The Preacher's Blog

Re-committed

Okay...I made myself the promise when I started this blog that I would keep it updated.  So far, I haven't kept that promise - Sorry!  I know it is no excuse, but I really have been busy.  Well, I'm re-committed to keeping this thing updated.

We start the AWANA ministry tonight.  Everyone is excited and rightfully so.  AWANA is a wonderful ministry that focuses on Scripture memorization.  It has taken a lot of ground-work to get ready for AWANA, but I believe it will be well worth it.  We have had a large number of adults sign up to be a part of AWANA.  I really am proud of our church for embracing this new ministry the way we have.  We had a practice run last Wednesday night and it went great.  Tonight is for real.  All the children who have signed up will be there, so, let the fun begin....!

I have also begun my classes through Southeastern Seminary for the fall.  I am taking Biblical Hebrew, Christian Philosophy, and Church History.  I love all the classes so far, just hope I haven't gotten in way over my head.  There is a huge work load and the classes are not exactly a walk in the park.  But I really am enjoying them and learning a lot too.  I can't believe I am actually saying this, but, I like being back in school.  

Speak Up and Be Heard

This morning we will begin a new sermon series titled, "Speak Up and Be Heard."  It's all about how to move from being passive witnesses to bold proclaimers.  I have had Romans 1:16 on my heart now for several weeks.  A couple of nights ago I sat down with pen and paper in hand to do some studying on this verse. The Lord began to speak.  I became burdened over my own passive witness.  I knew that I and we as a church had to do something to move from our passiveness and become more bold and intentional in sharing the good news of Christ.  God began to give me more passages of Scripture on this subject, and thus this new series was born.  

My hope, as we begin this new study, is we will become more bold in our witness.  So many times we let opportunities slip us by.  We are either too busy, unconcerned, ashamed or scared to take advantage of that opportunity to share Jesus with someone who may really need Him.  We are way too passive.  

My prayer is that there will be at least a few people who move from being passive witnesses to bold proclaimers.  It is God's plan for us to share the gospel with those He puts in our paths.  Just think for a moment at how this would affect our church.  What if several of us got serious about sharing Jesus with others?  We might would experience the same things we read about in Scripture.  We might would see many come to know Christ and thus our community changed for His glory!

Birthday Present

Today is my birthday and my wife always wonders what to get me.  She likes to take the "surprise" approach and get me something I wasn't expecting. Surprises are good, but I'm a more practical kind of guy.  She was going to surprise me with an ancient coin she had found on the internet.  This would have been a wonderful gift.  Ever since we went to the Holy Land I have been wanting to do some coin/artifact collecting.  But recently I found something I have been really wanting that would be a real practical help for me in school and ministry.  It is a computer program called "book collector".  It enables me to scan the isbn number on the cover of my books and build my own library database complete with dewey decimal numbers and everything.  I know you may be saying "what?'.  But it really is the perfect gift for anyone who has a lot of books, especially a preacher!

I downloaded the software this morning and ordered my scanner.  I have already been inputing some of my books manually (this will be much easier when my scanner comes).  Although she feels a little down because she didn't get to surprise me, I love my present!

My First Blog

I have been toying with the idea of starting a blog for quite sometime now and I have finally decided to give it a try.  I want to use this as an opportunity to keep my friends, family, and church updated on my journey in life.  I stay pretty busy between family, church, and seminary, but I'll try to keep it updated as much as possible.  Check back often to find out what is going on with me, my family, my church, seminary, and life in general.