During the 1870 annual conference of the Methodists of Indiana, the president of the college where the group met began to talk about the exciting age they were living in. The presiding bishop asked, “What do you see?” The college president responded, “I believe we are coming into a great time of inventions. I believe, for example, that men will fly through the air like birds.” The bishop said, “This is heresy! The Bible says that flight is reserved for the angels. We will have no such talk here.” Thank God the bishop’s sons, Wilbur and Orville Wright, did not...

I preached this past Sunday from 2 Corinthians 4:7: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." (ESV). I strove to drive home a simple but remarkable point - one of the most important thing I know about Christian ministry - God uses weak people! Here is the sermon skeleton. Title: "God Uses Weak People." Text: 2 Corinthians 4:7 Theme: Our weaknesses as a platform for God's power Point: God Uses Weak People Outline: I. The Reality of our Weaknesses     A. We are unworthy.    ...

Yesterday was our first Ministry Emphasis Day at Shiloh Church. I had bee preaching on fellowship and service the past few weeks. And we encouraged the members to sign-up for a place of service yesterday. Good day. I spent my third week on the second lesson of our new members class series: The Doctrine of Salvation. I really enjoy teaching this class. The time is very limited. And I am always in a rush. But it is a great joy to spend this time with new believers and new members of SMBC. Our youth choir participated in our 10 AM...

One of the young men of Shiloh Church, Ray Scott, will be in concert in our main auditorium tonight at 7 PM. Ray is a faithful member of our congregation, a diligent participant of our music department and worship team, and a gifted and talented singer. Tonight's concert is in anticipating of ray's upcoming CD release. He will perform music from the upcoming recording, as well as other worship music. Please pray for tonight's service. If you are able, join us. Or you can watch the concert live through our Streaming Faith feed.

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...