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Notes from the Launch of shiloh Church of Orange Park
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! – Psalm 115:1 Yesterday marked the official launch of the Shiloh Church of Orange Park. The Shiloh Church is now one church in two locations. The first Sunday of 2015 marked the beginning of our new worship schedule. The congregation now meets for worship three times on Sundays between two locations. I led and preached our 7:45 service downtown. After extending the invitation, I headed to Orange Park. I didn’t really know what to expect. I...
Articles
Saturday Shout-Outs: 2015, Reading Plans, & Ministry Links
Happy New Year to you and yours! Please pray for for the official launch of Shiloh Church of Orange Park on January 4, 2014. NOTE: All three services - at both locations - will be streamed on Sundays through the Shiloh Church website. Check out: My Top Posts of 2014 Congratulations to Dr. Maurice Watson who begins his new assignment as the the 6th pastor of the historic Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington D.C. Timothy George: Spurgeon at Year's End Christina Fox: New Year's Resolutions: Aim for Godliness and God's Glory Hershael York: Recovering from a Dud Jonathan Parnell: When...
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My Top Posts of 2014
Thanks for reading my blog in 2014! Some of your are regular readers, who keep up with most posts. Others of you came looking for something specific and stuck around. Or maybe you just stumbled onto the site. Now matter how you arrived, I am glad you are here. This blog began as a creative writing exercise. It has evolved (as continues to evolve) into something more than that. You can find various resources here. And I hope you have found them helpful. Here are some of the blog highlights from 2014... On Preaching My New Book: "On Preaching" Building...
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Saturday Shout-Outs: Christmas, New Year, & Ministry Links
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Sign up for my free weekly sermon manuscript email list in the box to the right! Check out my article: The Happy Dilemma of a Growing Preacher Ray Pritchard: 47 Sermons for the New Year John Piper: Contemporary America and a Call to Prayer David Platt: Our Obligation to the Unreached Thom Rainer: Seven Myths about a Pastor's Workweek Nathan W. Bingham: Top Commentaries on Every Book of the Bible Brian Croft: The Practical Shepherding Series through Zondervan David Murray: 6 Meditations on the Pre-Incarnation Michael Kruger: A Christmas Present from the Mainstream Media: Newsweek...
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The Happy Dilemma of a Growing Preacher
I am preaching through the book of Ephesians. This past week, however, I chose to pause my study until the new year and preach something that directly pointed to Christmas. Seeing it was the staff’s last week in the office before the holidays, I decided to pull of file and preach an old sermon. I landed on a Christmas message that I preached five years ago. It was a seven-page manuscript. At this point, I labor to keep my manuscripts between five to six full pages. So all I had to edit the sermon down one page, set it to...
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Saturday Shout-Outs: Crystal, Prayer, & Ministry Links
Merry Christmas! A big shout-out to my wife, Crystal Crystal, who celebrated a special birthday this week! I love you! Happy birthday, Sunshine! Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. - Proverbs 31:28-30 Praying for the family and congregations of two friends who suddenly transitioned to their heavenly reward this week: Pastor Gordon Humphrey and Pastor John Teabout. Check out the Cameron Triggs Interview....
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Saturday Shout-Outs: 16 Years, Sunshine, & Ministry Links
Thanks for the kind expressions as Crystal and I celebrated 16 years of marriage this week! The Shiloh Church of Orange Park officially launches on January 4, 2015. Please remember this new work in your prayers. World Religion News: Two Florida Pastors Confront Racial Division by Merging Congregations Check out "The Pastoral Ministry of Shaking Hands" I am excited to be a part of the 2015 Leadership Summit hosted by The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Hope to see you there! Baptist Press: ERLC Turns to race issue for March summit The 2015 E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference should be awesome!...
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16 Years of Sunshine!!!
There two big days in my life. I do not remember the date of the first one. It was a Saturday night. My parents sent me to bed. Church was in the morning. But I couldn’t sleep. Throughout the night, I wrestled with the implications of the gospel my father preached and my mother sang. At some point during the night – or morning – I surrendered my life to Christ. I was only six years old. But that dateless night was real to me. I believed that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. And I knew that...
Articles
The Pastoral Ministry of Shaking Hands
Do you feel like shaking hands? I am often asked this question when I finish preaching away from home. I always answer affirmatively. Sometimes I add, “If they can sit and listen to me preach for forty-five minutes, the least I can do is stand and shake their hands.” On occasion, I cannot hide how shocked I am to be asked the question, even though I have heard it countless times. Of course I am going to shake hands, whether I feel like it or not. Preaching is hard work. If a man takes his work seriously, sermon preparation is...
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Saturday Shout-Outs: Orange Park, Prayer, & Ministry Links
Thanks for your prayers, support, and encouragement as we prepare to launch Shiloh Church of Orange Park in January 2105. Huffington Post: Two Florida Churches Merge With Hope of Bridging a Racial Divide Check Out 31 Days of Prayer for Orange Park I am looking forward to joining the G3 Conference | January 22-24, 2015. Russell D. Moore: Ferguson and the Path to Peace Carolyn Tomlin: 7 Myths that Keep Pastors from Writing ProPreacher: 10 Reasons I Am Thankful To Be A Pastor Thom Rainer: Nine Issues Regarding Pastors and Office Hours Eric Geiger: A Constant Struggle in a Growing Church...
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31 Days of Prayer for Shiloh Church Orange Park
We believe it happens after prayer! So as we approach the launch of Shiloh Church of Orange Park, we commit to 31 days of intercessory prayer for this new work. Each member of the Shiloh Church is asked to send time daily during the 31 days of December to cover Shiloh OP in believing prayer. This daily guide will enable us to pray together on one accord. 12/1 – On-Mission: Pray that Shiloh OP will make more and better disciples for Jesus Christ in the community and through the nations (Matt. 28:18-20). 12/2 – Believing Prayer: Pray our devotion to and dependence...