Sunday Stuff

-Wow what a day! I am physically spent after an equally long and exciting day in worship with God's people. We started out at 8 AM at the First Hopewell Baptist Church in Newark for their Men's Day Celebration. First Hopewell just installed their new pastor, Rev. Antonio Porter, and to my delight, they are excited and very happy that God has sent them a new shepherd. I had the pleasure of hearing Pastor Porter give the closing message on last Friday at the end of the 104th Annual Session of the General State Baptist Convention of New Jersey, and let me tell you, he delivered an outstanding message that really seemed to connect with the conventioneers. In our state, it is really difficult for younger Pastors to receive warm receptions from the attendees of our convention who are mostly older, but Pastor Porter really did a good job.

-As for the worship at First Hopewell, it was outstanding! The members of that church really know how to respond to biblical exposition. Worship was high energy from the time we entered into the sanctuary, until I gave the benediction. Please keep this growing congregation in your prayers as they latch on to the vision of their new Pastor.

-At 10 AM, we continued our focus at FMZBC on our Month of Unity called Unity: An Open Door Towards A Brighter Tomorrow, with our attempt at exposition on I Corinthians 1:10, which I labeled A Divided House Will Not Stand. Paul writes this letter to the Corinthian Church because they were in serious trouble. They had become a defiled church, in that their members engaged in sexual immoralities, drunkeness and they took the grace of God for granted to excuse their sinful ways. They were also a divided church, as there were four different groups that were competing for leadership at the church. Because they were a defiled church and a divided church they became a disgraced church. Paul tells them in verse 10 that there be no divisions among them. This word division in the Greek means to rip or tear apart, and they were letting these factions that competed for leadership, rip and tear this church apart. Paul says that the only way to fight off this division in the church, they must not look towards their own selfishness, but they must look towards Jesus Christ.