Sunday was my family's first Mother's Day in Jacksonville and at Shiloh. And we were blessed to have a good day together as a family. I am sure Crystal had a good day. She bossed us around all day and totally had her way. Happy Mother's Day, Sunshine!I know all these mentions of "firsts" may seem redundant. But I can't help it. I am still easily shocked that I live in a new city and pastor a different church, even though I have been here for months. A year ago, I was just settling into our new facilities at MSMBC...

The hard truth: God cares more about the holiness of a congregation than He does the size of the congregation. Using numerical benchmarks to somehow size up the blessing God pours out on a congregation or to evaluate members' ability to stay faithful to the guidelines of Scripture lacks spiritual maturity and reveals our reliance on human understanding in our vain attempts to build the kingdom of God through our own methods. -Thomas White & John M. Yeats, Franchising McChurch, p. 63 Why has the church bought into the lie that only big churches can win in the battle against...

Can you believe it's May already? We had a wonderful Lord's Day celebration at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church yesterday. I believe the Lord was glorified. And I believe his people were blessed. I am truly grateful for the many members of SMBC who serve in various ways to honor God, encourage one another, and welcome the saints. May God bless you richly for your selfless service. And may your tribe increase! In New Members Class, I taught on the hindrances to effective or answered prayer. I listed five "prayer-busters":     1. Prayerlessness (James 4:2b)        2. Unconfessed sin (Isaiah 59:1-2;...

Here is my sermon skeleton from Sunday's message. It is the second in a yet-to-be-determined series of expositions through the book for Philippians. This message is based on an introductory section on the letter, in which Paul offers thanksgiving to God for the church at Philippi. TITLE: “Partnership in the Gospel” TEXT: Philippians 1:3-8 SERMON SERIES: PHILIPPIANS: PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL THEME: Partnership in the Gospel POINT: The church of Jesus Christ ought to be lovingly bound together in partnership in the gospel. TRANSITIONAL SENTENCE: Paul’s thanksgiving in Philippians 1:3-8 teaches us three dynamics of partnership in the gospel. OUTLINE:...

Dr. Gary Williams is hosting a church institute May 5-7 at the First Baptist Church of Mandarin, a suburb of Jacksonville. And he has graciously invited me to be the keynote speaker for the opening session tonight. I am scheduled to speak at 7:30 PM. And the service is open to all. Please remember tonight's meeting in your prayers, as I stand to preach the word. And remember this entire institute in your prayers.

Like many Baptist congregations, the church I serve practices what is called open Communion, rather than closed Communion. This means that every professing believer who is present for our Lord’s Supper services is welcome to participate, whether they are a member of our local congregation or not. By extension, it also means that every true believer is welcome to participate no matter what his or her age may be. Any and every child who has received the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord and sincerely intends to follow Christ is encouraged to commune with us at the Lord’s Table. And...

As I drove to church this morning, I listened to Tunesha Crispell sing, "God Can Do Anything But Fail." My goodness, I really needed that reminder this morning. It set my mood for worship this morning. God is great!Our youth choir led two numbers at the beginning of our 10 AM worship service. They did a wonderful job. What a great encouragement it was to have our youth leading us in praise to God. Clifton Davis was our guest soloists this morning. He sung, "Jesus, The Center of My Joy." I  was deeply moved by the song. The congregation obviously...

Here is the sermon skeleton from my message yesterday. Title: "What a Fellowship!" Text: Philippians 1:1-2Sermon Series: Philippians: Partnership in the Gospel Point: True Christianity binds believers to Christ and to one another. Theme: The relational elements of a healthy church Outline: I. A healthy church is marked by servant leadership (1:1a).     Paul teaches a lesson about servant leadership through...     A. The omission he makes: He does not identify himself as an "Apostle"     B. The association he shares: and Timothy    C. The designation he embraces: servants of Christ Jesus II. A healthy church is marked by a...

God willing, this Sunday morning I will begin a verse-by-verse exposition of the epistle of Paul to the Philippians. I am calling the series: "Philippians: Partnership in the Gospel." Here is a summary introduction of the book of Philippians that gives abbreviated details about the contend and background of this letter. I hope you find it helpful as you read through, study, and meditate on this wonderful letter of Philippians. Author: The Apostle Paul is clearly identified as the author of Philippians (1:1)Intended Audience: Paul writes to the all the Christian believers in the local church of Philippi, along with...

There is an illustration from the life of Maurice, a Roman emperor, who found comfort from Psalm 119:137 in an unbelievable crisis. In the preaching moment last night, I passed right by this illustration. And by the time I recognized it, I was too far ahead to go back to get it. But I have been enriched and encouraged by this story and want to share it anyway. During the 20 years he ruled the Roman Empire, he had shown virtues, marking him out to succeed Tiberius II. But the army turned against him and in 602 he fled, wit...

Dragons, of course, are fictional beasts - monstrous reptiles with lion's claws, a serpent's tail, bat wings, and scaly skin. They exist only in the imagination.But there are dragons of a different sort, decidedly real. In most cases, thought not always, they do not intend to be sinister; in fact, they're usually quite friendly. But their charm belies their power to destroy. Within the church, they are often sincere, well-meaning saints, but they leave ulcers, strained relationships, and hard feelings in their wake. They don't consider themselves difficult people. Often they are pillars in the community - talented, strong personalities,...

It was somewhere between A.D. 61 and 63. The place was Rome, where the Apostle Paul was under house arrest. He was there awaiting trial, uncertain as to whether he would be vindicated and released or convicted and executed. Paul is forced to wait for his trial to begin and its verdict to be rendered. But while he waits, he works. Paul was chained to two Roman soldiers at all times. But house arrest afforded him many privileges. For instance, Paul was able to entertain guest in the house he had rented during his imprisonment. Throughout his imprisonment, various friends...