Taught by Grace

Genesis 44 and 45 are the climactic point of the Joseph narrative in Genesis 37-50. Everything has been building to this point. From the betrayal to Potipher's to prison to the palace to now the brothers being in Egypt for food again .Eventually, there is going to be a beautiful reconciliation in Genesis 45, but before that happens, Joseph has one final test for his brothers. It will be Genesis 37 all over again, but the end result will be different this time. One brother, a former scoundrel and sinner, will stand up and take the place of another. We walk through the first part of this beautiful story of reconciliation in this week's episode.

In Genesis 43, Jacob and his sons are forced into uncertainty as God leads them back to Egypt for food in the midst of the famine. We are going to enter into uncertainty with Jacob and his boys in chapter 43 and I want to show you two realities about this chapter:God will put you in Uncertain Circumstances (1-15)God is in control of Uncertain Circumstances (16-34)

In chapter 42, we meet his father and brothers for the first time as a group since chapter 37.This chapter is the beginning of the story of forgiveness and reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. Those scoundrels and losers are going to be reconciled to the brother they wronged and sinned against. However, before that could happen, something very important needed to happen - Their guilt needed to be uncovered. There are two big points I want you to see as we look at this chapter  The Danger of Unconfessed Guilt (1-28) - In Joseph's brothers, we are going to see how the guilt of their sin with Joseph never left them. It continues to weigh them down and is thoroughly exposed in this chapter. The Danger of Unresolved Grief (29-38) - In Joseph's Father, we are going to see how the grief of his loss with Joseph never left him.

Joseph has been a tested man ever since we met him in Genesis 37He's passed every test so far.  He did his best at Potipher's house He ran from sin when Potipher's wife tempted him He was faithful in prison He cared for the butler and baker  He stayed faithful to God in the years of silenceJoseph has endured affliction faithfully, but how will he handle prosperity? What is the test that comes in our prosperity? Will Joseph embrace Egypt or stay true to God? Listen as the text answers this question in this week's episode!

Joseph rises to power through seemingly ordinary circumstances here: The king has a dream The wise men can't interpret the dream or don't want to The butler finally remembers Joseph The guard brings Joseph from prison  Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams  Joseph suggests finding a wise man to put over Egypt through the years of famine Pharaoh puts Joseph over all of Egypt as the grand vizierJoseph got here because God had been working behind the scenes to fulfill his plan in Joseph's life. This was all the masterful orchestration of God. Only God could have done all of this to put Joseph where he needed to be. God raised Joseph up from these ordinary circumstances to put Him exactly where He wanted Him to be, exactly when He wanted him to be there. Here's what we learn from these first 41 verses of Genesis 41 - God is big enough to get you where He wants you to be, when He wants you to be there, and how He wants you to get there.

Are we there yet? Is the food ready yet? Is my package here yet? Has my coffee come out yet? Each of these questions have to do with something we all love to do - Waiting. In Genesis 40, Joseph is in the middle of the years of waiting. But it looks like the dam is about to burst as he interprets the butler and baker's dreams. Even though it looked like God was prepared to exalt Joseph, there was still more years of waiting to come. Listen as we learn how Joseph waited and how we can honor God in our years of waiting as well.

How do you respond when life isn't going according to plan? Joseph's life wasn't at all going according to plan, but God was with him in it all and he glorified God in it all! In Genesis 39, the chapter is bookended with this statement - The Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph at Potiphar's, in temptation, and even in prison. No matter where Joseph went, or how poorly his life seemed to go, God never abandoned and forsook Joseph. In fact, He was working out his perfect plan. The beauty of Genesis 39 is how Joseph responds to all that he faces - He glorifies God. He glorifies God by doing well wherever he is and by fleeing temptation. He doesn't mumble and grumble, moan and groan, but he honors God in everything.

