God’s blessings to you! I pray you are blessed in your walk with God, your family, and your service unto God, His people, and a needy world.

Here’s a quick thought from Acts 28:

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. (Acts 28:3-6)

I love this account of what happened to Paul after this ship carrying him (and many others) wrecked on the island of Malta. I think there is a lot for us to learn as pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers here.

Paul was a servant. There he was, cold and wet – yet the great apostle gathered wood for the fire, even though there were probably scores of people among the 276 passengers and crew far more suited for the job. Paul’s servant heart was always evident.

Being a godly servant did not prevent all trouble for Paul. A snake came out of the wood and bit Paul, even sticking to his hand.

The adversity didn’t seem to trouble Paul. He didn’t scream, “Why God? I can’t take any more of this!” or “Can’t You see I’m serving You?” Paul didn’t look at those sitting by the fire and say, “You lazy people! If you gathered wood instead of me, this wouldn’t have happened to me!”

God protected Paul: After the shipwreck, Paul knew beyond any doubt that he would make it to Rome as God promised. If a storm or a shipwreck couldn’t stop God’s promise, then a snake wouldn’t either. Paul suffered no harm.

Paul didn’t rise or fall on the opinions of others. Others wanted either to condemn or glorify Paul. The people of Malta first thought Paul was the target of the anger of the gods; then they decided he was a god! Paul couldn’t take their condemnation or their glorification seriously. He was a servant of the living God.

I don’t anticipate many of us will suffer shipwrecks in the coming weeks. But God helping us, we can:

– Be servants to others, not just preachers and teachers.
– Understand that some trouble will come our way.
– Have God’s peace in whatever trouble comes.
– Trust God’s protection.
– Refuse to rise or fall on the opinions of others.

Then our ministry will be “apostolic” in just the right way!

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Good Monday to you! Of course, I don’t know if you are reading this on a Monday, but that’s the day it is sent to you. I pray you are blessed in your walk with God, your family, and your service unto God, His people, and a needy world.

Here’s a quick thought from Acts 25:18-19:

When the accusers stood up, they brought
no accusation against him of such things as I supposed,
but had some questions against him about their own religion
and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

In Acts 25, the man speaking these words is Festus, a newly appointed governor of the Roman province of Judea. He is explaining to King Agrippa why Paul was on trial. Festus explained that the accusations against Paul surprised him (they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed). Their accusations focused on matters of their religion and a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

The words “a certain Jesus” show that Festus didn’t know much about Jesus. It is good to remember that the great and important people of Paul’s day didn’t know much about Jesus, and they had to be told. People still must be told today. Preacher, they might not hear about Jesus, especially His death and resurrection for us, unless you tell them!

Festus didn’t know much about Jesus, but he knew that Paul emphasized the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Please note that the religious leaders accusing Paul complained that Paul wouldn’t stop talking about the risen Jesus, and they hoped that the governor would make Paul stop. Paul didn’t only speak about the risen Jesus, but also Jesus, who had died. When Paul preached, he emphasized the cross. It’s hard to believe that Festus knew that Paul preached that Jesus died, without also hearing about how Jesus died.

It’s really pretty simple:

– People don’t know much about Jesus and need to be told the good news of who Jesus is and what He did for us.
– When you talk about Jesus, always find a way to talk about His crucifixion and resurrection for us.

Wouldn’t you love that to be said of you? “This preacher won’t stop talking about Jesus, and that Jesus died and rose again for us.”

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Good Monday morning to you! That’s when I’m sending this to you, but I really don’t have any idea when (or if) you’ll read this. Whenever you are reading this, please know that I pray that God continually fills you as you keeping serving Him in whatever opportunities you have.

Here’s a quick thought from Acts 23:12-13:

And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together
and bound themselves under an oath,
saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.

This was obviously a real problem for Paul! There were 40 fanatical men so committed to murdering Paul that they swore and oath to not eat or drink until he was dead.

Here’s the thing: Paul didn’t learn about this until later. For some time (we don’t know how long), this was a problem Paul didn’t know about. Though Paul was clueless, God was in control.

There are a lot of hurts to bear in ministry, and sometimes even betrayals. Sometimes we get a little anxious, worrying about what threats or problems may be out there that we can’t see.

Dear friend and fellow servant, calm your heart before the Lord. God is in control and can work His purpose and His will even through the problems you don’t know about!

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I pray this email finds you receiving some rest and refreshment as you continue to serve God, His people, and a needy world. Here’s a quick thought from Acts 21:37-39:

Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander,
“May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?
Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion
and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”
But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city;
and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.” (Acts 21:37-39)

I love this scene from the book of Acts. Paul had just been severely beaten by a mob on the temple mount, rescued from death only by the intervention of a commander in the Roman army.

As the Roman soldiers dragged Paul up the steps to the Antonia Fortress, at the top of the stairs the apostle had an idea: “Maybe I can preach to this crowd that just tried to beat me to death.” At this moment, when his life was in danger from an angry mob and he was suspected of being a dangerous criminal, Paul had one thing on his mind: “Let me preach the gospel!”

Friends, that is the heart of a preacher! Always looking for a God-glorifying opportunity to proclaim God’s word. Always ready for a chance to declare the truth in love.

I’m praying that this week God would give you an unexpected opportunity to proclaim, and that you would have the wisdom to see it and seize it. You can join me – pray this prayer for every pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher who reads this!

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

God bless you today! I pray that this email finds you receiving some recovery and renewal after a weekend where you may have been busy serving Jesus, His people, and a needy world.

In my brief word today, I would ask you to consider Acts 19:20:

So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

This description of what God was doing in Ephesus and the whole region around that great city sound amazing – actually, something like a dream! Wouldn’t you love it to be said of the church, Sunday School class, or Bible study where you serve?

– That the word of the Lord grew – gained influence and touched many lives.
– That the word of the Lord grew mightily – showing mighty power and authority.
– That the word of the Lord actually prevailed – conquering over sin, guilt, and shame.

So, look back through Acts 19 and see some of the features of the church in Ephesus and what God did there.

– It was a church open to and receiving the work of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7)
– It was a church of bold preaching and evangelism (Acts 19:8)
– It was a church that endured opposition (Acts 19:9, 23-41)
– It was a church serious about studying God’s word (Acts 19:9-10)
– It was a church that saw God do unusual things (Acts 19:11-12)
– It was a church where sin was confessed and holiness was valued (Acts 19:17-2)

It’s a good prayer to pray – “Lord, I want to see Your word grow mightily and prevail.” Just remember God wants to build all those other things so that His word can do that mighty, prevailing work.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Blessings to you in the beginning of a new week!

When Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica, their success in preaching the gospel made the leaders of the local synagogue angry and envious. As they accused these Christians before the rulers of the city, the evil men from the marketplace gave an unintended compliment to the effectiveness of God’s work through Paul and Silas.

But when they did not find them,
they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city,
crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down
have come here too.” (Acts 17:6)

To complain that the Christians were these who have turned the world upside-down have come here toowas to say, “these men have radically impacted our world, and nothing seems the same.”

God willing and blessing, people would say such things about the effectiveness of Christians today. One might say that Jesus did not come only to be our teacher, but to turn our world upside-down. Jesus turns the thinking and the power structures of this world around.

My prayer for you is that you would see that your work of faithfully preaching and teaching God’s word does more good and has more impact than you can imagine. I would like to think that when Paul and Silas heard from their enemies that their work was turning the world upside down, they smiled and thought, “Wow, do you really think so? I didn’t’ know we were being that effective.”

Actually, God was working through Paul and Silas to turn the world right side-up again. But when you yourself are upside-down, the other direction appears to be upside-down!

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Here’s a brief thought from Acts 15. In verse one, we read

Certain men came down from Judea
and taught the brethren,
“Unless you are circumcised
according to the custom of Moses,
you cannot be saved.”

Some Jewish Christians came to the congregation in Antioch and taught that Gentiles could become Christians, but only after first becoming Jews, and submitting to all Jewish rituals, including circumcision.

Through Acts 15 there is a brilliant defense of the important truth that we are saved by the grace of Jesus and His grace alone – not by a combination of grace and obedience. The troublemakers who started all this trouble in the church at Antioch were corrected, and all came to agreement.

Here’s the thought: Acts 15 never mentions the names of these troublemakers. In verse 1 they are “certain men.” In verse 2 they are “them.” In verse 5 they are “some of the sect of the Pharisees.” In verse 24 they are “some who went out from us.”

The apostles battled for grace, and they were gracious to those in the wrong.

Of course, there is a time and place for calling people out by name; Paul did it on several occasions. But regarding these ones who were wrong and then corrected in Acts 15, God spared their names recorded for all eternity in His everlasting word.

As you battle for grace, never forget the principle of graciousness.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I pray this email finds you receiving some rest and refreshment as you continue to serve God, His people, and a needy world. Here’s a quick thought from Acts 13:2:

As they ministered to the Lord and fasted,
the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”

I don’t really know if you have noticed that phrase I often use – about serving “God, His people, and a needy world.” I draw the first part of that phrase from the idea found in Acts 13:2. There, it says that the people in the congregation at Antioch ministered to the Lord.

It’s easy for us to focus on the fact that we minister to God’s people – the sheep of His flock. We also minister to a needy world, preaching the gospel to them and loving them in the name of Jesus.

But first and foremost, we minister to the Lord. We serve Him.

This is both a comfort and a challenge. The challenge comes in knowing that we can have a ministry that is praised and popular among men, but doesn’t honor God. We can never be satisfied with such a man-centered ministry.

The comfort comes in knowing that God isn’t impossible to please as people often can be! God knows and understands what others don’t. Even when it seems that we can’t please anyone else, we can please God as we minister to Him.

Don’t ever forget: your first ministry is to God Himself.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

It’s been a long time since I’ve sent one of these emails to you all – I apologize for the long delay and hope once again to get in the rhythm of sending you a note of encouragement every second week.

I do hope your weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world went well. Whether it did or not, here’s an encouraging word from Acts 11:

And the hand of the Lord was with them,
and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:21)

In the ancient world, many people considered Syrian Antioch to be the third greatest city in the Roman Empire, behind Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was known for its business and commerce, for its sophistication and culture, but also for its immorality.

