Tuesday night, I preached my final message at Phillips Temple CME in Dayton. And I did something I have only done two other times in all my pastoral ministry: I preached something away from MSMBC that I had not already preached to MSMBC. I had been working on my midweek message on Psalm 119:57-64 ("The Lord is My Portion"), and it was really in my system. So I took a shot at it Tuesday night, even though I didn't have much more than an extended outline. I mentioned the fact that it was an "unfinished sermon" before I started preaching....

It is just past 2 AM here in Dayton. I am tired, lonely, and homesick. And I cannot sleep. I flew all day Saturday to get here (It was morning when I left LAX; evening when I arrived in Dayton). I got something to eat and basically went straight to bed. My day started pretty early this morning. I had to preach twice at the Phillip's Temple CME Church, for their 9 and 11 AM worship services. Pastor James Washington is a kind and gracious host. In fact, his kindness to me has been somewhat embarrassing. He really goes out...

On Sunday, June 4, I am scheduled to begin an verse-by-verse exposition of the New Testament Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. I have asked the congregation of Mt. Sinai Church to read the six chapters of Ephesians, a chapter a day, between Monday through Saturday, leading up to the beginning of our study. Please join us as we familiarize ourselves with this wonderful letter of scripture."Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 1:3

By the grace of God, I made it home safely this morning from Greensboro. My final night at the Garden of Prayer Church was uplifting and encouraging. I was really blessed by my time with Pastor Keelan Atkinson and the Garden of Prayer family. I had an early flight home this morning. And when I arrived, I received the news that my wife's father had been taken into the hospital. He is in stable condition, I later discovered. But he is not doing well. Next week, Crystal will go to Midland-Odesa, Texas, to check on him. I have tried to...

This weekend, the "The Da Vinci Code" will be released in theaters around the country. And as this much-hyped movie comes out, I feel the need to make a confession: I have not read the book. And barring some minor miracle, I will not see the movie, either. Some time ago, I learned not to get overly excited about the cultural attacks against Christianity. In fact, I have come to expect it, at this point. When Christmas and Easter comes, I started looking for the new "discovery" some supposed "expert" has made about "true" Christianity. Really, no religion is so...

Last night, I gave my first of four messages at the Garden of Prayer Church in Greensboro. It was a good meeting. In fact, it went much better than I expected. Keelan, the pastor of this congregation, is my friend. And it's hard for me to preach for my friends, for some reason. But I really did right at home last night. And, from the comments of members to me after the service, the message was a great encouragement to many. Praise God for that. I have three more messages to preach and then I'll be headed home. Pray for...

I am in Cincinnati, awaiting my connecting flight to Greensboro, NC. I am scheduled to preach at the Garden of Prayer Sovereign Grace Baptist Church through Thursday. My friend, Keelan Atkinson is the pastor. Keelan has served there for about a year and a half. Keelan is also a blogger, sort of. He has a blog, I should say. But he hasn't published a post on it in almost a month. Pray that he will "repent" and get back to it. This will be my second time preaching at Garden of Prayer. I did their "Friends and Family Day" last...

My last night in Grand Prairie was cool. I was quite nervous, as I sat in the service. Quite a few pastors and preachers were present to hear me preach - from one of my father's old friends to one of my new friends to a bunch a young pastors and preachers who had come to "scope me over." And I was preaching a message that I did not intend to preach. It was a bit unnerving. I have preached before a lot of of preachers before, so I really don't know why I was so nervous. Before the message,...

Tonight, I will preach my final message of this meeting at Morning Star Baptist Church in Grand Prairie. Pastor Christopher Taylor has been a very gracious host, as usual. And the Morning Star family has been a warm and encouraging place to preach, as usual. Likewise, there have been quite a few young ministers who have come to support the meeting, most of whom I am meeting for the first time. I really do appreciate these young men attending the services and showing such kindness to me. I feel a little out of my league, being around some of them...

This week is only two days old. But it has been a pretty busy one, nonetheless. I have a plane to catch in the morning to Grand Prarie. So I have been trying to get a lot done over the past day or so. God has been faithful. I have been pretty busy. But I am blessed. God is good. I am so grateful to God for all that he is doing in and through me during this season of my life. Even the challenges are blessing me to grow up spiritually. I praise the Lord for it all!This past...

Last night, during our National Day of Prayer Service, I resumed my exposition of Psalm 119. I was scheduled to preach this message last Wednesday night, but both physical fatigue and mental distractions resulted in me going home to get in the bed hours before the service. Praise God I had another opportunity to present this message. And after having a week to let it "marinate," I didn't have some of the typical anxieties I have when I am preaching a new message. Likewise, this has been a really tough week for me. I am now going in the different...

Praise God! The Lord blessed me to get home safely from San Diego this morning. The final service at Bayview Church was good. I shifted away from what I had been preaching on all week, to preach a message that was on my heart. I think it was a clear presentation, even though I was somewhat nervous about preaching it. As always, Pastor Winters was kind and generous to me. I appreciate the time he takes with me. In fact, I was so anxious to spend time with him that I followed him to eat different kinds of foods that...