A Guest Post by Joe Pace Colossians 3:16 teaches us that there is an undeniable relationship between the preaching/teaching ministry and music ministry in our worship.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Now to be clear, you can sing without the Word; you can play an instrument well without the Word; you can talk without the Word; BUT you simply cannot worship without the Word!  It is only with the truth of God’s word that...

A Guest Post By Crystal Charles “Hear, O women, the word of the LORD, and let your ear receive the word from His mouth”-Jeremiah 9:20 When Cutting It Straight (CIS) began, we offered one class for women on Biblical Womanhood. Last year, by the leading of the Holy Spirit we added the Women’s Track to the conference to minister to, equip, and encourage women. The Women’s track is designed for women who have the responsibility of teaching the Bible regularly and leading other women, including pastors’ wives, women’s ministry leaders, Sunday school teachers, and small group facilitators. Just as the...

I preached Genesis 22:1-14 today at the Shiloh Church. I entitled the message, "Testing Time" (22:1). The big idea of the sermon was simply that a faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted. God enrolls us in the school of faith to promote us to graduation. But spiritual promotion requires divine testing. In verse 8, Abraham responds to Isaac's question by declaring, "God will provide for himself a lamb for the burnt offering." And when God provided, Abraham named the place, "The Lord will provide" (22:14). As I talked about the God who provides, I quoted the words of a...

It was Memorial Day weekend, 2008. It was my first visit to the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville. The weekend started that Friday evening with a dinner reception in the church’s dining room. Some people sat smoking me over. To others, I was just another face. That’s what happens when a church is looking for a pastor. Mike Rodgers was different. I felt like I knew him before I met him that night. I had heard him preach several times on the Internet. He was preaching through Exodus on Wednesday nights. And I remember the sermons were very encouraging....

I was on a flight this week that ran into an extended patch of rough air. The turbulence was like being on a roller coaster, as the plane bounced up and down. For the record, I hate roller coasters. I kept reading as the plane danced a jig, until I heard a scream. A young lady, sitting nearby with her mother, cried out in fear. It was her first airplane flight. And she was overwhelmed by the turbulence, clutching onto her mother for dear life. I understood. I smiled. I continued reading. May the Lord help me to be that...

During the 1870 annual conference of the Methodists of Indiana, the president of the college where the group met began to talk about the exciting age they were living in. The presiding bishop asked, “What do you see?” The college president responded, “I believe we are coming into a great time of inventions. I believe, for example, that men will fly through the air like birds.” The bishop said, “This is heresy! The Bible says that flight is reserved for the angels. We will have no such talk here.” Thank God the bishop’s sons, Wilbur and Orville Wright, did not...