Yesterday we got into a boat, nothing like the boat of Jesus’ day, and we went out into the Sea of Galilee. The weather was a little breezy, and it had been raining throughout the day. They have gotten a lot of rain here this year, and the Sea is up very high. So much […]
Never Turn our Back on True Worship
In 1 King 12, we find the story of Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern kingdom of Israel. After the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam took over his kingdom and took unwise counsel to make life harder on the people. As a result, 10 of the 12 tribes rebelled and started their kingdoms […]
Spirit, Soul, and Body
“for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, 10and in him ye are made full, who is the head of all principality and power: Colossians 2:9-10” I have been preaching the gospel now for over 33 years, pastored for over 27 years, and faithfully attended church for over 52 years. With that […]
Don’t Lose Hope
As we enter the Christmas season, most do so with excitement and a sense of good cheer, but others do so with despair and heartache. Did you know that more people have feelings of depression during the Christmas season? There are more suicides this time of year than at any other time. In a season […]
The Fear of the Lord
Fear is something that none of want to experience in our life. I mean, I do not know about you, but I am not a big fan of fear. Fear can be a destroyer of faith if we fear the wrong thing, but at the same time, fear is something that the Bible tells us […]
Cannot Lose a Generation
This week I heard of a young lady (29) that died from an overdose. This young lady had a hard life growing up and had faced many tough times. The thing that makes this an even greater tragedy to me is that she was a part of our Church as a child and teen. She […]
Advantages of a Smaller Church
Did you know that according to the National Congregation Study that the top 7% of the largest churches in America have 50% of church attenders, resources, and money in the American Church? If you take the top 1%, then they have over 20% of attenders, resources, and money in the US church. Now, what does […]
Do not Grow Weary
Have you ever been weary? Most of us if not all would answer that question with a resounding yes! I mean with all that is going on these days, it is easy to get weary. Paul ends his second letter to the people in Thessalonian with a warning about growing weary. He says in 2 […]
Can I Move on my Own?
The other day I had a conversation with some pastor friends of mine about the leading of the Lord. How do you know when God is leading you to another place? As Christians, should we wait on the leading of the Lord or can we be just as anointing and just as effective anywhere that […]
Revive us Again
In Psalm 85:6, David said to the Lord, “will you not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in you.” The word revive here means to give new energy to or to bring back to life. David understands that as people of God, there are going to be times when we need a revival. […]
What is Suffering all About
Have you ever wondered how God feels about suffering? I mean, we look around our world today, and there is so much suffering and so much pain. Most of do not have to look far to find suffering, whether it is someone that is addicted in our family or someone that has a disease or […]
The New Attractional Church
Let me open the curtain and let you look in today. As a pastor, one of the things that are all ways on our minds is “how do we reach more people”? Reaching people and Church Growth is something that we think about almost every moment of every day. I think about how I can […]
Personal Revelation-Public Authority
For the last month, I have been stuck in Matthew 16. I say stuck, which is probably not the best word, but I have been unable to leave this passage of scripture. There is so much in this chapter that shares with us who we the church are to be and what it is that […]
The Objective of Praise
When looking at the Epistles, it is essential to understand how the Bible is presented to us. In the Old Testament and the Gospels were giving a very historical and geographical presentation of Jesus so that we come to know about Him and to know what He has done for us. The gospels give us […]
Creating a New Community Mindset
I have just finished a study on the Sermon on the Mount in my Wednesday night class, which led me to take a closer look at the Gospel of Matthew as a whole. Matthew is centered around five sermons or discords that Jesus gave and three of the five are directed toward His disciples. The […]
Does Attending Church Really Matter?
Some of the fondest memories that I have as a child happen at the church. I grew up in a Christian home and my parents believed in attending church faithfully. There is no doubt if there had been a church attendance award my family would have won it because there was not a time that […]
Be His Church
I have been pondering about something that I think about a great deal, and that is the condition of the church. As a pastor going into a new year I all way evaluate not only myself but the condition of the church. In doing this, I begin to read several things and also listen to […]
Praising Him for the Small Things
I have found that many times we fail to praise God over things that seem small to us but I do believe that if we praise God in the small things that God will do the greater things in our lives. For me, this happened this week. I am the type person that hardly ever […]
Good-Best=Better
As a preacher the moment you tell a church congregation to turn to Malachi 3:7 they know you are going to talk about tithing. I mean, after all, that is the go-to when it comes to tithing and giving to the church. The truth is that the verses and chapter go much deeper than money. […]
The Benefits of Coming to Church
I was sitting here at my desk this morning and thinking about all that happened Sunday and what God has been doing here at SDC. I was reading Hebrews 10 and came across verse 25 that says, “not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so […]
