It's 10:26pm Arizona time and 1:26am here in Baltimore Maryland. I am so honored to be here. My friend and brother, Dr. Emil Thomas has given me the opportunity to come back to the east coast and preach at the great Destiny Church where Emil serves as pastor.
The ocassion for this Sundays service at Destiny Church is the Men's Annual Day. Pray with and for me that our God will use me for His glory and our good.
In addition to my being here, I am also thrilled to have Bro. Robert Nettles Jr. and Sis. Gail Nettles from Canaan Church here with me. Bro. Nettles serves as a musician at CMBC and has come to represent the men of CMBC in song. Sis. Nettles has come at my invitation and of course more importantly to accompany her husband. That said, let me testify to the goodness and grace of our God when I say that Bro. Nettles' uncle passed away days after we made our reservations to come to the east coast. We had no idea his Uncle was going to go home to be with The Lord when the reservations were made. His Uncle lived in North Carolina. The home-going service for his Uncle is tomorrow. Bro. and Sis. Nettles would likely not have been on the east coast and therefore not able to make the funeral had we not already made arrangements to be here. Indeed God is good. The Lord knew that Bro. Nettles' Uncle was going to die and that the funeral service would be the same weekend we were already scheduled to be here.
Both Robert and Gail are on their way to Greensboro, N.C. now. Pray for their traveling grace and mercy. Pray that the funeral service is just what The Lord wants it to be. Now then, also remember to keep Deacon Robert Nettles Sr. (Robert Jr's father and brother of the deceased) and family in prayer. He arrived in N.C. yesterday.
Even after midnight there is something exciting about being here on the east coast.
Thank you Jesus for this blessed opportunity. Use me for your glory and our good.
Amen.
Safe In CHRIST,
Sherman J. Fort
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
GOSPEL PREACHING!
There is a deficit in our world when it comes to "Gospel" preaching.
That said, let me declare my thanks to our God for the fact that we still have a few preachers who have not bowed the knee to popularity and dare to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I've been honored to hear a few of those preachers lately. They include the Rev. Jerry Carter of Morristown New Jersey, the Rev. Emil Thomas of Baltimore Maryland, the Rev. Marvin Wiley of Maywood Illinois and the Rev. Fred Campbell of Redwood City California.
Thank you Lord for gospel preachers.
agape,
sherman fort
That said, let me declare my thanks to our God for the fact that we still have a few preachers who have not bowed the knee to popularity and dare to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I've been honored to hear a few of those preachers lately. They include the Rev. Jerry Carter of Morristown New Jersey, the Rev. Emil Thomas of Baltimore Maryland, the Rev. Marvin Wiley of Maywood Illinois and the Rev. Fred Campbell of Redwood City California.
Thank you Lord for gospel preachers.
agape,
sherman fort
"... I know the PLANS I have for you ..."
"For I know the plans I have for you, decleares The LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". -Proverbs 29:11
This popular and powerful passage of Scripture speaks in a different way to me than it has in times past.
In recent weeks I've been too busy. My mind has been occupied with a number of things ... all centered around family and ministry matters. To that end, I made a crucial mistake and completely forgot about a commitment I made to be the guest preacher at a sister church. I realized my mistake only after reading an email I received from a member of the church asking where I was?
You can imagine how bad I felt. How embarrassed I was. I immediately responded with apologies, gifts and a personal trip to the church. Nevertheless none of that takes away from the fact that I made a major mistake. In a real sense you could say that I failed to plan correctly.
The LORD God has a plan for each and every one of us. I desire to make my life line up with His plan for me. I'm convinced that I've made decisions apart from His counsel and His plan for my life. I am not saying that I missed my appointment because it was not part of God's plan for my life. What I am saying is that I need to- and have begun taking a step back to re-assess my plans. Making sure they line up with His plan for me.
It is true when we fail to plan, we plan to fail.
I don't want to fail in my planning to follow The LORD's plan for my life.
agape,
sherman fort
This popular and powerful passage of Scripture speaks in a different way to me than it has in times past.
