Sadam Hussein? Their influence is hardly a blip on God’s monitor. They may cause us to bite our nails and worry, but God isn’t pacing, or wringing His hands; just as soon as He’s ready He will reduce those leaders to nothing and He will do it with His feet up. Isaiah says in effect, “ 'Don’t you get it?' God doesn’t read the New York Times. If He did, it wouldn’t make any difference. Nothing stops God's unalterable purposes in this world!”

I can’t wait for that day in heaven when we get to hear history’s real story—when we read God’s script and realize all He was doing behind the scenes. Just imagine the drama of God’s continuous all-wise intervention in the sinful machinations of human armies and governments. To think that not one of His purposes is ever delayed or frustrated—not even for a moment. We will be amazed, stunned, and captured by God’s awesome control of human affairs.

Verse 24 says of world rulers, " Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble." When will we embrace the reality of God’s awesome control over history? History is and always has been God’s ballgame. He decides who gets on base, who pitches, who scores. He calls one man out and advances another runner. (Don’t try to figure it out).

Revelation 22:20-21 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

"ONE HEARTBEAT AWAY"

Last night (June 4th) our teens from FBBC put on the first of two performances of "One Heartbeat Away". The play was written and directed by the Teen Pastor, Ken Sparks with the assistance of the youth workers that minister along side of him. Many others from the church family were also involved in so many ways (building sets, providing music, sound and lighting, etc). I had not seen any of the rehearsals so that I would see it for the first time along with all that came. We probably had about 50-60 visitors who attended.
The play was about a family living for the Lord but with one lost rebellious son, a preacher, a hospital where the father is in ICU after a major heart attack...nah, I'm not going to give away any hints...come and see it for yourself. You will be glad you did! I laughed, I cried, I was blessed! I love our teens! They are awesome!
The teens did a marvelous job and the holy Spirit was in complete control of every aspect of the play. Truly the Lord blessed their preparation over these last 3-4 months. I was able to give the gospel and an invitation at the conclusion and four folks received Christ as their personal Saviour according to the hands that were raised to testify of their being saved. PRAISE THE LORD! The goals the teens had for the play were: 1. That the Lord Jesus Christ would be lifted up and that God would be glorified. 2. That the holy Spirit would bring conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come into the hearts of the lost in attendance. 3. That souls would be gloriously saved! Thank you Lord!
This Sunday night (June 6th at 6:00 P.M.) will be second and last performance. Please pray for the Lord to again be glorified and for many visitors to come and for souls to be saved.

Some Time of Rest and Refreshment

What a blessing I have had the last week as my lovely wife and I spent a week of time together. Bonnie and I will celebrate 40 years together as husband and wife this June 20th and we sure had a blast together the last week. I sure do love my bride!


We were also able to spend time with our daughter, Tina and her husband, Eric...but also with our grandson, Jr. It is always a treasured time for us to get together with them as we are only able to do so once each year. At age seven Jr has a sharp mind and he loves to talk and ask questions, go for walks with his Nana and Papa, ride his bike and scooter as we walked along with him. Oh! He LOVES to eat too! Although he has had difficulty lately as all four of his front teeth are missing. However, he had no difficulty devouring a burger and french fries at "Steak and Shake" in his hometown in Florida.


Then we also were able to drive up to Tampa and see Bonnie's dad. He is 90 years old now and is still in pretty good health and even drives himself all over town. Could I ask you to pray for him? He is still lost and we are so earnestly praying for him to come to a place of personal repentance and salvation through faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary.

Thursday, April 1, 2010
3.27.2010 Update
Come out street preaching--you never know what to expect!

It seems like something is always happening in our ministry-- good or bad! This week, it was my 13-year-old car deciding to empty its engine oil all over the road! Thankfully, it happened close to the end of our trek to Hartford, because it most likely would have caught fire if it had been coating the catalytic converter much longer (YIKES!). The long and short of it was that it wasn't safe to drive, and we decided to have it towed.

That left us four in Hartford with no ride. Rather than let that hinder our efforts, I sent two of the guys up to the State House area, while myself and Herb stayed near where we parked the car to be able to see the tow truck when it came.
We started out by passing out tracts, but I was soon stirred in my spirit to preach. I knelt to pray before beginning, and asked God to bless the message, and (although it was difficult) told him to have his way with the car incident. The Lord gave great liberty to preach, and those within hearing range were quite attentive. The tow truck driver even heard the preaching as he passed by to find my vehicle!

Since the tow truck had arrived, I needed to wrap up the preaching and help get the car ready for tow. Once it was on the truck, the other guys came down from the State House after preaching and handing out tracts there. Thank the Lord the work went on! We were able to get a ride back to church from my sister-in-law.

...And the car? Well, I was sure that it had finally given up the ghost, but after contacting the shop, I discovered, to my great surprise and delight, that the leak was an easily repaired seal, and I had the car back before 5pm that day! Praise the Lord! That car has been transporting the guys in this ministry for almost ten years, and, Lord willing, it will continue to do so for a time to come.

THANK YOU DAVID, HERB, HARRY, AND THE FAITHFUL GUYS FOR YOUR DESIRE TO GET THE WORD OUT ON THE STREETS OF HARTFORD!! You guys bless my heart!