Sunday Summary

I want to start this post off by saying happy holidays to everyone. I pray that your Christmas was well. The family and I went back home to Gary and spent time with family. It was very enjoyable for us.

We had a wonderful day of worship at BBC this Lord's Day. Since the start of the cold weather, attendance at Early Morning Prayer Meeting has been low, but that has not stopped the fervency of the prayer warriors at BBC. This prayer service has done tremendous things for our worship service.

As pastor's most of us have special Sunday's that we look forward to. I do need to say this, every opportunity to stand and proclaim my uncompromising convictions about my Christ is a blessing and a privilege, however there are some Sundays that I especially look forward to because of the occasion. The last and first Sunday's of the year are those for me. So it is needless to say that I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation.

I really wanted to minister to the congregation about the importance of moving from one year into a new one as well as seizing the opportunity to do something great for the Lord. The Lord directed me to the book of Haggai. Haggai was a minor prophet with a major message! He preached to Israel about the importance of re building the temple. The people's initial response was that it was not time. Haggai responded by saying, "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. (1:4-6 ESV)".

God linked their lack of comfort and currency to their lack of concern and care for the things of God. I tell our church all of the time that you need material things. After all, you cannot go to the grocery store, fill your cart with items, proceed to the check out line, and then tell the clerk, "Jesus paid it all". However, personal pursuits should not be our primary purpose. Our main focus should be doing what God would have us to do, after all the Scripture says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

So they begin the work and there are some people left that saw Solomon's temple and did not think that this one was up to par. Comparisons are extremely dangerous for us to engage in as children of God. This is where we get to the text that I preached. I preached from verses 6-9. The message was entitled, "Building God a House" Here's the basic outline:

1. Prophecy

2. Provision

3. Promise

God blessed the exposition and when the invitation was extended, the Lord blessed us with 2 adult candidates for baptism!! Hallelujah! I think this was a great way to end the year. I believe that God was pleased with our offering of public worship on yesterday!

Pray for us at BBC as we go into our annual 3 day fast for restoration and renewal. This is a 72 hour fast where we abstain from all food until the new year. In case I don't post again before Jan. 1 let me say to all, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!"