Notes from Sunday -07/12/09

We had a good day of worship at Shiloh yesterday. I have a “hard saying” to preach. But as the saying goes, difficult texts make good preachers. If so, I became a better preacher for struggling with the text this week. And I pray that the church was made the better for hearing the word.

One the practical benefits of verse-by-verse exposition is that it forces you to deal with passages and subjects that you would otherwise avoid. This discipline helps us to preach the whole council of God, not just our favorite subjects.

Praise God for those who were baptized as a public expression of their faith in Jesus Christ.

In my New Members Class, I continued to teach on the church. I spend our time surveying the two places in scripture where the Lord Jesus directly mentions the church – Matthew 16:13-20 and 18:15-20. I look forward to continuing my look at Matthew 18 next Sunday.

I was excited to get the pulpit after spending a week at an expository preaching conference. I was reminded that I have so much to work on to be a better preacher. But I left encouraged to work harder at my craft, so that I may be the clean, sharp, and ready tool in the hands of the Lord.

I concluded our study of Philippians 1 with a message on verses 29-30, entitled, “The Gift of Suffering.”

Next Sunday’s message: “A Call to Spiritual Unity” (Philippians 2:1-5).

It took me ten sermons to get through Philippians 1. I did not expect it to take that long. I plan to get through chapter 2 in seven messages.

Thank God for those who were added to the church in our services yesterday.

Our Vacation Bible School begins today. Please remember the workers and children in your prayers. May the Lord draw these precious children to himself through the ministry of the word this week. And may the have a good time in VBS as well!