Consecrated Bread

1 Samuel 21:1-6

Good morning!  Today we continue our series of David’s transition from shepherd to king, titled “Walking Through & Stepping Up.”  Last week Carl gave us an extensive recap of events from 1 Samuel chapter 8 (where Saul is anointed king) to the end of chapter 20 where Saul is intent on killing David, which caused David to have to flee for his life. Carl ended his message with a verse from John 16:33 where Jesus said “In the world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Today, starting in 1 Samuel chapter 21, we will continue our series where Carl left off.  But before we begin, let’s pray and ask the Lord to use this message today to teach us about His compassion and mercy toward David and toward those of us who believe and have put our trust in Him and in His suffering and death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

Hard Truth Revealed

I Sam. 20:17-42

Welcome! Today we continue our series in I Samuel, looking at the second half of Chapter 20. We are right in the middle of the story, so let me give you some background. In I Samuel 8, the Israelites demand to the prophet Samuel that they be given a king. Samuel warns them that bad things will happen and that God is already their king, but they persist. Samuel, under God’s direction, tells them they will receive what they want. In I Samuel 9, God directs Samuel to choose Saul for this role. Saul looks the part externally, but from the beginning we see problems with his heart – Saul does not have the heart of a servant, and he likes to do things his own way, even when they disagree with God’s direction. He rebels against God’s instructions in I Samuel 13, essentially takes personal credit for Jonathan’s victory over the Philistines in I Samuel 14, and rebels even more egregiously with regards to Agag in I Samuel 15. This leads to God’s rejection of Saul and Samuel’s anointing of David as the future king, in I Samuel 16. David at the time is little more than a boy; it’s not clear when this transfer of power is to take place, and the anointing itself is kept quiet, away from Saul. He knows that the Lord has rejected him, but he doesn’t know who will replace him.

When the Lord and Love Intervene

I Samuel 19:18-20:16

Good morning!  While I was preparing the message yesterday, I came across this comic.  It does a pretty good job summing up Saul’s heart toward David.  Saul is like a raging bull more and more; whenever he encounters David or hears of David’s successes, he wants to destroy David so that he and his family will remain preeminent in Israel.

We ended our message last week with David on the run from Saul.  It appears that Saul had not only thrown a spear at David this time, but he may have assaulted David with spear in hand, raising his massive form off the throne and trying to back David up against the wall.  David escaped from Saul at the last moment as the spear was driven into the wall, perhaps becoming stuck long enough for David to get away.

David proceeded to return home where his wife (who was also Saul’s daughter) warned him to run for his life.  That is where we will pick up the story today, with David’s flight.  Before we get into the passage, let’s take a moment and pray.

When They Know that You Know

1 Samuel 19:1-17

 

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve had the privilege of teaching on a Sunday morning, and much has changed in the Rollins household in those short months.  For those of you who struggle with math, we proved that on occasion, one plus one really does equal three when welcomed Elise Marie into the world late in the evening of December 7^th, 2017. Some of you have been able to meet her, and the rest of you will have a chance as soon as the flu bug dies back some more.  We praise God for a safe delivery, even though it wasn’t how we planned it, for a healthy daughter, and for a church family that demonstrated the love of Christ in so many ways as we adjusted to life as a family of three.  I want to publicly thank all of you for the meals and cards you sent.  The meals were a tremendous blessing as I went back to work very soon after Elise was born.

I could spend all day talking about Elise, but we’re here for a better reason. Let’s pray and jump right in.