Posted by Chris on June 14, 2009 under Sermons
We’re living in the era of big bailouts. It seems like there is a plan for everyone to help us avoid change and the consequences of our overspending and greed.
Jim and Joweena Sanders have taken the bailout plan to the neighborhood level. They are broke and up to their eyeballs in debt. Do they sit down and figure out a budget? Do they get rid of the luxuries in their lives that are costing them so much? Oh no. They come up with a bailout that helps them avoid all responsibility – even if it shoves it off on the neighbor.
[Watch the VIDEO: “Meet the Sanders: The Bailout”]
The Sanders wouldn’t give up their stuff. So, they couldn’t give in to their fellow Christians, they couldn’t give out to help others, and they certainly couldn’t give up to God. All because they couldn’t give up their stuff.
The video is funny – maybe because it is true. Would it surprise you to know that this is exactly what God’s people were doing at a critical time in their history?
Rebuilding the Temple (Haggai)
Haggai – It is the 6th century BC. The Persian king has just released the captives who were taken from Judah by Babylon. The nation that was to be a light to the world is in ruins. God’s Temple, which was dedicated as a house of prayer for all nations, is destroyed. Now God’s people can get back to their mission and restore the temple.
Building the temple was central to the restoration of a nation that would glorify God. They were to be a light to the nations. But the people became consumed with their own houses rather than the house of the Lord. As a result, the mission was delayed for 14 years. Enter the prophet Haggai who holds the people accountable …
Haggai 1:1-11 (they respond 1:12-14)
Haggai 2:8-9
- Giving Up means Giving Up on Stuff …
The people were not giving up to God because they wouldn’t give up their stuff. The irony is that the more they try to hold on to their stuff, the less they have.
- They have food, but they are always hungry
- They have clothes, but they are never warm
- They have money, but they cannot save it – they put it in a bag with holes.
Do we ever feel like that? So much work, so much toil, so much effort to acquire more stuff and we are never satisfied.
- Giving Up means Giving Up to God …
Discipline is the antidote to dissatisfaction. See Malachi 3 …
- In pagan religion, worshippers give something to God to get something in return.
- Giving Up to God is not the same, but there is a long history of God’s people giving in order to get …
When we give in order to win God’s favor, we fail to recognize two things:
- God doesn’t need an allowance from us. When we give him 10%, that’s not his cut. He cares about the 90% he has given us as well as the 10%.
- God doesn’t change. We don’t give to change God, we give to God so that we might be changed.
When we give up on stuff and give up to God, we develop the heart, the mind, and the culture that resists the influence of the false God mammon. We practice our service to God rather than money.
All giving is giving to God. Don’t play games that leave us in control – those are ways that serve mammon. When you give, give to God. Trust that He will do whatever He wants with your gift. Learn to let go of it and don’t demand a receipt. We wouldn’t want God to hand us a bill would we?
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
Numerous things are beyond my imagination. My life would change profoundly without Joyce (my wife), my children, or my extended family. I cannot imagine the change if my friends or this country disappeared! If the lifestyle and opportunities of many people I knew in other countries were mine, I would be dead. This is not all my unimaginable!
While many unimaginable circumstances exist for me, number one is forever the same. I cannot imagine living in a world untouched by Jesus Christ. Do you ever consider how radically our world would change if there was zero influence of Jesus on it?
If there was no Jesus influence, the unimaginable would be commonplace! The concepts of freedom, of rights, of morality, of justice, and of people exploitation would change-at the conceptual level, not merely the application level. Evil would become good, wrong would become right, and we would exist to be used and discarded.
“David, why would you think that?” Consider this in the context of our world: As God’s influence through Jesus decreases anywhere, the evil treatment of people increases. When good departs, there is no vacuum! Evil behavior quickly fills the hole!
Is the situation perfect? Far from it! Is Jesus’ influence exploited or abused? Certainly! Are many disillusioned by the behavior of some who claim to be Christians? Absolutely! Must the situation be improved? Surely!
The understandings of what God does through Jesus Christ, the commitment of faith in God, the abundant life, the trustworthiness of human promises, the God-given value of people, behavior transformation, and the proper measurements of life’s purpose are more valuable than most realize. Understanding Jesus changes people-for the better!
Will Christian influence exist without my commitment and support? It’s our choice!
