It is good to go out to meeting and
feel the good peace and tender love of God. This feeling was prevailing at ELKWOOD
on the fifth Sunday morning. It was a carry over
from the evening service the night before. The children of God were still
talking about the exceptionally good prayer the saints had on Saturday night. Bro.
Tom Gray was praying in the Spirit. Bro. Willard
was overheard
Bro. Joe Medlin, from Huntsville, started telling how he loved the Lord and that he was just willing to "pickup the crumbs that fell from the Lord's table or pick up the "leftovers", if it would please the Lord.... Amen! It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves, but the best was yet to come.
Bro. Jack Denson from SCOTTSBORO took up the Word of God and started reading the 6th chapter of Galatians, "Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one." Bro. Jack proceeded to prove who was that spiritual man. Also, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". The Holy Ghost honored this Brother to expound the whole chapter. Saints were overheard to say that the Word of God found them and that they were going to have to "move up". We are glad of this, for we love the Word of God above all else.
There
were a number of churches represented at SCOTTSBORO on the first Sunday night.
Everyone seemed" to be in the right mind for the
Lord blessed the church with good edifying testimonies, like Bro. xxxxx xxxxx
telling of the time when he lived in Indiana and was having serious pains
in his chest, (possible heart trouble). It slowly became worse.
One night during service at BLACK OAK, Bro. Franklin Duvall
had the Lord tell him to "go stand by Bro. xxxxx, who was having
intense, pains in his chest then.
Bro. Franklin
did
not know anything was wrong with this brother, but he did what the Lord told him
to do. When he got to where Bro.
xxxxx was the Lord put his hands on him and as Bro. xxxxx says, "I was
instantly healed." Bro. Franklin, who was present in SCOTTSBORO, rejoiced
in the spirit all over the church when he testified.
It was good to see and feel the Lord with this brother. His father, Bro. Leroy,
was also feeling the goodness of
the Lord, as were all the saints who testified.
Especially Bro.
Tom Mayors, from HUNTSVILLE,
A number of children of God were telling about
when they were young, Bro. Tom helped hold
"the way" up for then.
.... It sounded real good!
The saints had a good service
on the first Tuesday night. It was one of those
times when all the saints were rejoicing in a
big circle. It was especially good for Bro. Paul
Pell. Bro. Paul has
been having a tough go of it, since he had a
heart attack earlier this summer. But during the service, Sis.
Jeanette Sadler, wife
of Bro. Billy was in the hands of the Lord. She
moved to where Bro. Paul was and laid her hands on
him. To make a long story short, the
next day we find Bro. Paul in the hayfield, stacking
hay. The Lord is so good to us!
Sis. Waydean
Smith, who received the Holy Ghost at ELKWOOD this
summer, was far from God and she did not know of
"The Way of Holiness", until
she married Sis. Lucille Smith's
son, Glenn. Sis. Waydean's
daughter was born with three kidneys, so the doctors certified.
Before the physicians could operate as they had
planned, the saints had prayer for her. As the
medical men X-rayed the little girl before the operation,
they were surprised to find she now had only two kidneys.
The high fever was gone and the child was doing
fine. The male doctor said they could carry her home, but the two women
doctors who had been treating her wanted to see
for themselves. These
parents carried the child home, for they knew what had happened......
the Lord had come by!
Bro. Buford West from the Pleasant GROVE, Community was raised in the way of Holiness. As he grew older he wandered out in the world and started partaking of what it had to offer. But he did not forget his raising. He moved to Indiana around the children of God there. One day he was thinking how that every time he saw Bro. Thomas Kerley he had a good smiling countenance. He made up his mind what he would do. He would wake Bro. Tom up during the night and see if that smile was real or not. And sure enough, at 3:00 the next morning he knocked on this brother's door, and Bro. Tom answered it, sort of sleepy, but he had on that good smile.
Bro Buford was testifying to this at their summer revival and it was edifying to hear. He went on to say just a short while later he was also a child of God.
The revival
that was conducted at skyline
through the first
week of August was an extremely good one.
Bro. Charles Wilmon from OAK GROVE was helping
lead in these services. It started on Sunday morning
with a good feeling. Bro. "Fats"
Butler from PLEASANT GROVE, witnessed
how he came to the Lord and he edified the
church. Everyone who followed
him brought a good
feeling. Sis. Ethel
Polston and Bro,
Walter Lee from Huntsville,
were among the saints telling the good things of
the Lord. Then Bro.
