MARCH MADNESS.....

I must admit this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love basketball. It is ironic that the last two places that I have pastored have been football states(Alabama and Georgia). I am rooting for Wake Forest, but I have......winning it all(got to keep somethings to myself). We have a busy weekend coming up at church. Tonight is the third installment of our "March Gladness" Revival. Pastor Delman Coates and Pastor Arthur Jackson III have already preached and it has been awesome thus far. I am excited that tonight, Pastor Jasmin Sculark is with us. I know that we are going to have a high time in the Lord. Tomorrow, we are having a Movie Night for our married and engaged couples, where we are viewing "Fireproof". On Saturday, there is a Mens Conference at Paine College and I have a wedding to officiate in the afternoon. Then it time to have worship on Sunday. Did I also mention that I am in the final leg of my doctoral work and I am trying to put the finishing touches on my project. Whew.......Needless to say, it has been a hectic time.

PS-Tomorrow also would have been my grandfather's 83rd birthday. Miss you Papa.

When God's Glory Fills the House....

What happens when God shows up in a mighty way and the GLORY of God fills a place. We had one of those worship experiences that leaves a believer speechless. The 11am service at Tabernacle yesterday was simply AMAZING. This came off of what i considered a pretty substandard 8am worship. Everything that could go wrong at the early service, did go wrong. Mics were not working, instruments were not being heard, and the atmosphere was not conducive in my opinion to receive the Word. I was preaching the 10th installment of my By Faith series through Hebrews Chapter 11. I preached a message entitled "When God Crosses His Hands" from Hebrews 11:21. I hope that I was faithful to the intent of the text.
The catalyst for the spiritual outpouring was our Mime Ministry, which performs on our Youth Sunday. They ministered to the song "Say Yes" and they performed with such passion and power. Even the kids seemed to be in a different place. There was utter pandemonium, to the point where I did not know which way to take the service. We still had not done the announcements, welcome, offering. We had an altar call and many joined the church. We preached and took up an offering and went home. Many were lingering in sanctuary even after the benediction because it was such a sweet spirit in the place. I must admit that I am still on a spiritual high. I have received so many emails from people who said they have never experienced anything like that before. In the book of Exodus, it speaks about a moment in the history of Israel where after they built the Tabernacle, that the Glory of God filled the Tabernacle that even Moses could not enter. It is my prayer that my life and the life of the church will not be the same and that all of us get to be closer to God, in a more intimate and real way. Soli Deo Gloria!!