At the end of last year, I put on the church calendar for us to celebrate the 134th church anniversary of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church on May 17. With so many things going on recently, I was not able to properly plan for it. I even failed to mention it yesterday. May the Lord help me make up for that next year. No, I am not into traditional church anniversary celebrations. But I am really into celebrating the faithfulness of God. Each week, churches around America shut their doors for the last time. And the fact that the Lord...

Sunday was my family's first Mother's Day in Jacksonville and at Shiloh. And we were blessed to have a good day together as a family. I am sure Crystal had a good day. She bossed us around all day and totally had her way. Happy Mother's Day, Sunshine!I know all these mentions of "firsts" may seem redundant. But I can't help it. I am still easily shocked that I live in a new city and pastor a different church, even though I have been here for months. A year ago, I was just settling into our new facilities at MSMBC...

Can you believe it's May already? We had a wonderful Lord's Day celebration at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church yesterday. I believe the Lord was glorified. And I believe his people were blessed. I am truly grateful for the many members of SMBC who serve in various ways to honor God, encourage one another, and welcome the saints. May God bless you richly for your selfless service. And may your tribe increase! In New Members Class, I taught on the hindrances to effective or answered prayer. I listed five "prayer-busters":     1. Prayerlessness (James 4:2b)        2. Unconfessed sin (Isaiah 59:1-2;...

As I drove to church this morning, I listened to Tunesha Crispell sing, "God Can Do Anything But Fail." My goodness, I really needed that reminder this morning. It set my mood for worship this morning. God is great!Our youth choir led two numbers at the beginning of our 10 AM worship service. They did a wonderful job. What a great encouragement it was to have our youth leading us in praise to God. Clifton Davis was our guest soloists this morning. He sung, "Jesus, The Center of My Joy." I  was deeply moved by the song. The congregation obviously...

The Lord really blessed our Easter services at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. In fact, the entire Holy Week was special - from our Palm Sunday services, to our visit to St. Thomas Baptist Church Thursday night, to our Good Friday Service, to our church-wide fast, to our 3-1-6 evangelism emphasis. During our Bible Study Fellowship hour, our children led a program songs and recitations. It was beautiful to hear the children sing praise to God and quote from memory passages of scripture. And I was glad to see how many people came out to support our children. The music was...

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. And we were blessed to have a great day of worship and fellowship at the Shiloh Church. We did not add any elements to our worship service. But it was a special time nonetheless. I am blown away that it is April already. This year is speeding along. As is our custom on first Sunday's, we observed the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper in our 10 AM service. Praise God for those who were baptized. And thank God for the opportunity to remember our baptism in Communion. I asked the church to join me...

What a weekend! Saturday morning, at 8 AM, members of the Shiloh Church gathered together to pray together, as we prepared to embark upon our first Make A Difference Day - a one day blitz of practical service throughout our city. After prayer, we scattered throughout Jacksonville to show the love of Christ to others, because God has loved us in Christ. Some helped a missions agency organize and pack goods to be sent to Jamaica. Some put in smoke detectors in the homes of the elderly. Some installed wheel chair ramps for seniors. Some collected food and took them...

Sunday was a long, good day. I continued my lesson on personal Bible study tips in my new members class. I went over time in the 8 AM service. And it caused me to have a very limited amount of time in my class session. But as always, I really enjoyed teaching the new members. Our new young adult ensemble helped lead the singing in the 10 AM service for the first time. They did a great joy. And I am expecting great things from this group. I continued my series on the parable of the sower - "The Heart's...

It was around midnight before I went to bed on Saturday night. I thought I would get about three hours sleep. But thanks to Daylight Savings Time, my plans went awry. Thank God for his strength! In new members class, I began a lesson on how to study the Bible for yourself. I love teaching on personal Bible study. I think it is vital for the development of every Christian. I didn't even get through the introduction of what I wanted to say. It will take me another two weeks to finish this lesson. I really enjoy teaching the new...

Today is both the first day and the first Sunday of March, 2009. Can you believe it? Time really does seem to fly by? When Trey and I drove in to church this morning, it felt like the weather was going to be nice. By the time the 8 AM service was over, it was raining pretty good. Then when the 10 AM service was over, the rain had stopped. But it was winds were blowing really hard. Don't you just love this Florida weather? I love teaching the New Members Class.We were blessed to baptize about ten new believers...

Today was a long, blessed day. I thank God for the opportunity to be in worship with God's people today and the privilege of ministering to the wonderful saints of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. In my New Members Class, we continued discussing "The Bible - The Word of God." This week, I spent most of our time fielding questions. I enjoy discussing the meaning of the scriptures with others. And I am having big fun teaching our new members. I only wish our weekly sessions were longer. Several children were dedicated to the Lord in our 10 AM service....

Sunday was a really good day of worship and fellowship. As late as Saturday night, I was not sure if I would be able to preach Sunday morning. I had been suffering with a cold for most of last week. And it seemed to get worse Saturday. I hardly got any sleep. But when it was time for me to get up, I felt that there the Lord was not going to let me off the hook. So I got up and started my Sunday morning preparations. I had a sore throat, a stuffed up nose, congestion... the works. But,...