I was born in the coolest month of the year. February is the shortest month of the year, consisting of only twenty-eight days. But once every four years, February gets an extra day. It’s called leap year. I am not sure about the reason for this. But I think it’s cool, nonetheless. Enjoy it.Happy Leap Day!

"How are you doing today, H.B.?" you ask. Well, look at these pictures and then take one wild guess about how this lifelong resident of Los Angeles is doing today during his visit to Detroit.

I am in Detroit, Michigan. How am I doing? When I landed yesterday afternoon, it was 18 degrees. It was supposed to have dropped to 8 degrees last night - I was sequestered in my hotel room long before that had an opportunity to happen. And there is supposed to be a slight heat wave today - 20 something degrees. And it is supposed to snow again tomorrow. My daughter told me this morning that I should have watched the news and brought my gloves - never mind that she has never seen my with a pair of gloves ever...

'- It was pouring down raining Sunday morning. I drove to church expecting very few of our congregation to be present. I was pleasantly surprised. - For the third Sunday in a row, my wife was not able to go to church. I am glad she is getting her rest and that our baby is doing fine. But I really miss being in worship with her. And yesterday, for some reason, it was particularly hard for me. - I listened to the song, "I will Sing Praises" on an older album I have - "A Change Will Come" by Rev....

God willing, I will continue my series on "Total-Life Stewardship" this Sunday. I am nearing the end. And it is pretty interesting how this series has been growing on me as the weeks have gone by. Sunday's message will be the next to last in the series. I plan to speak on the stewardship of our (spiritual) gifts. 1 Peter 4:10-11 is the foundational text for this message. It says: "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves,...

I attended the On-Target Evangelism Conference this week in Anaheim. The California Southern Baptist Convention sponsored this event. This was the second time I have attended. I attended several years ago, and I was both challenged and encouraged by the messages that I heard. Unfortunately, I missed last year. But I was able to attend this year. And it was even better than the last time I was there. Nelson Searcy – Nelson Searcy, who pastors the Journey Metro Church in New York City, gave several lectures on breaking growth barriers. I cannot swallow all that Searcy teaches without spitting...

My wife, Crystal, managed to give me a surprise dinner for my birthday this past weekend. She called me Friday afternoon and told me she was hungry and what she wanted to eat and that it was time to come home. So I did. Hey, my wife is pregnant and I’m not crazy. We arrived at the restaurant and had to wait a while for a seat. So we went across the way to the bookstore. When we returned to get our table, the wife and daughter of one of our pastors came out of the door. Then it clicked...

I continued our series on “Total-Life Stewardship.” My message was on the stewardship of speech. I tried to tackle it in terms of three relationships – God, self, others. My major points were: (1) God is listening to what you say; (2) your words tell on you; (3) your tongue has powerful effects on others. Among our guests Sunday, there was a young man from Detroit. Pastor Tolar Morgan, whom I preached for several years ago, pointed him to our church. There was also a young man in town for business from Houston. Pastor Ralph West had pointed him to...

On last Lord's day, I continued my series on "Total-Life Stewardship." The message was on the stewardship of the body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). I sought to make two major points in that message: (1) We should strive to be healthy, and more importantly, (2) we should strive to be holy.God willing, this sunday I will preach on the stewardship of our speech or our words. The Bible is clear that words matter to God. And our words matter to God. There are many reasons why what we say matters. But maybe the most important reason why we should be on...

At the end of Rediscovering Expository Preaching, John MacArthur answers the question: What is the ultimate key to effective preaching? His answer is: “Very simply, stay in your study until you know that the Lord will gladly accept what you have prepared to preach because it rightly represents his word” (p. 348). MacArthur then follows this advice with a plan for making a preacher out of your pastor, written by an unknown parishioner (pp. 348-49): Fling him into his office. Tear the “Office” sign from the door and nail on the sign, “Study.” Take him off the mailing list. Lock...

There were some problems with the sermons on our website this weekend. But it has been corrected and you should be able to find many messages from the pulpit of Mt Sinai on our website. Again, hats off to Pastor G. Hurtt for addressing this problem.

Today is my 35th birthday. It is a quiet day for me. No special plans. But it is nonetheless a special day. God has been good to me in my life. He has saved me. He has called me to preach his word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. He has blessed me with a wonderful family - my wife, Crystal, and our children, H.B., Natalie, and the one "in the oven." And the Lord has given me a great job - to lead, teach, and minister to the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles. These blessings are...