Praise the Lord that he is willing to repeat himself, because the best truths deserve repeating.

She tries not to be bitter, but he was out late last night for a meeting, and the night before that he was preaching for a nearby church's evening service, and he's missed every lunch for two weeks. She thinks, Is this what God expects of a pastor's wife? Maybe I just need to get used to this.

Was it wrong of me to utter those fateful words, "I'll be praying for you?"

Expository preaching frees us up to trust God as we deliver His Word to His people. We're given permission to relish His Word and we're unfettered from the urgent as we preach through the Bible verse by verse.

None of us go into our first pastorate hoping to be forced to leave after a year or two. What can you do to give yourself the best shot at success?