It's hard for me to believe it. But I have been writing this blog since the summer of 2005. Like many other would-be bloggers, I began a blog... well, just for fun. I did not have a "voice" or cause or message. I just wanted to write. And I can still remember the exasperated look TaVon gave me when I told her to link my blog to the MSMBC website. But several years later, here I am - for better or for worse. I am still writing. In fact, I wrote more posts in 2008 than any other year -...

As we begin this new year, I will begin recommending a Book of the Month for our congregation to read, which we will also make available to our members in our church's resource center. I was considering which book to start with, and in a conversation with our deacon chairman, he mentioned a book that the deacons read in training: On Being A Servant of God by Warren W. Wiersbe. And as soon as he mentioned it, I had my book for January. This book is also a good work for us to read this month as we are gearing...

This past Lord's Day, I continued a brief series of selected expositions that I am calling, "Going Forward with God... Together." Sunday's message was from the wonderful book of Ecclesiastes. I have read Ecclesiastes many times and find that it constantly challenges my faith. But this is the only text I have preached from this great book. I really do not know what caused this passage to stick out to me. But it is one of the passages I memorized some time ago on the subject of fellowship. I came to the pulpit with a burden for my congregation. I...

It was a good day in worship yesterday at Shiloh. For many reasons, it was a particularly long day for me. But it was a good day. God blessed us. 2 Corinthians 12:9 got me through the day: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."I continued the series "Going Forward with God... Together." Yesterday's message was from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - "Two Are Better Than One." It is particularly challenging to preach obscure and difficult passages. Without a doubt, they are God-breathed and spiritually profitable. But how we handle them from the pulpit can...

I did not preach the complete message in either of our two worship services this past Sunday. I actually had four points. But I only got to three of them. Here is the complete outline from Sunday's message: Title: "The Call to a Surrendered Life" Text: Romans 12:1-2 Theme: Christian discipleship Point: What God wants from you is you! Outline: I. The reason for the surrendered life: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God" (12:1). II. The reality of the surrendered life: "to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which...

We had a great day of worship yesterday at Shiloh. The Lord smiled on us. And we were blessed to kick-off the new year in a great way. God be praised! I am grateful to God for the way this new year has begun. And I pray that the Lord will richly bless the ministry of SMBC in 2009. May many lives be changed to the glory of God! I got sick Saturday. And I really was feeling well. But as bad as I felt, there was no way I was going to miss work. I was sick. But the...

O Lord, Length of days does not profit me    except the days are passed in thy presence,     in thy service, to thy glory. Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,       sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,     that I may not be one moment apart from thee,     but may rely on thy Spirit        to supply ever thought,        speak in every word,        direct every step        prosper every work,        build up every mote of faith,        and give me a desire           to show forth...

God willing, the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church family will meet in the morning at 10 AM to celebrate the new year together in corporate worship. Our music department will lead us in songs of praise. And I am planning a simple but important exhortation for the new year: "Trust God!" (Proverbs 3:5-6). Consider this a personal invitation to join us for this special worship service. If you are in the Jacksonville area, I encourage you to come and join us and be blessed. If you are not, you can still participate in the worship service online through our church website...

I have just begun reading Essential Church?: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts by Thom S. Ranier and Sam S. Rainer III. Actually, I started it about two weeks ago. But I just finished the first chapter tonight. I got stuck in opening paragraphs of the first chapter. I am not big on statistics. And when writers, particularly Christian writers, start building arguments on statistical studies, I get turned off. But this sentence gripped me: "More than two-thirds of young churchgoing adults in America drop out of church between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two!" (p. 2) For some reason, I...

The Lord richly blessed our final worship services of 2008 at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville. This last Sunday in December marked the completion of three months since I began in full my work at SMBC. The Lord has blessed these opening months of my new work in a great way. I could not ask for me and definitely do not deserve any better. I pray that 2009 will be a fruitful year of ministry and that God will be pleased to use Shiloh as a place where many lives are changed to his glory! I preached today...

Yesterday I preached on the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:7-9. It is the only prayer recorded in the book of Proverbs. Here is the sermon skeleton: Title: "The Wise Prayer of a Weak Man" Text: Proverbs 30:7-9Theme: A pray for a Godward life Point: Wise people confront their spiritual weaknesses through prayer. Introduction: You can learn a lot about a person by listening to him or her pray. So I want to introduce you to a man named Agur by way of the prayer that he prays. Proverbs 30:1 is the only place in the Bible where the name...

My Master God, I am desired to preach today,     but go weak and needy to my task; Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth,     that an honest testimony might be born for thee; Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,     with heart uplifted for grace and unction. Present to my view things pertinent to my subject,     with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,     proper expressions, fluency, fervency,     a feeling sense of the things I preach,     and grace to apply them to men's consciences. Keep me conscious all the...