Okaay! I Will... I Will.... I Will Blog!

I am back to the Blog! Regardless of Facebook and any other network; I will return to the blog each morning. You must know that its quite humbling when you ask me to blog and why I have not blogged. To know that you care enough about me to want to know what I'm thinking or what's going on in my life is amazing.

Now of course somewhere in my innermost; I know that a bit of it is nosy, however; all of us are, but only a few of us are willing to admit it! As you may know, I'm in the homestretch of a few things! One and most important at the time is the 100th Church Anniversary celebration of Mount Olivet Baptist Church. This has been an awsome year. Never imagined it being so demanding of our time, energy, efforts and money as it has been. I should have known it because this is my 3rd 100th Church Anniversary Celebration within my career. All of them are entirely the same. I remember coming out of my last 100th year Celebration with Mount Calvary and not wishing that tedious year long journey upon any of my friends..... Well, I must not be friends with myself! I walked right into a brand new ministry embarking upon its 100th year! What does that mean? It means that there has not been breathing room since landing in Rochester. Thus; so many wonderful things have happened within this year. You probably know about ALL of the events! Stay tuned each day now to the Blog! These are also the final days of my Doctoral Work at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. Pray for me as this Thesis is being prepared.

The Just Shall Live By Faith

Habakkuk is troubled over; Jehovah’s silence: how long wilt thou be silent? Judah’s sins: There is destruction, spoiling, violence, arguing, fighting, and injustice everywhere.
He asks God a question; Will Judah be punished? Jehovah God responds, Judah will be punished. The soldiers: God will use the Babylonians, The severity: They are notorious for their cruelty. The symbols: Their soldiers are like Swift leopards, Fierce wolves, Devouring eagles, The scorn: They laugh at their enemies, holding them in great contempt. He asks God a 2nd Question, Will Babylon be punished? Babylon is more wicked than Judah. Jehovah god responds, Babylon will be punished. The record: God tells Habakkuk to write the vision on a tablet in large, clear letters so that everyone can get the message. The reassurance: Even though it might appear that God is delaying judgment, Babylon will eventually be crushed.
The righteous: Until then, the just shall live by faith.
Those who are Upright and Moral must live by faith,
Those who are Honorable and Truthful must live by faith,
Those who are Righteous and Honest must live by faith,
Those who are Virtuous and Reputable must live by faith,
Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
Substance comes from the words Sub and Stance,
Sub means under, Stance means Stand,
So Faith is something Under you that you Stand on……
You've got to believe that;
God rewards those who diligently seek Him, and Stand on it!The best of your days are ahead of you, and Stand on it!This sickness is not unto death, and Stand on it!
All is not lost with my son, with my daughter, and Stand on it!
All is not lost with my marriage, and Stand on it!God aloud some Ruthless, Callous, Coldblooded, Hardhearted, Insensitive, Babylonian to almost destroy your marriage, Some low-cut wearing, big-chested, high heel stepping Babylonian,
And that's what Habakkuk is saying about the Babylonians, God they're worst than Judah and you use them to punish Judah,
God responds by saying,
You've got to believe that whatever happens in your life, Its for the good of those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose, and Stand on it!
You say, but Lord, I don’t see it,
He says, The Just Shall Live by Faith!
And if you can see it, It's not Faith!
The Record (2:1–2): God tells Habakkuk to write the vision,
The Reassurance (2:3) Wait and See, today the Lord says, Wait and See,
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
The Righteous (2:4): Until then, the just shall live by faith.
We cannot see in the future,
We cannot see through dark clouds,
We cannot see through tear drops, but walk on by faith each day,
On Monday, walk on, On Tuesday, Walk on,
Let Jesus carry your load, for He can see way down the road,
Walk on by faith each day!
The Reasons (2:5–13, 15–19):
God will judge Babylon for her many sins:
Drunkenness and greed (2:5)
Brutal treatment of the nations (2:6)
The shedding of blood (2:7–13)
Being merchants of terror (2:15–16)
Destroying other lands (2:17)
Gross idolatry (2:18–19)
The Respect (2:20): “The Lord is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.”
The Lord is already here,
Can't you feel His presence, He's already here,
All you got to do, open up your heard, He's already here,
And so God says to Habakkuk, I'm already here,
In the midst of your suffering,
In the midst of your pain,
In the midst of your fears,
In the midst of recession, job losses, sickness and worry,
Somebody said, how do you know?
I just know it, He's here right now. I believe it. I receive it!
I know that the Just shall Live by Faith.
Live by Faith,
Breath by Faith,
Believe by Faith,
Talk by Faith,
Walk by Faith,
Understand by Faith,
Praise God by Faith,
Love Him by Faith,

Doesn't Matter What You Call it...

