Joshua: Called to be a servant leader

I am preparing to teach a Bible study this coming Sunday at Southern Calvert Baptist Church based on Joshua, chapter 1. This chapter sets the stage for Joshua’s ministry, a ministry that exemplifies leadership. Volumes and volumes have been written about leadership in our modern world. Many strive to be leaders. Leadership is a calling from the Lord. Answering that call and learning leadership based on the Word of God will lead to success. There is no magic bullet. There is no three-step plan. In order to understand leadership, we need to study the leaders of the Bible. That is what we are going to do in this Bible study. I cannot wait to teach it. We need leaders to answer the call the way that Joshua did.

Leadership is hard, deal with it!

The title of this article probably sounds harsh to 21st Century ears. This is ancient wisdom for modern times and I am so glad to be able to learn this and share it with others. Moses was a meek man by nature and the trials of leadership helped chisel that meekness into a beautiful virtue. Meekness is not weakness. It is power under control. Moses was obviously a powerful man with a temper. He beat a man to death who was trying to beat another man to death. Moses was no wimp. Moses rose to the call of leadership. He was hesitant at first, and rightfully so. He was going to have to lead an obstinate, stiff necked people to the Promised Land. The Pharaoh of Egypt wanted to kill Moses. The children of Israel wanted to stone Moses. In Numbers 16, his own sister rose up in opposition against him. In Numbers 16, a man named Korah convinced 250 people to rise up against Moses. Leadership was hard. Moses dealt with it. How do you react when you get difficult news? Moses is about to get some terrible news, right on the heels of the death of his sister, Miriam. Let’s examine Numbers 20.

Worship: Confession, Gratitude, and Sanctification

When is the last time that you studied the book of Leviticus? I hear many people complain about Leviticus, about how boring it is or about how it is a bunch of rules and regulations that don’t apply to modern man. I kind of felt that way until I actually studied the book of Leviticus and understood what the Lord is communicating to us through the beautiful book of the Bible. Take a look at what the great Apostle Paul has to teach us about the Old Testament, including the book of Leviticus.

New Year, New Me

As I write this, the year 2022 is quickly approaching. When this lesson is actually taught, it will already be the year 2022. All of us get excited about New Year’s Eve. Many of us make resolutions claiming slogans like, “new year, new me”. Usually we have health goals in mind when we make resolutions. Sometimes we have habits in mind, creating new ones and quitting old ones. What about our spiritual resolutions, have you considered making a spiritual resolution this New Year? I hope that you will consider one. I want to take a look at a group of people who needed a spiritual resolution and by examining their situation and response, hopefully, learn some applicable truths for my own spiritual life.

Rescued to Worship

At Southern Calvert Baptist Church, we are on our second round of walking through the entire Bible, cover to cover, over the next three years. During our last meeting, we took a look at the calling that God placed on Moses’ life. Moses answered God’s great calling. God was in the process of preparing a spiritual leader to guide the children of Israel out of bondage and into the Promised Land. God has heard the cries of the children of Israel over the years. He has not forgotten them. He is about to move in a way that would change the course of human history. That is what we are going to take a look at this week.

Moses and Conservatism

There is a lot of discussion about politics going on right now because of all that has transpired in our country over the past year. Many of us have grown weary of hearing about it. I had a conversation with a guy the other day about Christians and Politics. I mentioned that I am a Conservative when it comes to politics because I am a student of the Bible and a born again Christian. He mentioned that he is just a Christian and was not concerned with politics.

Moses’ last message

This Sunday during our Connect Groups, we are going to conclude the life and ministry of the great man of God, Moses. He has led the children of Israel faithfully for 40 years. It has been a difficult task for Moses and now he is giving his last charge to the people before turning over the leadership role to one of his disciples, Joshua. Our text this week with be Deuteronomy 31 and 32.

Last week we took a look at Balak and Balaam in a lesson entitled: A prophet seeking a profit. We have also seen

• God’s provision for salvation
• Heroes appear after the danger
• The day of atonement
• Idolatry: Are you not entertained?

God’s Provision for Salvation

In our previous lesson, we looked at Numbers 13-14, specifically at the contrast between the children of Israel and Caleb and Joshua. The people had the chance to enter the Promised Land and, as a result of their unbelief, they are cursed to wander in the wilderness until they perish. Now, we get to Numbers 21. God is still faithful yet, the people have not changed. Some of our previous lessons are:

Heroes appear after the danger is over

This title of this article is based on an idiom in the Romanian language. Basically, it means that the true heroes fight while the danger is present. After the danger is over, the rest come out with signs of bravado, even though they were hiding when the danger was present. This is a perfect picture of what we see in the children of Israel in Numbers 13 and Numbers 14.

Idolatry: Are you not entertained?

If you saw Russel Crowe in Gladiator back in the year 2000, you remember that line that the title of this article is from. The Romans loved to be entertained. That is our human nature. That is our sin nature. The children of Israel were no different. We are also no different today. We have a way of justifying our idols today, similarly to the way that the children of Israel justified their idols.