Plagues Again

1 Samuel 5:1-12

Welcome! Today we continue our series on I Samuel, going into Chapter 5. Last week, we read of the terrible battle with the Philistines that led to the total defeat of the Israelites and to the Ark being captured and hauled off by the Philistines. Past chapters have made it clear that the Israelites at this time were mostly far from God; there was severe corruption even at the priestly level with Eli’s sons doing whatever they wanted. Then in Chapter 4, after suffering an initial defeat to the Philistines, the Israelites decided to move the Ark from Shiloh, where it had probably rested unmoved for hundreds of years, to the scene of the battle.

Now from a secular point of view, this probably looked like a brilliant plan. Morale is always critical on the battlefield. After suffering a loss, how do you get the troops back into a positive can-do mood? How do you motivate them to fight again, despite knowing that the outcome is uncertain? Throughout the history of war, leaders have known that you need to get the troops fired up, excited, and confident. Most often this was done by the commander himself going to just behind the battlefront. He would give a rousing speech, and the troops would all shout, and the enemies would hear their intensity, and their confidence would begin to fail, leading to a complete change of momentum in the conflict.

A Loud Noise Only

1 Samuel 4:1-22

Good morning!  We are now in week 5 of our series Prophet and King.  We are going through the lives of Samuel and Saul by exploring the book of I Samuel.  A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to give the message on the second half of I Samuel chapter 2.  That message had the title “A Contrast of Sons.”  Today’s message is going to feel like another contrast of the sons when compared to last week’s message.

Called to Speak Hard Truth

1 Samuel 3

Welcome, and a very happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers here.  I really enjoy Mother’s Day.  Moms spend so much time trying to make all of our lives better.  We children may not like what they are trying to do at times, but as I get older, I see and appreciate more of what my mom did for me. 

Before we get started with today’s passage, I want to take a minute to publicly thank Joseph, Bobby, and Jonathan for their help running the soundboard and power point each week and allowing me to be involved in other ministries like the worship team, and even teaching occasionally. 

First Samuel 3 is a very familiar passage.  One that we all know the story of, at least the first 10 verses; but the last 11 are the real kickers.  God didn’t just call Samuel to be his prophet in a dark time in Israel’s history in this passage.  God gave him a very hard message to speak to a man who had practically reared him.  Eli was about as close to a father figure as Samuel would have had since he had lived at the tabernacle for all the life he could probably remember.  We will start with God calling Samuel, and then we’ll look at what God told Samuel, and finally we will see how Samuel responded.

A Contrast of Sons

1 Samuel 2:12-36

 Good morning!  Today we are continuing in our series “Prophet and King,” which follows the lives of the prophet Samuel and King Saul, the first king of Israel.  We’re still in the early going.  In the last two weeks, we have spent most of the time looking at the life and testimony of Samuel’s mother, Hannah.  She has been an amazing example to us of faith and humility, as well as not taking offense and being willing to let go and let God.

The passage for today will turn a corner in the story of Samuel’s life.  Hannah is not a key part of Samuel’s day to day life.  Sadly, that means a light goes out of the story, and we get a full glimpse of the dysfunction of what was going on at the Tent of Meeting of the Lord in the latter part of Eli’s life.  Some of these problems must have been known to Hannah when she brought Samuel to dedicate him to the Lord and leave him at the Tabernacle.  That makes her sacrifice and faith all the more amazing.