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ... Who in your life helps you see the beauty and power of who you are? While we need to look inside for direction, we can also benefit from the support and fresh perspectives of those who know and care about us. You don't have to walk the path alone.

May 22nd Concert

Mother's Day Sermon 2010

In everything that you’ve needed to know, somewhere along the line a mom probably taught you. Mothers taught us LOGIC: "If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me," as well as, "If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you do it too?" Mothers taught us MEDICINE: "If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way." Mothers taught us TO THINK AHEAD: "If you don’t pass your spelling test, you’ll never get a good job!" Mothers taught us TO MEET A CHALLENGE: "What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...... Don’t talk back to me!" HUMOR: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me." BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up. GENETICS: "You are just like your father!" ROOTS: "Do you think you were born in a barn?" WISDOM of AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand," or, "I will explain it all when you get older." ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until your father gets home." RECEIVING: “You are going to get it when I get you home.” The all time favorite thing mothers taught us, JUSTICE: "One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you’ll see what it’s like! I can’t wait!"

Eunice was Timothy’s mother, She was the wife of a pagan Greek; She was a “Jewish woman who was a believer” Lois was Eunice's Mother and Timothy's Grandmother.
Eunice taught her son Scriptures “from childhood” (2 Tm 3:15). Eunice, Greek Εὐνίκη Euníkē; It's a feminine proper noun. Meaning "happily victorious". Mother's were singing "Victory is mine" before the song ever was written or recorded. Lois, Greek, Agreeable; desirable, she's described as a "Good" woman. It is right therefore to connect this home training of Timothy in the fear of God, with his conversion to the gospel. The Apostle Paul loved Timothy as if he were his own son. He writes to him, in verse 5 "I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 2 Timothy 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Mothers Have a Sincere Faith
Mothers Have Stable Faith,
Mothers Have A Stable Faith
“The faith of my mother stirs my soul!”
“Nobody can pray like my mother can!”
“Nobody can stir the heart of God like my mother can.”

Mother's Day 2010

What a nice Mother's Day Service at Mount Olivet Baptist Church today....Actually a sweet day today and the spirit of the Lord was in the place.... Our Organist Mr. Lewis Banks was moved in the spirit and blessed us with his testimony.... Powerful piece in the service today. "Not a normal brother" but one whom the Lord has anointed. Nice... Todays Message; 2 Timothy 1:5, "The Legacy of Faith" of Eunice and Lois... they both had Sincere Faith, Stable Faith, and Stirring Faith.... Lord knows I enjoyed delivering that message to the people of God today! hmmmm hmmmm He's a Good God.... Happy Mother's Day to each of the lovely Mother's in Blog land! I must be the most blessed Men in the world to have so many beautiful mothers in my life. I wont post my Rochester Mothers for fear of missing one. Im blessed, Im blessed! Thank God for Moma and the wonderful Mothers of my life!

Good Friday in Buffalo

Nearly One Hundred and Fifty or more of the members of Mount Olivet Baptist Church and our friends in the city joined us on a trip to Buffalo, New York on Good Friday to be with the my Pops and Mom William and Wanda Bunton and the Antioch Baptist Church 1327 Fillmore Avenue. This was so special to me in that I started in my formative years preaching here in Buffalo back in the late 1980's. This was of course the first time that I could attend with my church and boy oh boy did we have our church there. Mount Olivet is second to none in supporting their pastor. They make no bones about it; they love me and they know that Yvonne, Rishard, Rickey Jr and I love them. Ricketa and Rico love Mount Olivet dearly as well.. and would be right here with the family if they were in Rochester. Antioch cooked and served our people a wonderful hearty meal filled with so much love that you could taste it in the food. While we had been in service each morning at 5:00am for Holy Week Services it didnt stop the choir from piling onto the chartered bus and vans and cars for Buffalo. Yvonne and I are so thankful to have such a congregation! It was clear to Antioch that we came to worship just as Antioch's choir made it clear to us that they came to lift him up as well. I really enjoyed preaching the "Story of Good Friday"

