Boots
A prince
No crown
Considered serving a joy
Loved his family and those around
His business was his ministry
His word his bond
People trusted
Boots served
His church was important
He loved Jesus
Faithful, trustworthy and true
A model you could follow
Each one of his children was special
He believed that
They knew it
Boots lived it
A business man, father
A servant
Wonderful husband
He is home with Jesus
Home with his precious wife
Clay Corvin. 4/20/11
A kind, gentle man
Concerned about the lost
Caring for friends no matter the cost
Wise and humble his spirit sweet
John Henderson lived as Christ directed
His heart sought the Lord at every opportunity
The Psalms his refuge in a storm
John listened well
Quiet and direct, when John spoke people listened
Friends sought him out
John and Alice were partners
They forged a good life
Focused on each other and the church
Serving in the community
People counted with John and they knew it
Hard worker
Persistent in his faith
John did the important things
The things that helped people
The things that put Christ first
Clay Corvin
March 9, 2011
John held center stage when he walked into a room
Bright and warm hearted he was a friend to all
John was an encourager he cared about others
He enjoyed farming and loved the outdoors
John knew what it took to make a farm work
His family was the center of his life
John loved Martha Ann with all of his heart
Together they enjoyed and rejoiced in John Wesley
The Lord was John’s foundation
He followed Jesus all of his life
Liberty Baptist Church and the Church family
Were John’s extended family-he prayed for each person
John served Amite, Wilkinson, Pike, Walthall, Adams and Jefferson
He gave these folks the best he had
He was committed to the people of Mississippi
Always cheerful and welcoming
Never looking at the negative side of life
John lived for Jesus
He sacrificed his time and energy
Living each day to honor and glorify the Christ
Clay Corvin
March 9, 2011
Harold was the kind of person who built community
He was involved, behind the scenes, a solid citizen
It was his lifestyle to care about others
He sought no recognition for himself
Arriving home with the Lord he was greatly honored
Harold was a teacher
A family leader who loved his children
Doted on the grandchildren-they were extra special
Committed to the Lord Jesus Christ
His actions everyday demonstrated this
He was a persistent communicator of kindness
Equipped to serve and serving consistently in his community
His witness strong because of the way he cared for others
A life lived with a sense of God’s love and care for mankind
Harold was a friend, an encourager, a servant
Harold knew the importance of theological education for pastors
He cared about New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
He invested in the lives of future generations
His life was an open book, his heart deep and strong for Christ
An humble man Harold is now with His Lord and Savior Jesus
Clay Corvin
March 8, 2011
Fearless and faithful wife of Bill Hamm
Who was waiting for her with Christ
A capable and loving mother
She never ever accepted “that’s how things are”
Her focus was to “make things the way they should be”
Her heart was in her Christ like life
Energetic, hard working, determined
She accomplished much
Her focus: Christ, church, family, friends
Sybil was excited about life
Adventurous, wise and discerning
Very little slipped past her
Always alert to help, to encourage
Sybil was an unusually good listener
Now she is waiting and listening for us with Jesus
We cannot disguise our heartache
Her absence leaves us missing
We treasure her memory
We celebrate a friend, a mother
What a great time she had living for Jesus
Clay Corvin
March 4, 2011
VANITA DODSON WOOD
We can rejoice in Vanita Wood’s life
It was well lived
Youthful to the end
By a determined follower of the Lord Jesus Christ
She was competent and capable
Loyal to family, friends and her Lord
Quick to help
Slow to criticize
Vanita Wood was gifted with great insight
People never fooled her
She understood what she was doing
Always focused on what the Lord would have her do
Her family was central to her existence
She was loving and kind
Wise and merciful
A foundation stone that touched them all
Vanita Wood was never distant
Even in her quietness she communicated
People were important to her
Life was for living in Christ
Every day was another day to care
Generous, peaceful and unchanging
One day we will see her again
Until that time we will not forget her love
Clay Corvin
February 19, 2011
My heart weeps for Alan Day
We miss him in New Orleans
Edmond is brought to its knees
Southern Baptist are hurting
Alan has gone to his Father
Lord we miss him here on earth
Brilliant communicator
Trusted God’s inerrant Word
Filled with Jesus
Taught God’s Word
Willingly, patiently shared Christ
All things are possible with Jesus
Obstacles were things he reveled in surmounting
He knew Christ had a job for him to do
Alan felt his place was with his church
A shepherd, a spiritual leader like no other
Beloved, a friend you could count on
His church will miss his steady hand
Our hearts weep for Alan Day
He was a devoted father
Building his family with his lovely and loving wife
Investing his heart and soul
He was a daily example
His children lived his teaching
A mighty man of God
He faithfully served
His life is being celebrated today
Heaven rejoices over Alan’s life
Lord we release him to You
But we will not forget Richard Alan Day
Clay Corvin
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ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE –TH -01/06/11
Thursday is our next to last day. We had much to do today and most of it involved walking uphill or down at an outrageous slant where it feels like you are going to fall off.
