Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. – Ephesians 6:18   January 13-20, 2019 is Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, where I serve as pastor. As a congregation, we start the year seeking God’s guidance, power, and blessings on our lives and ministry work together. We believe it happens after prayer! There are a lot of things you can do to help the situation, after you have prayed about it. But there really is nothing you can do to...

  Which element of prayer is harder to practice? Confession? Or thanksgiving? This would seem to be an easy question to answer. The confession of sin is obviously more difficult than the offering of thanksgiving, right? Not necessarily. Pride makes our flesh resist both elements. A proud heart cannot admit in confession, “I did it.” A proud heart cannot acknowledge with thanksgiving, “I didn’t do it. God did!” For that matter, pride makes adoration, supplication, intercession difficult to practice, as well. A godly heart is filled with perpetual thanksgiving. It is not merely a national holiday. For the humble spirit that knows...

“So, how did you get from Los Angeles to Jacksonville?” I am regularly asked this question. I give the same answer each time: “The Lord dragged me to Jacksonville kicking and screaming.” This is no dig at Jacksonville or the church I serve. It is an honest statement about how my pastoral transition to Jacksonville took place in 2008. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In a real sense, I was born and raised in a local church there. My father pastored the congregation for 40 years. More than a year after his death, I was selected to...

  I was a preacher’s kid. My father was the pastor of the church. My mother was the Minister of Music. Both made a tremendous impact on my life, faith, and ministry. My father taught me the scriptures. My mother taught me the songs of the church. I have always had a passion to sing. But I downplayed it most of the years. I was called to preach. And my father spoke negatively against “singing preachers.” He assumed that preachers sing when they don’t have anything to say. But my mother consistently encouraged me to pursue music. Throughout my two...

  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18   Do you know what the shortest verse in the New Testament is? The obvious answer is John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” It is the shortest verse in our English translations of the Bible. But the shortest verse in the Greek New Testament is 1 Thessalonians 5:16: “Rejoice always.” It is a little verse with big implications.   A Call to Joy   The word “rejoice” is a call to joy. The term was...

The Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference held on the campus of the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, FL. had a great ending! We enjoyed wonderful breakout sessions throughout the day. Stephen Rummage, senior pastor of the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida preached the mid-day general session. During evening worship, we were encouraged by Daven Watkins, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Pelham, AL, who preached from Jonah 3 "One Whale of a Prayer."  And Charlies Dates, pastor of the Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, IL., who preached from 1 Peter 3:18-22 “The cosmic conquering of Jesus Christ.”...

The Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference is still underway on the campus of the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, FL. Yesterday Karry Wesley, Al Mohler, John MacArthur and I preached the word of God and we enjoyed wonderful breakout sessions throughout the day. I pray that you have been richly blessed and that you leave encouraged and inspired to “Cut It Straight”. We are excited about what God has in store for us for today. Shuttle service from the Omni Hotel and Hyatt Hotel to the church campus will be provided throughout the day. Lunch will be provided today after the first Breakout Session....

The Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference began Yesterday on the campus of the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, FL. We are grateful to have a line-up of great speakers and teachers who will teach, model, and promote expository preaching and teaching. Likewise, the staff and volunteers of Shiloh are ready and excited to serve the guests on our campus this week. Much prayer and planning takes place for this event to make it a special time for all who attend. Cutting it straight kicked off with a bang yesterday, H.B. Charles, Jr., Jerry Vines and Terry Anderson were the joint and general session speakers. The...

  Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison – that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. – Colossians 4:2-4   This week (September 18-20, 2018), the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference will take place at the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville (FL), where I am privileged to serve as pastor-teacher. This is the fifth year of Cutting It Straight....

  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handing the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15   Cutting It Straight | September 18-20, 2018 | Jacksonville, FL    More than five years ago, several friends and I sat up discussing our burden for biblical preaching. Preachers have many conversations like this, trying to fix all of the problems of the world. Well, our conversation did not fix the world. But that conversation did conceive the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference. There are many good...

We are only weeks away from the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference. You still have time to make plans to join us for three days - Tuesday thru Thursday (September 18-20, 2018) - of preaching, teaching, worship, fellowship and encouragement. The Cutting It Straight Conference exists to train, model, and promote biblical preaching and teaching and a biblical philosophy of ministry in the body-life of the local church. Join us!   [embed]https://vimeo.com/287174296[/embed]     Click here to register for Cutting It Straight 2018!     

  Because of his sinful disobedience, the Lord fired Saul as King of Israel. He then sent the prophet, Samuel, to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, to anoint a new king.  Jesse presented to the prophet his sons he thought would make a good king. But when Samuel turned his horn over their heads, the oil of God did not fall on any of them.  When Samuel saw one particular son, Eliab, he was convinced he had found his man. Eliab was straight out of central casting. He walked and talked and looked like a king. “Surely, this must...