When you think of a prophet, what image comes to mind? Old Testament luminaries with cloaks, staffs, and a mane of facial hair, standing alone atop a mountain? I’m thinking of Moses, Samuel, and Elijah. Or perhaps you think of the quirky seers of visions and performers of skits like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah? IContinue reading “Are there prophets in your church? (Does it matter?) – 1 Thessalonians 5:20–22, Preview”
Tag Archives: samuel
An ancient superhero group called The Three – 2 Samuel 23:8–39, Part 1
Who is your favorite superhero? I asked that question as an intro to my sermon this past Sunday, and I gave people in the congregation a chance to answer. The first one said, “Dr. Strange, because he harnesses power for a different dimension.” Another said “Captain America, because he is a regular soldier.” A thirdContinue reading “An ancient superhero group called The Three – 2 Samuel 23:8–39, Part 1”
Have you ever felt like a fugitive? – 1st Samuel 20, Part 1
Are you a good friend? Would your best friends say that you are a good friend? If your best friends could fill out an anonymous survey evaluating your friendship, what would the results be? I suggest it needs to be anonymous because it is often very difficult for even our closest friends to tell usContinue reading “Have you ever felt like a fugitive? – 1st Samuel 20, Part 1”
How (and why) a king was left writhing nude on the ground – 1st Samuel 18 & 19, Part 4
King Saul is losing his mind because of the young upstart David. As we learned in the previous post here, Saul unsuccessfully attempts to kill David. In this post, we are studying 1st Samuel chapter 19. As the chapter begins, Saul now asks his son Jonathan to kill David. Saul likely knows how close JonathanContinue reading “How (and why) a king was left writhing nude on the ground – 1st Samuel 18 & 19, Part 4”
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 