DEEP // WIDE // LIGHT

To my brothers and sisters in Christ in Philadelphia, Mississippi , After several months of intense prayer, I and Marion and the kids all believe that God is calling us away from Philadelphia. We believe that we have been called to move from Philadelphia to Clinton, Mississippi. We are staying here through the end of the school year, and through all of the graduation ceremonies, and my last day will be Friday, May 27, 2016. I have accepted God’s call to a new ministry opportunity. The church is Wynndale Baptist Church , just south of Jackson in Terry, MS. The ministry is Associate Pastor of Students and Missions. It is exciting to imagine how God might use me (1)in ministry to students and their families, (2)in ministry to this church as an associate pastor, and (3)in ministry in this congregation’s missions efforts as they seek to fulfill the Great Commission. We are also excited about how God might use Marion in her continued work with the STEM Institute at Mississi

I shared the following words at the memorial service for Angela Michelle Wilson , at Oak Forest Baptist Church, in Jackson, Mississippi, on February 6, 2016.  Today is a celebration. Do you remember how easily Angela celebrated? Her smile? How easily she could love people? Do you know why? Angela would want you to know why she smiled so often! At the family’s request, I want to share with all of you why she smiled so much… why she loved so easily. As I tell you why, I want you to notice two stories happening at the same time: God’s story of his son Jesus, and God’s story of his daughter Angela. PART 1 – CREATION These stories start in the beginning. As in, the very beginning. The beginning of the Bible describes how our world came into existence. It says, “In the beginning, Godcreated the heavens and the earth.” Some of the things we all love – sunsets, a summer rain, loving animals, majestic mountains, the sound of waves on the beach – God made them all.

Sanctification : being made holy, or being set apart It happens every time we attend a Jesus conference or camp! We are reminded of the bad news of sin and the good news of forgiveness and love, and we turn back to God. Time after time, students experience this phenomenon. Praise God for his working! And yet… The next question on their young hearts is always the same:  “What can I do to feel this close to God back home?”  The frequent concern in the older hearts of adults is similar:  “Why do I not always feel close to God?”  There is a single answer to both questions – sanctification. The words of John the Baptizer ( John 3:30 ) fit quite nicely here to explain it succinctly: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The first time we claim that Jesus has become our Master, the first time we ask forgiveness of a holy God, we are set free from sin’s chains; we are saved from sin. Because the perfection of Jesus has been exchanged with our sin, we are holy en