Two dramatic events took place in my life in February of 1990. First of all, I turned eighteen-years-old. My birthday was on a Monday. And by the end of that very week, I was moving into my first apartment. It was one in a series of events in which the Lord was forcing me to grow up quickly. During that same month, I hosted our first revival at Mt. Sinai Church, where I been the pastor for three months. My guest speaker wanted to go to Mt. Moriah that Tuesday to here Dr. E.K. Bailey. I had heard of Dr....

I am in Los Angeles. My wife and kids have been here for several weeks, visiting family and friends. I planned to come last week for two days. However, I decided last Wednesday to stay over the weekend with my family. I am glad I did. When my friend and brother, George Hurtt, found out I would be in town over the weekend, he invited me… No, scratch that. He insisted that I preach for him Sunday morning. Sunday morning, it was my great privilege and signal honor to minister to the word to the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church....

June 17, 1989. It was a Saturday. I flew home from Detroit to Los Angeles, after preaching a youth revival all week. As I was in the air, the Lord called my father from earth to glory. When I finally arrived home, it was crowded with people. Mercifully, several of my friends picked me up and got me out of the house for several hours. I really needed it. When I returned home, several leaders of the church my father had pastored for forty years were there. They were waiting to talk to me. They asked me to preach the...

This Sunday, I continued by study of the book of Philippians with a message on chapter 1, verses 22-26. Here is the sermon skeleton:Philippians 1:22-26 is the final portion of Paul’s report to the Philippians about his personal circumstances and missionary work. In verses 12-18, Paul looks back and remembers what the Lord had done through his life and ministry. In verses 19-26, he looks ahead and anticipates what the Lord will do through his life and ministry. In verse 19-21, Paul speaks about the future with great confidence. Yet his confidence is tempered with uncertainty. In our text, verses...

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...