Brethren,

The Cool Springs PBC in Danville, GA was blessed to hold her annual meeting this past weekend, and it was a highly uplifting time in the house of God. With all the grievous things happening in the world today, this time of refreshing was needful for the body, and we feel like pressing on a while longer. The church invited two new faces – Elders Mark Richards and Jerry Anstey – to preach this weekend, and though neither of them had preached at Cool Springs or even in the state of Georgia before, they left as two new friends to the church and no longer new faces. Brother Jerry is the pastor of Golden Gate PBC in Fremont, CA, while Brother Mark is the pastor of Littlevine PBC in Austin, TX. It was a sacrifice for these brethren to leave their families to spend this much time with us, but it was a sacrifice not in vain.

Different meetings have different personalities, and while some are shouting affairs, others are quieter. This meeting could be best described as serene and peaceful. One of the major themes threaded throughout the weekend was that of peace, and the Spirit dwelt among us with such a feeling. Surely we have been blessed to go forward in green pastures drinking from the still waters. Though we had to come apart from the world for a while, we were filled while engaged in worship and left with baskets of fragments for nourishment and meat for days to come. Lord willing, we will also host our Fellowship Meeting next month, and this weekend has already hastened our anticipation and expectation of a Spirit-filled time then as well. Please rejoice with us and pray for us when at a throne of grace.

Wednesday Night:
Communion- the church was blessed to kick off the meeting with communion and feet washing, and she is also blessed with a number of ministers in her membership. We rejoiced together in this service with Elders Frank King, Dan Bryant, and Franklin Bryant handling the commensurate parts.

Thursday Night:
Prayer: Elder Garry Hall
Preaching: Elder Jerry Anstey – “Our Position and Purpose” Brother Jerry extolled our position and response from I Peter 1. We are children of God, made so by His work, and should therefore, be lively and engaged in our service and conduct to the King.
Preaching: Elder Mark Richards – “The End of our Faith” Brother Mark tied into Brother Jerry’s comments and went further in I Peter 1 talking about what the end of our faith is, and what a blessing and benefit it brings to us.
Prayer: Elder Marty Smith

Friday Night:
Prayer: Elder Michael Hataway
Preaching: Elder Mark Richards – “Scene of the 5,000” Brother Mark talked about Christ’s feeding of the 5,000 with many rich and beautiful events tied into that one scene. We today can rejoice like they did then when the Lord blesses us similarly.
Preaching: Elder Jerry Anstey – “He is Our God” Brother Jerry talked about Jehoshaphat’s prayer from II Chronicles 20. Today, our prayers should echo Jehoshaphat’s as God is our God just as He was Jehoshaphat’s God.
Prayer: Lic. Richard James

Saturday Morning:
Prayer: Elder Dan Bryant
Preaching: Elder Jerry Anstey – “Memorials and the River Jordan” Brother Jerry described the memorials given during the children of Israel’s crossing over Jordan into Canaan’s Land. These rich pictures and testimonies are seen today in our testimonies when we acknowledge similar blessings in our lives.
Prayer: Brother Andy Miles

Saturday Night:
Prayer: Elder Ric Stewart
Preaching: Elder Mark Richards – “Essential and Necessary/Nonessential and Unnecessary” Brother Mark talked from Hebrews 9 and 10 showing activities that used to be necessary in the past but are no longer necessary now or into the future. He further described the great momentous event that brought about this shift of necessity.
Prayer: Elder Philip Conley

Sunday Morning:
Prayer: Brother Ronnie Howell
Preaching: Elder Mark Richards –“Withhold Not Love” Brother Mark compared Proverbs 3:27 with the 3 types of love found in I John 4: God’s love to us, our love to God, and our love to one another. All three areas can be seen through this proverb. It is implemented in God’s case, and should be implemented in ours.
Preaching: Elder Jerry Anstey – “Friends of God” Brother Jerry hearkened back to a portion of Jehoshaphat’s prayer in II Chronicles 20:7. He focused on friendship, and what being a friend of God meant and should look like.
Prayer: Brother Caleb Howell

Sunday Night:
Prayer: Elder Bill Torrence
Preaching: Elder Philip Conley – “Mt Zion” after comments from Bro Bill about the “us” of Scripture to whom the promises were given, Brother Philip extolled Mt Zion from Psalm 48. Surely, Mt Zion has been evident throughout the meeting, and may her courts be among us with the Almighty in the midst even unto death.
Prayer: Lic. Win Kuck

Our thanks to all who made this meeting what it is. We thank God most of all for His loving Spirit that He was gracious to send. We thank those who laboured in prayer, effort, tears, and toil to supply the needs of those among us. Whether the service would be deemed by man to be big or small, it was indeed a blessing that God will not overlook. He is faithful to remember and reward such labours of love, and the rewards for the effort have already begun in what we received. We pray that more and more would be added in the coming days to His honour and glory and to the edification of the body. Lord willing, the sermons will be put on the website (coolspringspbc.org).