In such a challenging place, God was doing something amazing in the church at Antioch. Luke summarized it in Acts 11:21.

Simply said, the hand of the Lord was with them. Because God was with them, their ministry was blessed and multiplied, and the result was that a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

A ministry can’t turn people to the Lord unless the hand of the Lord is with them.

You can turn people to a personality without the hand of the Lord.
You can turn people to a social club without the hand of the Lord.
You can turn people to a church or an institution without the hand of the Lord.
But you can’t turn people to Jesus without the hand of the Lord.

Let’s pray that God’s hand is mightily upon all we do for Him!

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

A short encouragement for a new week:

Then Midianite traders passed by;
so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit,
and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.
And they took Joseph to Egypt. Genesis 37:28

Joseph had dreams – literal dreams! He dreamed that even though he was one of the younger sons in his family, his older brothers would bow down to him. God spoke to both Joseph and his family in this dream, revealing something of Joseph’s destiny.

The brothers didn’t like that at all. They thought they could defeat God’s plan as revealed in Joseph’s dreams. Therefore, they cruelly sold Joseph to some passing traders and he became a slave in Egypt.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Just a quick thought today from a familiar passage:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1)

After identifying with sinners in His baptism, Jesus then identified with them again in severe temptation. Because this was a necessary part of His ministry, so Jesus truly was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

You made it through another weekend of serving God, His people, and a world that needs Jesus so much! Here’s a brief word from Acts 8 that might just encourage you today.

Then Philip opened his mouth,
and beginning at this Scripture,
preached Jesus to him. (Acts 8:35)

Philip had a wonderful opportunity to preach. The high official from the court of the Queen of Ethiopia was reading from Isaiah 53 about the Suffering Servant, and he asked Philip to explain what it meant.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

You made it through another weekend of serving God, His people, and a world that needs Jesus so much! Here’s a brief word from Psalm 52 that might just encourage you today.

Psalm 52 carries a lot of pain. David was outraged when a wicked man massacred innocent priests. Given the burden this psalm bears, it’s wonderful to see this toward the end of Psalm 52:

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. (Psalm 52:8)

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope your weekend was blessed, and there was at least some encouragement in whatever way God gave you to serve Him. Here’s a quick thought from Psalm 25:

For Your name’s sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. (Psalm 25:11)

David, the great king and psalmist of Israel, wrote Psalm 25 These brief lines teach those of us who serve God and His people in the ministry of the word some important things.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

I pray that this email reaches you finding some refreshment in his holiday season. Those of us who serve God’s Church know that often these weeks are exhausting and filled with pressure. These weeks can also be discouraging, but I hope that this word from the prophet Amos will both encourage and inspire you:

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
“When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
the mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.” (Amos 9:13)

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

I hope this email reaches you as you enjoy some refreshment and restoring after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world. Those of us who serve in this way know the rhythm of pouring out, and then having our “cup” filled up again by God through the many ways He chooses to do that.

Here’s a quick thought for you from Acts 22:

Then he said, “The God of our fathers has chosen you
that you should know His will, and see the Just One,
and hear the voice of His mouth.” (Acts 22:14)

In this passage, Paul remembered words spoken to him by Ananias, in the few days after his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope this email finds you well after a weekend of serving Jesus, His people, and a needy world. Here’s a thought about leadership from the life of David 2 Samuel 5:1-3:

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’” Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope your weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world was blessed and you have your sights set on your next opportunity. Here’s something from 1 Samuel to keep in mind as God allows you to serve Him:

Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest,
to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me?
And did I not give to the house of your father
all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? (1 Samuel 2:28)

This passage in 1 Samuel 2 contains some of the words that a man of God brought against Eli, the high priest of Israel. In God’s word to Eli through this unknown prophet, we have a wonderful summary of some of the duties of the priesthood in Israel.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Here is a thought for your Monday, following a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world…

Ruth 2 presents the wonderful picture of Ruth, the Moabitess, finding favor with Boaz. Boaz generously gave her permission to glean in his field.

She gleaned in the field until evening,
and beat out what she had gleaned. (Ruth 2:17)

“Gleaning” was the practice of going into a recently-harvested field and picking up whatever grain remained. God commanded Israel in Leviticus 19:9-10 to deliberately leave some behind for the poor and needy of the land to get food.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Here is a thought for your Monday, following a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world…

No grain offering which you bring to the LORD
shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven
nor any honey in any offering to the LORD made by fire. (Leviticus 2:11)

Leviticus 2 describes the grain offering for ancient Israel. This was typically fine flour, mixed with a bit of oil and frankincense. A portion of the flour was burnt before the LORD on the altar. The rest was given to the priests for their own use in making bread for the priest and his family.

Many commentators see the grain offering as suggestive of our service to God. G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “This meal offering was the work of men’s hands, of the fruits of the ground, the result of cultivation, manufacture, and preparation; and it was the symbol of service offered.”

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Here is a thought for your Monday, following a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world…

Do you know the story of how the parents of Moses put him in a basket and set on the Nile River so he could be found by Pharaoh’s daughter? They did this to escape the command to kill every Hebrew boy at birth. It’s all in Exodus 1 and 2.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

As pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers, we value the Bible, the word of God. The time we spend studying, thinking about, and meditating on the words of God recorded for us in the Bible bring a great reward. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like a reward; sometimes God’s words challenge us, confront us, and correct us.

I thought about this in connection with Genesis 22:2:

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac,
whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt offering
on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

God doesn’t give angels the work of evangelism. That He leaves to His people, and especially to pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers.

Yet, angels can sometimes be an example to us of effective evangelism. We see this in Genesis 19, where two angels tried to persuade the family of Lot to escape the judgment about to come upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry,
saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here,
lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” (Genesis 19:15)

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Do you remember the story of Hagar? We often don’t dwell too long on her as we read and teach through Genesis. However, consider this from Genesis 16:13:

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her,
You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said,
“Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

In a terrible home situation, all Hagar could do was run. Hagar thought her circumstances needed transformation; in fact, she needed transformation. The God of transforming power met her at a well. There she came realize that she met with Him who sees me.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Good Monday Morning to You! I pray this finds you receiving some rest and refreshment from the Lord after a busy weekend of serving God., His people, and a needy world.

Here’s a short thought from God’s word for you, dear servant of God.

Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian,
and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife,
after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 16:3)

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Many of you have shared with me how much you’ve been helped by using the Enduring Word commentary in your preaching and teaching ministry, and I wanted to take a moment and share how grateful I am for your encouragement.

I am also excited to share with you that the Enduring Word team has now completed translations of my New Testament commentary in the Arabic and Chinese (Simplified) languages, and the entire Bible commentary in Spanish.

I recently read that 95% of the world’s Christian pastors have no formal Bible training. Our heart at Enduring Word is to provide these leaders with the Enduring Word Bible commentary for free wherever the Lord opens the doors, particularly with leaders of the underground church – and, we want to ask for your help.

Can you help us connect with your missionary and Christian leader friends who teach in these languages worldwide so we can share the commentaries with them in their native tongue?

And He blessed him there. (Genesis 32:29)

You know the great story of when the “Man” wrestled with Jacob, recorded in Genesis 32. It’s a wonderful preaching and teaching passage, full of deep truth and application.

I would like you to focus on one word in half a verse. The half verse is the second half of Genesis 32:29: And He blessed him there. The one word is there.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I pray that as this email reaches you on a Monday (or whenever), you are finding some rest and recovery after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world.

Today I have a brief thought for you from a familiar passage, Matthew 9:20-22 which tells the story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed. Here is the text:

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Happy Monday to you! Today I want to draw your attention to a familiar story, found in Matthew 9. What Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day caught my attention for what it says to us as those serving the Lord.

Friends, we don’t want to make the same mistakes these hypocrites made. We need to understand and do ministry in light of God’s priorities, aligned with His focus, and with a deep knowledge of God and His word. With God’s help and humble hearts, we can.

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Happy Monday to you! I know that this will be a busy week for you, and maybe stressful. I want you to know that I am praying for you this week, asking God to bring special wisdom, grace, strength, and spiritual power to every servant of His that reads this!

I am praying that Ephesians 1:17-20 will be real in your life and ministry this week:

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead
and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Here is a special bonus. A few years ago a received a very special Bible. It was one of the preaching Bibles of a great man of God named J. Edwin Orr. Dr. Orr had this Bible specially bound with preaching notes in it. So, below are notes that he used to preach on the resurrection of Jesus from 1 Corinthians 15. Maybe it might stir your mind for a thought or two this week!

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly. (Psalm 147:15)

It is wonderful to hear that the Enduring Word Bible commentary has been helpful to many of you in your preparation and Bible reading. We are honored to have any part of the process of helping fellow believers and the local church. 

As many of you know, Enduring Word gives a lot of attention and resources to the translation of my Bible commentary in many languages. To date, our most extensive work has been in Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese.

We are pleased to tell you again that we have completed the translation of the New Testament commentary in both Arabic and Chinese.   These translated versions, including the Old and New Testament in Spanish,  are now available for free on their own “sub-domain” websites at:

• Spanish Old and New Testaments – on our main site, and soon on es.enduringword.com
• Arabic New Testament plus Genesis, Ruth, and Psalms –  arabic.enduringword.com
• Chinese New Testament –  chinese.enduringword.com

In this regard, I would like to introduce you to my friend Deven Berryhill.  Over the past year, Deven has helped us share the Bible commentaries with many Arabic and Chinese language ministries like ArabicBible.com, the WeDevote Chinese Bible app, SAT7 Arabic TV, Ambassadors for Christ – Chinese Distributers, Digital Bible Society, and Trans World Radio among others. 

I know many of you have missionaries or other ministry contacts in the Arabic, Chinese and Spanish speaking worlds. Please consider connecting Deven with those friends.  We would love to get them commentary as a weblink, file sharing, PDF/Word.doc or XML formats.  We are also very interested in partnering with other ministries to distribute these resources freely and widely.

You can contact Deven at deven@enduringword.com.  We are excited to see how God will use these Bible commentary translations for His glory and to further Jesus’ kingdom.

In Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Happy Monday to you! I pray that today you can re-charge a bit after a weekend spent serving God, His people, and a needy world.