Posted by Chris on June 7, 2009 under Sermons
Saul against David
- Saul has slain his thousands …
- Reaction: Angry, galled, jealous
- Tormented despite David’s music
Once the people praise David, Saul loses his cool and his graciousness.
He is troubled by the evil spirit even though David is ministering to him through music.
Saul’s Violence
- Throws Spear Twice – 18:10
- Sent to battle – 18:16
- Price for the Bride – 18:24
- Jonathan/Truce – 19:1-7
- Spear again – 19:9
- Assassination at Night – 19:11-17
- Pursuit – 19:18-24
Outcome
- David benefits Saul and Israel with his success
- Saul grows more fearful and jealous
- Saul is afraid of God’s Spirit upon David
The Triumph of God’s Spirit
- Saul and his troops are overwhelmed by the Spirit of God
- Saul is reduced to ecstatic prophesy – He is “among the prophets.”
- Saul will not finally be able to resist God’s Spirit
Another Truce? – 1 Samuel 20
- Jonathan advocates for David
- Arrow message
- Covenant between David and Jonathan
- David hides out from Saul
Flight or Fight
A House Divided – Psalm 55
- If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were raising himself against me,
I could hide from him.
- But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,
- with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.
Posted by Chris on under Sermons
The king of all reality television is “Survivor.” It was one of the first and it remains one of the most popular. For nine years American audiences have watched players outwit, outlast, and outplay one another in a game in which people are “voted off the island.” Double-crosses, alliances, tricks and strategies are all part of getting rid of others so that the winner is the last person left – the Survivor, who takes home a prize of $1 Million.
I wish I knew what it was about “Survivor” that bugs me. Maybe it’s the fact that it seems to tap into the “Survival of the Fittest, Dog-Eat-Dog” mentality that brings out the worst in our culture.
It’s not just a game. I wonder if we don’t sometimes think that to get ahead we have to compete. Outwit, outlast, and outplay is more than a catchphrase for a game show. It’s tapping into our worst fears as we struggle for our own way and for (what we think are) limited resources.
“Survivor” ends wrongly also. After all the alliances and backbiting, the game comes down to two people. A jury decides who will get the $1 Million. That’s revealed on a big final episode in New York, and the winner celebrates and all the losers are there to act like good sports. If “Survivor” is going to be true to its creed (Outwit, Outplay, Outlast) then I think the final “Survivor” should be left alone on the island with the $1 Million. After all, if the point is to get rid of everyone else, then really do it. Leave the winner with the cash and a note that says, “You got rid of everyone else. You outlasted them all. Here’s the cash. Now use it to get off the island.”
That would be a more fitting conclusion I think.
You won’t see a lot of giving encouraged on “Survivor.” Not unless there are strings attached. I could comment on a game show and we could all walk out of here lamenting how horrid TV is and we won’t gain a thing. But let’s stop and ask ourselves how we escape the corruption of mindsets and worldviews that make us think the goal is to outwit, outplay, and outlast. For if we do stick to that sort of mindset and behavior in family, work, society, or church, we will find ourselves stuck alone with cash – and no one to share it with, spend it on, or buy things from.
The antidote to the poison of selfishness is giving. Giving is a discipline that develops our godly character. Last week we mentioned how we are blessed when we give in. We participate in heaven’s economy when we share freely with one another. Sharing with one another as church is the mission of God at work in this world. But God’s kingdom is always larger than his church. God is drawing in the outsiders and adding them to his church.
Giving Out means …
Outflowing of God’s Grace
- It is a troublesome misconception that giving out is simply the rich sharing with the poor. Giving out is a grace that we all must participate in. If you have two cloaks and your neighbor has none, then you are the rich one. Give.
- 2 Corinthians 8. Paul praises the Macedonians for giving, not because they gave out of excess, but because they were poor. And Paul let them give because they had God’s grace. Not because they were rich.
- Too often we apologize for asking people to give because we don’t want to burden people who are poor or on fixed income. Etc. This is our misunderstanding of giving. We are never asked to do what we cannot do. We are simply being asked to do what we can do.
- How dare we not encourage each other to give because we assume that someone cannot afford it! Will we also say that we don’t want prayers because we aren’t sure someone has enough spirituality?
- When we make giving into a country club sport we are exalting our own abilities and focusing on the gold rather than the grace. Share what you have and are able – it’s the outflowing of God’s grace that counts.
- Billion dollar philanthropist says he had enough. His story would be the same if he had a thousand to give away. He had enough. He was giving out.
Caring about the Outsider
- Alien and stranger texts (Exodus 22:23, 23:9, Leviticus 19:33) – Israel was charged to treat the alien and stranger with respect. Don’t make them work on the Sabbath. Don’t enslave them. Don’t use them. You were once outsiders, so treat the outsider among you lovingly.
- Showing love to enemies and hostile – Matthew 5:44 – Love your enemies and pray for those who mistreat you.
- Samaritan being a neighbor … The question is not “Who’s my neighbor?” but “How do I act like a neighbor?”
Outrage at poverty and injustice
- In God’s Law are little statutes that are to be obeyed not just because they are right, but they also discipline us to turn outward and pay attention to what’s wrong with the world. It rouses us from our slumber and the numbness that causes us to ignore what’s just not right with the world.
- Leviticus 23:22 – Don’t harvest the very edge or corner of your field. Leave it for the poor and the alien (outsider). It flies in the face of greed and gain and gives out. It leaves room for God’s Grace to Flow Out. When Ruth and Naomi are left without means they find a field owned by a man named Boaz who kept this rule and it made a way for them to survive. Boaz paid attention to what isn’t right about the world and gave outwardly and challenged the philosophies of greed, gain, and limited resources. We can too.
- Baby Bottle Campaign – a simple way to create a different kind of culture. Create an option for life.
- Service Camp – “First is Third.” Why did our kids do that? It roused them out of the status quo of the world and pushed them into God’s Grace (not guilt) and it moved some of us too.
- Why fast for 30 hours? Why sleep in cardboard boxes? Why spend time doing service work? Why eat the food that is served to people in starving nations?
- They did it to understand and share the experience of the poor and others they’ve never met. They did it to get outside themselves and identify with those in need.
- That sounds sort of like Jesus (Philippians 2:5-11)
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
When someone does the incredible for you, how do you say, “Thanks”? There is no way you can return the favor you received on the same level! In fact, anything you are able to do for your benefactor appears “down-right wimpy” in comparison. So what do you do?
First, you do not shirk expressing your gratitude because “you can not repay in kind.” Second, you do what you can do (not what you wish you could do). Third, you understand that your benefactor did what he (she) wanted to do for you. It is this heartfelt desire that made the needed gift the more precious! Fourth, you realize your response must come from your heart-not a sense of obligation. You declare gratitude because you feel gratitude!
Need at times teaches valuable lessons! Because a congregation is “big” (as compared to what?) does not mean it has endless resources, endless programs, or endless finances which enable it to do anything it wishes. Size merely increases need!
This week we were told that in actual spending (merely meeting commitments) we are running $3190 a week below budget. As a congregation, we handle finances responsibly-no one wastes! It will be 22 weeks before our fiscal commitments end. Multiply 22 times $3190, consider the picture, and realize that is only to “break even.”
What is the answer? Each realizes what God and Christ do for us. Each is humbly grateful. Each does what he or she can. That will be far more than enough! Perhaps need teaches some how to say, “Thank you!” to God and Christ.
Posted by Chris on May 31, 2009 under Sermons
Explanation of the four parts:
- Giving In is how we share and contribute to the body of Christ. We give in, meaning that we share what we have internally to the community of believers. Understanding what it means to truly have all things in common.
- Giving Out is how we share with those outside the body of Christ. We give out meaning that we share what we have with the outsider, the alien and the stranger.
- Giving Up is how we share all that we have with God. We give up meaning that we perceive all giving as sharing what God has already shared with us.
- Giving Away is how we share something that is not ours to control, to sell, or to hoard – the gospel of Christ.
Giving In
Let’s be visionary. What will heaven’s economy look like? What will finances look like in the world to come? We probably do not tend to think of those very common categories of life in the world that is to come. And yet, Jesus teaches us very plainly to store up treasures in heaven. Notice that he is using the language of economy and finances to describe the world that is to come.
I think it is safe to assume that finances and economy are going to be radically different in the new heaven and earth. This radical change ought to cause us to take another look at how we view economy and finances in the now.
Do we have any clue as to what it will be like? God’s people (Israel and the Church) have always been a community that is living like heaven is here and now. In Acts 2:42-47 the church is described in this way …
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
This is a glimpse of what it will be like in the new heaven and new earth. This is very much beyond any statement on economic policies (i.e., communism vs capitalism). This is the outgrowth of life in the Holy Spirit. This is the future kingdom of God seeping in present.
What is the economics of the kingdom of God? To put it another way, what happens to “stuff” in the kingdom of God? Well it is all about fellowship. There is radical sharing, feasting, celebrating. There’s no buying, selling, loaning and saving. Is that possible? Well it was then and I would say that we have seen glimpses of this over the ages. In fact the only things that hinder us from being radical about “giving in” is the brokenness, sinfulness, and unredeemed nature of the world. For instance, we might think, well its fine to share with one another but what about those who would take advantage of that? That’s a problem now (but the one who would take advantage of generosity doesn’t have the Spirit of God). We can still, even now, experience what is to come even if everything isn’t perfect.
How shall we practice using our stuff and spending our money for the future of God’s kingdom?
- Let’s put aside notions of doing good deeds and investing in God so that we get a good spot in heaven. We don’t buy our way into the kingdom of heaven. Our place in God’s Kingdom has been purchased by another. And it came with a bonus gift! The Holy Spirit! So let’s put this spirit into practice.
- Giving In means having the Inclination to give. In Acts 2, the believers were filled with awe. They had glad and sincere hearts. No one had to tell them to give, they just did. They understood how Christ changed everything, including their economy.
- Too often say that one of the things that effects our ability to give is “the economy.” Who’s economy? We encourage one another to be different morally, why not economically? Who’s economy are we invested in? Notice that in Acts that they do not pull their money out of the banks and run off to live in caves. But they do participate in earthly economy with a vision beyond Dow Jones. Why can’t we? Let’s try and develop the inclination to Give In by paying attention to our economy as it relates to God’s Economy.
- Notice that in Acts 2 all this Giving In results in God adding to the church those who were being saved. Do we really believe that God controls the borders of his kingdom? God is entrusting those who seek him to churches that have learned how to Give In and share. Imagine a soul seeking God. When this soul finds God and has a relationship with Christ and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, God will add him or her to a fellowship of believers. God can add him or her to any group of his people that he chooses. God set up the appointment between Peter and Cornelius. It did not have to be Peter. God had his reasons that it was. Let’s be the community that God trusts by developing the inclination to Give In.
- Giving In means being Intentional about giving. The Inclination is not enough. It has to become action. Practicing means doing.
- The tithe is the way to get intentional about this. Texts like Numbers 18 and Deuteronomy 14 spell out intentional ways of giving. It would be a mistake to read these texts legalistically. Tithe simply means tenth. To think of it as a maximum or minimum is to miss the point. It is a means of being intentional about the way we give. Let’s more attention to what was done with it.
- The use of the tithes in Numbers 18 and Deuteronomy 14 were for three things: Supporting the Levites and the worship is Israel, fellowship feasting and worship, and caring for the poor.
- Notice that most of these functions are Giving In. They are supporting the development of their culture and sharing with one another. The description may not be as visionary as Acts 2, but it is still a glimpse of how we use our stuff for kingdom purposes.
- West-Ark has made some intentional decisions about the ways we give in. We all benefit from that. I was noticing how my family and I were blessed by that just this weekend …
When inclination and intention combine and we grow in our practice of Giving In, can you imagine what we might be able to do? The good news is that we have the funds and resources to do anything we might imagine. The bad news is that it is in your wallet. Now let’s try and change that bad news to good news and start practicing the economics of the age to come …
So What?
- How do you use your stuff? Do you plan your spending? Are you intentional?
- Some of us can look over our spending and spend less on self so that we can give more. Let’s have the inclination and get intentional.
- Some of us cannot give more because we in debt or other financial stress. How would you like to get out of debt’s economy? Do you have the inclination to give? Then get intentional. Let’s encourage one another in that. Let’s build the sort of momentum that allows us to give in.
- Some of us just cannot give more at all and may have to give less. But do you have the inclination to give? Then what can you be intentional about giving? I have heard that the poorest in a certain African church would put their hand in the offering tray. This was there way of giving themselves. The Levites had no inheritance, but they gave God their service for the sake of God’s people.
Let’s show the world what the kingdom of God looks like.
Posted by Chris on May 24, 2009 under Sermons
Editorial Issues – 1 Samuel 16-17
| Chapter 17
Emphasis on King |
| Chapter 16
Emphasis on God’s Spirit |
- Did Saul meet David twice?
Did he forget? Mental Illness?
- 16 and 17 are not chronology
- Reports with different emphases
They are each complete reports, possibly from different sources with different emphases (i.e., four Gospels). They were later collected into one book.
1 Samuel 16
- Emphasis on the Spirit
- Spirit and Anointing
- Holy Spirit empowerment or tormenting spirit
- What does the text mean by spirits?
- God ministers to Saul thru David
A city in the territory of Judah, 6 miles south of Jerusalem, possibly mentioned in the El Amarna letters. In the Bible it appears first in connection with Rachel’s death and her burial ?in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem’ (Genesis 35:19). It was also the scene of the story of Ruth (Ruth 4:13, 22) in the period of the Judges, Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, and the place of his anointing by Samuel (1 Samuel 1 ff.). Negev, A. (1996, c1990). The Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land (3rd ed.). New York: Prentice Hall Press.
1 Samuel 17
- Emphasis on King
- Who acts like the King?
- Faith in God
- Battle of Champions
David vs Goliath
- David of Bethlehem
- Youth
- Armor
– Rejected
- No sword
- Stick and sling
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- Goliath of Gath
- 9′ 9″ Veteran
- Bronze Armor
– (Weighing over 125 lbs)
- Javelin and Spear
– (15 lb head)
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God’s Champion
- David’s faith is contagious
- Israel routes Philistines
- Saul recruits David
– 1 Samuel 14:52
- David’s leadership is resisted by Saul
- David is God’s Leader
Posted by Chris on under Sermons
Read John 21
John 21 is the extra scene after the end credits. It stages for what comes next. The last scene is just the beginning for the future.
Jesus appears and asks a question that is layered with meaning “Have you caught any fish?”
Why are they fishing?
Peter leads them. They all follow to the boat and fish all night for nothing. Notice who is at the top of the list after Simon Peter? Thomas and Nathanael. Remember them?
- Nathanael was the one who was skeptical when his brother Phillip brought him to Jesus. But Jesus impressed him and promised him that he would see greater things – and he did.
- Thomas doubted too. He demanded to see the scars. He saw them and touched the wound in Jesus’ side. He saw greater things too.
Why are they fishing? Fishing:
- It means back to work, back to mediocrity, back to normal and okay.
- How could they return to fishing after what just happened? Previously they had seen Jesus appear in a locked room. He gave them peace and sent them as the father sent him. A week after that Thomas himself witnessed the scars and the wounded side and believed.
- Did they forget? Did they forget what they saw? Did they forget what they witnessed? Did they forget that they were sent?
Around the Fire:
- Notice that when Jesus meets them on the shore with breakfast (the start of a new day) he is sitting around a charcoal fire.
- The only other mention of a charcoal fire is when Peter warms himself around a charcoal fire during Jesus’ arrest and trial. (Compare John 18:18 – My thanks to Richard Hayes for this observation: see Preaching John’s Gospel: The World It Imagines (Chalice Press, 2008))
- There had to be unresolved tension that day Jesus appeared in the locked room. Sins were forgiven, but that wasn’t the end of it. Peter had denied Christ and in doing so had denied himself.
- He was so confident that he would be right by Jesus’ side and he failed. He denied that he was a disciple – with both words and actions.
- He probably didn’t expect the opportunity to speak to Jesus ever again about this. If we can grant him the first and second resurrection appearances to manage the surprise over the resurrection and forgiveness, this third appearance is the time for Peter to become the sort of fisherman he really needs to be …
- Forgiveness is the path that leads to love. Jesus brings Peter to the charcoal fire and shares a meal of fish of bread.
- There’s pain in this moment. The pain of hurt and betrayal. The pain of disappointment. The pain of failure. But Jesus has endured all of that pain and he can endure the pain with Peter as he asks him not just once or twice, but three times – “Do You Love Me?”
Feed the Lambs:
- It’s not that Jesus doesn’t know the answer. It’s Peter who needs to know. It’s Peter who needs to hear Jesus invest confidence in Peter three times: Feed my lambs.
- Jesus is putting Peter back on the path. It won’t be easy, but Peter will glorify God because he will follow Jesus.
Have we caught any fish?
- What sort of fishing takes up our time?
- The sort of fishing that represents mediocrity, back to normal, just simply working and living.
- Can we really say that we are fishing for disciples?
- It’s time for us to gather around the fire and endure the pain of anything unresolved.
- Forgiveness is just the start. Now we need to:
- Express our love for Christ. Even when it is painful and it seems like we are being tested rather than trusted.
