Our Book of the Month for May is Confessions of a Pastor, by Greg Groeschel. Groeschel pastors the Life Church, a multi-campus congregation in Oklahoma. I really didn't know much about Groeschel when I purchased the book. I had seen an advertisement for Confessions in a Christian magazine. And it piqued my interest. While in a bookstore in Chicago last year, I saw it and bought it. The chapter titles were quite provocative, such as "I Can't Stand a Lot of Christians," "I Have to Work Hard to Stay Sexually Pure," and "I Hate Prayer Meetings," etc. I was really...

My message yesterday addressed the subject of "disappointment with God." I first began to think about this subject years ago when I read Phil Yancey's excellent book by the same name. This is also what I called the message I preached yesterday on Matthew 11:2-6, where an imprisoned John the Baptist asks the Lord Jesus if he is really the one who is to come. This passage was heavy on my heart to preach all last week. And I couldn't wait to get to the pulpit to preach it. I just knew that the Lord would have people here who...

Here is the sermon skeleton for yesterday's message:Title: "The Life of the Party"Text: John 2:1-11Theme: The transforming power of Jesus ChristPoint: Jesus is God who has come to transform your disappointments into joy.Outline:I. The Gracious Presence of Jesus (2:1-2) A. Jesus was invited to the wedding feast. B. Jesus accepted the invitation to the wedding feast.II. The Sovereign Authority of Jesus (2:3-5) A. The authority of Christ is seen in Mary's report to Jesus (v. 3) B. The authority of Christ is seen in Jesus' response to Mary (v. 4) C. The authority of Christ is seen in Mary's command...

Last night, I preached for my friend, Prentiss Lewis, who pastors the Greater Starlight Baptist Church here in Los Angeles. They are having a three night meeting, which began Tuesday and ends tonight. And Pastor Lewis graciously invited me to preach the middle night of this meeting. I have been preaching different occasions for Pastor Lewis and Greater Starlight for some time now. And it is always a sweet time of fellowship and worship with them. Last night was no different.

We resumed our midweek worship services last night – with a few changes. The obvious change is that we moved from Wednesdays to Tuesdays. I am excited about this change. I have a somewhat wider speaking ministry beyond my local church. And it causes me to miss our midweek service at times. However, with our meetings being on Tuesdays now, I am able to avoid scheduling conflicts better. This pleases me to no end. I richly enjoy these midweek worship services and I hate it when I miss them. Likewise, on last night I shifted to more of a teaching...

I was supposed to begin an exposition of the book of Joshua this past Sunday. But it is going to take me a few more weeks to be ready to begin. However, I didn't come to terms with that until the middle of last week. And Sunday was coming with a fast and in a hurry. So I have to switch gears quickly. First, I had to determine if I was going to preach. But that was a no-brainer, as tired as I was. I couldn't wait to get home from OKC to get back into my own pulpit. I...

I made it to OKC a little after 7 last night, and arrived at Fairview in time to preach. It is good to be back at Fairview again and to have the opportunity to participate in the Oklahoma City Simultaneous Revival again. Dr. John A Reed Jr., whom I affectionately call, "Pop," "adopted" me after my dad past in 1989. They were dear friends. And the Lord has used Pop to fill an important void in my life over these years. And the Fairview Baptist Church family is a second home to me. I am really excited to be here...

After a pretty uneventful Holy Week (which is a good thing), this week has begun with a bang. I missed my flight this morning. Before I went to bed last night, I looked at the itinerary, and read that I was leaving this morning at 8:20. I later discovered that the flight actually left at 7 and was to arrive in Phoenix at 8:20. This is a perfect illustration or either how tired I was last night or how clueless I am in general (you decide). But it gets better. I discovered my flight had already left after I checked-in,...

I flew home from New Orleans early Monday morning. And I spent the day with Crystal and the kids. But over the course of the day, I got sick. But there was no time to rest and recover. Tuesday morning, I had to get on a plane to Ann Arbor to preach. I took medicine Monday night. It was labeled "non-drowsy." But my body doesn't know what that means. So I ended up oversleeping. I woke up at 4:47 AM. My flight was to leave LAX at 6 AM. Yet, I made my flight and my they didn't even lose...

Yesterday, I preached the fourth anniversary celebration of the Beacon Light Baptist Church of Houma, LA, which is about 45 minutes from New Orleans. Under the leadership of Pastor Herbert Andrew, this fast growing congregation is touching many lives in its community and beyond. The two morning services I preached (7:30 & 10 AM) were rich worship experiences. It would have been worth it to be here just to participate in the worship services. Their reverence, passion, and excellence in worship are quite uplifting. I thank God for the new friend I have in Pastor Andrew. And I pray God's...

I am at the airport in Salt Lake, waiting for my connecting flight to New Orleans. For the record, I hate airports. And I hate layovers. So I was not too happy about my several hour layover, when I got off the plane from San Francisco. But a bookstore in this airport has made my day. Well, not the bookstore itself. I didn't really go into it. But as I passed by, I noticed these quotes about books and reading in the window display. These quotes made my day. The happiness I felt reading these quotes is indescribable. I could...

Today is my last day in San Francisco. It has been a grueling week, physically – with services in both the afternoon and the evening. But it has been spiritually enriching. The afternoon services I have been preaching have been good meetings. I have heard so many stories of how the messages have helped people in specific ways. This is so encouraging. Often people just make general comments about your preaching. But when someone pinpoints the particular way God has used your preaching of the word to touch their life, it's so uplifting. The evening services have been great, as...