Yesterday. After having breakfast with Crystal, I pressed on further in my study for Sunday. I actually got done much more than I expected. Praise God! My afternoon was spent in meetings with some of my coworkers here. Last night, we worshiped with the Liberty Baptist Church here in Los Angeles. It is the first pastoral celebration of my friend, Pastor Terry L. Brown. This service was the first time preaching at Liberty Church. And it was the first time our two churches had met together there since I have been the pastor of MSMBC. So it was good to...

Here is my sermon skeleton from midweek service on Wednesday, February 22, 2006:Title: “Teach Me!”Text: Psalm 119:33-40Theme: A prayer for greater understanding of and deeper devotion to God’s wordPoint: We need God to teach us how to live right.Outline: I. A prayer for personal admission into God’s school (119:33-34)A. You need spiritual instruction (v. 33)B. You need spiritual insight (v. 34) II. A prayer for continual progress in God’s school (119:35-37)A. Your feet (v. 35)B. Your heart (v. 36)C. Your eyes (v. 37) III. A prayer for steadfast perseverance in God’s school (119:38-40)A. Assurance (v. 38)B. Vindication (v. 39)C. Revival...

This week, the WHW Ministries board meeting is taking place here in Los Angeles. Dr. R.A. Williams and Dr. George Waddles lead this ministry that emphasizes training local pastors in expository preaching and teaching. The morning sessions have consisted of lectures on various matters of pastoral ministry. In the evening, Dr. A. Louis Patterson, Jr. of the Mt. Corinth Baptist Church in Houston and Dr. Frank Ray of the New Salem Baptist Church in Memphis are preaching. All of these meetings are taking place at the McCoy Memorial Baptist Church, where Dr. Williams is the pastor. Please pray for this...

Sunday night, while waiting in line at a fast food joint, I started checking emails and web surfing on my palm. When I checked out Dr. Ray Pritchard's website, I was suprised to find that he gave given me and Mt. Sinai a shout-out ("Look, ma, I'm hip!") in one of his posts. Dr. Ray Pritchard's sermons and writings have been a great blessing to me over the years. I was introduced to his ministry by his book, In the Shadow of the Cross. I read it and was hooked. Now, I automatically buy a book if it has Ray...

I am in Orange County at the "On-Target Evangelism Conference," sponsored by the California Southern Baptist Convention. Yesterday was very helpful and encouraging. The afternoon sessions were about leadership styles and ministry teams. I needed to hear everything that was said. I still have so much to learn about leadership. And some of the things I had to deal with this past week were discussed in the lecture. The evening session was inspiring. I heard a great message on "How to Make the Good News Good Again" by by John Avant. I'm sure most of us in the conference felt...

Here is the sermon skeleton from my message this past Sunday.Title: “Be Careful with God’s Name”Text: Exodus 20:7Series: The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)Theme: Honoring the name of GodPoint: Our lips and lives must reflect the unique honor God’s holy name deserves.Outline:I. The prohibition against misusing God’s nameWhile this commandment does forbid blasphemy, profanity, and perjury; there are other ways we can be guilty of taking God's name in vain:A. IrreverenceB. False teachingC. The presumption of direct revelationD. Promise-breaking (I never got to this point in the actual presentation of the message.)II. The penalty for misusing God’s nameHere are three ways...

John Piper is the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and the featured speaker of Desiring God Ministries. Piper's message can be summarized in one simple but profound statement: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied with him." Recently Piper has proven his personal sincerity about this statement, as he has been recently diagnosed with prostrate cancer. Dr. Piper had a successful surgery this week. To God be the glory! And he was released from the hospital this past Wedneday. Please continue to pray for him. Recently, in one of his regular newletter articles to...

This week, I finished reading a book entitled, "Love Worthy Finding." It is the story of the personal life and preaching philosophy of Adrian Rogers. It was written by his childhood sweetheart and wife of fifty-four years, Joyce Rogers. Dr. Rogers was the pastor of the historic Bellevule Baptist Church of Memphis, Tennessee. He served there for thirty-two years, until his retirement in the March, 2005. He was the featured speaker of Love Worth Finding Ministries. And was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention three times during its conservative resurgence in the 1980's and 90's. Dr. Rogers died on...

We are in the middle of revival services at Mt. Sinai. Our guest speaker is Dr. R.A. Williams, Jr, who is the pastor of the McCoy Memorial M.B.C. here in Los Angeles and president of WHW Ministries. Dr. Williams is one of the men God used to introduce me to expository preaching. And the Lord has used him to encourage and enrich my life and ministry in many ways. This is the third or fourth time Dr. Williams has preached a meeting for us. And I am honored to have him minister the word to our congregation this week. Last...

Today, February 10, is my mother's - Ellen Louise Charles - birthday. My birthday is tomorrow. And as I understand it, I would have shared my mother's birthday if I would have arrived three hours earlier. My mother lives in Oklahoma City, where she is caring for my ailing grandmother. And I love her very much. She has sacrificed much in order to facilitate God's plan for my life. And I appreciate it more than she will ever know. Happy birthday mom!

I am feeling much better today. I even put on a short sleeved shirt today, in order to enjoy some of the wonderful weather we are having here in Los Angeles this week. Yesterday, I mostly rested. This is usually the most effective remedy when my body gets sick. And it seems to have worked again. And it happened in good timing, I might add. I have quite a busy weekend ahead of me. Today, I have a couple of writing assignments to finish and some pastoral care updates to make. I also have to finish my preparation for my...

Here is the sermon skeleton from my midweek sermon last night on Psalm 119:Title: “Up from the Dust”Text: Psalm 119:25-32Theme: God’s word encourages the depressed soulPoint: The person who is devoted to the word of God may be down, but their not out.Outline:I. The prayer of a soul that is depressed (119:25-28)A. God’s word revives (v. 25)B. God’s word enlightens (v. 26-27)C. God’s word strengthens (v. 28)II. The prayer of a soul that is determined (119:29-32)A. The desires of the determined soul (119:29)B. The decisions of a determined soul (119:30-32)1. Choose God’s word (v. 30)2. Cling to God’s word (v....