Promises

Pastor Dave and Sister Carol singing, Promises, at church this morning. I absolutely love this song.



Promises
written by Dottie Rambo

He didn't promise that I would never stumble,
But He did say He'd be there if I fall
He didn't tell me He'd hear complaints I whispered,
But He did say He'd hear me if I call.

Cho:
Promises, promises, and all of them true.
He's done exactly what He said He would do.
He didn't tell me my heart would not be broken,
But He did say He'd mend it again.

He didn't promise my cross would not be heavy,
But He did say that He my load would share,
He didn't tell me He'd grant my hopes and wishes,
But He did say He'd hear my earnest prayer.

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Come and dine

9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.

-John 21:9-13 KJV

It was wonderful to get to go back to church again tonight. With all of the bad weather forcing us to close and with me being sick all week, I've missed several services. It felt like it had been ages since I had been in church. There were only a handful of people there due to the weather and various other reasons, including surgeries, sicknesses, and even a death, but that didn't stop the Lord from being present.

My throat wasn't very good but I lead three congregationals and a fellowship hymn without too many problems. I could feel the Lord's presence from the very beginning. After fellowship, Sis. Carol sang the good old tune, Come and Dine. We used to sing that a lot when I was a kid and we belonged to House Mountain Baptist. Blaine Anderson was our choir director back then and he sang it quite often. Sis. Carol did a good job on it and I couldn't help but think of our Saviour inviting those dirty old fisherman to come and dine with him on the side of the sea. Even though they were just a band of rag-tag fishermen with countless personal flaws (Peter's denial, Thomas' doubts, James and John's quick tempers) he overlooked their problems and offered them everything he had. That is one of my favorite stories from the Bible (John chapter 21). It makes me think of how His love for us is so strong and how he doesn't care who we are, how much money we have, or what our capabilities are, He still invites us to dine with Him. I felt the overpowering urge to testify to that fact tonight, and I did just that.

Bro. Dave brought a short message from Hebrews 7:22-26, about Jesus being a better testament and the final priest. We didn't have anyone in the soundroom to tape the service tonight so I don't have the message to upload. It did speak to my heart though and made me thankful that Jesus is the only priest I have to talk to or confess my sins to. I feel sorry for those folks that think they have to confess to some man behind a curtain, that's just sad.

Well, just wanted to update the blog and let everyone know that I'm not dead or anything, just been under the weather. Hopefully things will return to normal before long.

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2nd Annual Coffee & Christ Men's Fellowship 2010

Another great time was had today our our 2nd annual Coffee & Christ Men's Fellowship. Eleven Christian men attended for a morning of food, fellowship, and instruction.

We started off with a prayer by our pastor, Dave Hutchison, and then we went through the chow line. There was plenty of sausage, biscuits, doughnuts, coffee, juice, and milk on hand and everyone ate to their content.

After eating, I addressed the group and presented an outline that I had written concerning Christian leadership for men. I used Jesus Christ as our ultimate example of a leader and emphasized character and servitude as being our most valuable assets.

Next, my father, James Chesney, taught a wonderful lesson on leadership and also used Jesus Christ as our example and pointed out His unconditional love. He was much more in-depth than I was and he listed the 3 qualities of Christian leadership: 1. Trustworthiness, 2. Caring, 3. Ability, and expounded on each of these attributes.

Each person had entered their name on a piece of paper and dropped it into a box and I had Matthew draw out 3 names to win some nifty prizes. First, Bro. Blakely, was drawn and he received a nice Starbucks coffee cup with hot chocolate mix. Next, Bro. Frank Robert's name was chose and he won a Starbucks gift bag with coffee mug and assorted treats. Our grand prize went to Pastor Dave, as his name was drawn last and he won a nice necktie and a bag of Krispy Kreme Coffee.

It was a very successful meeting and each attendee seemed to really enjoy themselves. I am already looking forward to and planning next year's Coffee & Christ Men's Fellowship. If you were not able to attend this year then make plans now to be there in 2011.

Enjoy the pictures below from today's fellowship:

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What Would I Do Without Jesus?

Pastor Dave and Sister Carol Hutchison singing, What Would I Do Without Jesus?

