A Few Thoughts On Preaching
I can remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was sitting in a revival service in First Baptist Church in Moss Point, Mississippi. The night before my girlfriend (who is now my wife), surrendered to full-time Christian service. The Lord had been stirring in my heart regarding ministry in the months prior to that
Evangelistically Speaking
written by: Michael Catt Southern Baptists like to brag about being a denomination of 15 million plus. We are (in our opinion) the biggest and the best. Truth be known (and we all know it) we are probably closer to 8 million. If all our churches cleaned up their rolls, the picture would be more
How Do You Feel About Praise Choruses?
written by: Michael Catt I remember when I was pastoring in another state, one of the elderly deacons came to me and said, “When are we going to stop singing those little ditties?” I asked him what he was referring to. He mentioned the song and I reminded him that the song was taken directly
What Kind of Vessel Are You?
written by: Michael Catt In Second Timothy Chapter two, Paul wrote these words to a young minister named Timothy. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” ( 2 Timothy 2:21, NASU). Other translations read: “a vessel unto
Spurgeon’s Sermon
The following outline has been adapted and abbreviated from Spurgeon’s Sermon Notes published by Hendrickson Publishers, pages 211-214 Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” WHAT MEANS THIS WORD ‘LOOK’ IN REFERENCE TO GOD? It includes many things;
God’s Significant Squares of Real Estate
written by: Michael Catt Several years back, I got an email from my friend, Tom Sanders. I pulled it out the other day and read it again. It stirred my thoughts and hopefully, it will stir your mind and heart to action. Quoting Tom, “I think that somewhere in the big scheme of things, there
Baseball and the Baptist
When the choir enters the service, it’s time to play ball. Too late now to run to the concession stand. Your only hope is that “the game” doesn’t go into extra innings. Batter Up The minister of music moves into the box (pulpit) and waves his arms around (he’s loosening up). He plans to send
I Don’t Get Home Much Anymore
From the day I was born, until the day I went off to college, my home address was 1414 Lafayette Ave., Pascagoula, Mississippi. My parents lived in the same house for nearly fifty years. After dad died, we sold the house. For the first time in fifty years, the house is not owned by a
Do You Ever Feel Like You Can’t Win?
All of us have experienced the honeymoon stage in a new church. It’s the time when the pulpit committee thinks they’ve called the Apostle Paul, when the little old ladies class thinks you are the best looking preacher in town and when the overwhelming majority believe in you. However, something happens along the way. Sooner
Even the Lunchroom Lady Eats Lunch
I was sitting at breakfast the other day, eating with one of our college students. He believes God has called him into the ministry, so on occasion, we get together to eat and talk. During the breakfast, he conducted an interview with me on ‘what’s working and what’s not’ for his seminary class. I really
The All You Can Eat Buffet
There’s an incredible emphasis these days on the food we eat. If you go in a grocery store, you’ll find health conscious moms reading the ingredients on everything from Frosted Flakes to Granola. You would think they were reading the Torah. We are obsessed with health in America. Although we are the most obese nation
Things They Forgot To Tell Me In Seminary
As I look back over my ministry of nearly thirty years, I am reminded of some painful lessons I learned along the way. Although I’ve never received combat pay in the ministry, I’ve been in situations where warfare was a fairly accurate description of what was going on. As I’ve accessed the memory files of