Matthew 6:19-21 marks a transition in THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. In the first half of this chapter, Jesus explains how righteous people practice religion. Verses 1-4 address how righteous people give. Verse 5-15 address how righteous people pray. Verses 16-18 address how righteous people fast. In the later half of this chapter, Jesus moves from warning his disciples about the consequences of hypocrisy to calling his disciples to embrace the values of the kingdom of heaven. Verses 19-34 make it clear that true righteousness transcends religious activity. To be a citizen of the kingdom is to adopt a countercultural...

So there I was in a worship service at the National Baptist Convention in Kansas City last week. Between messages, during the offering, the woman sitting next to me said to me, “Now you know you should not be playing with your phone during worship.” I explained that I chose to use the Bible on my phone and that I was simply following along with the text during the sermon. She accepted my explanation but added that using the Bible on my phone is a temptation to check emails or do something else in church. All I could say was,...

The longer a congregation exists, the more concerned it tends to become with self-preservation - and the less concerned with its original purpose. Time, money, staff, and even the prayers become increasingly inward-focused. The result, not surprisingly, is that the church stops growing. The foremost principle says that leaders must keep, or turn, the focus of their church away from themselves and back to their primary goal -and Christ's primary goal - of making disciples. This happens through prayer, engaging the Bible, programming, budget, staffing, and evaluating all the church's ministries on their contribution to increasing the number of Christian...

There are very few experiences like Sunday morning at the Shiloh Church. As always, I am grateful for the guests who were in worship with us at Shiloh. Shiloh is filled with many very kind people. It is very encouraging. Bless God for those who expressed their faith in Christ through water baptism yesterday. Praise God for our children's choir who led us in musical praise during our 10 service. The choir sung the Edwin Hawkins version of “God Will Take Care Of You.” Yes!!!I finished my little series on the book of Ruth with a message on chapter 4...

I was on a flight this week that ran into an extended patch of rough air. The turbulence was like being on a roller coaster, as the plane bounced up and down. For the record, I hate roller coasters. I kept reading as the plane danced a jig, until I heard a scream. A young lady, sitting nearby with her mother, cried out in fear. It was her first airplane flight. And she was overwhelmed by the turbulence, clutching onto her mother for dear life. I understood. I smiled. I continued reading. May the Lord help me to be that...

It was youth Sunday afternoon. I was hanging out on the church grounds with my dad, waiting for the youth musical to begin. A car pulled up and a woman got out and walked up to me and asked, “Are you ready?” She was the lady assigned to pick me up to preach the youth service at her church that afternoon. The service my father forgot to tell me about. As a boy preacher, just into his teens, this was an indescribable crisis. But I got through it. Barely. This early experience taught me to always be prepared to preach....

It was a good day of worship and fellowship today at Shiloh. The Lord blessed both of our services today in a special way. We had quite of few guests in worship with us today. Some were special guests - teachers and administrators from local schools. And others who were invited by our members. However, they got there today, I was glad to have them in worship. For the record, a church cannot grow if no guests are attending. When is the last time you personally invited someone to church? Praise God for the one who was baptized today. Our...

"You have to do whatever the Lord says you have to do in order to preach that Bible." When I heard a friend say this in a conversation with a group of preachers, I laughed. He was asked his philosophy of sermon preparation. Specifically, they wanted to know what steps he takes to get from text to sermon. How long does it take him to prepare? Things like that. His answer: "You have to do whatever the Lord says to do in order to preach that Bible." I laughed. (Some things we laugh at because they are funny. Some things...

I am in Oxford, England. I am participating in Proclaimer’s Place – a week of group Bible study and seminar of sermon preparation led by Joel Gregory. I flew all night Monday night. I was armed with books, magazines, calendars, notebook, and study tools. I boarded the plane with big plans to get a great deal of study and reading done during the uninterrupted quiet time. But I basically went to sleep not long after the flight took off. It was 6:30 AM when I arrived in London (five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time). The ride from London to...

We had a good day of worship and fellowship today at the Shiloh Church. Praise God for those who were baptized in worship today. Our children’s choir led in musical praise today. As always, it was encouraging to have the little ones participating in worship today. It was really cool to meet some of the guests who were in worship today. It is great that the members are inviting their family and friends to church with them. Our choir sung “But God” today from Ron Winans Family & Friends IV. I really love this song. And it was a great...

It was a long but good day of worship yesterday. I really enjoyed worshiping with and ministering to the Shiloh family. I started my day a little earlier than usual, so that I could check my bags in at the airport before our 8 AM service. I did not want any hassles for my 12:40 PM flight to Atlanta. I am grateful for all who volunteer to serve at Shiloh. May the Lord be glorified as we speak his word and serve in his strength (1 Peter 4:10-11). I really had a great time teaching my new members class yesterday....

It was a good day of worship and fellowship at Shiloh Church today. We sang, “Here I am to Worship,” today. This song is really growing on me. We had quite a few guests in worship today. Way cool. I am thankful for all of our volunteers for their service. You make it happen! Praise God for those who were baptized today. One of our pastors had the privilege of baptizing his two daughters today. I really had a good time teaching our new members class today, so much so that I did not finish my lesson today. I sat...