It was a cold but beautiful day in Jacksonville and a warm day of worship at Shiloh. As always, I am grateful for the guests who joined us in worship today. Our choir really lifted us in worship today. I am grateful for their ministry. I preached a message today from Philippians 4:6-7 that I entitled “God’s Answer for Your Anxiety.” Here is God’s answer for your anxieties: Pray your worries away! Don’t worry. Pray. Turn your worries into prayers. Take everything off of your worry list and put it on your prayer list. Bring all of your worries –...

Many people view pastors as a caricature. Pastors are seen through the lens of communications kings, so “mega-church pastors, and all the religious hypocrites who masquerade as men of God. But this is not the reality. All of this country, there are sincere, godly, faithful men who persevere in guarding their lifestyle and their doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16). But, of course, these are not the men who get most of the attention. A pastor usually has to be a great success or a miserable failure for people to notice him. And this leaves out the vast majority who are humble,...

In his book Spiritual Burnout, MALCOLM SMITH writes of taking a walk one morning in the Catskill Mountains of New York. As he rested near an algae-covered pool, he was treated to an incredible sight. Mosquitoes danced near the surface of the water. Dragonflies darted between the reeds. Then his attention was captured by a frog sunbathing on a partially submerged rock out in the center of the pool. Something was happening to the frog. Before his very eyes, it collapsed – not falling over, but deflating like a balloon with a slow leak. It finally lay in a dreadful...

Let me begin with a note from Saturday. On December 12, my wife and I celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary. How time flies! I am unspeakably grateful for the precious gift the Lord has given me in Crystal. She has been a consistent channel of the love and grace of God in my life. And our relationship has been both a God-given means and motivation for sanctification. I married way out of my league. And being married to Crystal inspires me to keep striving to be a better man. I love her. I thank God for our marriage and all...

I am on my way home this morning from Petersburg, VA - near Richmond. I spoke last night night at the closing service of the Fall Family Fellowship for Pastor Jeffrey L. Reaves, Sr. and the Good Shepherd Baptist Church. The Lord is doing a great work in and through Good Shepherd. Several years ago, Pastor Reaves led the congregation in a relocation process. And they are using their new campus to make a real difference in their community and beyond for Jesus' sake. It was an honor to have been invited to minister the word to this great congregation....

We emphasize world missions and local outreach on fifth Sundays at Shiloh. Praise God for those who set aside a gift to share toward our mission and outreach efforts. A big “shout out” (see, I can be hip, too) to Henry Meyers for sharing with us today about the work of Mission Harvest America. Our Sunday morning Bible Study Fellowship groups are studying through The Fundamentals of the Faith workbook (produced by Grace Community Church in Southern California and published by Moody). I am encouraged by the reports I am receiving of how our members are learning and growing. 3...

Psalm 67 is not as well known as some of the other psalms more famous psalms. But prominence and significance do not often walk together hand-in-hand. Such is the case with Psalm 67. Even though it is somewhat obscure, Psalm 67 has an important message that can change your life and change the world. The message is that the Lord God desires to use your life to reach the world for his glory. Psalm 67 is considered THE MISSIONARY PSALM, because of the emphasis it places on God being known, praised, enjoyed, and feared by all the nations. In fact,...

THE SALT OF THE EARTH Matthew 5:13 Sodium Chloride – SALT - gets a lot of bad press. It is blamed for everything from hypertension to obesity to heart disease. The need for salt is questioned. Its use is discouraged. And its presence on many tables is often more decorative than anything else. But this was not the case when Jesus announced to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.” In the cultural world of the ancient Near East, salt was an essential and valuable commodity. For example, the Roman government often paid their soldiers’ wages in salt....

Praise God for another Lord’s Day in worship at the Shiloh Baptist Church. I taught my New Members Class for the first time in two weeks. It was good to be back in the saddle again. Thank Deacon Brinkley for filling in. The choir sung one of my favorite Thompson Community Singers songs this morning – “I Tried Him And I Know Him.” (Does anyone remember all the great "Tommies" songs that Kim McFarland led?). It was very encouraging. I continued my study of Philippians today with a message on 3:15-19 that I called, “The Importance of Christian Fellowship.” I...

Sovereign God, Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart, and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom To set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns; Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice, for to bring honor to thy name is my sole desire. I adore thee that thou art God, and long that others should know it, feel it, and rejoice in it. O that all men might love and praise thee, that thou mightest have all the glory from the intelligent world!Let sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name! To the eye of reason...

I am preaching through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) on Wednesday nights. Last night, I complete the introductory section - The Beatitudes of Jesus (Matt. 5:3-12).The next section of the passage in Matthew 5:13-16, where Jesus describes the influence his disciples should have on the world for the kingdom of heaven. Using to gripping and dynamic word pictures, Jesus declares, "You are the salt of the earth" (5:13) and "You are the light of the world" (5:14-16).Following this paragraph, I will be venturing into new ground in my exposition. Over the past two months, I have taken a...

This past week, we celebrated our first year together as pastor and people at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville.It is hard to believe that a whole year has past since I was installed as the pastor of SMBC. It really does seem like it was just yesterday. It has been a year in which God has proven himself faithful, as always.I am grateful, humbled, and overwhelmed by the goodness of God in sending me to such a loving people, who appreciate the word of God, and who are willing to follow leadership, and our eager to reach lost...