By Kenny Bruce
Pastor emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Cordova

Focal Passage: Genesis 13:5-11, 14-18 

The herds and flocks of Abram and Lot had increased to the point that the land on which they were grazing could no longer support them. Quarreling began between their herdsmen. 

I. RELIEVED BY GOD (Ch. 13:5-9) Abram, in the flesh, could have said, “Lot, this land belongs to me because God has promised it to me.” Instead, he obviously turned to God, heard His voice, and heeded His counsel. Abram told Lot in verse 8, “Please, let there be no strife between you and me, … for we are brothers.” God had given Abram His plan to resolve the conflict. God did not want His chosen people arguing in the presence of ungodly Canaanites and Perizzites. 

Nothing hinders our testimony more than to have a falling out with a brother in Christ over material things. Paul says in Phillippians. 2:14, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” Furthermore, Jesus prayed that Christians would be unified so the world would know that God sent Him (John 17:21).  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage:  Genesis 12:10-13, 17-13:4 

Abram is in the land of promise, following God, and there is a famine. Should he remain, or flee to Egypt where there is food? 

I. FAITH TRIED (12:10-13) Abram was afraid that he would starve. He took his eyes off the promise that God would make him into a great nation and fixed them on his circumstances apart from God. 

He should have stayed where he was and trusted God to provide instead of trusting in himself and going down to Egypt. He followed his fear when he told Sarai to tell the Egyptians that she was his sister, not his wife. He was afraid that they would kill him. He refused to trust God to protect him. 

Have you ever experienced a famine where you did not see any way God could provide? Have you ever thought that because of all the trials that you were going through that you may not be in God’s will? Have you ever taken matters into your own hands because you were afraid? [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: Genesis 12:1-8

Confidence in God means that we focus on God’s plans and promises, not on our plans and circumstances. We see Abraham’s confidence in God expressed through faith and worship. 

I. GOD CALLS US TO FOLLOW HIM (Ch. 12:1-3) God invited Abraham to join Him in a journey to a land God would show Him. Abraham did not seek God; God sought him. He initiated the encounter with Moses at the burning bush and with Paul on the road to Damascus. Likewise, God calls us to assignments that we cannot accomplish apart from Him. God speaks to us primarily through His Word. 

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” In the movie Show Me the Father, Stephen Kendrick was on an airplane reading his Bible when God revealed to him through John 10:16 that he should adopt a child. He and his wife adopted a girl from China who was born on February 14, 2011, the very day Stephen read that passage. God initiated the call and Stephen responded.  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: I John 5:1-5, 11-13, 18-21 

I John was written to provide believers an assurance of their salvation. That is why the word “know” is used over 35 times in this letter. Believers have a “know-so,” not a “hope-so” salvation. 

I. WE ARE CONQUERORS (I John 5:1-5) Because Jesus overcame the world (John 16:33), we have overcome the world (I John 5:4-5). The world is the invisible system of evil we live in that is controlled by Satan. We may succumb to worldly enticements, but we ask forgiveness, then live in victory because the victory was won at the cross and resurrection. 

We habitually overcome with our faith (v. 4). Our faith leads us to love God and others (vv. 1-2), and to obey His commandments willfully. We obey them, not out of duty, but out of love because of our desire to please God. Our faith in Jesus overcomes sin, death, Satan and “the world” (v. 4). Our battles are not with flesh and blood, but with the powers of the darkness. We win with the word of our testimony, with the redeeming blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11), with the power of the Spirit resisting Satan (James 4:7), or by fleeing to the door of escape God opens (1 Corinthians 10:13).  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: I John 4:7-13, 19-21

God’s love is without limits. Not only should His love be shown to fellow Christians, but it should extend to all people around the world. 

I. THE PRIORITY OF GOD’S LOVE (vv. 7-10) God is love (v. 8). He loves the world so much that He sent His beloved Son to die for every person. The root of all God does is love. His love is unconditional and impartial. He loves every person regardless of what that person does or doesn’t do, how he dresses, how he looks, or how he believes. 

God’s love for us was settled at the cross where He became the atoning sacrifice for our sins (v. 10). Since His love is the most costly of all loves, we should never question His love for us. God makes His love our priority by instructing us to obey the Great Commandment and, above all else, to put on love daily (Matthew 22:37, Colossians 3:14). In comparing faith, hope and love in I Corinthians 13, Paul says the greatest is love.  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: I  John 3:19-4:4 

Our world is inundated with false teachers. We must walk in victory and remain vigilant in order to detect the difference between true and false teaching.

I. VICTORY OVER CONDEMNATION (vv. 19-22) Because of our old nature, our hearts continue to condemn us even though God set us free from condemnation when we were saved (Romans 8:1). Our conscience tells us sometimes that we are not competent and may cause us to feel defeated, guilty or worthless and unappreciated. 

To believe those lies annuls our effectiveness as Christians and may even cause us to doubt our salvation. The remedy is knowing the truth (Ch. 3:19) which issues into acts of love (vv. 18, 23), especially to anyone who has injured us. Jesus commands us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44).  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: I  John 2:18-29 

John is contrasting truth with falsehood by distinguishing a believer from an unbeliever. A believer is anchored in the truth that Jesus resides in Him and is coming again. An unbeliever denies the truth of Jesus and, therefore, is a “liar” (v. 22). He is described as an “antichrist” (vv. 18, 22). 

I. BELIEVERS KNOW THE TRUTH (vv. 18-21) The truth is Jesus (John 14:6), and those who deny Jesus are antichrists. Because of the proliferation of antichrists, Christians know that they are living in the “last hour” (v. 18). The last hour refers to the final chapter in history. The antichrists are not just many people, but they represent an attitude in this world that opposes Jesus.  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: 1 John 2:3-11, 15-17  

A Christian is a person who has a relationship with Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2, John gives us three tests so we can know for certain we have that relationship. 

(1) The test of obedience (vv. 3-6). Verse three assures us that if we keep His commands, we know Him. The word “keep” can be translated “guard.” 

We guard and obey His commands because we consider them precious. Our obedience is not motivated by obligation, but by our love for Him.

The heart of Christianity is found in the phrase “abides in Him” (v. 6). As we abide, we obey His commands regardless of the consequences. If a person claims to be a Christian, but is not obeying the commandments, he is a liar (v. 4).  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: I  John 1:5-2:2

God’s desire is to fellowship with us and to fill us with His joy. To experience this a person must be saved. John wrote I John so that every Christian could know for certain that he has been forgiven, saved, and is heaven-bound. [Read more…]

By Michael Julian
Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton

Focal Passage: I Kings 19:19-21; II Kings 2:6-14 

Our journey has come to an end, a most hopeful end. Living outside the comfort zone should be feeling a lot more comfortable. What we find in life is that the end of one thing marks the beginning of a new thing. And God delights in doing a new thing!

Our Scripture this week brings Elijah’s ministry to a close and Elisha’s ministry to the start line. That’s one facet of the splendid beauty of God. Servants will come and go, but the Lord’s purpose remains steadfast and consistent.

Before we launch into our focal passage, let’s not forget where we left Elijah. He had cowardly fled from Jezebel, asked God to end his life, and complained that he alone was left to battle these enemies of God. But God. One more time we see that reality, even if it is not written in the text. But God instructed Elijah that he still had work to do and men to anoint. He is being pushed out of his comfort zone once again. [Read more…]