Genesis 38 is the story of Judah's family history. A seeming interruption in the story of Joseph. It is the story of how Judah had children and how his generations were preserved. Yet, this is not a pretty, nice family history. This is one of the ugliest and saddest chapters in the Bible. This story of Judah's descent to rock bottom, however, is one of the greatest stories of God's grace. We're going to see two parts to this ugly chapter:   An Ugly Story (Genesis 38) - We're going to watch Judah's downward descent. We're going to see him make a mess and ruin everything in his life.  A Beautiful Savior - We're going to see how God redeemed Judah's sin and failure. We read a chapter like this and wonder “Why is this in the Bible?” To give you the bottom line up front - God lets us see sin and failure like this so that we may see that He is a redeemer. Genesis 38 is not about an ugly sinner, but a beautiful Savior 

Genesis 37 introduces us to Joseph with an action-packed drama filled with bitterness, envy, hatred, murderous intentions, and slavery. Joseph had dreams of exaltation as the beloved son of Jacob, but God's plans for Joseph didn't work out as Jospeh (or we) would have expected. Yet, all along the way, God is fulfilling His perfect plan in his life and for His people.

It's a New Year. Today is the first Sunday in 2025. A new year typically means New Year's Resolutions. For some reason, when the calendar flips over to January 1st, everyone is ready to set goals, change their lives, and become different people! I want to call you to begin this year with the greatest resolution possible - Run after Jesus. We're going to see three truths in Hebrews 12:1-3 1. Forsake Sin (1a) 2. Run Patiently (1b) 3. Behold Jesus (2-3)

What is Jesus ultimately after in your life? He wants you to believe in Him and follow Him. In Mark 1:14-20, Jesus comes preaching and calls his first disciples. By looking at this narrative, we see what the passion and mission of Jesus was and still is. He calls us to believe in Him with total faith and follow Him in radical obedience.

In Mark 1:9-13, we see Jesus presented as the perfect Son and Savior: In His Baptism, Jesus is affirmed by the Spirit and the Father to be the beloved Son of God In His Temptation, Jesus proves that He is sinless by triumphing over Satan in the wilderness

Mark is the quickest-moving, hardest-hitting of all of the Gospels. He doesn't slow down to give a lot of detail most of the time. This book is what we are beginning to study this time in this week's episode. In this episode, we will see how this Gospel is about the good news of Jesus Christ. We will also see how John prepares the way by pointing to Jesus as far bigger and greater than him and anyone else.

 Hebrews 7:25 assures the believer by revealing that Jesus will save believers to the uttermost because of His present intercession.  Jesus' intercession matters because He is a better priest. He is a better priest because He was ordained priest by God after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus Christ is presently, actively interceding for His people. In the last two episodes, we looked generally at Christ's present intercession for us. But what does His intercession accomplish? Two Biblical texts (Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25) detail what His intercession accomplishes. This week, we look at the first of those to see what Romans 8:34 teaches about Christ's intercession for us. Jesus silences every accusation and condemnation by pointing back to His death and resurrection through His intercession.

Jesus Christ is up to something right now by actively, presently interceding for believers. In this mini-series, we are examining a few various angles of this neglected, but life-giving reality of Christ's intercession. This week, I want to wrap our arms around the big picture of this reality in a few parts:  We will define intercession  We will examine the way Christ intercedes  We will see why His intercession matters

How often do you hear about what Jesus is up to right now?  How many sermons have you heard on the present intercession of Christ? How many books have you seen on the intercession of Christ?  How many podcasts have you listened to on what He's doing right now? Jesus is living, reigning, interceding, and building in heaven, but we don't hear much of anything about it. Christ's person and work are often presented totally in the past tense. We need to remember and delight in the present work of Christ's intercession because it is grounds for deep Gospel assurance!

The book of Haggai ends, not with a word to the nation, leaders, or group as a whole, but with a message to one man - Zerubbabel.  This message is about future triumph and future enthronement. God looks beyond the current temple construction project to the day when He will establish His throne and kingdom on the earth. To the day when He will rule and reign forever.

