Joseph is the bridge between Genesis and Exodus. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. But the Lord was with him. Joseph arrived in Egypt as a slave. He became a wrongly convicted prisoner. But he was promoted to Prime Minister. Before his death, his reconciled family – seventy persons – moved to Egypt with him. After Joseph’s death, the people of Israel became large, strong, and great. Then the drama begins.   A pharaoh emerged who did not know Joseph. Pharoah viewed the Hebrew population as a threat to national security. Pharoah oppressed the Israelites. But the Lord raised up Moses to deliver his people. The Lord revealed himself to Moses as the “I Am” at the burning bush. He compelled Moses to return to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let his people...

As a boy preacher, I accompanied my father to many funerals he officiated. I probably attended more funerals as a youth than most people attend in their lifetime.  My dad never allowed me to do anything in the services. But he often had me assist him during the processional before the service and the committal after the service.  As my dad led the family in the processional, he would read Psalm 91 as he walked down the aisle. Always Psalm 91. He frequently asked me to read the passage as I walked alongside him. One time, I started reading Psalm...

In On a Hill Too Far Away, John Fischer wrote about a church with a ten-foot wooden cross in its sanctuary. Bolted to the ground, it stood between the pulpit and the pews. The crossbeam blocked the preacher’s face. He had to come down to be seen clearly by the congregation. This is the way it should be. The cross should be intrusive and obtrusive. Unfortunately, the cross is no longer central to our worship. It is ignored and unnoticed on the back wall.  “The hill was far away to begin with,” Fischer wrote, “now it is so far away that the old rugged cross tends to be forgotten.” Mark 8:31-33 strategically places the cross at the center...

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 2 Corinthians 4:16 begins with an assertion: “So we do not lose heart.” It is the theme of the passage.  It is the theme of the chapter.   2...

Warren Wiersbe wrote of a pastor concerned about unsavory businesses that opened near a school. His protests led to a court case. The defense attorney tried to embarrass the minister. “Are you not a pastor?” the lawyer asked. “And doesn’t the word ‘pastor’ mean ‘shepherd’?” The pastor agreed. “Well, if you are a shepherd, why are you not out taking care of the sheep?” The pastor answered, “Because I’m here today fighting the wolves.”  Epaphras visited Paul, who was under house arrest in Rome. He reported about the church at Colossae. Paul thanked God when he heard of their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for all the...

On February 12, 1728, was Cotton Mather’s sixty-fifth birthday. The Puritan minister would breathe his last the following day. Until the previous year, Matthew had never experienced any serious health challenges. He used all his strength to live in fruitful service to the Lord. His signet ring had a fruit-bearing tree and Psalm 1:3 inscribed on it. On the last day of his life, his son Samuel asked his dying father for a final word of counsel. Mather said one word: “Fruitful.” Fruitfulness was Mather’s consuming passion in life and death. It should be the same for every follower of Christ. Fruitfulness...

After the death of his son to a premature aging disease, Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote: “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” The book addressed theodicy – defending the goodness of God in the face of evil. Kushner wrongly concluded God is good but does not have the power to prevent suffering. Yet the book became a runaway bestseller. Many people wrestle with the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Psalm 73 wrestles with the opposite question, “Why do good things happen to bad people?” The superscription reads: A Psalm of Asaph. Asaph was one of the chief musicians of David. He was the director of the Jerusalem Mass Choir. Twelve psalms are attributed to Asaph – Psalm 50 and Psalms 73-83. Asaph was a godly and gifted worship leader who had a crisis of...

There are two kinds of musical keys: Major and Minor. Songs in major keys are typically pleasant, joyful, and happy. Songs in minor keys are often sad, somber, or serious. Psalms work the same way. We do not know the original musical arrangement of the Psalms. Their contents betray their tone. Many psalms are songs of praise, worship, and thanksgiving. Other psalms are in the minor keys of life. They are called Psalms of Lament. A lament is when the psalmist sings the blues. It is more than an expression of sorrow. It is a prayer of faith. Laments are not the kind of God-talk we are accustomed to. In our worship, songs, prayers, and sermons are often triumphant. Spiritual pep rallies have no place for wrestling with sin, pain, or grief. This “Don’t worry, be happy” philosophy robs us of the blessings of lamentation. Suffering, heartbreak, rejection, betrayal, and injustice are inescapable realities of living in a...

I love God. I trust Christ. I obey the word. But it seems I have more struggles than before I was a Christian. Why? Have you ever asked this question?  Are you asking this question now? The question is based on the false assumption that being saved ends your struggles. You will face struggles you would not have if you were not in Christ. But there is strength for the struggle. Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”  Ephesians 6:10-20 is the final section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. It may be considered a third section of the letter. Chapters 1-3 present the doctrine we...

In King Henry VIII’s devotional primer, Psalm 95 is called “a song stirring to the praise of God.” That is a fitting description of Psalm 95. We do not know the author or occasion of this psalm. Its message is clear, compelling, and convicting. It is a call to worship God, or else. The psalm divides into two sections.  Verses 1-7b is a call to worship the Lord.  Verses 7b-11 is a warning to non-worshipers.  Verses 1-7 bid us to “come” three times – using different Hebrew terms. Psalm 95 is called the “Venite,” the Latin word for “come.” Worship is our sacred duty. Yet this call to worship reads as a gracious invitation. It is a privilege to worship God. Psalm 95 is about how to worship God. It records seven acts of worship: singing, joyful noise, thanksgiving, songs...

A cathedral was known for its beautiful organ. Its music filled the surrounding valley. People came from all around to hear its melodic sounds. One day, the music stopped. The organ broke, and no one was able to repair it. Then, as suddenly as it stopped, the organ filled the valley with music again. People descended upon the cathedral to hear. When the old man finished playing, they asked, “How did you fix the organ? He answered, “I made it.”  What is broken in your life?  Denying the problem won’t help. Do-it-yourself efforts can’t repair it. Having that thing, going to that place, being...

Three Black pastors directly and profoundly shaped my commitment to expositional preaching. Two are now in heaven with Jesus: E.K. Bailey and A. Louis Patterson Jr.   The third is alive and well: R.A. Williams Jr.  Dr. R.A. Williams – the longtime pastor of the McCoy Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles (for more than four decades) – was recently honored as the 2023 “Living Legend” at the E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference in Dallas. My schedule did not permit me to attend. But I am glad that Dr. Williams is being recognized for his role in the revival of expository...