Peter’s sermon on the Temple Mount in Acts 3 gives a few thoughts this week:

What I want you to notice about Peter’s preaching in Acts 3:12-26 is how personal he made his message. In this sermon at the temple courts (Acts 3:12-26), Peter used the words you or your at least 11 times. Here are some examples of how directly Peter spoke to them.

– Why do you marvel at this?

– Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied.

– You denied the Holy One and the Just.

– Whom you see and know.

– In the presence of you all.

– You did it ignorance.

– Your sins may be blotted out.

– His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you.

We need this kind of direct speaking! The preacher shouldn’t fill his sermon with vague speculations and meditations on distant theological concepts. We need to speak directly to our listeners, and never be afraid to say, “you.”

Our tone and our heart must communicate “you and me and all of us,” never acting as if we think we are so right with God and our listeners aren’t. But, at the same time, we can’t be afraid to bring the message home and make it personal.

Peter didn’t always have this boldness. Just a few weeks before this he denied even knowing who Jesus was! But filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter was bold enough to speak directly to the heart of those who heard him.

Let’s pray for the same boldness of the Holy Spirit to fill our heart and words as we preach God’s Word to the hungry sheep of God’s flock and a needy world.

In Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope your Monday morning finds you resting and restoring after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world.

Here’s a verse from Matthew for you to think about today:

Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic,
“Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” (Matthew 9:2)

The man was obviously paralyzed, yet Jesus didn’t speak first to his leg problem. Jesus spoke first to the man’s sin problem. After telling the man to take courage (be of good cheer), Jesus pronounced his sins as forgiven.

Here is something worth remembering as we do our work and proclaim God’s word: don’t forget their sin problem.

Sometimes we would rather not talk about sin. It seems old-fashioned and unpopular. It often seems that always being positive and pleasant is better rewarded. People don’t like being reminded of their sin.

Yet, we are servants of our Master, Jesus Christ – and He knew the importance of dealing with the sin problem. Jesus addressed the man’s greater problem. As bad as it is to be paralyzed, it is infinitely worse to be bound and lost in your sin.

The old Puritan commentator Matthew Poole saw six reasons why Jesus dealt with the man’s sin first. To paraphrase Poole’s reasons why the sin was dealt with first:

• Because sin is the root from which all our evils come.
• Because forgiveness is more important than bodily healing.
• Because the most important thing Jesus came to do was to deal with sin.
• Because when a man’s sins are forgiven, he comes into relationship with God.
• Because God forgives sin in response to faith.
• Because it began an important conversation with the religious leaders.

Dear friend serving the Lord, as you speak to others in your work for Him, don’t forget to address the problem of sin – and more importantly, God’s solution to the problem in Jesus Christ.

In Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Happy Monday! I don’t know what your weekend ministry was like, but I’m praying that today can be a day of refreshment and inspiration to you.

Here are a few thoughts leading up to Christmas from Micah 5:2:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”

Bethlehem was well known as the hometown of David, Israel’s greatest king; yet it was never a great or influential city. It was truly little among the thousands of Israel. Yet God chose it as the birthplace of the Messiah, the Ruler in Israel.

This passage from Micah 5 was quoted by the chief priests and teachers of the law when Herod asked about the birth of the Messiah (Matthew 2:5-6).

Bethlehem means House of Bread. From eternity past (Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting), Jesus came to us as the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Micah’s prophetic voice declared that though Jesus came from Bethlehem, He did not begin there. His goings forth are from eternity past.

Knowing that Jesus’ goings forth are from of old, from everlasting shows us some important things:

– It shows us the glory of Jesus, that He is far more than merely a man.
– It shows us the love of Jesus, that He would leave the glory of heaven for us.
– It shows us the sympathy of Jesus, that He remains fully man and fully God.

– It shows us the nature of Jesus, that He would add humanity to His deity.

Dear servant of God, that glory, love, and sympathy bound up in the nature of Jesus are for you. It isn’t just for the people you serve in Jesus’ name! It’s for you, and you can’t give what you haven’t first received.

Let the glory of the eternal Jesus fill your soul – and then bless others from the overflow!

In Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

This Monday morning, it is an honor to write to you – a great one!

If you don’t think of yourself as great, think again and read Psalm 18:35:

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great. (Psalm 18:35)

David was the human author of the great Psalm 18, but the Holy Spirit so inspired and guided him that his words spoke not only of David himself, but of believers in general, and especially of Jesus Christ, David’s greater Son.

In an ultimate sense Jesus is One who received the shield of God’s salvation. He is the ultimate One held up by God’s right hand. Jesus is the greatest of all, and in a wonderful sense it was the Father’s gentleness that made Jesus great.

Though this was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, in a lesser sense it was true of David the Psalmist, and also true of us. We can say that the gentleness of God makes every believer great also, more than they often consider.

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their royal birth; who has a greater claim to royal birth than the son or daughter of the King of Kings?

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their election; what greater election is there than to be the elect of God?

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their wealth; who has greater riches than the children and heirs of the God who owns all?

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their victories; who has achieved greater victory than the one who is in unity with Jesus Christ, the greatest champion of all?

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their influence; who has greater influence than the child of God who can move the hand of God with his faithful and righteous prayers?

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their discoveries; who has discovered anything greater than the nature of the infinite and eternal God?

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their history; who has a greater heritage than a member of the body of Christ as it spans through the ages and generations?

– In this world, some people are thought to be great because of their destiny; who has a more glorious and amazing destiny than the heirs of His glory, those who are His own inheritance?

I don’t know how your weekend of ministry was – but take comfort in the fact that God’s gentleness has made you great.

Blessings to you, great one, 

In Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope God sustained and blessed you through another weekend of serving Him!

Instead of a scripture and short encouragement, today I have a special announcement that is directed to you who, directly or indirectly, have websites. It could be a personal website, a church website, or a ministry website.

If your website operates on a WordPress platform, I would like to offer you and your website visitors a special opportunity: a direct link to quickly access and navigate the Enduring Word Bible commentary online.

It works through plug-in that displays on your front page, or wherever else on your website you would like to place it.

Look for this box at https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-1/ and click where it says, “Quick Navigation” to see how it works.

To learn more about this free plugin and for easy installation information, click here. 

In a few weeks I’ll be back with my normal twice-monthly encouragement by email.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Here’s a thought for your Monday morning, after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world. It’s from a strange event in the ministry of Jesus found in Matthew 8:34:

Dangerous, demon-possessed men brought so much terror to a city that they took the tormented men and chained them up in a graveyard.

Those demons were no match for Jesus, and at His command the men were set free. The whole city responded – the whole city came out to meet Jesus! Surely, they came to thank Him and honor Him as Lord.

Here is the shock of Matthew 8:34: instead of thanking Jesus, they wanted him to go away. They begged Him to depart from their region.

The work of Jesus had unified the whole city, and they had all come out to meet with and to talk to Jesus; but it was not in a good way. They asked Jesus to leave, and He did.

When we minister in Jesus’ name, sometimes people will be against us. Sometimes it might even feel like everyone is against us!

In those seasons, humble yourself before God. Ask Him to search your heart, and speak to you of any wicked way in you (Psalm 139:23-24). Yet at the end of it all, if you are rejected for standing with Jesus – then stand with your Savior. He knows what you’re going through!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Here’s a thought for your Monday morning, after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world. It’s a warning to the leaders of the Kingdom of Judah from Micah 3:12:

Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.

Like most of the prophets, Micah fearlessly confronted the corruption of his time. He spoke to Judah’s judges, prophets, and princes. The ruling elite of Judah were not much better than the rulers of the apostate northern Kingdom of Israel, and they could expect similar judgment unless they repented.

They needed to repent from a lot. Corruption had deeply set in, like bribery among the judges and greedy attitudes among the priests and the prophets. Despite this disgraceful state of things, they still made a pretense of trusting God. The leaders of Jerusalem had a false confidence in religious ritual and form. All the while, Jerusalem was destined for judgment unless they repented.

For anyone who has studied the prophets of the Old Testament, these lines run along familiar tracks. We see the bold expose of corruption and the fearless call to repentance. But at this point the lines of Micah’s ministry run in a different direction: they actually listened to him.

The great thing about the Prophet Micah was that he was listened to. Hosea was ignored, and so was Amos. They threw Jeremiah in jail for his prophetic message of coming judgment. In contrast, King Hezekiah and the leadership of Judah listened to the Prophet Micah.

Jeremiah 26:17-19 describes how even a hundred years later the impact of Micah was remembered. King Hezekiah heard God’s warning through Micah, and they repented.

We get used to the familiar pattern of people rejecting God’s word through His messengers, and then carelessly carrying on to their appointed judgment. Yet it doesn’t have to end that way. Sometimes the people of God really do listen and respond to the voice of the Spirit and turn back to God. When they do, they find God ready to welcome them back with open arms and His transforming grace. Sometimes it really works just like it should.

Take this to heart, even in seasons of discouragement. Sometimes our work for God and His people works just like it should. We appreciate this as preachers of God’s Word, but we also need to learn from it as people under God’s word: we can listen to the messengers God sends our way.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Here’s a thought for your Monday morning, after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world. It’s a thought from Matthew 8:26:

But He said to them,
“Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”
Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

It’s a great passage, isn’t it? Perhaps you have preached many times on this scene of Jesus rebuking wind and waves, and how He can calm our stormy seas.

Allow me to take this passage and apply it to us as pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers. Focus on the question Jesus asked: Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Jesus rebuked their fear and unbelief – not for waking Him up or for asking for help. We shouldn’t think that Jesus was in a bad mood from being awakened. He was troubled at their fear, because fear and unbelief go together.

In fact, Jesus dealt with His disciples before He dealt with the storm! Relatively speaking, the storm was easy to deal with. Attention needed to be given to the disciples first.

I think Jesus rebuked their fear because they actually had many reasons to have faith, even reasons for great faith.

– They had just seen Jesus do significant miracles, showing great power and authority.
– They had seen an example of great faith with the centurion who trusted Jesus to heal his servant.
– They had Jesus with them in the boat and they saw Jesus sleeping; His peace should have given them peace.

Friend, maybe you have some genuine reasons to be afraid. For the disciples, the storm and the threat from it were real.

Here’s the truth: whatever your reasons for fear, God has given you even greater reasons for faith. If you can’t think of any of those reasons, ask God to show you. Call a friend and tell them you are looking for more reasons and greater reasons to believe. The reasons are there – our part is to perceive them.

