Happy New Year! I hope the this first week of 2013 has been a good one for your and yours. Thanks for reading my blog. You can sign-up for email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Please pray for the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church that we would be a more faithful and fruitful congregation in 2013. You can now pre-order my upcoming book, It Happens After Prayer: Biblical Motivation for Believing Prayer Happy Birthday to my longtime friend and prayer partner, E. Richey Jones. You still have time to register for the First Baptist JAX Pastors'...

Happy New Year! Here is an God-focused prayer for the new year. 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 every 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 thy praise; testify thy love, advance thy kingdom....

We made it to the last year of 2012. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness! There were only two Sundays this year that I did not preach.  There were definite points where I needed to take a break and didn’t. But I thank God for his sustaining and strengthening grace. I love the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church! We have only service today, at 9 AM. It was a blessed service of worship. Glad to have all of our guests in worship today, including Pastor Meadows of North Carolina. I preached from Psalm 42. I entitled the message, “Overcoming Spiritual Depression.”...

Well, it's the last weekend of 2013. My last Saturday Shout-Outs for the year. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading my blog. You can sign up for free email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Check out my Top Posts of 2012. Shout-out to SermonCentral for posting my article on sermon introductions: 9 Powerful Ways to Introduce Your Sermons John Piper: Where Was God in All the Goodness of 2012?  A new, free e-book from Desiring God: "Still Not Professionals" Justin Taylor: Reading the Bible in 2013 Collin Hansen: My Top 10 Theology Stories of 2012 Joe...

I needed a hobby. A diversion. Something. So I started writing on my blog more, among other things. Along with reading, writing is one of the most relaxing things I do. My increased writing led to a blog site update, which led to even more writing. Most weeks, I write a "Notes from Sunday" recap and "Saturday Shout-Outs."  I often write one or two other posts a week, as well. Here are some of the top posts of 2012.. Top Posts Things I've Learned Along the Way 10 Recommendations to Gospel Artists from a Loyal Fan and a Concerned Pastor...

We had a blessed day of worship and fellowship at the Shiloh Church yesterday. My Bible Study Fellowship group met for the last time this year. We continued out study of 1 Timothy 2:8-15. I focused on verses 13-14: "The Theological Basis of Gender Roles" I am learning a lot from this study of 1 Timothy. We had a Parent-Child Dedication during our 10:15 service. I led both services. It felt like I was on my feet all day. By the time, 10:15 rolled around, I was wiped out. But the Lord gave me strength, as always. Praise God! I...

Saturday Shout-Outs is my weekly "bulletin board" of things I have read or noticed over the course of the week. Merry Christmas! Thanks for reading my blog this week. And thanks for your comments. You can sign-up for email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Shout-out to Roger Sears and the music department of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church for a wonderful Christmas Musical this past Wednesday night! Check out my interview with Dr. Rudolph Waldo McKissick Sr. - Part 1 and Part 2. I found a new Spurgeon app: Daily Faith. It's free until the...

Here is part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Rudolph Waldo McKissick, Sr. Dr. McKissick is the Senior Pastor of the Bethel Baptist Institutional Church in Jacksonville, where he has served for 46 years. He shares pastoral responsibilities with his dynamic son, Rudolph McKissick, Jr. Dr. McKissick is a gracious man, full of wisdom, who loves the Lord and his people. Check out Part 1 of the McKissick Interview. Enjoy this second half of our conversation. Did you find this interview helpful? Join the conversation in the comments section. 

Dr. Rudolph Waldo McKissick Sr. is a legend in the Jacksonville church community. Dr. McKissick has been a part of one church all of his life - the historic Bethel Baptist Institutional Church. It is the church where his family attended when he was a child. It is the church where he met the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the church where he began his ministry. It is the church where he has served as senior-pastor for 46 years. The Lord has used Dr. McKissick to lead the Bethel Church from strength to strength. He has been a respected spiritual...

Today is my wife, Crystal's, birthday. Actually, December is Crystal’s month. Last week was our wedding anniversary. Next week is Christmas. And today is her birthday. Whew! I am grateful to be married to such a wonderful, beautiful woman. She is the heart of our home. And the love of my life! I am who and where I am because of her love, friendship, and support.  Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. – Proverbs 31:30  Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

Notes from Sunday is my weekly recap of my Sunday in worship and how my favorite teams and athletes did over the weekend. Twenty-two years ago today – December 16, 1990 – I was installed as the third pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Los Angeles. It seems like yesterday. I am too young to have pastored for 22 years! I continued my study of 1 Timothy 2:11-12 in my Bible Study Fellowship group today. We discussed the question, “May Women Teach or Lead Men in Church?” I really enjoy teaching this group. Our BSF groups ended today for...

Saturday Shout-Outs is my weekly "bulletin board" of things I have read or noticed over the course of the week. Thanks for reading my blog this week. You can sign under the picture to the left to receive email updates of future posts. Thanks for the well wishes to Crystal and I, as we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this week. A big shout-out to the staff, leaders, and volunteers of the Shiloh Church for your service during the Clark Sisters concert this weekend. Thanks for reading, commenting on, and sharing my post: "On Being a Guest Preacher"  Shout-out to Michael Duduit and...