In recent weeks I've been too busy. My mind has been occupied with a number of things ... all centered around family and ministry matters. To that end, I made a crucial mistake and completely forgot about a commitment I made to be the guest preacher at a sister church. I realized my mistake only after reading an email I received from a member of the church asking where I was?
You can imagine how bad I felt. How embarrassed I was. I immediately responded with apologies, gifts and a personal trip to the church. Nevertheless none of that takes away from the fact that I made a major mistake. In a real sense you could say that I failed to plan correctly.
The LORD God has a plan for each and every one of us. I desire to make my life line up with His plan for me. I'm convinced that I've made decisions apart from His counsel and His plan for my life. I am not saying that I missed my appointment because it was not part of God's plan for my life. What I am saying is that I need to- and have begun taking a step back to re-assess my plans. Making sure they line up with His plan for me.
It is true when we fail to plan, we plan to fail.
I don't want to fail in my planning to follow The LORD's plan for my life.
agape,
sherman fort
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
SOME GREAT PREACHERS!
Recently I've had several opportunities to hear some really great preaching!
Pastor Fredrick L. Fairley Sr. recently hosted what he calls the S.T.P. Bible conference at his church, Berean Church in Phoenix Arizona.
The special guest preachers and facilitators were Rev., Dr. Warren H. Stewart Sr., from Phoenix, AZ.; Rev., Dr. Jerry Carter from Morristown New Jersey; Rev., Dr. Emil M. Thomas, from Washington, D.C.; and Rev. Welton Pleasant from Long Beach, CA. Host Pastor Fairley also preached over the weekend and I was blessed to teach a session on Bible Interpretation.
The preaching and teaching over the weekend were wonderful. While Dr. Emil Thomas has preached at Canaan several times, his preaching this weekend once again was refreshing and challenging. He preached a sermon titled: Dig A Ditch! My, my, my. I was really challenged on a personal level to "dig a ditch"... that is make an investment, deposit and plan for my blessing in The LORD. Thank you Pastor Thomas
Due to a meeting I had at Canaan on Saturday, I was unable to stay and hear Pastor Jerry Carter. However, I heard The Lord used him in great ways as well. He is a well known preacher and teacher of The Gospel.
It goest without saying that Dr. Stewart, Pastor Welton Pleasant and Pastor Fredrick Fairley all came prepared and ready to share as well.
Thank you Jesus for Gospel preachers and teachers.
agape,
pastor fort
Pastor Fredrick L. Fairley Sr. recently hosted what he calls the S.T.P. Bible conference at his church, Berean Church in Phoenix Arizona.
The special guest preachers and facilitators were Rev., Dr. Warren H. Stewart Sr., from Phoenix, AZ.; Rev., Dr. Jerry Carter from Morristown New Jersey; Rev., Dr. Emil M. Thomas, from Washington, D.C.; and Rev. Welton Pleasant from Long Beach, CA. Host Pastor Fairley also preached over the weekend and I was blessed to teach a session on Bible Interpretation.
The preaching and teaching over the weekend were wonderful. While Dr. Emil Thomas has preached at Canaan several times, his preaching this weekend once again was refreshing and challenging. He preached a sermon titled: Dig A Ditch! My, my, my. I was really challenged on a personal level to "dig a ditch"... that is make an investment, deposit and plan for my blessing in The LORD. Thank you Pastor Thomas
Due to a meeting I had at Canaan on Saturday, I was unable to stay and hear Pastor Jerry Carter. However, I heard The Lord used him in great ways as well. He is a well known preacher and teacher of The Gospel.
It goest without saying that Dr. Stewart, Pastor Welton Pleasant and Pastor Fredrick Fairley all came prepared and ready to share as well.
Thank you Jesus for Gospel preachers and teachers.
agape,
pastor fort
Friday, August 6, 2010
CMBC MARRIAGE RETREAT 2010 PRE-CONFERENCE NOTE!
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
-Genesis 1:26-28
This Scripture is but one of many Bible verses that speak to and about marriage. Even though it is becoming increasingly popular to live together without the benefit and blessing of marriage, The Word of God is clear... marriage is God's doing.
Please join me in prayer for the couple's of Canaan Missionary Baptist Church who are participating in this years Marriage Retreat. We will be at the beautiful Prescott Resort in Prescott Arizona. Various couples from our church will be leading our discussions on a variety topics that are relevant to Christian marriage.