Go out and keep serving God, His people, and a needy world, knowing that you have great reasons to believe – no matter what the reasons for fear may be!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Today (September 7, 2020) is “Labor Day” in the United States. Many workers in the US have a holiday, intended to honor the working men and women of the country.

No matter what country you live in, I’m writing this to you as a servant of Jesus Christ – someone who labors for the Lord’s work. With that in mind, look at these familiar words from Jesus:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus directed His call to those who were burdened by their work, to all you who labor and are heavy laden. According to one commentator, labor implies the burdens we take upon ourselves, and heavy laden implies the burdens others put upon us.

To all those, Jesus gave this invitation: take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. When we take the yoke of Jesus, we find that it:

– Is easy and light as compared with the yoke of others.
– Is easy and light as long as I do not rebel against it.
– Has nothing to do with worries that are forbidden to us.
– Does not include the burdens we choose to add to it.

Taking the yoke of Jesus, you will find rest for your souls. This unmatchable gift – both powerful and profound – should be considered the birthright of those who come to Jesus and are His followers.

Jesus summarized this wonderful call with this assurance: My yoke is easy and My burden is light. The yoke is easy and the burden is light because He bears it with us. Borne alone, it might be unbearable; but with Jesus it can be easy and light.

There is still a yoke to bear and burden to carry. Yet with and in Jesus, they are easy and light. If your yoke is hard and your burden is heavy, ask yourself:

Is the yoke and burden of Jesus? Or, is it really from myself or other people?

Am I really letting Jesus bear the weight of this yoke with me?

Dear brother or sister, keep on plowing – just make sure you do it with the yoke of Jesus, and let Him bear the weight of the yoke with you.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Jesus gives us something to think about after a weekend of serving God and His people:

And Jesus said to him,
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20)

A scribe came to Jesus and said he wanted to follow Him. “Scribe” means that he was an educated, professional man – something like an attorney today. Maybe he looked at the unimpressive and uneducated men who made up the 12 disciple and figured he would be the natural leader among them – an impressive addition to team Jesus.

Jesus responded to the scribe, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Jesus didn’t tell the man “No, you can’t follow Me.” But Jesus told him the truth, without painting a glamorized version of what it was like to follow Him.

There is often very little glamor and a fair amount of hardship in following Jesus and serving Him. I don’t think it is helpful to focus on the things we give up for the sake of Jesus and serving His people, but it is good to remember from time to time that it is normal. It doesn’t mean that we are failures or are doing it wrong.

Many pastors and Christian workers I know are exhausted. They have been giving their all in these strange times and have done so for a long time. If that’s you, please find a way to take some rest. In your time of resting (whether it is long or short), remember that a not-glamorous ministry is doing it just like Jesus did.

I’m sending this with a prayer for you and all who read this email!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Jesus gives us something to think about after a weekend of serving God and His people:

I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18b)

These words of Jesus give us the first use of the word church in the New Testament. It is the ancient Greek word ekklesia – a “called-out group.” Many people consider the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 as the “birthday” of the church, but Jesus certainly anticipated the eventually joining of Jewish and Gentile believers together in the one body, the church. The church would be made up of all those who truly trusted in the message just revealed to the disciples: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

This statement of Jesus was a clear claim of ownership – He said, My church. Please note, the church belongs to Jesus. This was also a claim to deity – only God can say the church belongs to Him.

Taken together, the promise is wonderful:

– Jesus brings His people together in common: I will build.
– Jesus builds on a firm foundation: On this rock I will build.
– Jesus builds something that belongs to Him: My church.
– Jesus builds His people into a stronghold: the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Here is a comforting promise: the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. As dark as things seem sometime, we can trust the promise of Jesus that the forces of death and darkness can’t prevail against or conquer the church.

As you seek to serve Jesus, His people, and a needy world this week, keep it in mind: the church belongs to Jesus. Fundamentally, the church doesn’t belong to the pastor, to the elder or deacon board, or to the congregation. The church certainly doesn’t belong to the government or its leaders.

The church belongs to the One who purchased it with His own blood. Whatever we do for the sake of God’s church, let’s do it with boldness and trust in Him, and do it for His glory and recognition.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I have in mind some special people for this brief word. I think of those who have worked hard to bring something from God’s word to God’s people and to all who will listen. Whether you speak to many or to few, you have a privileged place – to speak on behalf of the King of Glory.

With that in mind, think of this from Matthew 8:8:

The centurion answered and said,
“Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.
But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.”

When the Roman centurion asked a favor of Jesus, he asked it with great sensitivity towards Jesus. He knew that it was forbidden for an observant Jew to enter a Gentile’s house, so the centurion insisted it was not necessary for Jesus to come to his house. All Jesus had to do was speak a word, and the centurion’s servant would be healed.

The Roman centurion understood something that many people do not: that the healing power of Jesus was not some sort of magic trick that required the magician’s presence. Instead, he knew Jesus had true authority, and Jesus could command things to be done and outside His immediate presence – and they would be done!

The centurion showed great faith in Jesus’ word. He understood that Jesus can heal with His word just as easily as with a touch. The centurion knew that the authority of Jesus was at least as great as the authority of a commanding officer over the soldiers under his charge. When the commanding officer spoke, the soldiers were to respect his authority. When Jesus speaks, He commands authority over every created thing.

Dear friend who labors in the proclamation of God’s word: please remember that there is tremendous authority in the word of God. Your own authority or personality doesn’t really matter much; you are a messenger of the God of all authority! When you clearly explain and apply what God says in His word, you can be as bold as a lion. As you stick to God’s word, you have apostolic authority in the best sense.

Uncertain times call for clear words from our pulpits and places of Bible teaching. This isn’t a season for vain speculations; people need to hear the authority of God’s word. They need to hear it from people who are persuaded that the word of Jesus has authority. I hope you have as much faith in the authority of Jesus’ word as the Roman centurion did!

The authority of Jesus’ word has not weakened one bit in the last 2,000 years. Ask God to give you a fresh appreciation of the authority of the word of God as you present the message of Jesus Christ, the living word.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Right now, many of us are thinking of how things will get back to “normal.” But if you’re like me, you also think: “Lord, I don’t want things back to where they were before all this global pandemic and other shaking events. In Jesus’ name, bring us to a better place with You than we were ever at before.”

Remember this from the Book of Job:

Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.
Job 42:12

You will remember that at the start of the Book of Job, the man Job was a blessed, godly man, with a real relationship with God.

Then the calamities came, and Job had a true crisis.

Yet at the end of it all, Job was more blessed, greater in his godliness, and had a deeper relationship with God. What the devil intended for evil, God used for good. Through it all, God made a good man better.

As tough as it has been, I don’t think many of us have suffered as badly as Job suffered. But we want God to work in us and through us in the way He worked through Job. Our prayer is, “Lord – in these hard times, please don’t let one bit of suffering or trouble be wasted. Let it all work for Your glory and my growth.”

In the story of Job we could say that God declared to Satan: “You do your worst with Job, and I will do My best in him – and let’s see who wins in the end.”

By faith, receive it – God’s best working in you even through this strange season. At the end of it all, we hope to end with something better than normal!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

God be with you on this Monday! I don’t know if you preached or taught the Bible this last weekend, but I wanted to bring you this encouraging word from Matthew 8:12:

When He had come down from the mountain,
great multitudes followed Him.
And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying,
“Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

As pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers, we all know that Jesus did many amazing miracles. Today, think for a moment about this leper. We read here that he came to Jesus, he worshipped Jesus, and he asked Jesus to heal him.

Here is a simple thought: this leper came to Jesus despite many discouragements. Think about the reasons he had to be discouraged:

• He knew how terrible his problem was.
• He knew that other people gave up on him as having a hopeless condition.
• He came alone, having no one who would or could take him to Jesus.
• He had no previous example of Jesus healing a leper to give him hope.
• He had no promise that Jesus would heal him.
• He had no invitation from Jesus or the disciples.
• He must have felt ashamed and alone in the crowd.

This leper fought off all these discouragements and came to Jesus, worshipped Him, and asked Jesus for a miracle to meet his need.

As we serve God, there are many discouragements along the way. Sometimes I think that “discouragement” is the sharpest tool the devil uses against God’s servants.

But the next time you feel so discouraged, remember this leper who battled through every discouragement to come to Jesus, worship Him, and receive from Jesus. Then remember that you have many, many more reasons for encouragement than that leper ever had!

• You know how bad your problems are; you have also seen the power of Jesus win the victory many times.
• You know other people have given up on you; but you also know Jesus has never given up on you.
• You may feel alone in your problem, but you know Jesus is with you.
• You have many examples of Jesus powerfully working for His servants.
• You have many precious promises from Jesus to encourage you.
• You have an invitation to the throne of grace in your time of need.
• You have many others who know your difficulty and stand beside you.

Sure, you have reasons to be discouraged – but you have many more reasons to be encouraged. Lord Jesus, help us to walk in the strength of your encouraging promises!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Happy Day-After-Pentecost! I pray that today and all this week you can walk in the power and the strength of the Holy Spirit. We need it more today than ever.

Today, just a short thought from Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:9:

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent,
to be well pleasing to Him.

You’ve heard it before – “when you read a ‘therefore,’ find out what it is there for.” Before verse 9, Paul drew attention to eternity; being absent from our body and being present with the Lord. In light of that, we have an aim – and that aim is to be well pleasing to Him. Since what we do right now has eternal consequences, our goal must persistently be to please God.

This is our aim, whether present or absent. We can’t do anything right now about pleasing God when after this life we are absent from these bodies and present with the Lord. That day has not yet come. Yet we can do something about pleasing Jesus right now – when we are absent from His immediate presence and present in these bodies.

As far as we know, there are some opportunities for pleasing God that we will only have while we are present in these bodies. When we get to heaven, there will be no more need for faith, no more need for endurance through trials, no more need for courage and boldness in telling others about Jesus. Now, while we are present in these bodies, is our only opportunity in all eternity to please God in these areas.

So, take aim – make it your bold goal to be well pleasing to Jesus. The people liked your sermon – but was it well pleasing to Him? Your social media post got a lot of likes – but was it well pleasing to Him? Those movers and shakers in your church are pleased, but is it well pleasing to Him?