Pastor's Leadership Conference

Perhaps it was one of the finest and most productive "Leadership Conferences" ever. Though some of my Leaders were on travel, at work and/or commited otherwise about sixty of them showed up for our Pastor's Leadership Conference 2010. We covered both our Vision and Mission Statements which we always want to keep before our Leaders who in turn will help keep it before the Congregation. Because we believe that above all the the church is soulwinning organism established by God to bring souls in, build them up and send them out; we open all of our Conferences and Ministry Meetings with the reading of the "Great Commission" Then Jesus said unto His disciples, "Go and make disciples of all nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; and teaching them to observe all things I have commanded of you, and Lo I am with you always even until the end of the world. This is always our focus and we thank God for it! We thank God for the fruit of His Commision which is ALWAYS souls to BAPTIZE and Celebrate each month. There are no NEGATIVES AND POSITIVES in our Church. Not even the Language. There are of course things that we are THANKFUL For and then there are GROWING AREAS. During a Breakout Session eight groups made a list of both and one person from the group presented the findings. We were all pleasantly pleased with the results. The list has been compiled and Pastor will present it to Church Council and Diaconate for further and continued processing! As we move toward the Home Stretch of our 2010 - 100th Church Anniversary Celebration we had updates on our Building Project that is before us, The 2010 Events Past and to Come, as well as where we are financially and how we hope to reach our goals for the Spectacular 2010 100th Church Anniversary... Of course we are an African American Baptist Church, so yes there was food, But coming off of the Country Styled Holy Week Breakfast, this was by all means a light and healthy lunch. Interestingly, we only eat the fried everything meal during Holy Week!

It Is Well With My Soul

This is the fifth and last lament of Lamentations, the fifth cry, poem, dirge, expression of grief, requiem, The writer Jeremiah; speaks to God on behalf of all the people in stacatto-like fashion. He describes the suffering, the pain, the torment, the affliction, the anguish and distress endured by the people and he appeals to God for relief. This lament opens with a plaintive appeal to God to take notice of the humiliation and suffering that had come upon the covenant people. They only had to heed Jeremiah’s words to avoid having become what they had ignored: aliens, widows, and orphans..
Jeremiah 7:5-7 - If ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; If ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever. The lament closes with a prayer of hope that God would restore them to their days of old. The present generation was bearing the consequences of their sins, Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
You sow good, you reap good,
You sow bad, you reap bad,
You sow love, you reap love,
You sow sour attitude, you reap sour attitude,
You sow discord, you reap discord,
You sow disrupt behavior, you reap it,
You sow compassion, you reap it,
Judah got a taste of her own medicine…
Vs 16, "The crown has fallen from our head” would refer to the end of the Davidic dynasty with King Zedekiah’s capture. Job 19:9, describes Judah's fate when he says, God has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. Is 28:1, Woe to the crown of pride…… Jeremiah 13:18… Humble yourselves, sit down:

You're on your way to wellness when you discover the cause,
You're on your way to wellness when you take responsibility,
You're on your way to wellness when you stop blaming others,
We have more Adam in us than we do Jonah………
When things went bad in the Garden, Adam said, "the woman"…
When things went bad on the Ship, Jonah said, "It's me"
What do you say when things go bad in your life?
The Doctor's fault,
The Lawyer's fault,
The Teacher's fault,
The Policeman's fault,
The Boss's fault,
The Friend's fault,
The Postman's fault,
It's Daddy's its Moma's fault,
It's Brother's my Sisters fault,
It's the milkman's fault,
But when you can own to your own shortcoming,
When you own up to your own mistakes,
When you own up to your own faults,
Own up to your own weaknesses,
Own up to your own imperfections,
Own up to your own deficiencies,
It's my own fault,
And so in this last lament, Jeremiah cries out to God,
In this last poem, dirge, requiem, expression of emotions,
He cries out for the Favor of God,
The reason why you woke up this morning,
It was the Favor of God,
He said Lord, vs 19,
You reign forever,
Your throne endures from Generation to Generation,
Don’t forget us Lord,
Don’t forsake us Lord,
We've struggling so long,
We've been hurting so long,
We've been in the storm too long,
It our fault, but take us back,
We messed up, but take us back,
We failed you, but take us back,
History records, God restored Judah,
God restored Jerusalem,
God restored Zion,
At the end of the story, they were able to say, It is well,
You've got to run all the way.....
Through the storm, through the valley
Through the dark
Through the hurt, disappointments, let downs and set backs.
to get to the end
You dont know if its well at the beginning or not..

you've got to see what the end is going to be!
and you've got to go THROUGH to get Through
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever my lot,

Thou has taught me to say, It is well,

It is well, with my soul,

Generation I didnt know

These are my nieces. One of course is newly born and I had never seen before. The two older babies I have seen once before. Now the nick-names are the names that I kind of recollect. KeeKee, MeeMee and believe it or not, the baby is called Maggie. These babies are my second oldest nephew's (Kendall Joy) children and he is a wonderful father. I will get their real names and post them someday. I'm just glad these are Kendall's babies.. Babies by all means are for young folks not for folks my age and older.. We only look at them, say how beautiful they are, spoil them and send them home!