I woke up Sunday morning, thinking about my father. And the first question I asked myself was, “Do you really feel like going to church today?” No, I did not ask, “Do you feel like preaching?” I didn’t feel like going to church. Thank God I did not give my feelings an opportunity to answer that questions. By the time my day was over, my “bandwagon” feelings had jumped on board. It usually happens that way. I praise God for the good man and faithful preacher that God blessed me with as a father – H.B. Charles Sr. Saturday, we...

Last night, I continued my exposition of the book of Jonah with a message on the entire third chapter. One more chapter to go. Here is the skeleton from last night's message: Title: "God Wants To Give You Another Chance" Text: Jonah 3:1-10 Theme: The Mercy of GodPoint: God wants to give you another chance. Outline: I. God wants to give you another chance to change your ways (3:1-4).II. God wants to give you another chance to change the world (3:5-10). A. God's word can change the world (vv. 3-4) B. God's power can change the world (vv. 5-9) 1....

We do not choose what we preach as ministers of the gospel. We do not have a choice of what we preach week by week. There are times in my study when I am absolutely overcome when I sense that God has spoken to me through his word for our people. Pulpits are not private platforms to espouse personal philosophies or political views. The only preaching God honors is "the message that I give you." In my pulpit I preach from the Bible for two reasons. First, I am not smart enough to preach anything else. If I were to...

Here is the sermon skeleton from the sermon I preached this past Sunday morning on Romans 5:3-5. Title: “We Rejoice In Our Sufferings” Text: Romans 5:3-5Theme: The Christian Response to SufferingPoint: We rejoice in our suffering. Outline: I. The reality of Christian suffering There are four major reasons why the Lord allows suffering in the lives of Christians: A. An act of divine chastisement (Heb. 12:6-11)B. A platform for God’s glory (John 9:1-4) C. The result of spiritual warfare (Job) D. The means of spiritual growth (Romans 5:3-5)II. The response to Christian suffering A. We rejoice in our sufferings B....

We had a good day in worship and fellowship at the Shiloh Church today. We recognized our 2009 graduates in our 10 AM service today. And after the service, there was a luncheon for the graduates and their families. I was glad to attend. We had quite a few guests in worship with us today. A family rejoice. A class reunion. And worship studies class members. It was a joy to have them fellowship with us in worship. I missed my New Members Class today. I ditched my study of Philippians this week and preached from Romans 5:3-5. I entitled...

I preached a youth service at Shiloh last night. I worked hard to prepare myself. An there was something specific on my heart to say. I preached a message entitled "Don't Settle for Soup" from Genesis 25:29-34. Here is the sermon skeleton: Title: "Don't Settle for Soup" Text: Genesis 25:29-34Theme: Do not negotiate the spiritual for the physical. Point: Don't settle for soup. Outline: Here are three reasons why you should not settle for soup. I. It costs to much. (That bowl of soup was not worth Esau's birthright.) II. You are not as hungry as you think you are....

The story of Jonah is recorded in two acts. Jonah 2 is the second scene of the first act. Chapter 1 is the first scene of the first act, in which we see Jonah’s disobedience. In chapter 2, we see Jonah’s deliverance. Verse 1 tells us that Jonah prayed to the Lord from the belly of the fish. And verse 10 tells us that the Lord commanded the fish to vomit Jonah onto the dry land. But sandwiched in between these two verses is a psalm in which Jonah gives thanks to the Lord for answering his prayer for deliverance....

Why? Why do we do what we do? What is our ultimate goal? Why do we dress as we dress? Why do we allot time as we do in our services? Why do we preach as we preach? Why do we sing, and why do we sing it the way we do? Do we care about what the world will think of our activities? Where is God in all this? Do we seek to meet Him in His truth, begging the Spirit to use the word to reveal to us the depths of our on hearts so that we may...

I am being greatly challenged by the study of Philippians. And it has been very convicting to preach the radical ideals of the Apostle Paul. Actually, Paul's thoughts here are not radical. They are Christian! However, many of us who follow Christ today (including and especially me) are so spoiled by the blessings of God that we do not really know what it means to live radically for the Lord Jesus Christ. I praise God for all that I am learning in my studies. And I pray that congregation of SMBC is also being edified as we study "the Epistle...

I am being greatly challenged by the study of Philippians. And it has been very convicting to preach the radical ideals of the Apostle Paul. Actually, Paul's thoughts here are not radical. They are Christian! However, many of us who follow Christ today (including and especially me) are so spoiled by the blessings of God that we do not really know what it means to live radically for the Lord Jesus Christ.I praise God for all that I am learning in my studies. And I pray that congregation of SMBC is also being edified as we study "the Epistle of...

First Sundays! I love them. The celebration of the Lord’s Table and Baptism are always special times in the life of the church. We showed a brief clip from our Make a Difference Day several months ago. And I continue to praise God for the way the Lord blessed us to be a blessing to others. May the Lord continue to use SMBC to be a lighthouse in our community and throughout the nations in these dark times. (Thanks to our media team for your work on the video.) Members of the graduating class of Clara White Mission’s culinary school...

I am a loyal Gospel Music fan. For years, I have joyfully collected Gospel CD recordings. More recently, I download music from iTunes. And I rarely go anywhere without my iPod. Keys, wallets, cell phone, and iPod - don’t leave home without them! I love Gospel Music. Praise and worship. Traditional. Contemporary. Old school. New school. You name it. I like it, except for quartet music (Oops). Sorry. Really, I just love music. But I especially love Gospel Music. However, most of the Gospel Music on my iPod, I would absolutely freak out to hear performed in an actual worship...