Yesterday was our first Ministry Emphasis Day at Shiloh Church. I had bee preaching on fellowship and service the past few weeks. And we encouraged the members to sign-up for a place of service yesterday. Good day. I spent my third week on the second lesson of our new members class series: The Doctrine of Salvation. I really enjoy teaching this class. The time is very limited. And I am always in a rush. But it is a great joy to spend this time with new believers and new members of SMBC. Our youth choir participated in our 10 AM...

It was a good day in worship yesterday at Shiloh. For many reasons, it was a particularly long day for me. But it was a good day. God blessed us. 2 Corinthians 12:9 got me through the day: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."I continued the series "Going Forward with God... Together." Yesterday's message was from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - "Two Are Better Than One." It is particularly challenging to preach obscure and difficult passages. Without a doubt, they are God-breathed and spiritually profitable. But how we handle them from the pulpit can...

We had a great day of worship yesterday at Shiloh. The Lord smiled on us. And we were blessed to kick-off the new year in a great way. God be praised! I am grateful to God for the way this new year has begun. And I pray that the Lord will richly bless the ministry of SMBC in 2009. May many lives be changed to the glory of God! I got sick Saturday. And I really was feeling well. But as bad as I felt, there was no way I was going to miss work. I was sick. But the...

The Lord richly blessed our final worship services of 2008 at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville. This last Sunday in December marked the completion of three months since I began in full my work at SMBC. The Lord has blessed these opening months of my new work in a great way. I could not ask for me and definitely do not deserve any better. I pray that 2009 will be a fruitful year of ministry and that God will be pleased to use Shiloh as a place where many lives are changed to his glory! I preached today...

Yesterday was a good day in worship at the Shiloh Church. It was a long day. But special nonetheless. I praise God for his strengthening grace and unfailing love. Having finished a five-part series on Luke 15 last week, I spent another Sunday in Luke yesterday. I preached the Parable of the Unjust Steward, recorded in Luke 16:1-13. I entitled the message, "Financial Advice from a Dishonest Manager." I enjoy preaching and teaching on financial stewardship. As a pastor, I believe I have a responsibility to lay before my people the way of Christ as it relates to their finances,...

We had a great day of worship and fellowship at Shiloh yesterday. Yesterday, I preached the fourth message in my series on Luke 15 - "Lost People Matter to God." The parable of the prodigal son is three-dimensional. A week ago I preached the story from the perspective of the Father. And yesterday I preached the text from the perspective of the rebellious son: "Lessons from the Prodigal Son." The father in the story is an affirmation of the love of God. But the son in the story is an admonition about the life of sin. God willing, this coming...

In spite of the rain, this has been a wonderful Lord's Day. To God be the glory!I am still dealing with a cough and some chest congestion. But the Lord gave me physical strength and spiritual energy to carry out my assignment today. Thanks for covering me in believing prayer. And praise God for his faithfulness. The women's chorus led the musical praise in our worship services today. And it was great. I really do appreciate the diligent work that Roger Sears - our minister of music - and the entire music team puts into the their preparation for and...

I am fighting off a cold. And I blame Jacksonville! I thought I was moving to sunny Florida. And it is. Sunny. And cold! This past week, the temperature rose and dropped from day to day. It was in the 30's at points. And by the end of the week, I was fighting off cold symptoms. Who knew that I would need a big overcoat in Florida? But several members of Shiloh have informed me that Jacksonville is not Florida. It's south Georgia! Now you tell me. Yesterday, I continued my series on Luke 15 - "Lost People Matter to...

Inadvertently, I took a "bye-week" from blogging last week. But I am back and better... Well, let's just leave it at I'm back. I did not do much writing or journaling at all last week. By Saturday, I started going through withdrawal. I can't describe the joy I get from reading and writing. My installation Sunday was the first Sunday this year that I have not preached. Through relocating MSMBC, having a baby, and transitioning to Jacksonville, I have been in the pulpit to preach every week. I really think that my mind needed the mental break from sermon preparation....

Thank you Shiloh for your prayers, support, and encouragement, during these days in which I am learning you and you are learning me. I am glad and proud to be your pastor. What a church! Yesterday was the first Sunday of November. Practically speaking, this year is over. Better start preparing for 2009. Crystal and I were thrown off Sunday morning. Our clocks and phones changed the time automatically. But we thought we had the extra hour when we woke up. I am glad we straightened that out before we ended up missing the 8 AM service. Praise God for...

We had a good day of worship at Shiloh. Both services were a blessing to be a part of and, more importantly, I believe God was glorified. Shiloh is the first church I have worshiped in that has all-male ushers. This is totally new to me. But it is a great thing to see so many men actively serving in church. May their tribe increase. No apologies. I was greatly encouraged to have the youth choir participate in the 10 AM worship service. I don't know what to say but praise the Lord. I preached on one of my favorite...

I know. It has been a week since I have published a post. But contrary to popular belief, it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the Cowboys lost last week. It has just been one of those weeks when I stayed on the run to keep up with my schedule. Hopefully, I won't be so far behind this week. Sunday was a great day of worship at Shiloh Church. God richly blessed our Lord's Day services. My mom came in from Oklahoma City to spend the weekend with us. And she led the pre-sermon solo in both...