I am in New Jersey to preach a three-night revival, which is a part of the 57th Church Anniversary for Pastor Barron O. Wilson and the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of Jersey City. This is my second year doing this meeting. Last year, we worshiped in another part of the building, as the main auditorium was being remodeled. But the congregation was able to resume their services in their auditorium this past Sunday. So it is all the more wonderful for me to be here to celebrate this special time with Pastor Wilson and the Mt. Calvary family. When I...

Crystal and I walked out of the house Saturday, without bringing our camera. So we were unable to take any pictures at John and Vanessa's wedding. But here is a picture Suzan took of me and Crystal after the ceremony. Thanks Suzan for the picture.

I have been in post-Sunday recovery today. It was a long, good weekend. My entire family went to church together for the first time - all five of us. Oh, what a feeling! I have never been a part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony before. So I don't know if I did it right. I just cut the ribbon, said, "Praise the Lord!" and rushed in to our remodeled auditorium so that we could worship God together. There were many guests, friends, and well-wishers present in both of our morning services. Always encouraging. I led the singing in our worship services...

Here are a few pictures from this past Sunday. My wife and kids took most of the shots with my camera. But they were so excited that we didn't get very many pictures. I should have more pictures to post soon.

Today begins a very long weekend for me. It should be busy. It should be memorable. It should be enjoyable. I will spend most of the day finishing some writing I need to submit and preparing my Sunday sermon. I plan to continue my study of the Beatitudes - "those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt. 5:6). This evening I will be preaching the closing night of the youth revival at Peace Chapel Baptist Church, where the DeAntwon Fitts is the pastor. In the morning, Crystal and I will try to attend the funeral service for a young man...

I felt that our Tuesday Night Worship Service should be an extended time of prayer last night. So I temporarily ditched our study of Ephesians. My goal was to have a time of prayer for our first service in our remodeled auditorium this coming Sunday. I also wanted to to lead the assembly in a time of prayer for the Lord to bless this season of MSMBC's life to be fruitful and that he would be pleased to use us to reach many souls in Los Angeles with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In preparation for our closing time of...

This morning, I listened to a message by Dr. Ray Pritchard, president and primary teacher of Keep Believing Ministries, on Proverbs 3:5-6 entitled, "When You Need to Know, You'll Know." And the Lord has already begun to use this message this morning to help me stop worrying about things that I have absolutely no control of. Really, all I - or any of us - have to do is fully depend on the Lord and submit to him and trust that as we walk according to his will, he will do what needs to be done. I am admittedly biased...

Happy Memorial Day! I missed being in corporate worship with my own congregation yesterday. And I can't wait to get back to work this week. I spent this past weekend on the other side of the country. It was a grueling, but encouraging weekend. And I believe the Lord blessed the preaching of his word. I lost my voice during the first of my two messages yesterday. I was nervous. Not enough water. Not enough sleep. But it didn't really bother me during my second message like I thought it would. I had two long flights home last night. Thank...

I am in a Borders bookstore with my family. While browsing through the world history section, I bumped into this great quote on the wall:"When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food." - Desiderius Erasmus

In his wise providence, the Lord has used Christian authors to be among my good friends and trusted counselors over the years. Most of these authors I have not and will never meet until we get to heaven. But reading them has often been the important conversation that I really need to have at a critical time in my life and ministry. Such is the case with the book that I finished on a plane yesterday: Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson by D.A. Carson. D.A. Carson's books are often formidable reading. But I...

Summer is a much needed time of rest and relaxation for many people. And this break from the various responsibilities of home, work, or school is a good thing. However, there is no such thing as a vacation, leave-of-absence, or sabbatical from your responsibilities as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Mark 6:31, Jesus told his disciples, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while" (ESV).This call also applies to present-day disciples. Even though your life in Christ is supernatural; it's not superhuman. And if you don't ever come apart, you'll fall apart. All...

When I was introduced to the expository method of preaching, I was quickly and totally convinced that it is the most faithful way to preach the word of God. I was also surprised by how novel it was. Not many preachers that I heard were doing expository preaching. Some proudly rejected it. But fast forward a few years. Now, it seems that everyone claims to be an expository preacher. Respectfully, I think so many of us are comfortable calling ourselves expositors because we don't really understand the hard work of Bible exposition - which includes both faithful explanation and clear...