On Wednesday evenings at my place of worship, service and fellowship we attend and participate in prayer and Bible study. It is also there that we purpose in our hearts to be more than ordinary servants for an extraordinary God. The format for the service follows what I reference as the four W’s: Welcome, Worship, War (prayer) and finally, Word (Bible study). During the War segment of our Wednesday evening service, individuals present prayer requests as well as testimonials of praise.
Read MoreAs I shared in last week’s blog, the word “mercy” at one time was a commonly used word with the correct appropriation in the church. However, its usage in spiritual settings that are contemporary and culturally-centered has consequently caused the majesty and mandate of mercy to be diminished. You see, mercy is majestic because it comes from Sovereign God. In addition, mercy has a mandate to mitigate the judgment that we deserve. Mercy should not be supplanted by sentimentalism. God’s mercy eradicates any emotionalism that encourages an inaccurate understanding. A mind and heart moved by the Master’s mercy enables us to embrace the magnitude of what our egregious sin demanded (death) by a Holy God.
Read More“May God have mercy upon your soul" is considered a common communication that is connected to courts in various legal systems. Judges typically echo this statement when pronouncing a sentence of death upon an individual that has been convicted of a crime that comes with a death sentence. On a lighter note, it’s possible that many of you were raised in homes where your parents were de-facto judges because you provided a platform for pronouncement for the Lord’s mercy due to your conduct. How many times do you recall your Mother saying, “Lord, have mercy”? Usually this expression of the Lord having mercy is associated with context…
Read MoreGod is generously gracious to give us life in this world. However, we must also be aware that in this world we will wrestle and sometimes walk into trails or storms that we did not prerecord in our individual itineraries.
Read MoreThe other day I was interested in going to the local grocery store to pick up some produce. Speaking of grocery store, as a kid I never referenced the nomenclature. Supermarket, convenient store, grocery store were all basically called “the store”. As I was saying, the purpose of my recent trip to the grocery store was to look for some fruit. Upon entering the produce department, I did not casually select a few items and leave. The fruit I was looking for had to be examined in order for me to entertain the idea of taking it home for my enjoyment. Just as God designed various trees with the ability to produce fruit, He also gave us the capacity to produce spiritual fruit for the purpose to being shared by the body of Christ to enjoy. Just as I subjected the fruit in the store to an examination, God also wants us to examine our spiritual fruit.
Read MoreFor this week’s blog, I like you to consider with me a word or term that you will not find in the dictionary. However, I submit to you that this word is a consistent characteristic of a carnal church. The word Churchianity is a word that I am employing for our edification. It is a word that reflects a church that is rigid in rules and rejects the truth of a real relationship with the Lord made possible by His grace and gift of eternal life through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Read MoreHarvesting is defined as the process of gathering a supply of something that has reached maturity and is then stored. Another word for maturity is complete. I submit to you that evidence of a growing Christian is his or her capacity to harvest humility.
Read MoreOne of the core beliefs of secular humanists is that through science and reason they can conclude that their existence is independent from any divine creator. Consequently, they determine that they are the center and catalyst for civilization. Consider the following excerpt from their Manifesto:...
Read MoreWe all enjoy new things that bring us happiness: new people, places and things. There is something invigorating and refreshing about newness. We typically try to avoid what is stale, dull and dry! Like, who wants toast that is SDD – stale, dull and dry? I prefer my toast hot, soft, saturated with butter and blessed with a lot of strawberry jelly! Did you know that the manna that came from heaven had strawberry jelly on it! No that's the PBKV – Pastor Bernard King Version.
Read More“HE IS NOT HERE, FOR HE IS RISEN” is a statement that emphatically echoes the eternal truth that transcends all others. Faiths which are not rooted in a resurrected Lord and Savior result in the following consequences:
No Resurrection = No Reason to Live
No Resurrection = No Relationship
No Resurrection = No Right Religion
No Resurrection = No Reality of Heaven and Eternal Life
Are you rejoicing in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?