O My Lord, Let not my ministry be approved only by men, Or merely win the esteem and affections of people; But do the work of grace in their hearts,     call in thy elect,     seal and edify the regenerate ones,     and command eternal blessings on their souls. Save me from self-opinion and self-seeking; Water the hearts of those who hear thy Word,      that seed sown in weakness may be raised in power; Cause me and those who hear me     to behold thee here in the light of special faith,     and hereafter in the blaze...

Lido and I made it safely to Jacksonville yesterday afternoon. Pastor Letson took us to the house. And I prepared myself for worship. An hour or so later, I drove myself to church for the first time. If Jacksonville's rush hour was any reflection of what I experienced last night, driving here will be a breeze in comparison to Los Angeles. I went down to the main auditorium about thirty minutes for the worship service to check on something. I went another route back to the study and got lost. Thankfully, I bumped into one of the staff members in...

Our dog Lido and I are on our way to Jacksonville. I will be traveling most of the day and should arrive in Jacksonville this afternoon, God willing. This is Lido's first trip anywhere, besides the vet. For Trey's sake, for God's sake, pray that Lido makes it safely to Jacksonville. Tonight, I plan to continue the study of Psalm 119 I began last week's Midweek Service. The message will cover the second stanza (Beth) of the psalm - verses 9-16. I have labeled the message, "How to Clean Up Your Life." May the Lord richly bless the worship of...

Thank you for praying for me, my family, and Mt Sinai this weekend. The Lord blessed us. It was a long, busy, special weekend. There was a lot of laughter. A lot of tears. A lot of hugs. A lot of pictures. And a lot of farewells. Not good byes. Just farewell for now. This week, my family and I will be moving to Jacksonville, Florida, to begin a in earnest my new pastorate at the Shiloh Church. But I do not believe I would be able to making this transition and follow the Lord's leading to this new assignment...

This is a pretty big weekend for me. It is to be my last Sunday services with my beloved congregation at Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church.Several events will mark this celebration. A luncheon is scheduled for this afternoon, which will give us an opportunity to fellowship with one another outside of the formal setting of a worship service. Dr. R.A. Williams, pastor of the McCoy Memorial Baptist Church of Los Angeles, was scheduled to speak. But he is not feeling and will not be able to attend. Please remember him in your prayers. Tuesday, we asked Dr. A.D. Iverson of...

What are personal devotions? Personal devotions are intentional appointments in which you spend private time with God. Scripture warns us not to neglect the corporate meetings of God’s people (Heb. 10:24-25). But your faith will be shallow and your growth will be stunted if you only pay attention to God during public, corporate gatherings. In fact, you may need to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith if you have no desire for God outside of attending church services. After all, salvation is not just “fire insurance.” It involves a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ....

I have often mentioned the Church Council of MSMBC on this blog. Here is a picture of me and the guys that I received this evening. It was taken on the occasion of my 15th pastoral anniversary at Mt. Sinai. These men have served with me throughout the years. And it has been one of the great joys of my life to shepherd MSMBC alongside these godly men. My friends. My brothers. From left to right: Anthony, Charles, Phil, John, H.B., Todd, Richey, Harry, & Marcellus. A hat tip to Venus for the picture.

I am on my way to Jacksonville to preach the midweek worship service at Shiloh Church . God willing, I will begin a series of messages tonight on the Mt. Everest of the Psalms - Psalm 119. My plan is to preach through the 176 verses of this psalm stanza by stanza (or 8 verses at a time). I preached through Psalm 119 a couple of years ago at MSMBC, during our midweek services. And my faith and ministry were greatly enriched by the personal study and public teaching of this wonderful celebration of God's supernatural word. And I have...

We have a natural tendency to slip back into our old sinful ways. I have a natural tendency to do what's wrong. But then I have a supernatural tendency to do what's right. We can compare our tendencies to a flower and a weed. A weed is like our old natures - that part of us that doesn't want to obey God. The flower is like our new natures. My wife loves to plant flowers. She tends them and cares for them. She puts snail repellent down, picks any weeds that get even remotely close, fertilizes them, and watches over...

There was a time when churches placed clocks and bells in the steeples of their buildings, and they would "ring the alarm" for the community when it was time for corporate worship or prayer. Now churches place clocks on the back wall to make sure the pastor does not preach too long. After all, there are many other edifying things people need to do Sundays, aren't there? They do not need to be in worship so long that it interrupts the other important plans for they day that they have made, do they? During the days of the Puritans, the...

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me and my family, especially over the course of this weekend. But I am still needy and greedy for your prayers. Please don't stop praying for us now. I did not sleep well last night. But I did not feel tired at any point today. God will give you strength! Again, there were quite a few guests in worship with us today - including first- and second-time guests. This is very encouraging. The choir was off the hook today. I was really blessed by the song service. I had...

As I was making my way to my connecting flight home this morning, my phone rang. It was Crystal. She was overwhelmed as she watched the movers pack and load up our possessions to transport them to Jacksonville. I didn't know what to say. So I prayed. And I recommended that Crystal go out for a couple of hours, so that she wouldn't have to watch them moving our things out. I arrived home several hours ago, with a message to pick up a car rental. Another does of reality. Our cars are gone and on their way to Jacksonville....