Take aim, dear servant of God! Remember what Alexander Maclaren said: “You report to headquarters. Never mind what anybody else thinks of you. Your business is to please Christ, and the less you trouble yourselves about pleasing men the more you will succeed in doing it.”

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Do you remember this event from the life of Jesus?

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1)

Immediately after Jesus identified with sinful humanity through His baptism, the Holy Spirit then led Him to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Gospel of Mark says it even stronger, saying that the Holy Spirit “drove” Jesus to the wilderness.

As servants of the Lord, we all want to be led by the Holy Spirit. It’s one of our deepest desires. Just remember that the Holy Spirit made lead us to uncomfortable places with many challenges. For some reason, I sometimes think that if I’m really led by the Spirit, life will be a constant progress from one happy experience to another. Matthew 4:1 reminds us that the Holy Spirit has a purpose even in the challenges we face.

This was a remarkable contrast between the “then” connected to the glory of Jesus’ baptism and the “now” of His challenge in the wilderness.

Then, the cool waters of the Jordan; now the barren wilderness.
Then, the big crowds; now solitude and silence.
Then, the Spirit rested like a dove; now the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
Then, the voice of the Father calling Him “Beloved Son”; now the hiss of Satan the tempter.
Then, anointed; now attacked.
Then, the water of baptism; now the fire of temptation.
Then, the heavens were opened; now it seemed that hell was open wide.

So, in the challenges you face right now – if the Holy Spirit has led or even driven you to them, then God will use them for good. Don’t lose heart. Don’t be afraid of the circumstances; if God is for you, who can be against you?

You don’t need circumstances on your side; you need God’s victory, and it is found in Jesus Christ. Remember that Adam failed in a beautiful garden and Jesus was victorious in a barren wilderness.

The same Jesus has filled you, called you, anointed you, and sent you the Holy Spirit – even if now it feels like you are in the wilderness.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

You’re probably familiar with this wonderful event in the life of Jesus – His baptism. This was another example of His radical identification with sinful humanity. It also marked the starting point of His earthly ministry.

Mark 1:9-11 tells the story:

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee,
and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately,
coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting
and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.
Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.”

What I want to show you is how the baptism of Jesus shows both humility and exaltation.

The baptism of Jesus displayed a humble beginning:

– Jesus: This was a common, unremarkable name.
– From Nazareth: This was an unremarkable, despised village.
– Of Galilee: This was the unspiritual region, not the “Bible belt” of the area at that time.
– Was baptized: Jesus identified with sinful man.
– In the Jordan: This was an unremarkable – often even unpleasant – river. Some rabbis disqualified the Jordan River for purification ceremonies.

At the same time, this scene also displayed great glory:

– The heavens parting: Heaven opened wide for this.
– The Spirit descending: The Spirit of God was present, and in some way His presence was discernable.
– Like a dove: In some way the Spirit was present and “flew down” on Jesus like a dove.
– A voice came from heaven: It’s rare in the Bible when we read that God speaks audibly from heaven, but this was one of those glorious occasions.
– You are My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: What could be more glorious than to hear public affirmation from God the Father?

We each need to put our trust in and receive the ministry of this humble and exalted Savior, Jesus Christ.

As pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers, we also need to understand that our own ministries will have times of humility, times of exaltation, and times where they are a mixture of both. God has a wonderful purpose in both.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope you had a great “Empty Tomb Day” – we probably won’t experience another one like that in our lifetime!

For so many pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers, they have never reached so many people before on a Resurrection Sunday. Instead of reaching them at a “regular” Easter Sunday service, they have reached out online and in other ways. It’s amazing how this strange season has led to tremendous opportunity.

Here’s a quick thought from Psalm 62:5:

My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
Psalm 62:5

In Psalm 62, David beautifully declared his trust in God alone. David spoke to himself (a good thing to do), telling his soul to submit to God. Then, Davide expressed the same thought in a different way: my expectation is from Him.

Dear pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher – this is the heart we need right now. In this season where we really don’t know what to expect next, we need to say, my expectation is from Him.

God has surprised us thus far, and there may be many more surprises to come. But when our expectation is from Him, we will never be disappointed.

Here’s a great prayer: “Lord, I often don’t know what to expect. Today I surrender all my expectations to You, and I agree with what David said in Psalm 62:5: my expectation is from You. I believe that what You have for me is better than whatever I could expect apart from You.”

That’s a great expectation.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Strange time, isn’t it? I don’t think many of us have ever experienced something like this before. All our normal routines have changed, and most all of us are doing church over the internet if at all. We’re preaching to empty rooms and video cameras, and trying to connect with people the best we can. As God may lead us, we’re trying new things and trying to figure out how to help God’s people and a needy world.

I won’t pretend to have “Gods’ word for this time.” I think there is a lot that God is doing in this season, and God will probably move in some ways that we may have no idea of at the moment.

So, let me suggest one thing to pay attention to: God has us in a Selah Season.

You know that word Selah, don’t you? Selah appears 74 times in the Old Testament – 71 times in the Psalms and 3 times in Habakkuk. The idea in the Hebrew for this word is a pause. Some think that this was a musical instruction, perhaps calling for a musical interlude of some kind. But most scholars think Selah speaks of a reflective pause, a pause to meditate on the words just spoken. Maybe it was both – “meditate on these words while you listen to this music.”

Right now, many of us are in a forced “pause” – a Selah. You weren’t looking for it, but here it is. So, let’s Selah – and look at a few places in the Psalms where we are told to pause, and to think about something.

Pause for confident praise: Psalm 44:8 
In God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever. Selah

Pause for assurance of God’s presence: Psalm 46:7 
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Pause to find your shelter in God: Psalm 32:7 
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Pause to realize that we are weak and that life is short: Psalm 39:4-6 
LORD, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah

Pause for unshakable confidence: Psalm 46:1-3 
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

Pause to consider the assurance of our resurrection: Psalm 49:15 
But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me. Selah

You can keep going on your own. Take time to pause, and there’s no better place to take a pause than where God tells you to. Meditate on the Selahs in the Psalms.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I don’t have to tell you that these are crazy times. I don’t know what your weekend services were like, but it probably wasn’t a normal Sunday.

As you think about the coming weeks, maybe you are afraid. You’re worried about your family and those close to you. You’re worried about the uncertainty of it all. You’re worried about what all this might mean financially. It would be not be strange if you were afraid.

At the same time, perhaps you can’t tell anyone about your fears – after all, you are a leader, and leaders aren’t supposed to be afraid.

If any of that fits you, please do what Hezekiah did when he got a letter that gave him many reasons to be afraid:

And Hezekiah received the letter
from the hand of the messengers, and read it;
and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD,
and spread it before the LORD.
(2 Kings 19:14)

Hezekiah did exactly what any child of God should do with such a letter. He took it to the house of the LORD(to the outer courts, not the holy place), and he spread it out before the LORD. In this, Hezekiah boldly and effectively fulfilled the later command of 1 Peter 5:7: casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

If you need to, do exactly that. Write out your fears, take them before the LORD, and leave them there with Him. Spread it all out before the LORD. If you can’t tell anyone else about your fears, you can tell God. If you need to put on a strong face for everyone else, that’s fine – but be honest with God. God can take it, and you need it!

It’s a preacher’s cliché, but it is true: We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know Who holds the future. In seasons of uncertainty, we cling to our unchanging God.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope you had a blessed weekend of serving Jesus, His people, and a needy world. For some of you, it was an exhilarating time; for others, there were more than a few discouragements. Whether it was an easy or a difficult ministry weekend for you, I pray God will bless, refresh, and empower to keep going and growing in serving Jesus Christ.

Here is a brief thought from Psalm 36:5-6 for you to consider today:

Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

Today, take some time to remember just how great, how mighty, how wonderful the God you serve is. David understood it in Psalm 36. After spending the first four verses of Psalm 36 writing about wicked men in all their wickedness, David turned his mind to more pleasant thoughts.

We can picture David standing on a height overlooking the land of Israel – maybe even on Mount Arbel. As David looked up into the blue sky, he said: Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens.

Then he saw beautiful clouds drifting through the sky and said, Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

He turned his eyes north and saw Mount Hermon in the distance, and sang Your righteousness is like the great mountains.

Then he looked down at the beautiful Sea of Galilee and said, Your judgments are a great deep.

Finally, some well-fed rabbits eating grass caught his eye, and he thought about how God provides for all His creatures: O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

When David thought of the mercy, the faithfulness, the righteousness, and the judgments of God, he could only describe these attributes of God with the biggest things he could think of – the heavens, the clouds that fill the sky, the great mountains, and the great deep of the sea.

I don’t think there really are any great servants of God. We are all just serving Him in whatever way He gives and gifts us to do. It’s easy to think of ourselves more highly than we should!

But I do know this: we serve a great God. That in itself makes our work great! Be assured, there are no small servants before such a great God.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

How was your weekend? If God gave you the opportunity to preach or teach His Word, I pray that it was effective and that you were able to enjoy being God’s messenger.

Today I want to share an encouragement with you from Romans 11:36:

For of Him
and through Him
and to Him are all things,
to whom be glory forever. Amen.

At the end of Romans 11, the Apostle Paul made this remarkable statement. It is something for every believer to think about, but it has some special relevance for those who serve God, and those who serve in the ministry of God’s Word.

There is a wonderful poetic rhythm to these words: For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. F.B. Meyer noted that each of these are basic, one-syllable words. These are words you might find in a children’s book – but no one can truly exhaust their meaning.

Our ministry is all of Him. I trust that you are called by God, and not just self-appointed. When one is really called to the ministry, they know that their work is of Him. If it is only of us, what is the point?

Our ministry is all through Him. We earnestly desire that everything we do be done through Jesus Christ. We are workers together with Him. It is His power, His wisdom, His strength that we seek to serve in. It isn’t enough to be truly called (for ministry to be of Him). Once called, our work has to be done through Jesus, with conscious reliance on His wisdom, His power, His strength.

Our ministry is all to Him. It’s not to me. It isn’t even to the people we serve. First and foremost, it’s all to Him. It is to the praise of the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6). It’s for His pleasure that we are created, redeemed, called, and busy for His kingdom. We find our fulfillment in bringing Him glory and honor.

