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Charles E. Cowman

Charles Elmer Cowman (1868 - 1924). American missionary and co-founder of the Oriental Missionary Society (now One Mission Society), born in Toulon, Illinois. Raised Methodist, he worked as a telegraph operator from age 15, rising to a high-paying role in Chicago by 19. Converted in 1894 after hearing A.B. Simpson at Moody Church, he married childhood friend Lettie Burd in 1889. In 1901, they moved to Japan, co-founding the society with Juji Nakada and Ernest Kilbourne, establishing Bible training institutes in Tokyo by 1903. Cowman led the Great Village Campaign (1913-1918), distributing Gospels to 10 million Japanese homes across 161,000 square miles. Known for holiness preaching and organizational zeal, he authored no books but inspired Streams in the Desert by Lettie. They had no children. Health issues forced his return to Los Angeles in 1917, where he continued guiding the mission. His work sparked revivals and trained thousands of native evangelists.
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Charles E. Cowman preaches about the promise of showers of blessings from God, emphasizing that even in seasons of drought or darkness, God will send various blessings to His people. These blessings are interconnected and include converting grace, comforting grace, and other forms of divine favor. The sermon encourages believers to open their hearts to receive God's abundant blessings, transforming their challenges into opportunities for growth and flourishing.
Showers and Sunshine
"I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing" (Ezek. 34:26). What is thy season this morning? Is it a season of drought? Then that is the season for showers. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? Then that is the season for showers. "As thy day so shall thy strength be." "I will give thee showers of blessing." The word is in the plural. All kinds of blessings God will send. All God's blessings go together, like links in a golden chain. If He gives converting grace, He will also give comforting grace. He will send "showers of blessings." Look up today, O parched plant, and open thy leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering. --Spurgeon "Let but thy heart become a valley low, And God will rain on it till it will overflow." Thou, O Lord, canst transform my thorn into a flower. And I want my thorn transformed into a flower. Job got the sunshine after the rain, but has the rain been all waste? Job wants to know, I want to know, if the shower had nothing to do with the shining. And Thou canst tell me Thy Cross can tell me. Thou hast crowned Thy sorrow. Be this my crown, O Lord. I only triumph in Thee when I have learned the radiance of the rain. --George Matheson The fruitful life seeks showers as well as sunshine. "The landscape, brown and sere beneath the sun, Needs but the cloud to lift it into life; The dews may damp the leaves of tree and flower, But it requires the cloud-distilled shower To bring rich verdure to the lifeless life. "Ah, how like this, the landscape of a life: Dews of trial fall like incense, rich and sweet; But bearing little in the crystal tray Like nymphs of night, dews lift at break of day And transient impress leave, like lips that meet. "But clouds of trials, bearing burdens rare, Leave in the soul, a moisture settled deep: Life kindles by the magic law of God; And where before the thirsty camel trod, There richest beauties to life's landscape leap. "Then read thou in each cloud that comes to thee The words of Paul, in letters large and clear: So shall those clouds thy soul with blessing feed, And with a constant trust as thou dost read, All things together work for good. Fret not, nor fear!"
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Charles Elmer Cowman (1868 - 1924). American missionary and co-founder of the Oriental Missionary Society (now One Mission Society), born in Toulon, Illinois. Raised Methodist, he worked as a telegraph operator from age 15, rising to a high-paying role in Chicago by 19. Converted in 1894 after hearing A.B. Simpson at Moody Church, he married childhood friend Lettie Burd in 1889. In 1901, they moved to Japan, co-founding the society with Juji Nakada and Ernest Kilbourne, establishing Bible training institutes in Tokyo by 1903. Cowman led the Great Village Campaign (1913-1918), distributing Gospels to 10 million Japanese homes across 161,000 square miles. Known for holiness preaching and organizational zeal, he authored no books but inspired Streams in the Desert by Lettie. They had no children. Health issues forced his return to Los Angeles in 1917, where he continued guiding the mission. His work sparked revivals and trained thousands of native evangelists.