Today was a long, blessed day. I thank God for the opportunity to be in worship with God’s people today and the privilege of ministering to the wonderful saints of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church.

In my New Members Class, we continued discussing “The Bible – The Word of God.” This week, I spent most of our time fielding questions. I enjoy discussing the meaning of the scriptures with others. And I am having big fun teaching our new members. I only wish our weekly sessions were longer.

Several children were dedicated to the Lord in our 10 AM service. May the grow as Jesus grew – in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52).

The choir was great today, as usual. The music was very uplifting and set my heart on the Lord today.

Our youth choir participated in leading the 10 AM service. They went “old school” on us, singing “Say the Word.” It was wonderful. I am always encouraged by the service of our young people.

I preached on Lamentations 3:21-24 – “The Reason for My Hope.”

I had been meditating on this text for several weeks. But I found it quite difficult to organize my thoughts for preaching. I skipped it last week. But the Lord would not let me escape it this week, even though I still felt that I was not ready to preach it. But I felt compelled to press on. And the Lord helped me through it.

There is a passage of scripture I intended to quote during the sermon today. But I failed to do it in either service. However, I have been thinking about this passage all evening. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it.” (ESV)

Praise God for the those who were saved and added to the church today.

I am grateful to God for all of the members of SMBC come to worship each week, not just to be ministered to, but also to minister to the saints. Hebrews 6:10.

I think I am going through football withdrawals on Sunday afternoons. How long do we have until pre-season begins?

Heath Ledger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor tonight for his unforgettable role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Way cool.