Happy Mother's Day!!! I spent most of the weekend setting up my study in our administration building. H.B. and Natalie helped me to put up books Saturday afternoon. Cool. I talked to my mom early this morning. I called her to wish her a happy Mother's Day, and she ordered me to wish the mothers of MSMBC a happy Mother's Day on her behalf, since she could not be here today. I continued my study of the Sermon on the Mount with the second Beatitude (5:4). I called it, simply, "Those Who Mourn." I have only preached a Mother's Day...

As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don’t need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won’t be taken half-heartedly. – Max Lucado, The Applause of Heaven, p. 56 Here is my sermon skeleton from Sunday's messageTitle: "Those Who Mourn"Text: Matthew 5:4Sermon Series: The Beatitudes: The Life God BlessesTheme: The blessed paradox of godly sorrow.Point:...

There are several books I consult when I am studying Christian worship (besides the Bible, of course). These books have been trusted friends and advisors to me over the years. But when I turned to them to research “praise dancing” or “liturgical dance,” they were silent. I searched the table of contents, skimmed the pages, and scanned the indexes. Nothing. So I Googled the subject. And I found a lot of websites that offer praise-dance training. I also found many links that sell liturgical dancewear. But the few articles my searched produced were not very beneficial. Some dismissed the practice...

"The first of the eight Beatitudes is one of the strongest statements in the Bible of the great doctrine of justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone, for it is a statement of a person's complete inability to please God by any human effort. - James Montgomery Boice, The Sermon on the Mount, p. 23This past Sunday, I began a series on the Sermon on the Mount. I began with the first beatitude. Here is the sermon skeleton from Sunday's message. Title: "The Poor in Spirit"Text: Matthew 5:3 Series: The Beatitudes: The Life God Blesses Theme: The blessed paradox of...

We met at our new location for the first time yesterday. The congregation's joy and enthusiasm was very encouraging. I praise the Lord for all that he is doing in and through Mt. Sinai Church. I am blessed to serve such a wonderful congregation. Thank you to all of you who serve in our church in any way. You are the ones that make it happen! God bless you. I began my series on the Sermon on the Mount. I started with the first beatitude on the poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3). I called it, "The Poor in Spirit." (Sorry,...

God willing, I will preach my first sermon at our new location in the morning. It has been a long, winding road for us to get to this point. But the Lord has been good and faithful to Mt. Sinai Church. And it is an exciting time in the life of our congregation. We are doing a substantial amount of work to the main auditorium of our new home. So our first worship services will be in the fellowship hall. Our plan is to meet in the fellowship hall for the four Sundays of May. And we plan to be...

In the Bible, the word “anoint” simply means to pour, spread, or rub oil onto something or someone. For instance, Genesis 28:18 says, “So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and sat it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it” (ESV). In other words, he anointed it. Then he consecrated the place (28:19) and made a vow to the Lord (28:22-24). Literally, anointing is about oil. But it is spoken of three different ways in scripture. First, there is a physical anointing for healing (James 5:14-15),...

I preached my last sermon at 1800 S. Gramercy Place yesterday. Our congregation has purchased new facilities. And we will begin meeting there this coming Sunday, God willing. Praise the Lord! But I had to first get past the overwhelming task of preaching this last sermon and leading this last service. For the most part, the service was a normal Lord's Day Worship Service at MSMBC. We did not do a lot of special elements. I did not want there to be the spirit of a funeral in the service. This place of worship means a lot to so many...

My brother, Kevin B. Willis, Sr. has pastored the Riverside Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis since 1993. And the Lord has done great things in and through Kevin as he faithfully served this strong Memphis congregation. However, Kevin was recently led to end his fifteen-year work at Riverside Church. And he has begun a new work in nearby Southaven, Mississippi. He has named this new congregation "New Life in Christ Fellowship Church." This is a big step of faith for Kevin, Linda, and all those who have prayerfully chosen to follow them in this new work. Please keep this infant...

This morning, I had the distinct privilege and great honor of speaking at the 78th Annual L.K. Williams Ministers' Institute in Dallas. The meeting was hosted by the chairman of the conference: Dr. Karry D. Wesley and the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. Following is a brief biographical sketch of Dr. Lacy Kirk Williams and a short history of the institute the is printed in the official program: "In 1931, the Lacey Kirk Williams Ministers' Institute was born on the campus of Bishop College, then located in the East Texas pine country of Marshal. Its founder and organizer was Dr. Joseph...

'- Yesterday was our next to last worship service at our Gramercy location, where Mt. Sinai Church has met for about 40 years. This coming Sunday will be our last service there. While we praise God for the new facilities he has given us, it is sad to leave a place of meeting that has meant so much to so many of us for so many years. - I preached a message from Mark 14:3-9. I called it, "Expressing your Devotion to Jesus." The point of the message is that you should do express your devotion to Jesus the best...

The new book I have contributed a chapter to, Secret Sex Wars: A Battle Cry for Purity, is now available in stores and online. Robert S. Scott, who pastors the Los Angeles Community Bible Church, is the general editor. In it, several pastors from the Los Angeles area - who love Christ, love the scriptures, and love God's people - have come together to write this volume that presents biblical instruction and Christ-centered principles for sexual purity. I know that the book title may seem provocative and intimidating. But let me assure you that this is not a self-righteous, unloving,...