This morning, we had our first Kingdom-Focused Prayer Meeting at SMBC. Each month, the Saturday before the first Sunday, we will spend an hour in prayer together as a church. Our focus will be on spiritual, kingdom, eternal matters, more than personal requests. We will beseech the Lord God that his name would be hallowed, his kingdom would come, and his will would be done on earth as in heaven. May the Lord smile on these times of corporate prayer. Here is the prayer guide from this morning's meeting: • Pray that we would receive a higher view of God...

THE HYMN OF CHRISTPhilippians 2:5-11 Philippians 2:5-11 is called THE HYMN OF CHRIST, because scholars tell us that this passage records an actual hymn that was sung in worship by the early church. Contextually, Philippians 2 is a call to spiritual unity. In verses 1-4, Paul says, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry and conceit, but in humility count others...

Today was long but rich and blessed day. The Lord was gracious to smile on our worship services today at Shiloh. Thank you for praying for me, as I have not been feeling well this week. I am still having up and down days. But I am grateful that the Lord has been giving me strength to preach at the appointed times. Please continue to pray for me and my health. And pray that the Lord will give me wisdom to follow doctor’s instructions and my boss’ commands - Crystal! Our youth and young adults choirs led the music in...

From Left to right: Unidentified, W.P. Carter, Gardner C. Taylor, H.B. Charles, Sr., Lawrence A. Felix, Sr., Horace N. MaysThan you Professor Paul Felix for sharing this picture of our fathers with me.

Long day. Good worship. Important message. Hard work. Totally exhausted. I am grateful to God for the privilege he has given me to shepherd the saints at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. The Lord richly blessed our Vacation Bible School. Forty-three young people took of step of faith to Christ. Praise God! As always, I am grateful to God for the guests who worshiped with us at Shiloh yesterday. In New Members Class, I continued my study of the church. I spent our time focusing on Matthew 18:15-20. It was a good time of study. I began my study of Philippians...

This past Sunday, I concluded my study of Philippians chapter 1 with a message on verses 29-30, entitled, "The Gift of Suffering." Here is the sermon skeleton:TITLE: “The Gift of Suffering” TEXT: Philippians 1:29-30SERIES: PHILIPPIANS: PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL THEME: The gift of suffering POINT: Christian suffering is a gift from God to be embraced and endured with joy. TRANSITION: Consider with we me three things these two verses teach us about Christian suffering. OUTLINE: I. The privilege of Christian suffering (1:29)A. Belief in Christ is a gift from God: "For it has been granted to you for the sake...

We had a good day of worship at Shiloh yesterday. I have a “hard saying” to preach. But as the saying goes, difficult texts make good preachers. If so, I became a better preacher for struggling with the text this week. And I pray that the church was made the better for hearing the word. One the practical benefits of verse-by-verse exposition is that it forces you to deal with passages and subjects that you would otherwise avoid. This discipline helps us to preach the whole council of God, not just our favorite subjects. Praise God for those who were...

It was good to be home and back in my own pulpit this morning. I missed being in worship with Shiloh last Lord's Day. And I am thankful that the Lord allowed me and my family to get home safely and be reunited with our church family. This was my first 4th of July weekend in Jacksonville. I did not know what to expect this morning. I was pleasantly surprised. We celebrated both Christian ordinances - baptism and the Lord's Supper in worship this morning. What a blessing! I resumed teaching my new members class today. We discussed one my...

Two dramatic events took place in my life in February of 1990. First of all, I turned eighteen-years-old. My birthday was on a Monday. And by the end of that very week, I was moving into my first apartment. It was one in a series of events in which the Lord was forcing me to grow up quickly. During that same month, I hosted our first revival at Mt. Sinai Church, where I been the pastor for three months. My guest speaker wanted to go to Mt. Moriah that Tuesday to here Dr. E.K. Bailey. I had heard of Dr....

I am in Los Angeles. My wife and kids have been here for several weeks, visiting family and friends. I planned to come last week for two days. However, I decided last Wednesday to stay over the weekend with my family. I am glad I did. When my friend and brother, George Hurtt, found out I would be in town over the weekend, he invited me… No, scratch that. He insisted that I preach for him Sunday morning. Sunday morning, it was my great privilege and signal honor to minister to the word to the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church....

June 17, 1989. It was a Saturday. I flew home from Detroit to Los Angeles, after preaching a youth revival all week. As I was in the air, the Lord called my father from earth to glory. When I finally arrived home, it was crowded with people. Mercifully, several of my friends picked me up and got me out of the house for several hours. I really needed it. When I returned home, several leaders of the church my father had pastored for forty years were there. They were waiting to talk to me. They asked me to preach the...

This Sunday, I continued by study of the book of Philippians with a message on chapter 1, verses 22-26. Here is the sermon skeleton:Philippians 1:22-26 is the final portion of Paul’s report to the Philippians about his personal circumstances and missionary work. In verses 12-18, Paul looks back and remembers what the Lord had done through his life and ministry. In verses 19-26, he looks ahead and anticipates what the Lord will do through his life and ministry. In verse 19-21, Paul speaks about the future with great confidence. Yet his confidence is tempered with uncertainty. In our text, verses...