One morning, as I was walking in the Catskill Mountains in New York, I witnessed an unforgettable sight. I was resting, sitting on a rock by an algae-covered pool. Lazily, while mosquitoes engaged in a never-ending dance close to the surface, I watched the dragon flies dance close to the reeds. A frog sunned himself on a partially submerged rock out in the center of the pool. Suddenly, I was wide awake. Something was happening to the frog. Before my eyes, it collapsed... not falling over, but deflating like a balloon with a slow leak. It finally lay in a...

So learn about Jesus! Follow the sacred counsel of Ezekiel and eat the scroll. Learn about Jesus for His word is a lamp unto our feet (or for our present moments) and a light unto our paths (that is, for our future) amidst moral blackouts and human power failures. Learn about Jesus for what a tragic mindset in the church that many will go here and there to be bigger, better teachers, lawyers, doctors, but when it comes to Christian education, many choose to be mental moral midgets, spiritual shrimps and shorties, religious runts, whose inner growth is stunted from...

Last night we resumed our midweek worship service after the Thanksgiving holiday. And I continued our study of Psalm 119. Last night's text was the tenth stanza of the psalm (there are 22 in all). Last night was the best I have felt physically in the pulpit in two weeks or more. I think I have finally beat this cold. Praise God! I just hope now that I did not give it to the kids. Here is the sermon skeleton from last night's message: Title: "Praying with Confidence in God's Word" Text: Psalm 119:73-80Theme: Praying with confidence in God's word...

Many spiritual leaders find themselves trapped in a church dominated by the surrounding culture of success. Nothing fails like success and that is so true of spiritual leaders who have mimicked models of leadership other than that of Jesus. The leader gets trapped in the "church world's" version of success with its rewards and punishments. The great temptation is to climb the ecclesiastical ladder, but then you find yourself standing on the top of a very short wobbly ladder, and you are sure to fall because there is nothing dependable to hold onto. If the proper markings of success are...

I received my December edition of Christianity Today magazine this week. As as I read through the letter "Readers Write" section, as I usually do, a named jumped out at me - John Piper. Yep. That John Piper.The October 2008 edition of CT featured an article on several prominent churches in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN). John Piper, who pastors the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and whose congregation was featured in the article, wrote the the following letter to CT in response to the article:     I apologize for a sentence quoted from me in the recent...

Yesterday, I continued my series, "Lost People Matter to God." I preached on the third parable of Luke 15 - the Parable of the Prodigal Son . I labeled the message, "The God of the Wayward Child." Here is the sermon skeleton from Sunday's message: Title: "The God of the Wayward Child" Text: Luke 15:11-24 Series: Lost People Matter to God (Luke 15) Outline: I. The father loved his son so much that he allowed the boy to take advantage of him. A. God does not want you to live for him because of rules. B. God does not want...

In spite of the rain, this has been a wonderful Lord's Day. To God be the glory!I am still dealing with a cough and some chest congestion. But the Lord gave me physical strength and spiritual energy to carry out my assignment today. Thanks for covering me in believing prayer. And praise God for his faithfulness. The women's chorus led the musical praise in our worship services today. And it was great. I really do appreciate the diligent work that Roger Sears - our minister of music - and the entire music team puts into the their preparation for and...

Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles is still updating its website. But they have already made a great improvement. The sermons of George E. Hurtt, the new pastor of MSMBC, are now online and downloadable for free. Since the last Sunday in September, George has been preaching from the book Psalms. I encourage you to take advantage of MSMBC's generosity and take a listen to George's sermons. You will be greatly blessed. click here for to access George's messages. Continue to pray for George and the entire leadership and membership of Mt. Sinai.

I am fighting off a cold. And I blame Jacksonville! I thought I was moving to sunny Florida. And it is. Sunny. And cold! This past week, the temperature rose and dropped from day to day. It was in the 30's at points. And by the end of the week, I was fighting off cold symptoms. Who knew that I would need a big overcoat in Florida? But several members of Shiloh have informed me that Jacksonville is not Florida. It's south Georgia! Now you tell me. Yesterday, I continued my series on Luke 15 - "Lost People Matter to...

The McChurch has replaced the traditional church and its relational values. Fast-food Christians pull up to ecclesiastical drive-through windows, order the McGroups, consume the experience and then drive off, discarding relationships like burger wrappers on the highway of life. Savvy church growth pastors quickly learned that significant growth can occur if a church learns how to market it burgers to capture the appetite of this roving crowd. In some instances merely producing an interesting alternative to the status quo can lead to significant church disaffections. - William Chadwick, Stealing Sheep, p. 20 Transfer growth, be definition, creates no numerical growth...

This past Sunday, I began a series of messages on the parables of Jesus recorded in Luke 15. My pastoral concern is that our congregation would have the heart of God toward lost people. And lost people matter to God. So they should matter to us. Here is the sermon skeleton from Sunday's message.   Title: "The God of the Missing Sheep" Text: Luke 15:1-7Series: "Lost People Matter to God" (Luke 15) Outline: Jesus teaches us that lost people matter to God by describing how a good shepherd responds to a missing sheep. I. The Shepherd's Purposeful Neglect (15:4)    A....

Inadvertently, I took a "bye-week" from blogging last week. But I am back and better... Well, let's just leave it at I'm back. I did not do much writing or journaling at all last week. By Saturday, I started going through withdrawal. I can't describe the joy I get from reading and writing. My installation Sunday was the first Sunday this year that I have not preached. Through relocating MSMBC, having a baby, and transitioning to Jacksonville, I have been in the pulpit to preach every week. I really think that my mind needed the mental break from sermon preparation....