Frank Guffey gave an altar
call in the middle
of a good song; the seekers were not
on their knees five minutes when Lema Brandon
came up speaking with the "tongue of
angels". Sis. Lema
is Bro. Obie Clark's
sister. By this time
Bro. Frank was feeling
the Lord so good
he didn't care if
they stopped for dinner
or not. Service was finally
dismissed and the congregation gathered behind the
Church In the cool shade
of the trees and ate
a good dinner that the SKYLINE
sisters had prepared.
The singing
commenced after
everyone had finished their meal. The making of
melody was good, especially
The Heartwarmers rendition
of "This is
What Heaven Means To Me." It ended in a good
note with Bro. Troy Walls'
recitation Of
"The Table Grace."
Sis. Annie Ruth Brewer lifted up the Lord and was shouting the victory Sunday evening and then everyone who offered to try to talk was saying good things.
Bro. Bill Price from HUNTSVILLE, Bro. Bobby Cardin from BLACK OAK, and many, many more from different churches, were feeling their liberty in the Lord. Some, who had not been free in some time, were now feeling as wonderful as when they first believed. One more saint that the Lord blessed so good was Bro. Pope Vandiver from WILLIAMS COVE. He was telling how he loved the Lord and it brought the whole church to its feet.
The Love of God was everywhere.
Bro.
Pope Vandiver
We
have heard a lot about this saint through the years.
It was so good to see and feel the Lord's
grace with this older saint
One thing that stood out in this revival as Bro. Charles Wilmon stated,--"It is good to see so many people from so many different places and they are all walking together in love, here." ...Amen I
Bro. Jack Case was preaching on "as it was in the days of Noah so shall It be In the coming of the Son of Man" at STOCKBRIDGE in Atlanta, during the fourth week of July. These saints ran a revival meeting through this week and two new souls were saved "from the wrath to come". The new sisters are Sis. Donna Culpepper from S. Pittsburgh and Sis. Patsy Pennington from Wattsburg, Tennessee. They received the Holy Ghost on the 23rd of July.
Bro. Dewey Barrier from
OLD
SARDIS was here teaching from the 13th chapter of
Corinthians. (Charity and/or Love). The children of God here have been in their
present building for three years and this makes
five that have been born again.
The third Sunday of August was a day of glad tidings at Rocky Branch. This was the homecoming for these saints. There was singing and dinner on the ground. Time and again the Lord blessed in the singing. Every group that sang brought a good feeling especially, Bro. Tom Kerley. He was requested to sing a certain song in which he did not remember all the words. He tried with the help of Bro. James McLain but gave up and went to another song. The Lord started helping them and they would sing one song and go on into another, without missing the rhythm.
Then in the late afternoon, Mr. Singing himself came in, Bro. Roy Guffey.
The best was saved for the last. He sang his song that Bro. Wayne
Guffey wrote for him, "My Final Song".
Then Bro. Roy was testifying of how years ago while he was up in Tennessee he
was offered an opportunity to make real good money, but he turned it down and
moved back to Günter's Mountain in a log cabin and
farmed on the halves. But it was just a short while,
until he received the Holy Ghost. This Brother has been a blessing to the church
for many years.
At the evening service Bro. Willard, who was
helping lead the revival this week, was feeling the Lord, also, was Bro. Mitt McAllister.
Meeting was good as was all the services during
the week. Bro. Troy Walls was testifying how good the Lord
has been to him. ...We agree the Lord indeed, has been good to this brother and
all of us.
Before service was ended, the church came around and shook Bro. Thomas Kerley's
hand, for they were sorry that he was going home the next morning.
While they were showing their love for this brother the love of God seemed to
fill the house.
People who had never called on God before went down on their knees. One
went down between the benches. It was a good time in the Lord. After church was
over and most of the people were outside, there
came that good sound out of the church windows. Everyone started back into the
church and found another soul had started seeking after the Lord. There was a disappointment
however that these souls did not make It to
the Lord, but there was great joy in seeing the love of God move in such a great
way.
There was a lot
of help here during the week and the Lord blessed a number of saints. One of
these was Sis. Judy Burns, wife of Bro.
Alvin Burns. She had been feeling
low for a long season but the
Lord cane by and lifted her
up wonderfully and made the church rejoice
with her.
On
Tuesday night Bro. Henry McLain told of the time
the Lord performed a miracle in Indiana. It was the time he was in charge of a
baptizing. He was wading out in the water trying to find a place deep enough to
baptize in Lake Michigan.
About 75 people were walking along the shore when some lady in the crowd, not of
Holiness, said, "Do you know what this reminds me of?" Someone
answered, "No, what?" She replied,
"The children of Israel going down to the Red Sea."
Bro. Henry had walked out so far and the water was still only knee deep. He was afraid
if he went any farther the people would not be able to hear him say the
ceremony. About the time the Lady said what she did the Lord spoke to Bro. Henry
and said, "I'm the same God that parted the waters for the children of
Israel to cross the Red Sea. I am able to raise
these waters." Bro. Henry said, "I know you are Lord." He told
the people he was going to baptize "right here? Send the first one
out!" A tall brother came forward and Bro. Henry got down on his knees in
the water and started to baptize him. He had to
push him all the way down, but as they came up, the water came up with them,
with WHOOSSHI It was now waist deep! Bro. Tom Kerley
hollered, "watch out for that water,"
but it was too late. They got their feet wet anyway. Bro. Henry baptized eight
and just as he walked out on shore, the water went "WHOOSSH"
and was down again. ••••••
As Bro. Henry told this some of the saints present said
that was exactly what happened for they were there
and saw it.
The children of God had a good time, also, on
Wednesday the 23rd. This was when they gave Bro.
Henry's wife, Sis. Minnie,
a surprise birthday
dinner. We will not tell her age. (Ha) If you want
to know, please ask Sis. Minnie. She was given a number
of nice gifts.
Sis. Myrtle
Ragon, Bro. Arthur Ragon's
wife, became seriously ill in meeting on Friday
night. They left church, but after service
was over several of the Lord's people gathered
in and they had prayer.
Sis.
Lorene Carroll, who attends church at FREE HOME,
has been ailing for a long time and she was looking frailer all the time.
Once this last month, she asked the children of God to pray for her.
In the prayer it was a hard struggle but the saints held onto the Lord
and they finally won the victory. The
whole church then rejoiced in the Lord. At
the next service, Sis. Lorene
came in laughing and feeling good.
Bro.
Will Guffey & Bro. Willis
Brown
If anyone has real old pictures of the children of God, around 1910 until 1920 or 25 we will print them in this column, if you wish to share them. Please make a reprint before sending then to us, lest we misplace or damage them. This photo of Bro. Will and Bro. Brown was taken around the year 1930.
We have glad tidings from WILLIAMS COVE. Sis. Viola Sanders was real sick. The medical men stated that she had Leukemia in the worst stage, (no known cure, as of yet). After services one night the people went to her house and prayed for her. At this time she was so ill that she knew very little of what was going on. After prayer, she came up rejoicing. All traces of this dreaded disease had vanished and at last account she is still doing fine.
There is a very
small band of saints at WILLIAMS COVE, but the Lord blessed them with a
wonderful communion and foot washing service on the third weekend.
We have glad tidings coming from KEEL MOUNTAIN, just south of Gurley,
Alabama. Bro. Duke Cowan
and a few saints from William’s Cove and area started having prayer meetings
for the benefit of people who were wanting to come to the Lord. These saints
have obtained a house and are having prayer every Tuesday evenings. During the
last few weeks they have been having meetings often during the week. The Lord
blessing with the word of God and the joy of His goodness repaid them for their
effort. But the best of all was Betty Cooper being baptized with the Holy Ghost
the last Wednesday night of August. She lives on Keel Mountain, and is the
daughter of Sis. Ailene
Fowler of WILLIAMS COVE.
Bro. Walter Higdon was a great help to the church
at TIFTONIA through their revival services during
the first week of August. On
Monday night he portrayed our Lord Jesus riding through the streets of Jerusalem
on an ass-colt as the crowd praised him as their King. As Bro. Walter talked you
could almost see our Lord riding the little,
long-eared, ugly, "jenny". He spoke that by doing thus, the Lord
put down all society and high living for the Lord came to preach the Gospel to
the poor. He could have just as easily rode on a fine horse (and chariot) if he
so desired.
We all consider a death as a sorrowful time, especially when we lose those we
love. But to the children of God it is so comforting to know they are resting
with the Lord.
We would like to pass on how one of God's Jewels" left this world this last month. It made our hearts to flood with joy when we heard it Sis. Alta McClure had mentioned many times, how she would like to leave here while she was in meeting with the saints. Sis. Alta had been ill for quiet a while, when she was brought to church on the fourth Sunday night, at BLACK OAK. Service had just started and they had sung one verse of "Well Done My Child" and was on the second one where it says "You Now Are Welcome Home", and she took worse and within two or three minutes, she had gone to be with the Lord. The Lord is so good to us.
Elaine
Sisk received the Holy Ghost at BRIAR FORK, during
their revival here (Aug. 2nd.) She is the granddaughter of Bro. Oilie
Priest who leads services at this church.
During the third week of August, Sis. Lois Chancy
came to church at GRASSEY MOUNTAIN with a large
knot in her side. Before church was over the knot was gone. This same sister was
driving home from meeting when she had a car wreck and was
in bad shape until the saints were called in. She was in such an ill state,
she couldn't stand to be moved. After prayer she was sitting up in bed praising
the Lord.
A few nights later, the children of God were called in to prayer for Bro. and Sis.
Houston Clark's daughter. She was taking on with
every breath. By the time the saints left the child was out on the porch
playing.
Bro. Thomas Atchley's son, Jimmy, received the
Holy Ghost at Martling during their revival that
was run through the third week of August. He pressed through on Friday and was
baptized on Sunday by Bro. Junior Reed.
Bro.
Henry McLain and Bro.
Willard Wooten
helped hold a revival at Brown's Chapel, through the last week of August. Its
start was fair, but by Tuesday night it was on
fire.
During the service Wendell
Knight's child (Wendell is the son of Bro. Johnny
Knight), was sick and crying during meeting. Sis. Minnie
McLain asked them to bring the child out to the altar and they would pray for
it. While they were praying the Lord put the hands
on the child and immediately the child relaxed.
Wendell began praying and seeking the Lord and all the seekers followed
him and started praying. This was the night that
Eddie Cuzzort and Denise
Andersen were born again.
Bro. Eddie was the first to receive the Holy Ghost. He is married to Bro.
James Willmon's daughter, Sis. Kathy.
A few minutes later, Sis. Denise, the daughter of
Sis. Mary Frances Knight Anderson, was
baptized by the Lord, also.
These saints at this place were really shouting and rejoicing.
The Lord healed a number of people during the week. Sis. Lynda, Bro. Sherrill Higdon's wife, was healed of an internal illness, and when the Lord healed her, she was up and telling about it. Sis. Geneva Knight, Bro. Johnny's wife, was refreshed in the Lord. The Lord moved toward Joan Spurgeon, a young child of God, of a slipped disc in her spine and also freed her in His goodness.
Bro. Estil Hawkins and Bro. Elvin Downer were healed. Bro. Elvin had a bad hearing problem. The physicians said they could not help him for one of his eardrums was half gone. After the saints here prayed, he arose and told them he could hear perfect. His father, Bro. Aubrey has testified since how that now you could talk in a normal tone and he was able to understand everything that was said.
In this same meeting the Lord blessed a lot of his
children, especially Sis. Esther Middlebrooks She has had serious trouble with arthritis.
We are all hoping she will be all
right.
The Lord has edified through the preached word
during the week. Bro. Henry has been in the liberty of the Lord all week
preaching glad tidings of God. Bro. Willard has worked together with Bro. Henry
and Bro. Lawrence and all the saints speaking the
truth in love. Friday evening
he told how at ELKWOOD, Bro. Rayford
Miller's wife, Sis. Janie was blind in one of her
eyes for a number of years. The doctors didn't help
About
two years ago during the night, Sis. Janie
told Bro. Rayford to turn the light on (because
it was so dark). But that was not the reason it was so dark. Sis. Janie had gone
blind in her other
eye. During church
one night the children of God started
laying hands on her. When Bro. xxxxx xxxxx hands went on her,
something happened* She testified that
she could see and out of both eyes,
at that!
Bro.
Henry McLain departed to Indiana to be in three revivals there. Homecoming
"PRECIOUS IN THE. SIGHT
OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH
OF HIS SAINTS".
Sis. Flossie Guffey, wife
of Bro. Will Guffey, went to sleep in Christ in
her 80th year on August
13th (Higdon)
Sis. Cora Lee
Key, the wife of
Bro. Early Key received her "crown" at
47 years of age,
August 13th. (Bryant)
Sis.
Alta McClure, left
us, in sweet
peace August 27th.
(Black Oak).
A number of people have written) telling
how they pass
on Glad Tidings to others
at work and etc.
Anyone desiring extra
copies for this purpose let us
know and we wi11 be glad to provide them for
you. Also, anyone wishing this letter to be mailed
to you (without cost) notify us
here.
Lookout
Mountain, Tennessee
37350
Telephone 404
398-3421
