In the darkening events of 1st Samuel 15, Israel’s King Saul did not obey God, and now God declares that Saul is rejected as king. That gets Saul’s attention. In verse 24, Saul says to the prophet Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the menContinue reading “What is true repentance? – 1st Samuel 15, Part 4”
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Is God concerned about how many people show up at worship services? – 1st Samuel 15, Part 3
King Saul is caught. He disobeyed God. But does he realize what he did? God asked Saul to totally destroy the Amalekites, but instead, Saul took the Amalekite king as a prisoner of war, and Saul allowed his men to keep a bunch of the Amalekite’s livestock. As we learned in the previous post, GodContinue reading “Is God concerned about how many people show up at worship services? – 1st Samuel 15, Part 3”
I’m glad that God can feel regret – 1st Samuel 15, Part 2
As we learned in the previous post, in 1st Samuel 15 God commanded Israel’s King Saul to totally destroy the Amalekites. Does King Saul decimate the Amalekites? Yes…and no. In verses 4-9, Saul and the army attack and destroy the Amalekites, but with a couple notable exceptions. They allow the Amalekite king, Agag, to live,Continue reading “I’m glad that God can feel regret – 1st Samuel 15, Part 2”
The deception of worship services (and a bonus topic: Does God command genocide???) – 1st Samuel 15, Part 1
Did Jesus ask us to hold worship services? Did he ask us to build church buildings? Did he want us to have pews? Did Jesus teach us to gather here on Sundays for singing and sermons? In the book Jim & Casper Go To Church, Jim is an evangelical Christian and Casper is Matt Casper,Continue reading “The deception of worship services (and a bonus topic: Does God command genocide???) – 1st Samuel 15, Part 1”
How to have a heart like God’s heart – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 5
Saul, through a priest, has beseeched the Lord for his blessing on attacking the fleeing Philistines. God, however, is not answering. How will Saul respond to God’s silence? Will he be impatient again, unable to wait on the Lord? Actually, no. We read in 1st Samuel 14, verse 38, Saul believes that God’s silence isContinue reading “How to have a heart like God’s heart – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 5”
Why King Saul was wrong for sacrificing to God – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 2
Have you ever been caught doing the wrong thing, but just that quickly your mind is spinning a rationale to make yourself appear as thought you were doing the right thing? It’s human nature. We hate getting caught! In the previous post, we learned in 1st Samuel 13 that King Saul didn’t wait for theContinue reading “Why King Saul was wrong for sacrificing to God – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 2”
It’s healthy “heart” week on the blog – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 1
In my family over the past few months, we’ve talked a lot about the heart. Our granddaughter has had two open heart surgeries. Here in Lancaster we have The Heart Group. The Heart Group website lists 55 practitioners who are all there to evaluate your heart. My guess is that you have a medical practiceContinue reading “It’s healthy “heart” week on the blog – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 1″
Can you have a defective heart and not know it? – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Preview
This past week I attended my denomination’s, the Evangelical Congregational (EC) Church’s, National Conference at Messiah University. At conference lots of people have asked about my granddaughter, Lily, who was born in January, and who has been on a four-month journey with a heart defect corrected through multiple open heart surgeries. Those conversations have oftenContinue reading “Can you have a defective heart and not know it? – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Preview”
Leadership transitions are often difficult – 1st Samuel 11 & 12, Part 3
My daughter ran the 4×800 relay on her track team, so over the years I’ve witnessed many baton hand-offs like the one depicted above. The hand-off can be tricky. Every so often the hand-off doesn’t go well, as the baton is fumbled or dropped. Transitions in leadership are likewise complex. Will the outgoing leader prepareContinue reading “Leadership transitions are often difficult – 1st Samuel 11 & 12, Part 3”
How the Spirit of God transforms us – 1st Samuel 11 & 12, Part 2
The Ammonites have laid siege to the Israelite town of Jabesh Gilead, threatening to gouge out the right eyes of all the men in the town. Desperate, the people of Jabesh send messengers around Israel begging for help from their countrymen. How will Israel respond to this threat? How will Israel’s new king respond toContinue reading “How the Spirit of God transforms us – 1st Samuel 11 & 12, Part 2”
Engaging Scripture 