Today, December 12, 2012, I am blessed to have been married to my wife, Crystal, for 14 years! Last night, our daughter Natalie noted that this was an extra special anniversary, in that it is 12/12/12, which will not happen for another 1,000 years. Way cool. Crystal and I met in high school. She was in the 10th grade. I was a senior. We were in Coach Williams’ 4th period World History class. We were taking this class for the same reason. It was the easiest class at Los Angeles High School. Think about it. A class on world history....

I am a local church pastor, who is often invited to preach. I am invited to speak at schools, conferences, and other such events. But I am most often invited to speak for other local churches. I do not take these opportunities lightly. Neither should you. A pastor’s primary responsibility is to be a faithful steward of the pulpit with which he has been entrusted. He is charged before God to preach the word. He is also accountable for what others teach from his pulpit. Therefore, it is a serious matter when a pastor invites someone to preach, be it...

It was another good day of worship at the Shiloh Church. In my Bible Study Fellowship group, I continued my study of 1 Timothy 2:8-15. Today’s lesson addressed verses 11-12, the most controversial part of the text. I only got through the introduction, during which I sought to make five points: All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17) Proper rules of interpretation must be employed to understand the Bible correctly. Women are not inherently inferior to men. Men and women share an equal standing in Christ (Gal. 3:28). God designed men and women to have different roles in the home...

Saturday Shout-Outs is my weekly "bulletin board" of things I have read and noticed over the course of the week. I thank God for the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church! Make sure you read the post I wrote this week On Sermon Introductions. Also check out the Keelan Atkinson Interview. I posted the manuscript of a sermon I recently preached, "When Duty Calls" (Luke 17:1-10). Congratulations to my friend, Lance A. Mann, on his new assignment as Pastor of the St. Luke Baptist Church in Crockett, Texas. A big shout-out to my friend, Ray Pritchard, who agreed to write the foreword...

The takeoff is arguably the most important part of the flight. Sprinters work to get a strong jump from the blocks to win the race. And the introduction is key to preaching a strong message. I typically introduce my sermons in a traditional manner. I read the text first. I give the title of the sermon. Then I formally introduce the message. Others give the introduction before they read the text and state their title. Whichever way you begin your message, a strong introduction is essential, necessary, and beneficial. Here are nine ways to get your sermon off to a...

Keelan Atkinson is the founding pastor of the Word Fellowship Reformed Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC. I have known Keelan for some years now. He is a diligent student and faithful preacher of the word of God. Originally from St. Louis, Keelan is a product of Covenant Theological Seminary. He planted Word Fellowship several years ago. It is a God-intoxicated, Bible-saturated, Gospel-loving church. In this interview, Keelan discusses his testimony, ministerial call, and pastoral experience. We also talked about Reformed Theology. Keelan is one of the first brothers I knew personally who fully embraced the Doctrines of Grace. We have...

Notes from Sunday is my weekly summary of my Lord's Day worship  and recap of the sports I follow on the weekend. It was a beautiful day in Jacksonville. And it was a good day of worship at Shiloh. In Bible Study Fellowship, I continued to teach from 1 Timothy 2:8-15. I focused on verses 9-10, where Paul gives directives for physical appearance. Next Sunday, God willing, I will teach on 1 Timothy 2:12, which prohibits women from teaching of exercising authority over men. Should be interesting. We celebrated the Lord’s Supper today in both of our services. To God...

Good day. Today is the first day of December, 2012. Interesting year. But it is almost over. May the Lord's blessings be on you and yours and you end this year and go through the holidays. Thanks for reading my blog this week. And thanks for your comments. Sign up under the picture to the left for to receive email updates of future posts. A big birthday shout-out to my niece, Harriette Monroe! Glad that she and my sister are in town and that I have the opportunity to spend her birthday with her. Make sure you check out my...

One day, I had a conversation with a friend who was seeking to discern whether the Lord was calling him to pastoral or pulpit ministry. As he discussed it with me, he noted that he had mentioned this matter to me several times before without comment from me. He was right. I hadn't responded. And I sensed that he was waiting on a response this time. So I prayed an emergency prayer to God about what to say. And what came to my mind is what my father said to me some twenty years ago about whether I should continue...

Romell Williams is the Pastor of the Lilydale Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago, where he has served for the past eight years. Romell and I met about ten years ago or so. A mutual friend told me of Romell’s ministry and thought we should hook up. I reached out and we have been friends ever since. Pastor Romell is a clear, strong, faithful preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is committed to biblical exposition. And he takes the art and craft of preaching seriously. He is one of the finest young preachers (i.e., under 35) that I know....

It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, which is always an interesting Sunday. But it was a good day. I taught on 1 Timothy 2:8-15 – “Men and Women in Worship" - in my Bible Study Fellowship. I did an overview of the passage. But I plan to spend the next several weeks going through it in more detail. It’s a controversial subject. But I am looking forward to the study. As always, I am grateful for all the guests in worship today. It was cool to meet the family of members visiting for the holiday. Praise God for the two...

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you had a safe, blessed, and restful holiday. The Shiloh Church met for worship on Thanksgiving morning. What a service! I love my congregation. I preached a 1st person narrative on the 10 Lepers that I called, "The Testimony of a Cleansed Leper" (Luke 17:11-19). I almost chickened out in the last minute. I'm glad I hung in there with what I prepared. I am grateful to have my sister, Harriette, and niece, also named Harriette, here with us from Los Angeles for the holiday. That Dallas Cowboys tried as hard as they could to ruin...