Sunday Summary

What an exhausting, but exciting Lord's day it was! The worship was at a very high level ! We started an early morning prayer service at 8am, and I believe that has contributed to the flow of the worship. I was excited as I approached the preaching moment, hoping and praying in my mind that God would be pleased with the presentation. I preached a passage from John 6:1-14. The message was entitled, "A miracle from the minimum"

Premise of the message: It is not the greatness of the gift that counts, but the greatness of the God, to whom the gift is given. God’s ability to use a gift is in no way hindered or enhanced by the size of the gift. It is the sacrifice of the giver, not the size of the gift that determines the gifts significance.

Here's the outline:

1. The Crisis

A. No meat
B. Not Enough Money
C. No Mercy

2. The Cure

A. Andrew’s Belief
B. Available Boy
C. Almighty Blessing

3. The Collection

A The Filling
B. The Fragments
C. The Followers

The Lord really showed up in a marvelous way and the people both received the Word and rejoiced because of the Word!

After morning worship, we travelled to the Second Baptist Church of Dowagiac, Michigan to celebrate with them in their church's 141st Anniversary. I was tired, but still excited about the opportunity to preach.

When I arrived at the church, I was warmly welcomed by Pastor Tyrone Pace. We went to his office and shared about the blessings and burdens of pastoral ministry. After this, we along with several other preachers engaged in some interesting conversation about the practices and pitfalls of ministry. It was warm fellowship to say the least.

When we went out into worship, the service was on fire! It truly was a celebration! Their theme was located in Matthew 16:18-19, entitled "The church built on a solid foundation, Jesus Christ; We are still standing. This is what I preached. Here's the skeleton for this one;

1. Confession

2. Condition

3. Cooperation

The Lord blessed this preaching experience as well! I am so grateful to God for empowering me to preach His word!

When I arrived at home, I wanted to catch up on the last part of the Olympics. I watched the USA men's volleyball team win gold as well as the "Redeemed Team". I want to say a congratulatory word to all of the Kobe Bryant fans. Kobe finally proved all of his critics wrong by winning a gold medal without Shaquille O'Neal! Ooops! I almost forgot, he had 11 other of the best players in the NBA to help with this!!!

I am looking forward to watching the historic acceptance speech of Sen. Barack Obama! This will be a monumental occasion for African Americans as well as people everywhere. This will serve as a great beacon light of hope to millions of disenfranchised youth to let them know that they too can achieve greatness. Be Blessed!!