August 7, 2026, 4:00 PM
Greetings in Christ and greetings once again! I hope and pray you've had a good week so far.
Psalms 84:4,8-12 says this: "Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you."
This psalm, the 84th Psalm, is about the blessings of worshipping God in his dwelling place. During the Psalmist's time, God's presence dwelt in the Temple in Jerusalem.
We live under a BETTER New Covenant today! It's one in which God doesn't dwell only in one place, but He dwells INSIDE each person who believes and takes Jesus to be Lord and Savior! God gives us His Holy Spirit, enabling us to walk in a restored relationship with Him and other people. Because of this, our worship of God is not limited to a specific place. I, for one, am very thankful for that. God still pours out His Spirit in different times and places as people's hearts are humbled and open to receiving Him.
Interestingly, yesterday (August 6th) marked the day the Cane Ridge Revival began 225 years ago outside of Paris, KY, in Bourbon County.
Victor Knowles of Peace On Earth Ministries described it like this: "Folks began arriving for the scheduled week of services on Friday, August 6, 1801. The Kentucky revival attracted between 20,000 and 30,000 people in one week. This was no small feat considering the primitive methods of travel and lodging at the turn of the nineteenth century. They came by horseback and wagons. The 400-seat, one-room log building (meeting house) was quickly filled."
This event has been called the "American Pentecost." Knowles wrote, "The amazing unity in preaching made the Cane Ridge Revival unique. The local unity-minded Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone had invited Methodists and Baptists to join the Presbyterians in preaching at different parts of the encampment. Incredibly, three thousand converts were reported at Cane Ridge - the same number as at Pentecost (Acts 2:42)."
The revival at Cane Ridge would last about one week, but its effects would last much longer. This event launched several other camp meetings on the frontier and would shape the religious and cultural landscape in America for generations to come.
As a further result of the revival, a movement began to restore the church to its original model and to seek unity among all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament. We folks from the Christian Church/Church of Christ (to which FCC is a part) trace our spiritual roots BACK to Cane Ridge and this Revival Movement in the early 1800s.
Let us pray for revival again in our own lives, in our community, and in America!
Lord, we cry out to You for restoration and revival. Restore Your church in this country. Revive us again. May our nation turn back to You and begin to worship You again!
This coming Sunday (08.09.26), I will continue our "Head for the Hills" sermons, following up from last week's message on the Prophet of God, Elijah, in 1 Kings. We'll be talking about Elijah AFTER the showdown on Mount Carmel and dealing with discouragement and depression.
Elijah's story shows how God can meet us in our weakness, give us rest, renew us, and recommission us. I believe this is a VERY TIMELY message for our present day!
I pray we will see you at FCC this coming Sunday. If not then, Lord willing, I'll see you again soon. May God bless!
In Him,
Greg Herriford