My prayer for Christian couples everywhere is that we will honor God by living out what His Word teaches us about marriage. I pray that our witness will be both verbal and non-verbal. That we will witness with our walk as well as our talk. I pray that Christian couples would encourage one another, ... "hang out" with one another and learn to love, serve and sacrifice as Jesus Christ does.
Pray for our safe passage to and from Prescott Arizona. Pray for the leaders of our Couple's Ministry, Bro. Daryl and Sis. Jennifer Dorsey. They've worked hard to plan a memorable time for us all with Jesus Christ at the center of our weekend.
Agape,
Pastor Fort
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
-Genesis 1:26-28
This Scripture is but one of many Bible verses that speak to and about marriage. Even though it is becoming increasingly popular to live together without the benefit and blessing of marriage, The Word of God is clear... marriage is God's doing.
Please join me in prayer for the couple's of Canaan Missionary Baptist Church who are participating in this years Marriage Retreat. We will be at the beautiful Prescott Resort in Prescott Arizona. Various couples from our church will be leading our discussions on a variety topics that are relevant to Christian marriage.
My prayer for Christian couples everywhere is that we will honor God by living out what His Word teaches us about marriage. I pray that our witness will be both verbal and non-verbal. That we will witness with our walk as well as our talk. I pray that Christian couples would encourage one another, ... "hang out" with one another and learn to love, serve and sacrifice as Jesus Christ does.
Pray for our safe passage to and from Prescott Arizona. Pray for the leaders of our Couple's Ministry, Bro. Daryl and Sis. Jennifer Dorsey. They've worked hard to plan a memorable time for us all with Jesus Christ at the center of our weekend.
Agape,
Pastor Fort
Monday, August 2, 2010
Preaching In Tucson Arizona - Calling A Pastor
On Sunday, August 22, 2010 I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to preach at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Tucson Arizona. I've been honored to preach at this a number of times over the past several years. The congregation is sincere and the people are special.
The church does not have a pastor right now. In fact, November 2009 marked the completion of their first year without a pastor. For those of you who are believers in Jesus Christ please pray with and for the Mount Calvary B.C. family that they will soon have the pastor that GOD has chosen for them.
That said, I am convinced that many of our churches, baptist church in particular do not use a Biblical model in "calling" a pastor. I've been brooding over this for some now. Most recently I've had several conversations with my pastor and another preacher friend who I respect about the matter.
We seem to forget that the church is a THEOcracy. Not a democracy. That is to say the church is GOD-driven and GOD governed. I fear that sometime we mess up what God has planned by entering into a democratic, secular driven process to call a pastor.
We certainly will do well with focusing more on prayer and seeking God's direction where this matter is concerned.
Mount Calvary B.C., in Tucson Arizona is a church that has nothing but an "Up" side as far as I can tell. I am praying with and for them that The GOD's will is done there. I commend them on having several pastors to come and declare The Word of God to them. I was honored to be in that number this time around.
Safe in CHRIST,
Sherman J. Fort
The church does not have a pastor right now. In fact, November 2009 marked the completion of their first year without a pastor. For those of you who are believers in Jesus Christ please pray with and for the Mount Calvary B.C. family that they will soon have the pastor that GOD has chosen for them.
That said, I am convinced that many of our churches, baptist church in particular do not use a Biblical model in "calling" a pastor. I've been brooding over this for some now. Most recently I've had several conversations with my pastor and another preacher friend who I respect about the matter.
We seem to forget that the church is a THEOcracy. Not a democracy. That is to say the church is GOD-driven and GOD governed. I fear that sometime we mess up what God has planned by entering into a democratic, secular driven process to call a pastor.
We certainly will do well with focusing more on prayer and seeking God's direction where this matter is concerned.
Mount Calvary B.C., in Tucson Arizona is a church that has nothing but an "Up" side as far as I can tell. I am praying with and for them that The GOD's will is done there. I commend them on having several pastors to come and declare The Word of God to them. I was honored to be in that number this time around.
Safe in CHRIST,
Sherman J. Fort
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