- Feed the lambs – Spiritual formation and nurturing disciples is not just indoctrination. It begins with love for Christ. Teaching people how to live.
- Jesus has sheep who are not of this flock. Notice that Jesus never gives up ownership of the lambs. “MY” lambs.
- Jesus has entrusted the care and feeding of these lambs to us.
- And our thinking is too small if we think that is limited to “our membership.”
- Jesus has lambs that he cares about “out there” and he has asked us to feed them.
- Cast our nets on the other side. – So let’s go fishing, but not for ourselves.
- Perhaps we’ve been busy fishing the wrong way. We’ve limited the gospel and evangelism to our techniques. The method is not the mission.
- We are more interested in how the catch will sustain us rather than how it glorifies God.
- We are giving too much attention to our own interests. (Jesus asks Peter: Do you love me most of all?) We can get so anxious about a number of things that really don’t have to do with gospel and evangelism. Worry, fear, unresolved matters get in the way.
- As a congregation – Let’s be careful that resources, nostalgia, and techniques (old or new) do not become a stand-in for fishing.
- As individuals – Let’s beware of justifying our own interests. Peter denied Christ in word and deed. Jesus restored him by word and deed. Now consider your words and your deeds.
Have we caught any fish? Do we love Jesus?
Have you caught any fish? Do you love Jesus?
Our answer to these questions shapes the way the story goes from here on out. “Jesus also did many other things.” Will he do many other things among us? The sermon is yours …
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
On Monday of this week, Brian Perkins forwarded me a story sent to him by one of his Iraqi interpreters who served with him. My immediate thought was how much our world has shrunk since my family and I were in West Africa (1970-74). Then the best we could do was send an aerogram (an air mail letter of one sheet limited to a page and a quarter of writing). If someone in our group was going to the airport (80 miles away, over 4 hours of driving time one way), the letter would reach the USA in three weeks. If the recipient replied immediately, we could hear from the USA recipient in 6 weeks. There were two telephones in our population area of 50,000 people. However, we would not dare call-the connection (routed through Europe) broke too often.
Now with a hand-carried computer and an e-mail address, one can be in contact anywhere in the world (with color pictures and sound as well as dialogue) in a matter of seconds. What a change in much less than 50 years!
Things can be communicated so fast today that it is a challenge for most older people to cope, and a challenge for most young people to imagine how things were. That which is “current” is out-of-date in a finger’s snap. Most everything that “was” has been made ancient by what “is.” Often the challenge is to know what changed this week!
God does not change! The more we try to outdate His values, the bigger the mess we make of individual existence, human relationships, and the value of human life. For examples, depression constantly grows, commitment in marriage dwindles, and people are destructively used to satisfy someone’s sense of convenience. Perhaps the biggest shock of all is found in the fact that many people do not understand why such things happen.
James focused on three things: (1) God is the source of good; (2) God does not change (He does not need to change); and (3) God wants to bless us. Consider three questions: (1) Do you understand God will work with you to make life meaningful? (2) Do you understand God does not change His values? (3) Is your hope in God?
Posted by Chris on May 17, 2009 under Sermons
Philistines
- Saul is camped with 600 in Gibeah
- Jonathan and armor bearer initiate action.
When the Israelites of the Exodus paused before their territory, the Ammonites prohibited them from passing through their lands. For this act, they were denied entry into “the congregation of the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 23:3
Attacks by the Ammonites on Israelite communities east of the Jordan were the impetus behind the unification of the tribes under Saul, who defeated them.
From II Samuel 10:2, it may be concluded that Nahash assisted David out of hatred for Saul; but his son Hanun provoked David by ill-treating his ambassadors, and brought about the defeat of the Ammonites, despite assistance from their northern neighbors in Aram. Their capital Rabbah was captured, and numerous captives were taken from “all the cities of the children of Ammon.”
You and Who’s Army?
- Trust in God
- Two Options
- Wait – Don’t fight
- Come up here – Fight
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The Battle of Michmash
Seven days to determine if Israel is going to be saved
- Jonathan breaks Saul’s vow
- God is silent (14:37-38)
- Is this because Jonathan sinned?
- Is this because Saul’s vow was inappropriate?
- Who sinned?
The Battle of Amalek
- Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” – Exodus 17:14
- Saul takes spoils of war
- Samuel confronts Saul
- Saul repents
- Saul loses his dynasty
- Obedience vs Sacrifice