If we keep this in mind as we do ministry – that all things are to be of Him and through Him and to Him – then at the end of it all, God will get the glory. As Paul wrote, to whom be glory forever.

That’s kind of ministry we long for and pray for. I pray that for you!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

First, let me apologize for failing to send these encouragements over the last few months. A busy travel schedule partnered with procrastination, and so it has been a while.

Having said that, how was your weekend? If God gave you the opportunity to preach or teach His Word, I pray that it was effective and that you were able to enjoy being God’s messenger.

Here is a familiar verse from Romans 11: 

For the gifts and the calling
of God are irrevocable.
(Romans 11:29)

Today I want to encourage you with that brief line from Romans 11:29: the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. In the context of Romans 11, the Apostle Paul had in mind God’s faithfulness to Israel; that God had not given up on them or taken away any of the gifts or calling He had given to them.

However, I don’t think it is wrong to say that this reflects an important aspect of God’s character, His nature. God acted this way toward Israel because that is the kind of God He is. Therefore, that is how God is toward us today.

Rest in that truth: the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

“I really preached a poor message last Sunday.” That might be true; but the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

“I am in a strange season where I feel put on the shelf, and my gifts are not being used.” Maybe that is true; maybe not. But, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

“When I compare myself to others, I feel like a loser.” Perhaps you feel that way; but the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

“My struggles with sin and personal character disqualify me from ministry right now.” We hurt with you; but remember that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. As your character grows in Christ, over time there may be new ways that God’s gifts and His calling on your life are used for His kingdom. Don’t despair.

As I said before, the original context for Romans 11:29 regards Israel. But if God was that faithful to Israel under the old covenant, will He be less faithful to you under His new covenant, a greater covenant?

Finally, if you had a great Sunday and are in a great season of ministry – praise the Lord! But remember, it’s really because of His gifts to you and God’s calling on your life. The credit, the honor, the glory of it all – goes to Him, and to us.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Did you get to preach or teach God’s Word this last weekend? If you did get that privilege, you might be a little drained today. If it is done right, preaching and teaching the Bible will take something out of you. It’s not only a giving of God’s truth, it is also a giving of one’s self.

Here is an encouraging word from Jesus: 

For where two or three are
gathered together in My name,
I am there in the midst of them.
(Matthew 18:20)

In my last email to you we thought about the first few words of this wonderful verse, Matthew 18:20: Where two or three are gathered. Now let’s think about the next few words: are gathered together in My name.

As always, we want to remember the context of this encouraging word from Jesus. Our Savior said this in the context of speaking about order and even correction among God’s people (Matthew 18:15-18). Jesus promised to be among His people, and that His presence would give them the authority to confront and correct.

Still, we can’t miss what Jesus said: that His people should be gathered together in His name. Even it if is only a few (two or three), if they are gathered together in His name, it’s a precious gathering to Jesus. We could say that the most important thing isn’t so much gathering together – people do that all the time. The most important thing is gathering together in Jesus’ name.

Gathering together in His name means that we are known by Jesus and by His name. We belong to Jesus, and we aren’t afraid to proclaim it. It doesn’t matter if the culture or a government thinks we are foolish or dangerous for meeting in Jesus’ name; we love to gather together in His name.

Gathering together in His name means that Jesus is our point of gathering; we gather around Him. What draws us together and keeps us together is Jesus. It isn’t race, class, political party, or ethnic group. We gather around Jesus, the real Jesus revealed in the Bible.

Gathering together in His name means gathering according to the character and nature of Jesus. Our meetings, our church services, our Bible studies, and Sunday school classes are of such a character that Jesus would endorse them. They are consistent with the love, wisdom, character, and holiness of Jesus.

Isn’t it wonderful to gather in the name of Jesus? And, if God has given you the responsibility for leading, organizing, or teaching when God’s people are gathered together, I pray that God will give you the grace and the wisdom to always do it truly in the name of Jesus!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope your weekend was blessed, and if God gave you the opportunity to teach or preach His Word, I hope it was both enjoyable and effective!

Today I want to remind you of some familiar words from Jesus:

For where two or three are
gathered together in My name,
I am there in the midst of them.
(Matthew 18:20)

This wonderful, encouraging statement from Jesus comes in the context of speaking about order and even correction among God’s people (Matthew 18:15-18). It’s as if Jesus said, “When God’s people are gathered in community, I am among them, and My presence grants the authority to confront and correct.”

Yet, the distinctive way Jesus said this gives us a lot to think about. Let’s think about the first part of Matthew 18:20: Where two or three are gathered. With these words Jesus here indicated that meetings of His people – indeed, meetings full of power and authority connected to heaven – do not need to be large gatherings. Those gatherings can be of two or three of His followers at a time. 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Jesus is more present among the many than He is among the few. There is usually a greater sense of excitement and anticipation when more people gather. It’s easy for a small gathering to seem unimpressive. But Jesus doesn’t think so. He says, “Two or three are plenty enough for Me to be there.”

Think of what this means:

• This shows us that large numbers are not essential for Jesus to be present.
• This shows us that the status of the people is not essential for Jesus to be present.
• This shows us that the particular place is not essential for Jesus to be present.
• This shows us that the particular time is not essential for Jesus to be present.
• This shows us that the particular form the meeting should take is not essential for Jesus to be present.

Now, I must say, I would rather reach more people with God’s message than less people. It’s wonderful when God gives us the opportunity to preach or teach the Bible to many people. But remember that Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered.” He doesn’t despise the small meeting, and neither should we. If Jesus graces a small meeting with His presence, then it isn’t a small meeting at all. Nothing is small or insignificant when the King of Kings attends.

If you reach many people with God’s Word, be thankful for it. If you reach few, be thankful for those two or three or however many. Most of all, be thankful that you teach and preach in the presence of Jesus. That’s enough for any of us!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

How was your weekend? If God gave you the opportunity to preach or teach His Word, I pray that it was effective and that you were able to enjoy being God’s messenger.

Today I want to share a passage with you from Amos 8:11:

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the LORD.”

We all know what a famine is, and we see the pictures from time to time, Heart rending pictures of thousands of people suffering under the tragedy of famine. In such desperate times, the world often mobilizes to bring food to these troubled regions, and sometimes a disaster is prevented from becoming a catastrophe.

The Prophet Amos reminds us that there is another kind of famine: I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. Notice carefully the nature of this famine. It was not about a lack of God’s Word, but it was a famine…of hearing the words of the LORD.

It isn’t that God’s Word wasn’t available, but that it was not listened to. It was not a case of God withholding His revelation; but of people being in such a state that they did not want to hear it.

As a pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher, I trust that you are doing what you can to faithfully bring God’s message. Yet, maybe you are discouraged because (at least sometimes) there seems to be a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

If that is you, take heart. Even some of God’s best messengers knew what this was like! Make it a matter of prayer, asking God to really work in those who hear you, so they can truly feed on the Word of God. Pray that they would welcome the Word, just as it says in 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

Do your best to give good spiritual food, and then pray: “LORD, send famine relief!”

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

I hope you had a blessed weekend of serving Jesus, His people, and a needy world. For some of you, it was an exhilarating time; for others, there were more than a few discouragements. Whether it was an easy or a difficult ministry weekend for you, I pray God will bless, refresh, and empower to keep going and growing in serving the Lord.

Here’s something on my heart this day, a hopefully brief word from Jude 1:3:

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

88

There’s a lot to be observed in this verse but let me get to the point: Jude is the letter that didn’t want to be written. It seems that he wanted to write something much more encouraging and positive. But the urgency of the moment made him say, “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

So, here’s my word for you, dear pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher:

– You may not wantto contend earnestly for the faith.
– You may not liketo contend earnestly for the faith.
– You may not feel capableto contend earnestly for the faith.

Still, it is something that we have to do. If you would rather not contend earnestly for the faith, you’re in good company – at first, Jude didn’t want to either.

Dear pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher – please, contend earnestly for the faith. Do it with love and do it with wisdom but by all means do it!

Stand strong in God’s truth.

Blessings in Jesus,

David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. (Isaiah 42:6-7)

This wonderful passage is a prophecy about the Messiah, and were beautifully fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In them, we see that God the Father says to the Servant, God the Son: “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand.” Specifically, this is a promise from the LORD to the Servant – Jesus Christ. What encouragement Jesus must have received from passages like this when He faced difficult and trying times during His earthly ministry!

The Father promised the Son that He called You in righteousness. It was as if the Father said to the Servant Son, “Because there was nothing unholy or unrighteous in My calling, You can be confident that the calling will be fulfilled.”

The Father promised the Son that He will hold Your hand. The Father said to the Servant Son, “I am with You always, to love and guide You. I will never leave You. I am holding Your hand all the time!”

The Father promised the Son I will keep You. The Father said to the Servant Son, “You will not get lost or left behind. I am always there to watch over You and keep You.”

The Father promised the Son to give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles. The Father said to the Servant Son, “You will fulfill the purpose I have called You to. You will bring salvation, not only to Your people, but also to those afar off, who seem beyond salvation.”

The Father promised the Son to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison; so it was as if the Father said to the Servant Son, “I will use You to do miraculous works of restoration and healing, both physically and spiritually. You will be used to bring sight and freedom to many.”

What glorious promises, each fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus! But please consider this: by extension, these promises also belong to us. Jesus prayed, As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world (John 17:18). We are sent as servants into the world even as Jesus, the perfect Servant was sent. Therefore, we can receive these same promises as belonging to us.

So, consider it:
– God promises you a calling
– To hold your hand and to keep you
– To use you to bring salvation to others
– To use you to bring sight and freedom to others.

As the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us – as servants of God.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

This last week I taught at a family camp at Forest Home in the mountains of Southern California. It was a great time, and I’m happy to return there for another family camp in 2020. Forest Home has a notable founder, the late Henrietta Mears.

A lot could be said about this remarkable woman of God, but today I just want to give you something I found on the last page of a Bible belonging to the late Dr. J. Edwin Orr (who also had a fascinating connection to Forest Home). On that last page, was written the following:

Henrietta C. Mears
Personal Dedication to Christ
Regarding her first Sunday School Class

I will win the personal allegiance
of every one of my class
to the Lord Jesus Christ;
I will walk; I will write; I will pray.

