Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘preaching’
Beginning Tomorrow
It is hard to believe it has been almost a year! The international shutdown at the beginning of the pandemic has become a point of reference in a variety of ways, a turning point for many. During the quarantine we began using a Youtube channel to post Bible messages and words of encouragement. I must tell you that while I appreciate the technology at our disposal, I am very grateful to be back preaching to real people assembled together! However, many of the platforms that God opened for ministry during that unusual season have helped us to connect with people to whom we would not otherwise have ministered. We believe these tools can continue to be used for the advancement…
Read MorePreachers Need Preaching Too!
It was only after I went into full time evangelism that I began to appreciate how much good preaching I had been privileged to listen to…and how much I still need to hear it. Those of us in full time ministry are almost always the ones doing the preaching. While this is a tremendous privilege, it is also a great danger. If you keep giving out and never take in you will soon run dry! I am not just a preacher; I am a Christian. Every Christian needs to hear exhortation, reproof, and doctrine. Every Christian. There are many reasons for this: God chose to use preaching! 1 Corinthians 1:21 tells us the priority God places on preaching and its…
Read MoreThe Final Month of a Unique Year
2020 has become a byword for the unexpected and unusual. While we have all laughed and cried at the twists and turns of this year, let me encourage you not to blame 2020. God gave us this year to live and serve. 2020 will forever be a historical marker, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could look back and say that was when the Lord began a deep work in our hearts and nation that continued for years to come? As we approach the final month of this unique year I am truly grateful for how the Lord has guided and provided. He always does. Several weeks ago I had a fairly mild case of COVID. My smell and…
Read MorePraise and Prayer – Our November Schedule
As we approach this Thanksgiving month I am both grateful and prayerful. The Lord continues to guide and protect us. Week after week we see His hand at work and rejoice to be allowed to serve Christ where He sends us. All glory to our great God! A dear friend texted me recently and pointed out a wonderful verse related to the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Acts 18:23 says, “And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.” This is the life of an evangelist – we spend a little time in a place and then leave. But the goal of itinerant…
Read MoreThe Last Few Days and the Days Ahead
My heart is full of the goodness of the Lord to us! Over the last few days it was a privilege to gather with so many pastors and Christian workers in Walkertown, NC. As we planned and prepared for this year’s Southwide Baptist Fellowship none of us knew if it would be possible for friends to actually make it to the meeting. This has been a year where many conferences have been cancelled or forced to move to a virtual format. How thrilling it was to see people come together for a few days of prayer, preaching, and fellowship. Several folks commented how hungry everyone seemed to be just to be with other laborers. It was a reminder to me…
Read MoreOur October Schedule
This evening I will fly to Pennsylvania for the first meeting of a new month. It is a privilege to serve the Lord alongside pastors each week. October is designated as “Pastor Appreciation Month” and it is my hope that local churches will do all they can to encourage their pastors during this challenging time. There are varied callings in ministry but all of us are laboring together for the same purpose – God’s purpose. In Ephesians 4:11-13 we read: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the…
Read MoreOur August Schedule
The adventure continues! Following Christ is always an adventure but the current situation in our world makes it even more so. These are days where we must exercise faith at every turn, and how wonderful it is to see the Lord leading. Today I have had the joy of speaking to a group of pastors from Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia in an online meeting. I preached a recorded gospel message to be used in England in a few days and tonight I am to speak to a group of teenagers through a zoom conference. Who would have imagined?!? Still, with all of the technological opportunities, I am most happy to be back in churches for in-person meetings and…
Read More3 Elements for Effective Preaching
Preaching the Word of God is a grand privilege and great responsibility. For the faithful minister there is a joy and a soberness in standing to deliver the Lord’s message. The preacher’s objective is simple: to use Scripture and be used by the Spirit to point people to God. Thirty-one years ago this summer I preached my first sermon. (At least I think that is what you would call it!) Now, after a host of meetings and messages, I am more conscious than ever of my need to become a more effective communicator of the truth. I need God! There is never a place to stop growing as a preacher, both in our understanding of Scripture and our delivery of…
Read More5 Books To Read On Preaching
It is a great privilege to stand and preach God’s Word to others. In fact, it is a high and holy calling that should never be taken for granted! Preachers who are serious about what God has given them to do will not only work on sermons, they will work on themselves. You cannot separate the message from the messenger. When I had the privilege of teaching homiletics to college young people we used a well known classic, Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson in the undergraduate program. Currently I am helping to facilitate an online graduate level course and we are using Preaching and Preachers by Martin Lloyd-Jones and Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon. All of these are…
Read MoreLooking Ahead To May
Someone said that man plans and God laughs. Scripture says it better, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). In recent weeks we have all been reminded that we may schedule and plan but the final direction is given by God alone. While our itinerary over the last days has been totally changed, in many ways, God has opened up avenues of ministry that we could have never foreseen or planned. In the last month I have had the opportunity of preaching and teaching God’s Word about 40 times through either recorded messages, drive-in meetings, or live online platforms. Only the Lord could have orchestrated this and we praise His name! I am…
Read More