In Hope,
Bro Philip

Brethren,

Cool Springs PBC in Danville, GA was privileged to host our annual August meeting, which was powerfully blessed by God Almighty.  We invited Elder James Isaacs from Magazine, AR and Elder Adam Green from Charleston, AR to be with us, and God certainly favored them with liberty and preaching grace throughout the services.  On a natural level, God smiled down with some very unseasonably cool weather – which in middle Georgia in August is a mighty natural blessing indeed!  The church feasted from God’s table and enjoyed His sweet fellowship, while also privileged to enjoy the sweet fellowship of many brothers and sisters from other church bodies that came to visit with us.  We certainly appreciate and thank God for their presence and fellowship with us.

While I had intended to take some pictures of the meeting throughout, I got so sidetracked at the glory we experienced that we had to scramble just to get pictures of the preachers before they left.  As her pastor, I believe that the church was refreshed and that many hearts were revived and renewed in their service to the Lord, including my own.  As some said at the close of service on Sunday night, “I know it’s over, but I still hate to leave.”  We are already in anticipation of our Fellowship Meeting next month, praying that the power and Spirit of that meeting would be akin to this one.  Truly, He has been gracious to us.  I have attached the schedule and order of services below.

Wednesday Night (July 30th)

Communion – The church began the meeting with a wonderful communion service, and we actually made history doing so.  Elder Garry Hall, a beloved minister that was born and raised in this area, had never attended a Cool Springs communion in his over 40 years in the ministry.  He was blessed to deliver the elements of the table in a very clear and edifying manner.  After partaking of these elements, the church heard from one of her longstanding members, Elder Dan Bryant, who described the feet washing in very touching tones.  We went on our way rejoicing and anticipating the rest of the meeting to come.

Thursday Night (July 31st)

Prayer: Elder Ric Stewart
Preaching: Elder Adam Green – “Lord I Believe, Help Thou Mine Unbelief” Brother Adam described the case of the man and his possessed son in Mark 9.  Using this example, we were made to see that even today all of us can be believers and unbelievers at the same time.
Preaching: Elder James Isaacs – “Belief and Abiding in Him” Brother James picked up where Brother Adam left off describing how we strengthen our belief from I John 2.  By abiding actively in Him, we shed the bondage of unbelief, while helping one another through labours of love.
Prayer: Brother Richard James

Friday Night (August 1st)

Prayer: Elder Wesley Watkins
Preaching: Elder Adam Green – “Gideon and Doing It God’s Way” Brother Adam clearly and ably described how God’s ways are the best ways though they often make no sense to our natural thinking.  In this Old Testament example, we were made to see and understand how that gospel service today, though small and strange in the eyes of the world, is the only worthy way of pursuing as it is God’s declared path for us.
Preaching: Elder James Isaacs – “Raising Lazarus and the Stink of Death” Brother James began with the Lazarus example in John 11, but quickly moved into the practical applications of what his condition was immediately after being raised.  Particularly, Brother James brought out the ruinous stench of the clothing that surrounded him, and he ably showed how that we are surrounded by our own filth (though alive in Christ), and need the help and fellowship of God’s saints to shed those putrid stains.
Prayer: Elder Stephen Dyar

Saturday Morning (August 2nd)

Prayer: Elder John Scott
Preaching: Elder Adam Green – “Unity and Its Benefits” Brother Adam began in Psalm 133, and showed that unity is not just a beautiful thing but also good for us.  He then described many applications of how unity is “good” for us.  Most importantly, unity in our lives is only possible by having unity in the Godhead, as God was completely united in Himself in His salvation of sinners.  This unity is that which is most “good” for us.
Prayer: Elder Franklin Bryant

Saturday Night (August 2nd)

Prayer: Elder Michael Hataway
Preaching: Elder James Isaacs – “Service of God and Identity of the Church” Brother James delivered a pointed sermon on what the word “service” means as it pertains to the worship and adoration of God.  In doing so, Brother James showed how our “service” identifies us in our standing as the pillar and ground of the truth.
Prayer: Elder Frank King

Sunday Morning (August 3rd)

Prayer: Brother Howard Heffington
Preaching: Elder Adam Green – “Grace of God and Its Teaching” Brother Adam began in Titus 2:11-14, and explained how that grace teaches us what to avoid and what to cling to.  In so doing, he showed that many of the examples in Titus (both before and after his text) strengthen and identify the general tenets of grace’s teaching.
Preaching: Elder James Isaacs – “Us” Brother James described the people that grace has appeared to and taught, primarily through Paul’s teachings in Ephesians 1.  The “us” was applied personally to us, so that the congregation felt included and touched by the message.
Prayer: Brother Mike Sheppard

Sunday Night (August 3rd)

Prayer: Lic. John Forehand
Preaching: Elder Philip Conley – “Blessed People in the Church” Brother Philip started in Revelation 1:3 and showed that people such as we are have been favored and blessed much more than most of the “us” of the family of God.  Besides having such meetings as we had, we have been blessed to enjoy God’s word, hear it declared, and live after it.
Prayer: Lic. Win Kuck

Beloved, we rejoice in a Saviour’s blessings to us and have gone on our way rejoicing.  For those that are interested in the sermons from the meeting, they will be posted to our website at: coolspringspbc.org

In Hope,
Bro Philip