I will remain close to them
until they are established;
I will associate with them in fellowship;
I will make myself available to them always;
I will see that they are committed to some definite task.

I will put the Cross back into my Christianity,
and I will pray as I have never prayed before
for a new vision of God.

I will spend and be spent in this battle,
and will not seek rest or ease;
I will seek fellowship with the Man of Sorrows
as He walks through this stricken world.

And I Will Not Fail.

Obviously, none of this can be done except by the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6) – I’m sure Henrietta Mears understood that. I just hope you are inspired by her determination and dedication to the cause of influencing others for Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I hope your weekend was blessed in the service of God, His people, and a needy world! Here’s a thought for the start of this week from Isaiah 14:1:

For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob,
and will still choose Israel,
and settle them in their own land.
The strangers will be joined with them,
and they will cling to the house of Jacob. (Isaiah 14:1)

Sometimes God’s work is gloomy work, and many of God’s prophets have labored in gloomy times. God told Isaiah to tell the people of God that the mighty Babylonian Empire would crush them as an act of God’s judgment – not a cheerful message! Yet, God gave hope in the midst of gloom, and the gloom of Isaiah 13 turns into the hope of Isaiah 14, where it says: For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel.

Did you notice those four words? “Will still choose Israel.” Sometimes we feel that we know God chose us, but if He had to choose again, He would change His choice! He chose you for salvation and will still choose you. God chose you for ministry and will still choose you.

God’s love hasn’t changed since the days of Isaiah. He would still choose you. Sometimes sin, defeat, and discouragement make us think that God is almost “stuck” with us now and would choose differently if He could. That isn’t the case. His love towards you remains the same. He loved you all along, knowing how you would fail Him – but God’s love to you is based in who He is, not in who you are. Rest assured: He will still choose you.

Remember the great promise of Romans 11:29: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” It’s true that there may be seasons when we step back to strengthen our discipleship or character, but the fundaments gifts and calling of God are not taken back.

He chose you, and He still chooses you. Take some rest in that today!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

After your weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world – could you please take a moment to read and consider this deep thought from 2 Corinthians 4:17?

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Years ago I read about an unemployed man in Tokyo who created a job for himself. He dressed in protective padding and let people on the streets of Tokyo wear boxing gloves and beat him for three minutes. He made $10 a turn and said, “I enjoy being used as a punching bag, it’s… another way to experience life. I want to continue as long as my body holds up.”

As we serve God, sometimes we feel like a punching bag. We don’t seek this out, and when we face the bumps and bruises of ministry, we want them to heal as quickly as possible. Paul bore many afflictions (2 Corinthians 6:45), and probably didn’t enjoy them. Yet he saw value in them, and estimated them to be light afflictions.

How can we see our affliction as light when it seems so heavy?

Our affliction is light compared to what others are suffering. No matter how bad we have it, there are many others who suffer worse.

Our affliction is light compared to what we deserve. We often don’t like to think about it, but haven’t we sinned against God again and again? Jesus learned through what He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). Perhaps God wants to use a season of affliction to teach me something.

Our affliction is light compared to what Jesus suffered for us. There is simply no comparison between what we are going through and all Jesus suffered spiritually, emotionally, and physically – and all for us, not for Himself.

Our affliction is light compared to the blessings we enjoy. We often ask, “why do I deserve this?” But that question applies to our times of blessing, which are actually far greater than our afflictions.

Our affliction is light compared to the sustaining power of God’s grace. He can and does strengthen us, as we humbly receive His help, no matter how He brings it to us.

Our affliction is light compared to the glory it leads to. God has eternal glories to work in us through our present affliction – including the bumps and bruises the belong to ministry. Those eternal glories are a greater prize than anything we can see on earth.

Your afflictions are real. Yet comparatively, they are light. Rest in Him, rest in that today.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

I pray that as this comes to you on a Monday or a Tuesday after a weekend of ministry, that you are being refreshed and recharged by God. In whatever way you served God, His people, or a needy world this week, God saw what you did and how it honored Him.

There is a lot I could say about what God said to Jonah with this question. The context of it all in the book of Jonah makes it even more fascinating. But I know you are busy and hopefully will have some opportunity to rest and recharge today, so I won’t take much of your time with this.

God asked Jonah, is it right for you to be angry? God likes to ask questions, and it’s a great study to find out all the questions God asks of man throughout the Bible. God teaches through His questions, and He wanted to teach Jonah. Jonah felt justified in his anger, but God wanted him to see that not right for him to be angry.

What might God ask you today?

Is it right for you to be discouraged?
Is it right for you to be jealous?
Is it right for you be proud?
Is it right for you to be bitter?
Is it right for you to be unforgiving?

I might feel I have a reason to hold on to all of these things, and maybe more. When I think of how great God is, and how marvelous His plan is, and how good it is for me to die to self even when it is difficult, I see that it isn’t right for me to hold on to any of those things.

Dear brother or sister, don’t let the work of God in you and through you be hindered by holding on to something that isn’t right.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Amos was not a graduate of the school of the prophets. He was more familiar with the plow than with the pulpit. He knew more about seeds and sowing than seeing into the future.

It seems that Amos was simply doing his job as a farmer when one day it happened: “Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock.” It was because Amos was an honorable sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit that God made him an honorable prophet. Like many others in the Bible, God called Amos as he faithfully performed his present calling. The call came to:

Rachel watering sheep
Moses and David tending sheep
Joshua helping Moses
Gideon threshing wheat
Ruth gathering grain
Elisha serving Elijah
Peter catching fish
Matthew collecting taxes

The life of Amos was not useless as a farmer before he was a prophet. The world needs sheepbreeders, farmers, mechanics, doctors, technicians, insurance salesmen and everything else. To serve God and others honorably in these professions is just as honorable as serving Him as a prophet.

But we see God had a purpose in specifically calling a man like Amos. He wanted to show the greatness of the ministry was in the God who inspires it, not in the man or woman used in ministry. When Amos spoke people didn’t say, “He must have been top of his class at the school of the prophets.” Instead they said, “God is really saying something through that farmer.”

God had another purpose in calling Amos. With so many allusions and illustrations from the world of agriculture, Amos spoke as a farmer and God used it. Every person really called to speak forth for God has a manner and style of their own. Though God speaks through them all, they still do not lose not their individuality or unique character. We might say that the breath which causes the music is the same, but no two instruments give forth precisely the same sound. Amos was a unique instrument and God breathed through him in a special way.

Dear pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher – you are a unique individual. You are singular in what you are by birth, training, life experience and anointing. God can and will use you according to your special calling. It may be in a way noticed or unnoticed by others, but that is unimportant – as long as your calling is noticed in heaven. Just make sure you answer every time God calls!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Happy Monday! If you served God, His people, or a needy world this last weekend in Jesus’ name, I pray today God will find several ways to recharge and refresh you.

We love the Beatitudes – those wonderful sayings of Jesus in Matthew 5 about those who are blessed. Yet the New Testament gives us a few more beatitudes beyond the Sermon on the Mount. Here, God pronounces a blessing on the one who endures temptation.

I think there are several kinds of temptation that are common to pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers. We are tempted to discouragement and tempted to pride. We tempted to self-reliance and to carelessness. We are tempted to make an idol out of the ministry or to lose heart with it.

Friend, please know – as you endure these temptations, God promises the crown of life to you. It’s worth it to keep going, to keep trusting in Jesus, and to keep receiving His strength.

Enduring through temptation, there is a promise for us: The crown of life which the Lord has promised. With this, James reminds us that it really is worth it to endure under the temptations we face.

The idea of our coming crown is amazing – almost more than we can take in. Spurgeon said this about our coming crown: “O you dear Christian people that live in poverty and obscurity, I have a reverence for your heads which are already anointed with grace, for your heads that are yet to be crowned with glory. You run – often run better than the greatest and most observed of your fellow Christians; and you shall not miss your reward. There is a crown laid up, not only for Paul, but ‘for all them that love our Lord’s appearing.’”

I don’t know what temptations face you on a Monday following a weekend serving God. Whatever they are, be encouraged. Endure through them. Look forward to the promised crown.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher:

Many of you have the honor of proclaiming the best news ever – that the Lord is Risen!

Today, I’m thinking of and praying for you all together, asking God to bless whatever opportunity He gives you to honor the resurrected Jesus and to be His messenger. It’s a wonderful message:

• Jesus is risen
• His work on the cross was completely accepted by God the Father – it is finished!
• Death is defeated and our eternity is secure
• God’s love and power is proclaimed in and through the work of Jesus
• For all time, this fact of history demonstrates the Christian message to be true

May God give you an extra measure of His grace to receive the resurrection power of Jesus into your life and ministry, so that you can herald the best news ever.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

It was one of the most amazing building projects of the ancient world. Thousands of men worked together to make the temple God inspired David and his son Solomon to build. In fact, a few verses before it says that were 70,000 men who carried burdens and quarried stones on this job site.

1 Kings 5:17 tells us that Solomon used costly stones. This is literally “quality stones,” showing that Solomon used high quality materials even in the foundation where the stones could not be seen.

The Bible says that we are like a temple being built by God. Ephesians 2:19-21 tells us that God’s people are being built up like a temple, with Jesus Christ as the chief corner stone and God’s apostles and prophets as the rest of the foundation. Then God keeps building with all of God’s people, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:21).

Even closer to the point, 1 Peter 2:5 speaks to God’s people and says, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house. The picture is of God building a building, and we are the “bricks” or the “stones” that God builds with.

So, what might it say to you that Solomon used only costly stones in building the temple?

This speaks to the way you should work for God. We don’t work for appearance only, but also to excel in the deep and hidden things. All of our work for God should be done thoroughly – perhaps especially the work that is like a foundation, lying low and hidden, and not commonly seen by others.

This speaks to the way God works in you. He works in the deep and hidden things when others are concerned with mere appearances. You probably know this from your own life – how God has done a lot of unseen, underground work in your life.

This speaks to the way God builds the church. He wants to do a work of deep, strong foundations instead of a work a mile wide but an inch deep. If we want to see a solid work of God in our churches, it will be built upon His solid people.

Best of all, never forget who paid the price for every one of those costly stones: Jesus our redeemer. It is His temple and all the materials in it are His purchased possession. Thank Jesus for buying, building, and for letting you serve in His temple!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

As I write this, I’m waiting in an airport for my next flight. Travel stories are often boring, because we all share similar experiences of delayed or cancelled flights, driving difficulties, or any other number of problems.

