By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 39:3-12, 19-21 I Peter 3:17 says, “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” Peter wrote this but Joseph lived it. I often stop and look back at some of the moments in my life and am in awe how God protected me from the evil in

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 37:5-11, 19-27 Charles Spurgeon wisely said, “God is too good to be unkind. He is too wise to be mistaken. When you cannot trace His hand you must learn to trust His heart.”  William Cowper, likewise, writes these lines, “Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 35:1-15 God uses this week’s text to remind us that He is always faithful. Jacob had been gone from home for what seemed like a lifetime and now God was calling him back. He was to go back to the place where God had first spoken to him and made the promise to bless him and continue the Abrahamic

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Gen 1:27, 9:1-7; Matt.5:21-22 The sanctity of life is a beautiful, biblical belief that informs our convictions every life is precious because every life was wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God. It’s simple to bang the pulpit one Sunday in January for the sanctity of life but how does it look in our churches every other day? 

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 33:1-15 It had been 20 years since Jacob and Esau had seen each other, since Jacob tricked their Father and stole Esau’s blessing for himself. There is a saying, “Time heals all wounds.” I can tell you that’s not always true. I’ve seen people so full of hurt and hate toward someone else for so long they don’t even

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 32:24-32 Jacob, fresh from the encounter with Laban and about to see his brother for the first time in 20 years, spends the night alone. Perhaps he wanted to pray, maybe he wanted to gather his thoughts, or he could’ve been convinced Esau was still furious with him and things would get violent.  Either way, Jacob plans to spend

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 31:2-16 For 20 years Jacob had served Laban far from his own home. God had blessed all of Jacob’s work and shown him great favor. As Jacob prospered, Laban and his sons took notice and their attitudes began to change toward Jacob.

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Luke 1:26-38 Just as God had promised to Jacob that all the earth would be blessed through his offspring in our previous lesson, we now see God keeping that promise. Jesus is a promise kept. At a time when it looked like God’s people had been utterly forsaken and His promise totally forgotten, God sent His Son and kept His

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 29:16-30 So often we believe the lie that God can only use great people from great backgrounds for great things but that’s not true.  God is pleased to use crooked sticks to draw straight lines. God chose to bless the nations through a broken, corrupted family.

By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 28:10-22 Having successfully stolen the birthright for himself, Jacob now leaves his family. He is sent by his father to go find a wife but sent by his mother to run far away from Esau’s wrath. At this time when he would feel utterly alone, despairing, and confused God reveals Himself to Him in an incredible way that would