Samuel and Saul Redux

1 Samuel 28

Last Sunday we left David and his men in the company of Achish the Philistine. David had decided to flee into Philistine territory to escape from Saul, and he had designed a ruse to make it look like he had turned against his own people. David led his men on raiding expeditions, and when he returned with the spoils he told Achish that he had raided the Israelites – when actually he was attacking the Amalekites and other longstanding enemies of Israel. So he gained the confidence of Achish, who wanted him to be his servant for life. There was something impressive about David, and Achish certainly wanted him as an ally rather than an enemy. However, it put David in rather a precarious position, since he was, in effect, living a lie. A potential crisis looms as we begin chapter 28 of 1 Samuel:

Living Among Enemies

1 Samuel 27:1-12

Last week, John Farmer showed us a map of the places that Saul and his army chased David to kill him. Here it is for review:

The King Who Cried Repentence

I Samuel 26:1-25

Good morning!  Today we’re going to continue our series on David: Walking Through and Stepping Up.  The focus is David’s journey from a shepherd boy to become the Lord’s anointed king of Israel.  David went through a long journey which was both spiritually and physically arduous.  Before we go into today’s passage, let’s look at a map to get a sense of what has been happening to David. 

One Wise Among Fools

I Samuel 25

Welcome, and happy Mothers’ Day! Perhaps in a stereotypical fashion, I looked around the Internet a bit for some good Christian quotes about mothers. John Hopler, the director of Great Commission Churches, our “parent” organization, also sent some verses out to pastors this week. What surprised me was that I wasn’t very impressed by many of them. There was one by C.S. Lewis that wasn’t bad, but it was what I might call “too strong,” to modern ears, putting down those who aren’t mothers. There were a few by Billy Sunday that were pretty good, but that was about it. So I then widened my search to articles and sermons, and there, on the Desiring God website (the ministry of John Piper), in an article by guest contributor Rachel Jankovic, was the following absolute gem:

Mercy Leading to Repentance?

I Samuel 24:1-22

Welcome! Today we continue our series on David from the book of I Samuel. For a time, David was the hero of the land, leading victory after victory for his king, Saul. But Saul grew jealous of David and began to plot ways to kill him. After plotting turned to outright attempts, David fled, and over the past few weeks we have seen what David’s life has looked like on the run.

Saved by Enemies

1 Samuel 23:19-29

At the end of last week’s message, Jonathan had sought out to David to encourage him.  That was a bold move on his part.  Saul was willing to murder anyone associated with David.  He had just allowed an entire town of priests to be destroyed and had even thrown a spear at Jonathan when he stood up for David.  Let’s pick up back in I Samuel 23:16 and 17.

And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.  Thus he said to him, "Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also."—1 Samuel 23:16-17 NASB

Serving while Struggling

1 Samuel 23:1-18

Do you ever feel like you are just barely hanging on? One more storm, one more gust of wind, and you are just going to fall flat? You might be tempted to say, “Okay, God, that’s enough. This is all I can handle. One more problem, one more challenge, and I will just go to pieces.” God hears every cry of our hearts. He loves us more than we can imagine. But He is never sympathetic to self-pity. When we are struggling, He will assure us that He is right beside us. But He will often say, “I want you to reach out to someone else. I want you to help them, even though you feel helpless yourself.” He wants us to serve while struggling.

No Turning Back

I Samuel 22:6-23, Psalm 52

Welcome! Today we continue our series in I Samuel. I almost feel as though I should give a movie rating before getting into today’s passage, something along the lines that this passage is not suitable for young children, because I Samuel 22 is one of the darkest episodes in the book, and maybe one of the darkest accounts of the entire Old Testament.

Never Alone

I Samuel 21:10-22:5

Last week was Easter, and we took a step back from our series on David…or maybe it was a step up!  Tim shared about the Lord Jesus who is the greatest Shepherd and King.  Today, we return to our study of David.  David was a forerunner of Christ.  David was a humble shepherd as a boy, but God used that experience as part of his preparation to become king of the nation of Israel.  In this series, we are now in between the days when David was a shepherd and his ascendance to be king.

The Greatest Shepherd and King

Today we take a break from our tracing of David’s life from his humble beginnings as a shepherd to his becoming a great king over the nation of Israel. Today we remember an event that David looked forward to, by faith, without knowing when or how it would happen. The Holy Spirit gave him insight to anticipate a successor who would fulfill all the promises that God had given to him. That person, of course, was Jesus, who in His resurrection on the first Easter established David’s throne forever. The angel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus in Luke chapter 1. It says that when Gabriel greeted the young woman Mary that she was “greatly troubled,” which I think is understandable, under the circumstances.