Sitting in an unusually quiet airport on the east coast, waiting for a delayed flight that doesn’t board for another two hours, I thought of how reliable God is. I really don’t doubt that I will make it to my destination tonight, even though it will be later than I thought. I’ve traveled enough and made my way through enough of these problems that I have learned that (with rare exception) these things work out. Stressing out only makes the problem worse.

That makes me wonder why I sometime stress out over what I think God is doing (or not doing). Those of us who serve God in the ministry of His Word – those of us who are pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers – we tend to expect a lot from God. That’s good. Often that expectation is an expression of faith. Like children, we have great confidence in our Heavenly Father.

As we expect great things from God, at the same time, let’s have the same confidence that David sang about in 2 Samuel 22. I love this line from that song:

God is my strength and power,
And He makes my way perfect.

Do you believe that God is your strength and power? If you are trying to be your own strength and power, you need to come back to the confidence that God is your strength and power.

Are you confident that God will make your way perfect? Not only will God get you to your destination, He will guard and perfect the way there.

Whatever stresses you face today, with childlike faith pray the truth of 2 Samuel 22:33 back to the LORD.

• Receive His strength and power.
• Rest in the promise, “He makes my way perfect.”

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I don’t know how your weekend was. Maybe you are exhausted from a busy weekend and long hours. Maybe you are pleased because God really seemed to do some wonderful things through your service to Him and His people. Maybe you’re frustrated, confused, or anxious.

I don’t know how your weekend of serving God and His people was, but I do know this: God is a just God. He will always be fair and do what is right. And, as it says here in Hebrews 6:10: if God forgot what you did for Him, He would be unjust. Since God can never be unjust, He will never forget!

We can look at this verse and make some good prayers out of it:

– He remembers your work: “Lord, help me to keep working!”
– He remembers your labor of love: “Lord, help me to keep loving!”
– He remembers what you do in His name: “Lord, I want to work to give glory to Your name, not mine.”
– He remembers that you have ministered to the saints: “Lord, make me a servant to Your people, Your holy ones.”
– He remembers that you continually do minister: “Lord, help me to keep going in my service to You and Your people.”

People may forget. The community may not care. You yourself might even forget. But we have God’s word on it: He will never forget what you have done and keep doing for His glory and His people.

So, with God helping you – give Him more to remember!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Many of us Bible preachers and teachers have a favorite passage to speak upon. James 3:1-2 might be the most unpopular passage of many preachers and teachers.

It tells us that Bible preachers and teachers will receive a stricter judgment. We will be judged on a higher, stricter standard. James knew that he was included in that stricter judgment; he wrote, “we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

This shouldn’t make us despair, but it should make us serious about our work. It should especially make us serious about our words, because James then immediately added “If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”

There is a lot that could be said about that statement, but let’s just think about this: if I am a Bible preacher or teacher, I regard my words as an instrument of God’s work in this world. Therefore, I should take care with my words, and not only when I am preaching. We who proclaim God’s word have a special responsibility to speak in a way that gives God glory.

Let’s rely on God for the desire and the strength to not stumble in word, to grow in this area of godliness. It’s easy for us as preachers and teachers to sin with our words.

– We stumble in word about ourselves, with our boasting, exaggeration, and selective reporting.

– We stumble in word about others, with our criticism, gossip, slander, cruelty, two-facedness, and anger; or with flattery and insincere words meant to gain favor.

– We stumble in word with impure or profane speech, speaking with a vocabulary that shows very little holiness.

Here’s a prayer: “Lord, for Jesus’ sake, forgive me for the times when I stumble in word. Give me a desire for greater wisdom and holiness in what I say when I’m preaching and when I’m not, and the strength to grow in this area.”

That might help us to do better with a stricter judgment!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

First, Stop trusting in my vows and resolutions and put my focus on Jesus Himself.

2. More and more let God’s word tell its own story. I won’t try to make sermons; I will present the message the Bible itself gives.
3. Put more prayer into my preaching preparation.
4. Pray more after the sermon is preached.
5. Preach with more clarity and simplicity.
6. Not allow any sermon to be longer than it really needs to be.
7. Preach with more of a broken heart to the brokenhearted.
8. Be more persuasive in my preaching; instead of just getting “amens” from those who already agree, I want to preach so as to persuade those who don’t fully agree yet.
9. Put away the fear of man and performance anxiety, enjoying the work of preaching more than before.

Finally, Stop trusting in my vows and resolutions and put my focus on Jesus Himself.

How about you? As a pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher – what’s on your mind as you start a new year?

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Holiday preaching is more difficult because more visitors are present. We should thank the Lord if this is the case, because it isn’t true everywhere. But knowing there are more visitors than usual at our special holiday services give us an opportunity we don’t’ want to pass up. There are many kinds of visitors: occasional, reluctant, traditional, relatives, and more. We want to know, “How can we speak to them in a way that faithfully presents Jesus and draws them in?”

Holiday preaching is more difficult because we may feel we preach the same message year after year. For those who regularly attend our church, that’s a great thing. But sometimes we feel that those who only come to us on holidays hear the same message the few times they come.

Holiday preaching is more difficult because we usually preach for a shorter time than usual. As preachers we get into a rhythm, and because all that goes on with a holiday service, we often preach for a shorter time. That can throw us off.

Holiday preaching is more difficult because there is usually a greater element of production to the service in general, and with our sermon. We don’t want to feel like we are putting on a production, but we want the service to be special and meaningful.

So, what can we do? Here’s a few things that might be helpful to keep in mind.

– Remember the power of the story, and let the story speak for itself.

– At the same time, don’t hesitate to proclaim what the storymeans. Our listeners need to hear that!

– Without trying to be too clever (this is a trap!) be open to looking at the Christmas or Easter story from a different angle.

– Maybe take a Bible passage that isn’t normally associated with Christmas and Easter and show how it proclaims the great message.

I’m praying that this coming holiday season is blessed for you in every way – and that whatever preaching and teaching opportunity God’s gives you this holiday season, you are both faithful and blessed in proclaiming God’s good news.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

I think this line from Psalm 48 is a great prayer for a preacher to pray. It’s good for us as Bible preachers and teachers to say, “We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness.”

Lovingkindness here translates the great Hebrew word hesed. The ESV has “steadfast love,” the NASB has “lovingkindness,” and the NLT has “unfailing love.” Maybe it’s best to see it as “loyal love” or “covenant love.”

This is what we as preachers and teachers should think more about: the wonderful, amazing, loyal love of God.

Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon on this verse, titled A Worthy Theme for Thought. In the sermon Spurgeon thought of three different people in the church and how they should each think and speak more of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Spurgeon thought of a sister who thought and spoke all the time about her bodily aches and pains. He said, “suppose you tell your next visitor about the lovingkindness of the Lord to you.”

Spurgeon thought of a brother who was having trouble in business, and always thought and spoke about it. “Well, we know that old story; could you not change your note just a little, and talk about the lovingkindness of the Lord?”

Then he thought of a Christian who complained that there was little love in the church. “Now, henceforward, instead of always harping on the faults and failing of God’s people, — which, certainly, are numerous enough, but have not become any fewer since you talked so much about them; — would it not be better to think and talk of the lovingkindness of the Lord?”

How about us as Bible preachers and teachers? Shouldn’t we pray to think more and speak more about the great love of God? We can be consumed with our worries and comparison and fears; isn’t it better for us to think more and speak more about God’s great love?

He really loves you, and He has called you to be messenger of His love.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Recently a pastor friend asked me what I did to recover from the Sunday-afternoon blues, the kind of thing that comes from the physical, emotional, and spiritual energy spent on a Sunday or weekend of services.

When Power Has Gone Out of You

It’s natural to feel spent after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world. When the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and received something special from Him, Jesus felt something go out from Him (Mark 5:30). When we do ministry right, there is real energy spent – especially spiritually.

I answered my friend with some random thoughts:

(1) If possible, naps are great, or an hour zoned out in front a football game or something else. I find myself socially and spiritually spent after a Sunday, and fatigue can be a big cause of those Sunday afternoon blues.

(2) If I didn’t preach well, I just try to be thankful that I have an opportunity next time and determine to trust God to be better prayed-up and better prepared.

(3) I accept the truth that I won’t preach an amazing sermon every Sunday. I don’t need to. If I do a solid but not spectacular job week after week, the occasional bad sermon isn’t such a big deal.

(4) If there is some kind of conflict at the church draining me, I ask my wife for her advice and pray with her about it. If you aren’t married, find a trusted friend with whom to vent a little and to pray a lot.

(5) If I feel those blues, I don’t worry about having them. I realize that they will come and go, and I don’t need to feel that something is severely wrong when I get them. I will feel better tomorrow or even sooner.

If you’re feeling kind of blue after a weekend of serving God, don’t worry too much about it. Get some rest and let God restore your soul. We’ll all get through it together!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers

Every Bible preacher or teacher wants to be effective. We might have different opinions about what true effectiveness is, but we all want to see God accomplish something in and through what we do for Him. This half-verse from Habakkuk 2:2 gives some great thoughts on doing what we do as effectively as possible. Look at the verse carefully and see.

How to Preach Better

Write the vision: Habakkuk first had to see the vision. The preacher cannot make anyone else see what he does not see for himself.

Write the vision and make it plain: Habakkuk then had to make it known. The preacher must do what he can to make the word of God known, and make it known in as many ways as possible.

Write the vision: Habakkuk had to make it known as permanently as possible – he was told to write the vision. The preacher must do what he can to make a lasting impact on his listeners.

Make it plain: Habakkuk had to make it plain. Sometimes we Bible preachers and teachers have a way of making the Bible seem much more confusing than it is! Ask God to give you the gift of simplicity and clarity in your teaching and preaching.

That he may run who reads it: Habakkuk had to make it practical. It doesn’t say, “that he who runs may read it,” but “that he may run who reads it.” The running – the activity and progress – comes forth from God’s Word.

God helping us, we will deliver a clear message that faithfully relates God’s revelation – His wonderful word, and we will do under the anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit. Then those we serve with God’s Word can get out and run the race God has for them.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers