February 16, 2020
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1 Samuel 2:12-4:1
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exposition
Did you know that God wants to reveal Himself to you? He wants you to know Him. God isn’t hiding. That’s what we tend to do. Since the time of Adam and Eve, who hid from God when they sinned, humanity has had a tendency to hide. Are you hiding from God? He wants to reveal Himself to you, but you must come out of hiding to hear and know Him.
In our reading today, the name LORD or Yahweh appears 34 times. As we’ve said before, the Bible is primarily a book about God. God desires to reveal Himself to us through His Word.
In the book of 1 Samuel, the LORD called young Samuel to be His prophet, revealing Himself by His Word. We can recognize the LORD’s desire to reveal Himself to us by His Word.
February 9, 2020
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1 Samuel 1:1 - 2:11
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exposition
When we try to take the throne of our own lives, trying to be in control, it always ends with a feeling of barrenness. We feel empty, fruitless, depleted, or broken. Perhaps, you feel this today. The things you do at work feel fruitless or unimportant. You feel depleted at home like you are losing the battle for your marriage or the battle for your children. Maybe you feel stuck, like you have no purpose. Maybe you feel abandoned or like you are fighting through life alone. And as you look to others for help and leadership, whether it’s politicians, priests, or preachers, you have often been disappointed. When we feel this pain it is hard to imagine that turning our lives over to God could make a difference.
May 21, 2019
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BOTH PROTECTED AND CORRECTED AT THE SAME TIME? In the season when David was on the run from King Saul, he allied himself with the Philistines. Yet, on the eve before they went into battle against Israel, they sent David and his men away. In this, God protected David. For the
May 18, 2019
GOD’S PROVISION AND PREPARATION IN THE WILDERNESS David fled from King Saul to live in the Judean wilderness of En Gedi, which provided both caves to live in and springs from which to drink. God provided for David in the wilderness. And although it was a very difficult time, it was also a time of
May 16, 2019
THE LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES SEEN IN DAVID AND SAUL David was an obedient and enthusiastic servant of King Saul. And God gave David success. At first, his success led to the king’s favor, but as his victories grew, Saul’s favor turned to jealousy. In all of this, God was at work, moving Saul out and David
May 15, 2019
IN WHOSE NAME DO YOU COME? What David said to Goliath as they closed for battle revealed his heart and passion for God’s great name. It was this same David who inspired of the Holy Spirit wrote, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our
May 13, 2019
KING SAUL, A STUDY IN LEADERSHIP FAILURE It’s heart-breaking to read the stories about King Saul, Israel’s first king. Although he reigned for 40 years, his leadership style was fraught with short-sighted and ill-conceived tactics, blustering, macho-inspired dictates, people-pleasing priorities, and most of all – a failure to seek God first in all things. Even
May 11, 2019
MUST THE ONE IN THE PULPIT BE CALLED TO PREACH? One of the confirming signs that God had chosen Saul to be king over Israel was that he would prophesy. Saul had gone to the prophet Samuel for help in finding his father’s donkeys. But he left with the prophet’s anointing oil dripping down from
May 10, 2019
SUFFERING OFTEN COMES FROM GETTING WHAT WE ASK FOR Samuel had led Israel well his whole life, but now he was old and his sons weren’t men of integrity like him. So, the Israelites went to Samuel asking him to give them a king like the other nations had. Of course, he felt rejected. He
May 20, 2017
King Saul, the first king of Israel, who had begun so well, finished in fear and dread, ultimately committing suicide. The young, tall and awkwardly humble Saul (remember him hiding among the baggage), had grown to be the old, prideful and painfully paranoid king. Yet here, when he saw and heard from the shade of Samuel, we see the humbled and broken man as he was.
When Samuel asked why Saul had “disturbed” him, Saul stooped with his face to the ground and replied, “God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore.”
How tragic it is to see the decline of one who was blessed of God, but took his eyes off of the Lord that blesses, to put them on the blessings themselves. It is a heartbreaking reminder to keep our eyes on the Lord, especially as we grow older. It is good to begin well, but even better to finish well for the Lord!