Sunday Summary

What a day at BBC! As always we start at 8am with prayer service and it was very spirited this morning. This usually sets the tone for morning worship. When I entered the sanctuary, I was expecting a high time in the Lord, but there was a heaviness that just could not be overcome. I found out later that several of our members were worried about family in the Gulf Coast area.

However, I was determined not to let that disrupt the passion that I had for preaching his morning! Especially when I considered the message that the Lord had given me o give to the people. I preached a message from Acts 27:44, entitled, "Making it through the storms of life". I believe that God was pleased with the preaching today, although it did not invoke a rejoicing response. Here's the outline

1. Accept the Storm

2. Anchor your Self

3. Avoid others Skepticism

4. Await your salvation

Paul and the others made it safely on broken pieces. Paul was concerned about getting to Rome as God had promised, not how he looked getting to shore. If we would spend more time on God's assignment instead of our appearance to others, we would do well.

Another busy week ahead, although I do plan to eat well on Labor Day and take in some preaching on Tuesday at Macedonia M.B.C. in South Bend, where Rev. Ray Owens is the pastor. They are having revival Tuesday through Thursday. His guest for revival is Rev E.J. Tyson, pastor of the New Hope M.B.C. of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I also plan to go to Bethlehem M.B.C. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Rev. Decarto Draper Jr is pastor. His guest for the week will be Rev. Marvin Wiley, pastor of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church of Maywood, Ill. Be Blessed!!!

Thoughts for Thursday

I've been watching CNN more than normal this week. I have paid close attention to the Democrats and Republicans as they communicate their concerns about what will happen if the other party is elected. There are at least 10 things that will happen no matter who wins the election.

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?

Wednesday in the Word

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word today at BBC! All classes were well attended. The Sunday School lesson was once again right on point! The lesson was entitled, "Prayerful Community" taken from James 5:13-18. James exhorts the believers to be in constant prayer for one another.

An interesting conversation came up about verse 14, dealing with the anointing with oil. I expressed that oil is symbolic of the presence of God, and although I have no problem with anointing people with oil, we must understand that the real power in prayer is not in the symbol, but the Sovereign God that we pray to. I asked a question, "If prayer is our most powerful ally, why is it the one that we use the least?" To quote one of my colleagues,"It's time to stop saying your prayers, and start praying your prayers."

Bible Study went really well. We continued in our series in Romans 1:8-15. Paul was establishing his rapport with the Christians at Rome before laying out the theme of Romans. I was especially taken in by verse 14&15, "I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. "

These verses arrested my attention as I felt Paul's sense of obligation to preach based upon his calling to the ministry. Paul was under orders to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was in debt to this Gospel. Jesus paid a debt for us that he didn't owe because we owed a debt that we couldn't pay. It is this sense of urgency that should drive us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

When we look at the moral decline of our communities, the fight over power in the church, corrupt government, schools that under educate our children, racial injustice, violence, and so many other maladies, we should feel an obligation to preach the Gospel. I feel like Paul, I am ready to preach the Gospel because I am a debtor!

I will leave with a quote from one of my favorite preachers, Dr. Adrian Rogers, "We don't need social reform, we need people saved. All social reform will do is make the world a better place to go to hell from."

Pray for me as I have several meetings tomorrow.

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!!

Wednesday in the Word

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word today! Our Sunday School Teachers Meeting went really well. The Sunday School lesson was entitled, "Godly Behavior" taken from James 4:1-12. This is a great lesson. James challenges the mindset that wants to blame everyone else for ungodly behavior. I would love to tell you about the whole lesson, but please allow me to take a quick stab at vs. 1 - 2.

From whence come wars and fighting's among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

James really cuts to the heart of the matter when he declares that the continual feuds (wars) and outbursts of anger (fighting's) come from the inward conflict of the individual. I used this application to illustrate the point. Those who constantly argue against authority in the church do so because they have an inward desire to be in authority themselves.

This served as a refreshing and rewarding reminder that people who oppose you do so because they have opposition inside of them. This helped me to discover that many times I'm not the originator of the opposition, I'm just the object that the opposition opposes. The real problem is with the one doing the opposing.

Verse 2 tells us that the ends DO NOT justify the means. There is a way the Christians should obtain things, and it's not by any means necessary. The way for a child of God to receive is to ask God. We don't have to lie, cheat and steal to get ahead. Nor do we have to step on or scandalize our brother or sister to get the things that we desire. Unchecked desire leads to unexpected disaster!

Bible Study was a joy tonight. We continued in our series in Romans. We are in chapter 1, and we covered verses 2-7. In this introduction, Paul declares that the Gospel he preaches is the Gospel of Christ. He tells us that Christ is the Source, the Sender, and the Substance of the Gospel. It is through Jesus that we receive mercy and mission, and it is our responsibility to obey the mission for which he has called us to. I am reminded of what Paul told Agrippa in Acts 26:19, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision". Be Blessed !!!!