By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Esther 7:1-10 How many times have we found ourselves taking matters into our own hands before allowing God to meet our needs? At the heart of our decision is a lack of faith or trust in God’s response. I appreciate the testimony of a young church planter who struggled with waiting on God. He said, “God wasn’t moving fast

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Esther 5:1-14  Proverb 16:18 warns us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Our culture has condensed the verse to simply say, “pride goes before a fall.” The point is well taken. Excessive pride sets us up for disappointment and possible disaster. Humility, on the other hand, stands in stark contrast to a prideful spirit. This

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Esther 4:1-3, 10-16 Have you ever been warned not to go off “half-cocked?” The term dates back to the days of flintlock or caplock firearms. Half-cocked describes the position of the hammer that allows the primer to be loaded as well as serving as a basic safety measure against the gun firing prematurely. Today the term describes the danger

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Esther 2:21-3:6 At the start of the legislative session on April 18, 1947, Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall made the following request to God: “Give to us a clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for — because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.” Another writer states, “You’re only as good

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Esther 2:5-10, 15-17 Over the next six weeks, our lessons will focus on the book of Esther and the theme of standing up to fight injustice. With our so-called modern-day ethics, one might think injustice would not be an issue. Unfortunately, injustice still runs rampant all around our world. In my lifetime, many have taken up the call to

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Jeremiah 33:3-8, 14-16  “Why can’t you be more like your brother?” Has anyone ever said something like that to you? Maybe you were compared to another coworker rather than a sibling.

By Rick Elsey Pastor West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Psalm 23:1-6 According to Wikipedia: “sheep are frequently thought of as unintelligent animals. Their flocking behavior and quickness to flee and panic can make shepherding a difficult endeavor for the [untrained].” Sheep need a good shepherd. As a shepherd himself, David would know this to be true.

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Luke 24:1-12 How many times have you been let down in your life? Someone made a promise or a commitment, and they did not follow through. How did that make you feel? Did it leave you angry, hurt or even disillusioned? You wonder if you can trust people to be faithful to their word. That is never an issue with

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Judges 6:11-16, 22-24 In the movie Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones’ character sums up our culture when he says, “They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom … They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per

By Rick Elsey Pastor, West End Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Exodus 17:8-16 As a high school football official, I love spending Friday nights in stadiums across the state. Before the game begins I stand side by side with other officials as “The Star-Spangled Banner” is played. Sometimes it is a recording; sometimes the local band plays. No matter how it is played I always think of the same things. I