Sin contaminates everything we do. When we are not right with God, everything we do becomes contaminated and tinged by sin. There are consequences to our sin. The people were still working and sacrificing, but God couldn't receive any of it because of their sins. If we live in known sin, the Lord cannot honor and bless even our acts of devotion. It does not matter how outwardly holy we appear if we live in sin before Him. We must see that we need to confess our sins and turn back to him, just as Judah did. Here's the good news – He is always faithful, and just to forgive and cleanse us. But we must return.

About a month in rebuilding the temple, the people began comparing this new temple to Solomon's temple. This new temple was not full of the beauty and splendor of Solomon's temple. Their materials were less expensive. Their work was less glorious. They looked at the work of their hands and thought “What is the point? We cannot capture the glory of the past so why should we continue building this decrepit new temple?”       They could have easily stopped building.        They could have suspended the work again.       They could have given up for another 18 years.       Maybe they would have, but God would not let the work remain unfinished. He speaks through Haggai in 2:1-9 to implore them to keep working because He would display an even greater glory in this less glorious temple. He reminds His people that He is their glory, not the great or insignificant works of their hands. He implores them to press on in the work, not for the glory of the temple, but because of the glory and greatness of their God. He is a God who glorifies His name through the weak, small, and insignificant.

There are two ways we can live - in disobedience or in obedience. Haggai 1 shows how Israel was living in disobedience by not rebuilding the temple. By living this way, they discovered that life wasn't really satisfying. We will see in chapter one that to live in disobedience to God's Word is the most unsatisfying way to live and that to live in obedience to God's Word is most satisfying.

Haggai is a little book tucked away toward the end of the Old Testament. If the pages are stuck together in your Bible, you may unknowingly skip right on by this book. Yet, this book has much to teach us about the glory of God and how His saints glorify Him. Over the next five weeks, we are going to walk through this book and see how God used Haggai to call Israel to consider their ways, rebuild the temple, and experience God's blessing again. This week, I introduce the book by looking at: The Setting - When the book was written  The Author - Who was the main figure of the book The Structure - What is the outline of the book The Point - Why God sent Haggai preaching to his people.

Titus is like a three chapter IV pumping what it means to live by the grace of God for the glory of God into our spiritual veins.  And now we come to these concluding verses and think, “Okay, everything else makes sense why I should care, but what impact can these four salutary verses teach me?” On the surface, these verses are very much Paul's concluding remarks to Titus. He's finishing this letter out and has some final instructions for him. That is basically what these verses are about, but without straining at gnats and trying to swallow camels, I do believe these verses have more to offer than simply being Paul's final concerns for Titus.  In these final words, these verses remind us that God's work is bigger than individuals, is about far more than us, and that we are not alone in this.

We are marching toward the end of Paul's letter to Titus and in the second to last section, Paul presses deeper into Titus' role as pastor. These four verses have a twofold purpose:  Titus was to challenge God's people to maintain good works and do everything necessary to guard against those things that would prevent them from doing good works. thisministry: 1. Emphasize maintaining good works 2. Avoid foolish talk 3. Reject willing heretics

Titus 3:1-7 describes how believers at to glorify God in an ungodly world. We are to be submissive to the government and kind to all men (1-2). Verses 3-7 answer the question of why? Titus 3:3-7 answers this question - Why should I treat unbelievers in the way verses 1-2 describe? Paul gives us two Gospel realities to remember:  Remember that you were just like them (3) - They are sinners  Remember that you are saved by grace (4-7) - They need the Gospel 

Whenever someone talks about the assurance of salvation, it's like having a blank final exam placed in front of us. If we get the true/false questions right and maybe hit the multiple choice ones, we can really know that we're saved.  If we look at ourselves, we will never be truly assured.  We can always see faults, insufficiencies, and failures in us, therefore, we must look to someone far better. We must behold Jesus Christ.   We must set our current, subjective experience of assurance against the objective work of Christ. 

We often learn how to navigate this journey by hearing from those who are a few steps further on the journey than we are. In this week's conversation episode, I interview my grandpa to discuss how he has learned the faithfulness of God through his life. We take a journey through his life. From salvation and rededication to church to work and family to finishing well. I also ask him about what he would like for those earlier in our race to know. I hope that you will listen to this episode to learn from a faithful man about how to live for a faithful God.

How do we live like Christians in an ungodly society? Titus 3:1-2 is here to give us a pesky reminder of what it looks like. It looks like submission to the government, refusing to be furious, and showing gentleness to all men. It is living towards others knowing that you have tasted the kindness of God in the Gospel.

The grace-taught life sputters to a stop unless it is centered on the finished and continued work of Christ.  Do you want to stop being offended when someone looks at you the wrong way? Do you want to meditate on God's Word day and night?  Do you want to live in earnest hope for Christ's return? Titus 2:14-15 shows how Christ's person and work connects to the rest of our lives as believers. In this episode we see how Christ's work is the foundation of both our (1) Salvation and (2) Sanctification. He gave Himself to redeem and purify us.

Sin, curse, and death. This was Adam's problem and it's our problem as well. Everything bad we see in the world is because of the curse because of sin. Because of sin, we are condemned before God and destined to eternity apart from Him in Hell. It's bad here and it just gets worse. If the Bible stopped in Genesis 3, we would be ruined.  Yet, the Bible doesn't stop there. God promises a redeemer in Genesis 3:15 and this redeemer would be a curse-reverser by becoming the curse for us. Jesus reversed the curse by going all the way to become the curse. There are depths to this we cannot unpack here, but let us strive to see the big point. In this Easter week, as we remember the cross, we are remembering when Jesus went all the way to be our Savior. 

God's grace in Jesus teaches us to be healthy Christians in how we think, what we do, and who we are. To live this way, we must embrace the two-sided coin of Titus 2:11-15 - denying ungodliness and looking for Christ's return. We examined the first side last week. This week, we see how eagerly anticipating Christ's return is necessary for every believer in Titus 2:13. I address the way we often look to Christ's return (with indifference, inconvenience, or unbelief). We also see what our heart posture should be for His return. Finally, we will see why this is necessary for our lives as believers. Eager anticipation of Christ's return is necessary for every Christian.

Titus 2:11-15 is the grounds and motivation of everything Paul has commanded and will command Titus to do in this letter. This is the high point of the letter. It is the center of it. It is what drives the entire letter. Grace has appeared to us in Jesus and because He has come to save us and change, there is a way we are now to live. 

The beauty of the church is expressed by who God's people are and how they live. Titus 2:1-10 details how Christians can live counter-cultural lives that put God's beauty on display. This week, we finish our study of this text. We will see how young women, young men, pastors, and servants represent Christ in an ungodly world. Paul details a life that is culturally-shocking, but God-honoring in these verses.

Even more than the composition of the church, the church is beautiful because of the way those in the church are to live. This week, we come to part one of our study in Titus 2:1-10. These verses are all about how every individual in the church is to live in accordance with God's Word to show off the beauty of God's work and word. This week we will see: How older saints reflect the beauty of God Three key observations about the importance of churches being intergenerational

(We will back in Titus next week, but this week, I wanted to remind you of God's amazing grace as seen in Ephesians 2:1-10). Every believer's testimony of salvation is different. If you add names and faces to the story of God's grace, the testimonies may be slightly or drastically different. grace We're going to see this story of resurrection in three parts: Who we were (1-3) - We were dead and bound in sin What God did (4-7) - He made us alive with Christ Why God did it (8-10) - He made us alive to receive glory in our salvation and sanctification. 

False teachers have existed in every age of the church. From those who deny the deity of Christ to those who deny the humanity of Christ. From those who add works to salvation and those who say the saved aren't to do any work after salvation. From the first century to the middle ages to the 21st century, false teachers have always abounded.  This was true in Crete, which is one of the reasons Paul wrote to Titus, and it is true today. The Question is - what should we think about false teachers? How are we to respond to error in the pulpit? Paul shows Titus how he was to respond and by seeing this, we will learn how we can respond as well. 

We do similar things with the men we think should be pastoring and shepherding our churches. What makes someone “pastor-material?” When Paul told Titus to ordain certain men to be pastors, he didn't give him a list of leadership skills or speaking qualifications. He didn't emphasize eloquence or appearance. Paul describes pastor-material by telling us what he must be and what he must do.  What He Must Be - He must be a man of character What He Must Do - He must hold fast to truth

Dear (insert whoever's name here).... If we write a letter, that's how we will begin our letters. Our greetings are not that extravagant. Even in emails, our greetings consist of - Good afternoon, hope you're doing well or something of that nature. Our greetings are drastically different from the way they would have written letters in the first century - especially the apostle Paul.  Titus 1:1-4 is a Gospel-centered and grace-filled greeting. It introduces us to who we will be reading from and what his heartbeat is over the next few chapters. We will see: Paul's Identity (1a) Paul's Goal (1b) Paul's Hope (2) Paul's Commission (3) Paul's Son (4)

The book of Titus functions as a health report for pastors, Christians, and churches. Paul wrote this pastoral epistle to show Titus how to bring the churches in Crete from sickness to health. He showed him the kind of pastors that healthy churches have and the way that healthy churches live. The word sound is used for times in the letter and literally speaks of health and vitality. This book is all about sound doctrine. We see sound doctrine in the pulpit in 1:5-16 and sound doctrine in the congregation in 2:1-3:11. By examining this letter, we can better know what it looks like to be healthy Christians who are a part of healthy churches.

What if I told you that you don't have to put the weight of the world on your shoulders? You don't have to live each day under the burden of hyper-productivity. You don't have to carry the weight of failing again, sinning again, and falling again. Instead, you can live each day resting in Jesus.  All we must do is hear and respond to the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30.  Learning

At the heart of celebrating Christmas, we must celebrate Jesus. What does that look like? Forget all of the other ways that you will celebrate Christmas over the next few days for a moment and ask - will I celebrate Christ?  This text shows four ways that we should respond to the birth of Jesus.  Obey - Pursue after Jesus Christ. Declare - Proclaim the good news of Christ's birth. Think - Ponder the good news of Christ's birth. Praise - Praise God for what He has done.

Luke 2:1-7 details the birth of Jesus, but without verses 8-14 we don't know the significance of His birth. The angel appears to the shepherds that night to declare to them the good news of Jesus birth - A savior is born. The good news of Christmas is the greatest news ever told.

The Christmas season is and should be filled with hope. However, it's not because of a chubby dude squeezing into your chimney. It's not because that special someone will meet you under the mistletoe. Frosty may be a jolly, happy soul, but he can neither thrill nor heal your soul. Rudolph, with his nose so bright may guide Santa's sleigh, but he can't light your way to hope.  Where is hope found? In a lowly manger, after a decree of a wicked ruler. The Savior is born and this is hope.

You submitted questions and we offered some answers. Adam Rorrer joined me for a Q+A episode. We seek to offer Biblical and edifying responses. We've got everything from serious questions to a Frozen reference to determining if dancing is a sin and everything in between. Timestamps for Questions: 3:00 - Contemporary Music versus Hymns 7:26 - What is worldliness? We define what the world is and how we can be transformed by thinking Biblically. 11:40 - How do you represent Christ in an ungodly work environment? 15:35 - How do you combat legalism/tradition in the church and in my own heart? 20:37 - How do you love up to your God-given potential? 23:34 - Is dancing a sin? 25:58 - How do you deal with the discouragement of dating? or when dating is not working out? 31:06 - Who is your favorite person in the Bible? Why do you like them? 35:20 - What is your why for ministry? 38:37 - What is your go-to coffee order? 39:30 - What is your favorite water? 40:35 - What is your favorite thing about each other? 42:16 - Who is the better golfer?

