By Kevin Ivy
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tullahoma

Focal Passage: Luke 1:68-79

The only hope for the world is that Jesus Christ has been born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, atoned for our sin, resurrected from the grave, ascended into heaven, and has promised to return.  As believers, we are often guilty of not giving this good news much thought.  It is good to consider why Jesus came. First, Jesus came to redeem His people from their enemies (vv. 68-71).  Zechariah blesses the God of Israel for visiting them. For the Jews of Zechariah’s day, this was the news of the century. God had not spoken since the days of the prophet Malachi. Now, God had visited His people after roughly 400 years of silence. This was big news! Not only did God visit His people, but He announced that He had provided the redemption for them that they had been waiting on since Genesis 3. Many Jews were hoping for a military political figure who would redeem them physically from their earthly enemies. Jesus however, came to save from a much greater enemy; a spiritual one. [Read more…]

By Kevin Ivy
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tullahoma

Focal Passage:
Deuteronomy 5:32-33;
Galatians 3:10-12, 19a, 24-25

God established a standard for His chosen people to live by, and that standard was the Mosaic law. In that law, the expectation was made clear. The Jews were to do all the Lord their God commanded them. They were not to turn aside to the right or the left. They were to walk in all the ways of God perfectly. The problem was they were incapable of keeping that law perfectly.  In fact, there has never been a natural born man who could fully walk according to the law standard of God. After all, a single violation of one law causes us to become guilty of breaking all of the law of God (James 2:10). [Read more…]

By Kevin Ivy
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tullahoma

Focal Passage: Genesis 3:1-7, 14-19

In the beginning God made man, in His image, holy, and happy. As we will discover, mankind did not remain holy and happy, but he sinned against God. When we wonder why we are in this mess, the answer that everything points us back to is simply, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s clear command. [Read more…]

By Kevin Ivy
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tullahoma

Focal Passage: Genesis 1:1-5, 26-31

From time to time, Mandy and I walk our six children through a small question and answer booklet of basic biblical truths. The dinner table exchange sounds like this: Who made you? God made me. What else did God make? God made all things. Why did God make you and all things? For His own glory. One of the most fundamental questions we will ever ask is simply, “why are we even here?” The answer to that question, according to our little book, and according to Scripture, is simply “for God’s glory.” We were created to glorify God.  [Read more…]

By Rick Elsey
Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Esther 8:1-8; 9:20-22

The apostle Peter reminds us in his first epistle (I Peter 5:8) that we are to be sober and vigilant in our Christian walk. Our adversary is continually on the prowl seeking to devour anyone in his path. As believers, we must resist the temptation to live on past blessings which can lead to spiritual complacency. In our lesson today, Esther and Mordecai are the recipients of an overwhelming blessing, but they have no time to bask in that honor. The Jews are still in danger of annihilation; therefore, Esther and Mordecai must continue to stand for the lives of God’s people.

The blessing of honor (Esther 8:1-2). What a difference a day can make. Haman started the day filled with pride. Just the night before, he bragged to family and friends about his wealth, his position before the king and his plan to have Mordecai hanged from the gallows that were seventy-five feet tall. By the end of this day, he was hanged from those same gallows. His estate was awarded to Esther and his signet ring, which represented his high authority, was given to Mordecai.

God richly blesses those who are faithful. We must avoid the trap that we only equate material wealth and riches with God’s blessings. His blessings also involve suffering for His namesake. As with Esther and Mordecai, God provides us with the blessings necessary to carry out His purpose and plan.

 

The responsibility of blessings (vv. 3-8). While Mordecai and Esther are safe, the edict of Haman to destroy the Jews remains in effect. Esther must once again approach the king and intercede on behalf of her people. She pleads with the king to revoke the edict given by Haman. While the law states that an edict from the king cannot be revoked, he counsels Esther to write another edict. She is allowed to write whatever she wishes. The edict can then be sealed by the signet ring given to Mordecai. With that seal the edict carries the full authority of the king. 