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Cottage Prayer Meeting at Mrs. Robert's

Another great Cottage prayer meeting took place this Monday, Aug. 30, 2010, at Hazel Robert's house. There were 15 folks present. We started out with congregational singing with; I'll Fly Away, The Old Rugged Cross, and Take My Hand Precious Lord. Then Sis. Carol and Sis. Charlotte sang, Thank You Lord For Your Blessings On Me, with Pastor Dave playing the guitar. Then Sis. Carol and Pastor Dave sang, The King and the Beggar, followed up with, You Ain't Seen the Last of Me. Then my daughter, Elizabeth, sang, Let the Sunshine In, and I sang, Near the Cross, while playing the guitar. Then Pastor Dave brought a message titled, Trust In the Lord, from 2 Samuel 22:29-37. You can listen to it HERE. After the message we had prayer and dismissed. I'm looking forward to the next one!

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Cottage Prayer Meeting At Mrs. Haire's

The Cottage Prayer meeting seems to be a thing of the past. Something that once was a large part of folk's everyday lives but has long been forgotten. Sister Carol and Pastor Dave have revived the Cottage Prayer meetings as part of our church's ministry. We have several shut-ins that aren't able to come to church so we are taking church to them!

Tonight 12 church members drove to Mrs. Haire's house to have church. We all packed into her small, cozy home and settled into every available chair in her living room. Just being in that dear lady's house makes you feel like part of the family. Her house is right beside what used to be my granny and paw Spencer's house. Mrs. Haire reminds me a lot of my granny Spencer.

We started out with Sister Carol leading us in the old hymn, Jesus Spoke to Me, then, I Want To Know More About My Jesus, and then, In the Sweet By-and-By. After that Pastor Dave took prayer requests and lead us in open prayer. Then my son Matthew played the guitar while my youngest daughter Elizabeth sang Amazing Grace. After that, Sis. Carol and Sis. Charlotte sang, Thank You Lord For Your Blessings On Me with Pastor Dave accompanying them on the guitar. Then Pastor Dave and Sis. Carol sang, The King and the Beggar. I then played the guitar and sang 2 verses of, If We Never Meet Again.

After the singing I was honored to preach the Word. (you can listen to it here) The Lord had given me a message from Hebrews chapter 2, with the main focus being on verse 3 where it says; "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation." I felt great liberty and freedom preaching there in Mrs. Haire's tiny house. It felt like church should feel. The Spirit was flowing in the room. Not from anything I had done but from what the Lord did through his people.

We ended things with several people sharing their testimonies. Even my oldest daughter shared her's. One member said that she was saved in a Cottage Prayer meeting. We also found out that Mrs. Haire's late husband, Paul Haire, was saved during a Cottage Prayer Meeting. It was a time that I will never forget. I'm really looking forward to our next meeting!

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VBS 2010 Message

Listen to audio of Pastor Dave preaching the message for our VBS Commencement.

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I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now

"I started out traveling for the Lord many years ago, I've had a lot of heartaches, had a lot of grief and woe. But, when I would stumble, then I would humble down. And there I would say, I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now." - Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now - Written by Charles Goodman and Jimmie Davis.

Last night at church as I was making announcements and welcoming folks, I made the comment that it felt like it had been forever since our last service. In all reality it had only been 3-days, or if you prefer 72-hours. But, it sure seemed like it had been a lot longer. As I have gotten older I have found that my thoughts, ideas, and desires have completely changed from what they were when I was a younger man that used to complain about going to church.

I can remember as a child being "forced" to attend church, and in my little mind I thought my parents were trying to torture me. In my teens I enjoyed singing and didn't really mind going to church, plus, that was the only place that I could date my girlfriend, so my desire to attend was really selfishly motivated. As a young adult, I felt that church was more of an obligation and I felt guilty if I didn't attend. I enjoyed it some but really only went because I knew I should. I even got out of church for a while when I was in my twenties but I always felt ashamed when not attending.

Eventually, life's troubles and strife found their way into my life. I was not following God's will and I paid dearly because of it. I finally turned to God and church for Spiritual guidance. I began seeing how God's power could work in my life. I will never forget working a dead-end job making minimum wage, barely able to make ends meet and feeling emotionally and spiritually bankrupt. I prayed to my Father in Heaven and made a covenant with Him. I would do whatever He wanted me to do for His Kingdom. Little did I know what He had in store for me...

