Notes by Lance Lewis
'You young ministers need to stop running ahead of the pastor and be quiet until you’ve been through something with God.' I received the call to ministry at the ripe young age of 19 and can’t tell you how many times I heard older ministers chastise us youngsters for our brashness and bravado. The scheduled ‘youth rebuke’ was usually given by some assistant pastor who in my view was simply too envious of the fact that their ministry and life hadn’t turned out to be what they’d hoped.
Over the next serveral days we'll post the messages of the 2006 Knowledge of the Holy Conference. The conference hosted by Rev. Louis Love of New Life Fellowship Church of Vernon Hills featured Rev. Anthony Carter and Rev. Sherard Burns preaching on the attributes of the living God.
We're featuring these messages in light of the 2007 edition of the conference the theme of which is 'The Godly Life'. This year's speakers are Rev. Anthony Carter and Rev. Thabiti Anyabwile. For more information please visit the conference home page and by all means please pray that God will use the conference to bless our people with the knowlege of His holiness which spurs us to pursue the godly life. Hope to see you there!
Looking for some good, sound, solid preaching? Good, you'd do well to prioritize your week, get some rest on Saturday night and purpose to attend your local church with an open heart and ready mind. Participate in the sermon by listening actively and asking yourself how the message is moving you to consider God's character and nature as expressed in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
Our brother Reddit Andrews concludes his insights in a message from the book of Jonah. Also check out the message he preached from Jonah 1:1-6. Rev. Andrews serves as the pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church in Sacramento CA.
Our brother Reddit Andrews provides some wise and godly insight in a message from the book of Jonah. Also check out the message he preached from Jonah 1:1-6. Rev. Andrews serves as the pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church in Sacramento CA.
Talk about a lineup. Plans are being set for the upcoming Miami Pastors Conference and if you’re still wavering the time is now to jump of the fence. Not only will we have our starting lineup of the usual suspects (Jones, Armstrong, Burns, Carter and Leach) but coming off the bench we have Anyabwile, Andrews, Baucham and Campbell. And you thought the Celts creamed the Lakers in game 6. Wait till these brothers let loose with both barrels on bad theology, good theology and what thus says the Lord to His church through His church. Early registration closes the first week in October so make your plans now and join us courtside for Miami 08.
I know your shelves are full but these three are a must have. And since I'm convinced that they will both edify, challenge and inspire you I'm giving away two copies of each book. Just drop a line in the comment section and tell me why you want the book and why you believe they're important in your life and ministry right now.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. Our goal is to feature sound, reformed, biblical preaching from African-American pastors. Our hope is that more and more people will their interest piqued and develop an appetite for true biblical preaching. In the coming weeks we'll hear from brothers who are working through the epistles, psalms, gospels, Acts of the Apostles and books of the law. Please pray for our efforts and refer this site and the sermons on it to friends and relatives who could benefit from a good sermon from a faithful man of God.
In the past several months I’ve had the opportunity of giving the charge to three friends of mine entering the ministry. One was installed as the pastor of a church plant and two others were ordained to the gospel ministry. I enjoyed each of the occasions. The worship, fellowship with God’s people and the privilege of exhorting these good brothers was a blessing to my soul.
Lastly, the early Church made prayer a priority. Luke tells us that, “all these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer.”
What sort of Church experiences undeniably, extraordinary outpourings of the Holy Spirit? This is a question that must always be pondered in the devout heart. It is one we can never cease to ask if we believe that there are depths of Jesus’ love and the Spirit’s power we’ve yet to experience in our individual and corporate lives. It is perhaps one of the most relevant questions we at SOPC can ask ourselves as we begin our year together in our new facility.
Our brother and favorite 2nd veep Eric Redmond has a new book answering many of the common questions relating to the absence of black men in the church. The book offers straightfoward answers to some of the common excuses given by men who've either left or were never apart of the black church. You can follow this link to pre-order the book now. Praise the Lord for our brother who has given us an excellent resource to dialogue with our brothers, fathers, cousins, nephews and sons about where they are and where they need to be.
It's conference time already (although lately it seems as though it's always conference time in reformedville).
Anyway our brother Eric Redmond is scheduled to speak at the 2008 Mid South Conference on Christ and Culture to be held on Friday May 2nd and Saturday May 3rd in Tupelo MS. You can click this link for more information.
The fellow elder Thabiti Anyabwile will speak at this year's Together for the Gospel Conference scheduled to take place on Tuesday April 15th to Thursday April 17th in Louisville KY. You can find more on that conference here.
Please pray for these brothers as they declare God's word and seek to edify His people.
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These are intriguing, interesting, uncertain and providential times. On the one hand it seems as though biblical Christianity is fading from the African-American cultural landscape. That’s not to say that the trappings of the faith have disappeared only a good deal of its substance. It appears to matter little to ask if individual black folks believe in God or have ‘a personal relationship with Jesus Christ’.
The messages from this year's New Life Bible Conference are now available on their website. The theme was The Book of Galatians: What Difference Does the Gospel Make.
The speakers were Louis Love Jr., Anthony Carter, Thabiti Anyabwile, Sherard Burns and Stephen Love. You can listen to the conference here and as you do whet your appetite for next years event.
Since we’re under the power of sin we have developed a reputation before God. It is vital to understand how God sees us. This is especially significant because many of us rationalize and justify our sin by saying to ourselves and others ‘I’m not hurting anyone’. We’ve somehow arrived at the notion that as long as my rebellion doesn’t harm a third party then it my own business. We fail to realize that any act of sin, is a declaration of defiant rebellion which says to the Lord, that we are the final judge regarding what is right and wrong. Having done so, we engage in actions that serve to create, cause, and perpetuate chaos in His universe. So when God looks down on us He views a people who are unrighteous, uninterested, unworthy, and unable.
About a year and half ago I caught some of ‘An Officer and A Gentlemen on one of those UHF stations. That’s the movie where Louis Gossett Jr. earned a well deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. At one point in the movie Gossett’s character catches Richard Gere’s character with contraband. After sending the rest of the squad to their first weekend pass Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley (Gossett’s character) does his best to get Zack Mayo to voluntarily quit.
One of my favorite forms of entertainment is the courtroom drama. Whether in the movies or on t.v. I like to see the tension, and suspense in the courtroom as two sides articulately, precisely, and passionately argue their case before a jury. The climax of most courtroom dramas is the announcement of the verdict.
Someone once asked me the difference between the ministry and my former job at corporate America. I responded that in at least one way the difference is simple. In corporate America I got in at eight, left at four-thirty and for the most part the job stayed there. My evenings and all my weekends were mine to do with as I pleased. Had I wanted to advance in the company I could have worked more hours, took on extra tasks, traveled more and even sought to relocate a few times. But I didn’t have to. I could be content doing a good job, showing up with a positive attitude, working with integrity and collecting a paycheck.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 2 Tim. 4:1-2.
Yet what is biblical preaching?