By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Exodus 20:1-17 After rescuing His people out of slavery in Egypt through great signs and wonders, God brings the nation of Israel to the mountain of the burning bush, which is now completely encompassed by smoke, thunder, and lightning (Exodus 19:16). Moses has warned that anyone who touches this mountain will die and boundaries have been set up

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Exodus 16:1-5, 11-20 Whether we realize it or not, most of us are grumblers. We grumble about work, school, the weather, and sports teams. We grumble about nearly everything. As it turns out, we’re not the only people who are experienced at grumbling (Exodus 14:11-12; 15:22-24). In Exodus 16, the entire congregation of Israel grumbles against Moses and

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Exodus 14:13-28 Sometimes when we obey the Lord, things get worse before they get better. Israel has stepped out in obedient faith, following every one of the Lord’s commands. But after listening to Moses and God about a change of direction (Exodus 14:1-2), they now have the world’s greatest army in front of them and a very large

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Exodus 12:1-13 Many people are desperate for a new beginning, but not desperate enough. Prolonged suffering tempts some to bury the pain or self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, sex, or whatever has worked in the past. Others are enslaved to habitual sins, despite reading all the books and trying every possible human solution to break free. It’s only when

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Exodus 7:1-13 As parents, we tell our kids not to play in the street. There are laws of the road we must follow, such as speed limits and seat belt laws. Construction workers have safety protocol they must heed. Refusing to heed instructions in any of these situations could lead to serious injury or even death. While hearing and

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Exodus 3:4-14; 4:13-16 “God will never give you more than you can handle.” These words are often spoken to suffering believers, but they are misguided at best, and at worst, just plain wrong. If we could speak with Moses about the events in Exodus, I believe he would agree that on many occasions, God gave both he and

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 42:1-11 In II Corinthians 1:4, Paul writes that God “comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort” others. Long before this was written, the psalmist used a painful time of discouragement to instruct us in how we should hope in God when it feels like we have lost Him. He was

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 141:1-10 Apart from the occasional, “Father, please give us safe travel,” how often do you pray for God’s protection? While it is entirely appropriate to ask God to watch over us physically, I fear that we do not ask for His spiritual protection nearly enough. Jesus taught us to pray this way: “Lead us not into temptation,

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 32:1-11 Augustine of Hippo, a third century church father from northern Africa, most likely spent his last days reflecting on Psalm 32. It’s easy to see why a dying saint would find comfort in these words because they are about the happiness, joy, and blessing of those who have experienced God’s forgiveness. 

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 51:1-17 Somewhere in the springtime around 1000 B.C., kings would go to battle. In II Samuel 11, King David shirked his responsibility and this decision proved costly. What followed would become some of the darkest moments in David’s life. These events form the backdrop for Psalm 51, a prayer which models for us what genuine confession and