Dr. Dukes led in our devotional at Haas Promenade. The Bible Study and the view of the Old City were stirring! It was a good start of our day.
Our next stop was the Aroma Coffee on Mt. Scopus. Great coffee and great stop. It only took a few minutes and we were off to the Mt. of Olives Overlook. Many of our group immediately went to the camel ride. Others of us were busy taking pictures. I never tire of taking pictures of Jerusalem.
We staggered down the hillside of the Mount of Olives to the Dominus Flavit Church. Dr. Lan Leavell led our devotional at this site. We were challenged to have seeing eyes, hearing hearts and questing spirit. Excellent!
We completed our walk down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. Rev. Jason Dukes led our devotional. His focus was on the reality of our faith.
We visited the Church of All Nations and the ancient Olive trees in their garden. It is an amazing experience to see these two thousand year old trees.
The view of the Old City and the Temple Mount is stunning as we walked down the Mount of Olives. You can think about the thousands of years of activity that has been in this area. It began for us with Abraham at the foundation stone on Mt. Moriah (Temple Mount.) It continues to this very day with the Moslem control of the Temple Mount. The thing we can count on is that one day all things will be summed up by the Lord, Jesus the Messiah will return in the twinkling of an eye and everyone will experience the knowledge of Him. His children will be with Him and those who are not in God’s family will be judged. The early church was empowered with this knowledge that Jesus is coming back. I submit to you that Jesus is coming back!
Avner picked us up in front of the Church of Mary, which is a traditional location for the grave of the Mother of Jesus. Avner drove us up the hill, we were grateful and let us out at the northeast corner of the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked through the area that for many hundreds of years was the location of the sheep market and into the Old City at the Lion or Sheep Gate. Just a few steps and we turned into the Church of St. Anne. Dr. Jimmy Dukes led in our devotional at Bethesda that is alongside of the Church of St. Anne. After the devotional we went into the Church and sang. Gilla led in discussing the Pool of Bethesda and its historical layout.
We were now on the Via Dolorosa. Gilla identified the Stations of the Cross as we continued along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Our first stop was the Lithostratos at the Sisters of Zion. We talked about the Via Dolorosa, the Madaba map, the cistern that is the cistern that we saw in the Kotel walk and the game of the King scratched out on the pavement below from the time of Jesus. Dr. Warren led in our devotional on the actual pavement from the time of Jesus. We had a prayer and a time of contemplation then we walked back up to the current street level and continued our journey on the Via Dolorosa. The Russian Church that houses the Judgment Gate was our next stop. Then we walked around to the Holy Sepulcher. Our group spent time in the Holy Sepulcher visiting Calvary and the tomb of Jesus.
We walked across the Christian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter about 1:45pm where we had lunch. There was a lot of ice cream eaten at lunch.
The Upper Room was our next stop. This is a particularly encouraging site as it is probably the location where the Last Supper took place. Whether it is or isn’t it is a very good location for the commemoration of the event. Rev. Rob Wilton led in our devotional. We sang a hymn after the devotional and went out. We visited King David’s Tomb downstairs next. It is a memorial to King David.
Down the hill of Mt. Zion Avner was waiting for us and took us on down to St. Peter in Gallicantu that is the location of Caiaphas’ House and the place where Peter denied the Lord three times. Rev. Mel Jones shared some of his personal testimony and led in our devotional. We had our devotional next to the Roman Stepped Way that at some time Jesus would have walked on as he walked from the Mount of Olives to Mount Zion.
We were all tired and we ended our touring day at about 5:00pm today. Bible Study was at 6:00pm as Dr. Warren continued our Bible Study in Acts.
Clay
http://www.rememberme.com
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ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE –WE- 01/05/11
JERUSALEM
Dr. Dukes led our devotional this morning at the Haas Promenade. The Promenade overlooks the city of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, the Valley of Hinnom, and the Kidron Valley. This is a great way to start our tour of Jerusalem over the next three days.
Avner took us to the Dung Gate via Silwan. Our first site tour is of the Temple Mount. This is a significant historical and political site. Gilla did an excellent job taking us through the site. Once we completed the Temple Mount we had to hustle back down to the Western Wall for the Kotel Tunnel Tour.
The Kotel deals with all of those things related to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The tour takes you down to first century Jerusalem, underneath present day Jerusalem, and reveals the Temple Mount Western Wall the full length of the wall and the ancient street that at some points is the street that Herod the Great built. Additionally, we visited a cistern from the earliest times and noted the Herodian stones and building methods.
All of us had an opportunity to visit the Western Wall. This is particularly important for us to see because of its importance to Judaism. It is an interesting and at times puzzling experience. The Western Wall itself is an imposing façade. When you realize why it is what it is it encourages you to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
The Davidson Museum and the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount were our next tour. We had a student presentation at the Southern Steps.
It was now about 1:30 PM and time for us to go to lunch. We walked up from the Western Wall into the Jewish Quarter near Hurva Square where we had lunch. After lunch we all went to Shorashim Biblical Shop where we visited with Moshe and Dov Kempinski. We had an excellent discussion of Judaism and dialog with Moshe.
It has been a very long day of walking. We have trod the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem more than 15,000 steps today. Many of those steps were uphill. It has been rewarding and has created many memories for us.
We took the group to the Muristan near the Holy Sepulcher to shop. Some of us went up to the Aroma Coffee shop at the Jaffa Gate. We met Avner at 5:45 PM and returned to Ramat Rachel for dinner, Bible Study and sleep.
Tomorrow will begin early.
Clay
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ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE –TU- 01/04/11
We left Maagan this morning. I love the Galilee and always am a bit sad to leave. We had to pass by the Aroma Coffee at the junction because we had too many miles to cover today.
Dr. Dukes led in 1 Peter 2:1-3 for our devotional. It is all about being because doing comes out of being. He noted that we are to Be a Be—God is much more interested in what we be than in what we try to do on our own. When we are we do—relationship, transformation, character change, new attitudes and new actions. I will post Jimmy’s devotionals when we get back home.
The ride down the Jordan Valley was peaceful. Our driver, Avner, made excellent time from the Galilee to Masada-2 hours. The group toured Masada. Masada was built by King Herod and was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters when they were destroyed by Rome in 74AD. Masada is a mountain on the eastern fringe of the Judean Desert near the shore of the Dead Sea, rising from the Dead Sea 450 meters. It is 650 meters long and 300 meters wide. Its natural defenses and remote location were the advantages that transformed it into a fortress during the Second Temple period.
Qumran is about 45 minutes north of Masada. We arrived there about 12:45 and had a quick lunch in their cafeteria. Qumran is located on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. It had a Jewish population dating back to 800 BC and inhabitants up to the Bar Kochba revolt in 132-135 AD. This is the place that Bedouin Shepherds discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. We visited the site. Dr. Parker presented his study of Qumran. We walked the site and then loaded up the bus to go swimming in the Dead Sea.
We drove over to Kalia, about 2 miles away, and many put their hands and feet in the Dead Sea but only 2 actually swam in the Dead Sea. We were back on the road in 40 minutes, leaving the Dead Sea area at 3PM.
Driving thru Jerusalem, Gilla pointed out the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, Mt. Scopus, and other identifiable skyline buildings. We also drove by the Jaffa Gate and had conversation about David Citadel.
Avner had us in Bethlehem at 4 PM. This was very good because the Church of the Nativity closes at 5 PM and when we got there the line was long. We were able to get through the church by closing time at 5PM.
This was a whirlwind day. We shopped at Edward Tabash’s store in Bethlehem for an hour then Avner took us to Ramat Rachel where we will be for the next three nights. Our Israel Pilgrimage is going too, too fast!
Clay Corvin 1/4/11
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