By Chuck Williams
Interim Pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan

Focal Passage: John 13:36-14:6

One of the most popular performances at a circus is the flying trapeze. As the daredevils swing and turn through the air into the arms of the ‘catcher’ the crowd wonders, “Will they slip and fall to the ground?” Why is the ‘flyer’ willing to do such a dangerous act? Answer: The flyer trusts the catcher to hold him in his grip.

In these verses, in essence, Jesus is saying to His perplexed disciples, “I know what I am telling you is difficult to comprehend, but trust Me, I have a grip on this.”

Even our best promises can falter and fail. Jesus had said, “You can’t go where I am going.” Peter, full of emotional fervor, boasted, “I will lay down my life for your sake.” But the Lord knew Peter better than Peter knew Peter. Peter had always been there with Him and for Him, but He also knew Peter was making a promise he couldn’t keep. [Read more…]

By Chuck Williams
Interim pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan

Focal Passage: John 13:21-27, 31-35 

The worst betrayal (vv. 21-27).Loyalty in times of crisis is one of the greatest gifts a person can give someone. Disloyalty in times of crisis makes a wound that hurts like no other, causes grief beyond comprehension, and can linger a lifetime.

The Emperor of Rome, Julius Caesar knew about such treachery. Some of his closest colleagues had secretly become sinister conspirators. One of those was a very close confidant named Marcus Junus Brutus whom he loved as a son. 

The Senatorial conspirators with knives drawn, suddenly attacked Caesar. Historians say initially he fought them off but when Brutus emerged from the group with knife in hand, he slumped in his chair and asked this very famous question “Et tu Brute?”, which translated means — “And you too, Brutus?” This Latin phrase is now seen as the epitome of betrayal. [Read more…]

By Chuck Williams
Interim pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan

Focal Passage: John 13:3-10, 14-16

Elon Musk, the world’s most famous inventor and entrepreneur, sarcastically remarked, “I don’t want to brag, but I am the best at humility.”  This tongue-in-cheek remark garnered him lots of laughs but also produced a window into the human soul.  

For many of us, it is our hope that our ‘humble service’ will be spot-lighted. Being a servant of Christ is not about recognition, platforming, networking or titles. He profoundly stated that He didn’t come to be served and waited on; He came to serve sacrificially (Matthew 20:28).

Let’s see what “spiritual” looks like in these verses. [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Genesis 50:15-21 

When we see our lives from God’s perspective, His providence shines through the events that seem tangled or meaningless.

1. Providence revealed (vv. 18-19). After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid Joseph was holding a grudge against them and would punish them for the suffering they had caused him when they sold him as a slave years earlier (v. 15). That fear led them to tell Joseph that their father had commanded that he forgive their wrongdoing. Whether or not Jacob said that, they knew that the final wishes of their dying father would have a tremendous impact on Joseph.

Joseph shed tears because he knew firsthand of his father’s desires that his family stay united, and it crushed him that his brothers still feared him. He wanted to relate to them on their level in a familial relationship. It certainly grieved him that his brothers did not trust in his forgiveness. [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Genesis 45:1-5, 9-11 

The climax of the story of Joseph is when he reveals himself to his brothers. 

I. The revelation of his person (vv. 1-5). Chapter 45 begins with Joseph’s meeting with his brothers. Joseph knew his brothers before they knew him. He recognized them, but they didn’t recognize him. Before we were converted we did not know Jesus, but He knew us from our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:15). Like Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, Jesus revealed Himself to us. 

The secret sin of selling Joseph to the Ishmaelite caravan was now revealed as the brothers stood before him. We, too, may sometimes hide our sin from others. If we don’t repent Jesus will expose it, if not openly in this life, then at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Genesis 41:28-32, 47-54

The greatness of God is seen in Joseph’s character. 

I. Joseph, the interpreter (vv. 28-32) In interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph explained that Egypt would have seven years of abundant harvests followed by seven years of famine. 

Because Pharaoh saw the power and wisdom of God in Joseph’s life, he promoted him to second in command over all of Egypt, giving him the responsibility of executing the plan for storing the excess grain during the seven years of plenty as well as distributing it during the seven years of famine.  [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Genesis 39:21-23; 40:4-8, 20-23 

Like Joseph, we need to press forward with our focus on God in spite of injustice. 

I. Prosperity in prison (Genesis 39:21-23) While Joseph was in prison, the Lord was with him and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden (v. 21). He rose from being just another prisoner to being one whom the warden entrusted everything. 

Joseph was the victim of an injustice. Potiphar’s wife had falsely accused him of assaulting her and Potiphar had flung him into prison. In similar circumstances, most other men would probably have become bitter, withdrawn, and even angry toward God.  [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Genesis 39:1-12

Joseph was successful because the Lord was with him in all his circumstances. 

I. Joseph is trusted by a prosperous master (Ch. 39:1-6).

Although Joseph had been sold as a slave to Potiphar, an Egyptian official, the Lord was with him and prospered him (v. 3). Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his household and all that he owned. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar owned because of Joseph. The master saw that the Lord was with Joseph. Joseph surely shared his faith with him. Perhaps he told Potiphar about his two dreams.  [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Genesis 37:1-5, 19-24, 26-27 

Joseph was loved and hated, favored and abused, abased and exalted. He truly was a man of God. 

(1) Joseph’s boyhood (vv. 1-5). Joseph is introduced to us as a young man 17 years of age. Jacob loved Joseph more than his other eleven sons and made him a coat of many colors. 

After Reuben, the firstborn, slept with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, he lost his birthright to Joseph. Jacob bequeathed to Joseph the only plot of land he owned, which was near Sychar (Genesis 33:19; John 4:5). Because of Jacob’s favoritism, Joseph’s brothers hated, resented and were jealous of him. They hated Joseph all the more because of his dreams he conveyed to them.  [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Obadiah 1-4, 10-17

Though Obadiah is the most obscure of all the prophets, his message is potent and relevant. 

1. The sin of all sins (vv. 1-4). Edomites were the descendants of Esau. Edom was bordered on the east by the desert and on the north by a deep canyon. The central area was characterized by cliffs that rose to heights over 5000 feet above sea level. 

The configuration to enter Sela, the capital city, was so difficult to navigate that, according to the Edomites, just 12 men could defend it against an entire army. Their rallying cry was, “Who will bring me down?” (v. 3). The Edomites’ pride was in their geographical security. Pride is the sin of sins. [Read more…]