This Psalm has reminded us that the Lord is our sufficient, restoring, and faithful Shepherd for every step of the journey. He is with us when we're deciding where to go to school, what job to have, and who to marry. He is with us when the company accepts you and the girl rejects you. This life is a journey and we need a Shepherd who is with us through every hill, valley, canyon, and tragedy. He is and He will be with us forever.  Verse 6 directs our gaze to this truth about the Lord - He will be our Shepherd forever. Verse 6 of Psalm 23 stops looking at what the Shepherd has done or is doing and looks to the future. This is David's emphatic conclusion, based upon the character of His Shepherd about what the future holds. Verse 6 declares that He will be our Shepherd forever in two ways:  He Pursues Us - For the Rest of our Life (6a)  He Brings us Home - In the House of the Lord forever (6b) 

Every day is not a clear sky, the sun is shining 65 degrees. There are times when we walk into the valley of the shadow of death. A bad doctor's report enters your inbox. That car T-bones your daughter out of nowhere. He decides that he doesn't want to go through with the wedding. Anything can take you from green pastures and tumble you into the valley of the shadow of death. Your Shepherd is good, but that doesn't mean there will never be bad times.  The only thing we know about the valley of the shadow of death is that we will walk into it. You will go into this valley of deep darkness.  How do we navigate it? How do we make it through? We have a good shepherd who is near. He is with us when we are in the valley.

How are you? This is a question we get asked on a regular basis and it is a question we ask on a regular basis. What is the typical response? “I'm doing good, how are you?” we may say we're doing well or alright. The truth, however, is that we're not always doing great.  There are days, weeks, and even months at a time when we are mentally exhausted, physically tired, and spiritually downcast. It's all part of this journey we are on that Psalm 23 describes for us. The journey doesn't just have hyper-productive days when papers are being written, yards are being mowed, and books are being read. It also includes days where your brain is still on dial-up in a wireless world.  We're not always at our best, but our sufficient Shepherd is always at his best. He's always at His best and because He is, He is our restoring Shepherd. We see this in verses 2 and 3 of Psalm 23. He is our Restoring Shepherd in two ways.  He refreshes the weary (2)  He restores the wayward (3)

The life of every believer is a journey. It's not like driving on an interstate where you hop on one exit and just drive until you reach your next exit. It's more like starting in a distant forest and climbing to the top of a mountain. That journey is not straightforward. It has twists and turns, uphills and downhills, peaks and valleys. It would be nice if our lives were an immediate ascent from salvation to heaven, but that's not the case. With all the twists and turns, predators and traps, how does anyone survive?  How does anyone make it through this journey?  We're on this journey, but we are not alone. The Shepherd of Psalm 23, Good Shepherd of John 10, and Chief Shepherd of First Peter 5 is with you. The one who fed 5,000, turned water to wine, and journeyed with his disciples down dusty roads, green pastures, and into dark valleys is your Shepherd and He is with you.  We're going to study this Psalm over the next four episodes and behold the Shepherd of this Psalm.  Our Sufficient Shepherd (1) Our Restoring Shepherd (2-3)  Our Shepherd through the Valley (4)  Our Shepherd Forever (5-6) 

Taught by Grace is back after a brief hiatus! We will beginning a new series over the next few weeks, but before that, we are exploring this wonderful doxology in Romans 11:33-36. This text calls us to worship the God we cannot comprehend. He is far greater than we can imagine, therefore, He deserves the greatest praise that we can offer. Join me as we walk through this text.

The Tenth Commandment is all about desire. Our hearts are prone to wander. They seek to be satisfied by the stuff of this world, rather than by being content in our gracious, good Heavenly Father. In this episode, we explore the Tenth Commandment by: Giving a Biblical overview of desire Defining how, what, and why we covet Presenting a solution to our covetous hearts - contentment This commandment is about more than wanting your friend's house or body, it's about whether or not you will trust God above all. It's a matter of our faith in our Father.

A little white lie is not a little white sin to God. He despises lying. He hates both the lying tongue and the false witness that speaks lies. So then, to break the ninth commandment is to do something that God hates. Satan deceived Eve in the garden by lying to her about the heart and Word of God. In John, Jesus called Satan the father of lies. To be a liar is to be as Satan-like as you can be and as un-God-like as you can be.  God is not indifferent about lying. His Word is not indifferent about lying. You and I should not be indifferent about lying. Let's examine the ninth commandment to see what is meant by bearing false witness and how we can be a people of truth instead.