The Sunday School Teacher: There was a need for a young adult Sunday school teacher at my church. "Who in their right mind would want to do that," I wondered? Unbelievably, I found many fingers pointing toward me. "God, are you sure," I asked? He was sure and I stepped into that role. It was one of the scariest things in my entire life. I'll never forget my knees literally knocking together as I stood that first Sunday in front of a room of 12 people and began teaching. As my confidence grew, so did my desire to understand God's Word and my desire to have a close relationship with Him. I relished in my study time and was amazed at how God revealed things to me from the Bible that I had never understood before. I guess it was like in Acts 9:18 telling about the Apostle Paul's conversion: "And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized."

Minister of Music: Suddenly we were faced with the Minister of Music resigning from the church so he could attend college full-time. "Who will we put into that position," I wondered? Again, in my unbelief, fingers were pointing toward me. Have I mentioned that I have always been totally backwards and shy around people? Have I mentioned that I inherited a very deep bass voice? I never once in a million years wanted to lead a choir or a congregation in song. I was completely happy standing on the back pew of the choir and singing the bass part. But, I accepted the position of music minister and learned how to lead. God didn't just stick me out there on my own, he led others to help me. My aunt Barbara was the pianist at the church and she painstakingly lowered each Hymn for me so that I was able to lead without cracking every high note. The pastor of the church, Jamie Porterfield, instructed me on how to conduct with my hands with the proper time signatures and beats. Eventually I became comfortable standing in front of over 100 folks and leading them in worship.

Preaching the Gospel: Just when I became comfortable, God placed another calling in my life... preaching His Word. There was no way, no how, that I wanted to do that! I will fully admit that I questioned God many times about it (something which I've finally learned to stop doing). I guess I was a lot like Moses standing there barefooted in front of the burning bush throwing out excuses as to why I would not be a good choice. But, just like it says in Isaiah 55:8-9: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

So, I began preaching. You talk about feeling inadequate! The Lord must've really been hard up for preachers because I am the least of the least. Pastor Porterfield gave me many opportunities to preach and I eventually stopped going into nervous convulsions every time I stood behind the pulpit. Little did I know that God was preparing me to step into Jamie's position to pastor the church after he resigned. The folks at the church asked me to interim while they looked for a pastor. I enjoyed many wonderful services during the nearly 1-year of my term. I still held my position of Sunday school teacher and minister of music as well. The church eventually hired a pastor and I slipped into a depression.

The Desert Experience: If you have studied the Bible much then you know that God's people are not perfect people. Many great leaders have went through testing periods in their lives. Moses wandering in the desert, David falling into sin causing strife throughout his family, Jesus in the desert being tempted of the devil, Peter denying Christ before the crucifixion. All of these are desert experiences. It is during this time that we are tested by the fire as to whether we will be burnt up or come out refined. I went through my own desert experience. I learned some hard, valuable lessons during that time. It was during this time that I sat back and took a long look at my life and my heart. I had two choices; I could throw in the towel or I could throw my heart into Jesus' hands. I thank God that I chose the latter.

God of Second chances: Aren't you so glad that we serve a loving and forgiving God? His Grace is marvelous and his mercy is endless. Eventually I moved on to my current church, Highland Baptist. My family and I just joined as regular members. I really was just looking to be ministered to. I had no intentions of leading the music or teaching Sunday school, or preaching. But, when God places a calling in your life, it is forever, unless circumstances arise that make it impossible to continue. I was asked to teach the pre-teen Sunday school class and then I was asked to be the minister of music. Pastor Hutchison has also given me numerous opportunities to stand behind the pulpit and preach. I've enjoyed the past 3-years we have been members there.

What is in store? Currently I am enrolled at Crown Seminary working on my Masters of Ministry degree. I don't know what else God has in store for me but I fully intend to follow his direction. I am not perfect by any means. I have messed up more times than I have done things right. But, you know, God is not looking for perfect people, he is looking for people that have a desire for Him. If you have a passion and desire to be used by God to spread the Gospel message, He will find you and make a way for you. You just have to be willing to step up and accept. Working for Jesus is a journey, but I guarantee you when it's all said and done with, you wouldn't take nothing for it!

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