In 2018 I blogged a series titled “Characters” where I featured a number of famous Bible stories. One of those was David & Goliath from 1st Samuel chapter 17. Now in 2024, I am blogging through 1st and 2nd Samuel, and we’ve reached chapter 17. This week, I’ll reblog the “Characters” posts about David &Continue reading “Distraction from the main thing – 1st Samuel 17, Part 2”
Monthly Archives: June 2024
Do you have crippling fear? – 1st Samuel 17, Part 1
In 2018 I blogged a series titled “Characters” where I featured a number of famous Bible stories. One of those was David & Goliath from 1st Samuel chapter 17. Now in 2024, I am blogging through 1st and 2nd Samuel, and we’ve reached chapter 17. This week, I’ll reblog the “Characters” posts about David &Continue reading “Do you have crippling fear? – 1st Samuel 17, Part 1”
When our fears come out to haunt us – 1st Samuel 17, Preview
Perhaps you’re like me and you have strange dreams while you’re sleeping. I find that my most bizarre dreams happen in the early morning, just before I wake up. This past week while on vacation, I had one of those early morning dreams, and in the dream Faith Church had one of those old-style marqueeContinue reading “When our fears come out to haunt us – 1st Samuel 17, Preview”
Seeing the heart like God sees it – 1st Samuel 16, Part 5
Is it possible for humans to see the heart like God sees it? We can open up our bodies and view the physical human heart, repair it, and even replace it with a different heart, even an artificial heart. But what about the metaphorical heart? Our motivation, will, desires, emotions, fears, beliefs? God knows allContinue reading “Seeing the heart like God sees it – 1st Samuel 16, Part 5”
The musical therapist who treated spiritual oppression – 1st Samuel 16, Part 4
Does God control evil spirits and sends them to torment people? In the previous post which mentioned 1 Samuel 16 verse 14, we learned that “Saul had an evil spirit from the Lord that tormented him.” That’s not how I think about God! Does God send demons to do his bidding? That’s what Satan isContinue reading “The musical therapist who treated spiritual oppression – 1st Samuel 16, Part 4”
Why God picked David to be king – 1st Samuel 16, Part 3
In the previous post about 1st Samuel chapter 16, we watched as the prophet Samuel visits the family of Jesse in the town of Bethlehem. Samuel is there on a secret prophetic mission from God to anoint a new king over Israel. One by one, Samuel views Jesse’s seven oldest sons, and God chooses noneContinue reading “Why God picked David to be king – 1st Samuel 16, Part 3”
God’s view of outward appearance is like Dove Soap – 1st Samuel 16, Part 2
We humans tend to be very outward focused. Think about how our culture is fixated on outward appearance. There is so much emphasis on having good skin, toned muscles, a certain Body Mass Index, dieting, working out. No doubt some of that is also beneficial for good health and quality of life. But we can worshipContinue reading “God’s view of outward appearance is like Dove Soap – 1st Samuel 16, Part 2”
Samuel’s secret prophetic mission – 1st Samuel 16, Part 1
We’ve had seven weeks in this series on the Life of David, studying the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, and I’m guessing you’ve noticed that we haven’t met David yet. We’ve had to set the historical context learning about the prophet Samuel, who anointed Israel’s first king, Saul. We then watched as Saul repeatedlyContinue reading “Samuel’s secret prophetic mission – 1st Samuel 16, Part 1”
How do you identify a good leader? – 1st Samuel 16, Preview
Are you racist? Of course not, right? (And why am I talking about racism? Isn’t this a post about picking good leaders? It is a post about picking good leaders, but stay with me. We’ll get there.) That’s how I would have answered about myself, “No way! I am NOT racist.” Then I took the ImplicitContinue reading “How do you identify a good leader? – 1st Samuel 16, Preview”
God doesn’t really want us to go to church services – 1st Samuel 15, Part 5
I recently heard the story of a man is a follower of Jesus, but he allowed his life to go down a pathway that was not in line with the heart of God. This guy started drinking heavily. And it showed. You could drive by his house and over time you could see just fromContinue reading “God doesn’t really want us to go to church services – 1st Samuel 15, Part 5”
Engaging Scripture 