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.”...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

I couldn’t wait to get to worship today. I was really looking forward to preaching today. Glad to be in the service one more time! I missed our 33 Men’s Bible Study Saturday morning. But I heard it was a great meeting and that even more men showed up. How big is God! Saturday was also our Thanksgiving Outreach. I am told that 1,500 meals were served over the course of the day. Winter clothes were given away, along with other acts of service. Matthew 5:16 in action! Glad to have our guests in worship today. Praise God for the...

Happy Veterans Day! I did not write Notes from Sunday last week. Someone later tweeted that they missed my notes. Way cool. Today marked 4 years since my installation as pastor of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. Thanks, Shiloh, for the kind expressions today. It has been a very encouraging day. I praise the Lord for you and praise for many more years together as pastor and people. Now, back to work! Best part of my day: A sister shared with me today that it was her anniversary today, as well. She joined Shiloh when I arrived. And she has...

Saturday morning, we began a new six-week Bible study for our men. 200 men showed up. Praise God! Worship was great today. The music team did an exceptional job. I really enjoyed teaching my Bible Study Fellowship group today. I finished my lesson, “A Defense against False Teachers,” from 1 Timothy 1:12-20. God willing, I will teach next week about the prayer ministry of the church from 1 Timothy 2:1-7. As always, I am grateful for the guests we had in worship today, including two local high school football teams. I preached from n interesting little passage in Mathew 17:24-27....

I love the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church! We had a good time in my BSF class this morning. I taught from 1 Timothy 1:12-20. I called it, "A Defense against False Teachers." (In typical H.B. fashion, I did not finish my lesson and will have to pick it up next week.) As always, I am excited about the guests we had in worship today. Praise God for those who were baptized today, including a mother and her four children. I can still see the father's excited face in the hallway before service. Wonderful! I preached, "Having Possessions and Being Possessed,"...

Yesterday was a long, good day of worship. I really enjoyed teaching my Bible Study Fellowship group. In completed an exposition of 1 Timothy 1:3-11. I plan to teach 1 Timothy 1:12-17 next week. As always, it was great to have our guests in worship yesterday. Our children’s choir sang during the 10:15 service. Hailey participated for the second time. And for the second time, she stared at the floor monitors, rather than actually singing. The choir sang a Thomas Whitfield classic, “Only A Look.” Loved it. Praise God for the seven persons who were baptized yesterday! I preached from...

I love first Sundays! We celebrated the Lord’s Table in both worship services. We also welcomed our new members that completed New Members Class Saturday. What a joy! By the way, I really enjoyed my time with our new members Saturday morning. They had really great questions. And I enjoy talking about Christian doctrine. I was encouraged by their eagerness to learn. It was good to have our guests in worship today, including the Raines High School class of 1977. In my Bible Study Fellowship group, I taught from 1 Timothy 1:3-8: “A Warning against False Teachers.” In typical H.B....