This passage highlights two great responsibilities of every believer. First is the necessity of ongoing intercession. Esther boldly comes before the king in faith to intercede on behalf of her people. We have that same responsibility as we keep standing for what is right and for the people that we know need God’s deliverance. Our intercession must come from a burdened heart that will drive us to our knees before our King.

Our second responsibility deals with our relationship to the king. Mordecai remained on the outside of the palace until welcomed by the king. In the end, the king promotes him to a high rank, second only to himself. Paul reminds us in II Corinthians 5:20 that we are ambassadors for Christ. Just as Mordecai officially represented the king, we do so for Christ. We speak with His authority, proclaiming the good news of the King. He gives us His message through His Word and provides us with the blessings we need to remain strong and vigilant in our task.

Celebrating our blessings (Ch. 9:20-22). The new edict given by Esther and Mordecai allowed the Jews to fight against those who would harm them which resulted in an overwhelming victory. As a result, a time of celebration was ordered among the Jews. The celebration would be observed every year to commemorate the great victory given by God. Celebration and worship is always the right response to God’s blessings.

People often say that God works in mysterious ways. That may seem true to some. Ultimately, God has a perfect plan and He calls us to join Him. B&R 

By Rick Elsey
Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Esther 7:1-10

How many times have we found ourselves taking matters into our own hands before allowing God to meet our needs? At the heart of our decision is a lack of faith or trust in God’s response. I appreciate the testimony of a young church planter who struggled with waiting on God. He said, “God wasn’t moving fast enough, so I took the wheel and gave God some driving lessons.” In the end, he realized he should have trusted God all along.

Our lesson today challenges us to, “Be bold, but leave the results to God.” This principle is seen in Paul’s message to the Romans, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’ ” (Romans 12:19 ESV). Up to this point, Mordecai has not taken any aggressive action against Haman, but rather he prays and trusts in God’s provision. Esther is bold in her decision to speak to the king, trusting in God alone to bring deliverance. Haman’s future is ultimately in God’s hands. [Read more…]

By Rick Elsey
Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Esther 5:1-14 

Proverb 16:18 warns us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Our culture has condensed the verse to simply say, “pride goes before a fall.” The point is well taken. Excessive pride sets us up for disappointment and possible disaster. Humility, on the other hand, stands in stark contrast to a prideful spirit. This contrast is evident in the attitudes of Esther and Haman. In today’s lesson, we find characteristics to emulate as well as avoid. [Read more…]

By Rick Elsey
Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Esther 4:1-3, 10-16

Have you ever been warned not to go off “half-cocked?” The term dates back to the days of flintlock or caplock firearms. Half-cocked describes the position of the hammer that allows the primer to be loaded as well as serving as a basic safety measure against the gun firing prematurely. Today the term describes the danger of taking premature or ill-considered action. In other words, act first, think later. Archbishop Thomas Secker had a great insight into this type of mentality. He states, “Some persons [act] first, think afterward, and then repent forever.”

The study for today deals with the response by Mordecai and Esther to the news that Haman has been given the king’s permission to wipe out all of the Jews in the region. What would they do, or for that matter, what could they do? Through grief and struggle, their response highlights the point that “surrendering to God leads to greater things.” [Read more…]

By Rick Elsey
Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Esther 2:21-3:6

At the start of the legislative session on April 18, 1947, Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall made the following request to God: “Give to us a clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for — because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.” Another writer states, “You’re only as good as your character and what you stand for.” What we stand for comes down to our personal convictions and how strongly we support them. [Read more…]

By Rick Elsey
Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Esther 2:5-10, 15-17

Over the next six weeks, our lessons will focus on the book of Esther and the theme of standing up to fight injustice. With our so-called modern-day ethics, one might think injustice would not be an issue. Unfortunately, injustice still runs rampant all around our world. In my lifetime, many have taken up the call to take a stand. I am reminded of people like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela who stood up for issues of civil rights. Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, spoke out against social injustice, poverty, torture and executions by the Salvadorian government. In the end, Romero was murdered during a celebration of mass. I am also reminded of the young student who stood in front of tanks in Tiananmen Square in protest of crackdowns by the Chinese government. We do not even know his name, nor do we know what happened to him. [Read more…]