Notes from Sunday -10/27/08

We had a good day of worship at Shiloh. Both services were a blessing to be a part of and, more importantly, I believe God was glorified.

Shiloh is the first church I have worshiped in that has all-male ushers. This is totally new to me. But it is a great thing to see so many men actively serving in church. May their tribe increase. No apologies.

I was greatly encouraged to have the youth choir participate in the 10 AM worship service. I don't know what to say but praise the Lord.

I preached on one of my favorite verses in the Bible - Romans 8:28. I entitled the message, "The Ironic Providence of God."

I had an interesting week of sermon preparation. More than a month ago, when I mapped out my preaching schedule for October, I determined that I would preach Romans 8:28 on 10/27. However, as the weeks went by and I worked through my mini-series on prayer, I began to waver. With all the economic turmoil, I wanted to preach something that would address Christianity's counter-cultural perspective on money matters. I was torn between two sermons at the beginning of the week. But by midweek, I landed on a third message. But Saturday evening, it wouldn't stick with me. I concluded that I was just tired and went to bed. But early Sunday morning, as I began to prepare for worship, I still couldn't think through this message. So I stopped and asked for direction. And Romans 8:28 began to weigh on me heavily. And I was sure that was what I should preach. Praise God I was finally able to stand to preach with a sense that I was on assignment. This happens to all preachers from time to time. But God is faithful.

The Dallas Cowboys got an ugly win at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-9. But a win is a win. We'll take it.

The Jaguars suffered a tough home loss to the Cleveland Browns 17-23.