Let us be like the nations!

I am preparing a message for our Connect Groups at Southern Calvert Baptist Church this coming weekend. We are continuing our journey through the entire Bible over a three year period. We just finished the period of the judges over Israel. Samuel is the last judge. He is about to be led by God to choose the first king over Israel. How did they get to the point where they wanted a king to rule over them instead of being led by the Sovereign God of the universe? That is what we want to discover this week in our lesson.

Family matters

We live in an age where the idea of “family” is becoming old fashioned. When I write “family”, I mean one man and one woman getting married and raising children together. Families matter! They matter to God because He is the creator of the idea of family. They should matter to us today. Our society seems to be on a parallel path with the destruction of the nuclear family. As the wise man Solomon once wrote, “there is nothing new under the sun“, since we do not seem to want to learn from history, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes generation after generation. Is there hope for the present and the future? Yes! There is hope but that hope is intertwined with the eternal Word of God.

God’s mercy and grace produce genuine worship

Last week during our Connect Group at Southern Calvert Baptist Church, we took a look at the contrast between King Saul and David. King Saul was a man who trusted in himself. The prophet Jeremiah teaches that a man who trusts in himself is like a bush planted in the desert on top of a rock that is covered in salt. The results are catastrophic. King Saul’s life was one disaster after another. The Lord allowed King Saul to rule for over 40 years as punishment to the children of Israel because they rebelled against the Lord and asked for a king so that they could be just like the pagans. David, the future King of Israel was a man who trusted in the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah also teaches that a man who trusts in the Lord is like tree planted next to the water, with roots that extend deep and tap into the underground water supply. Even when drought comes, the tree continues to produce fruit. David lived a fruitful life for the Lord. God allows us to choose our actions but, He has already announced the consequences of those actions.

Influenced by God to influence others

King Saul and future King David are a study in contrasts. Both of these men are born to the same nation, during the same period in history, influenced by the same culture etc. yet, they could not be more different in their paths in life. One of these men trusted in himself while the other trusted in the Lord. This trust manifests itself in all kinds of different ways. The prophet Jeremiah uses a great illustration to explain the differences between people who trust in themselves vs. people who trust in the Lord.

David takes a stand for the Lord

We live in a world where people are afraid to take a stand for the Lord because of political correctness. People have been trained to keep their heads down when it comes to social issues, like gay marriage, because if you take a stand and speak out, you get noticed and being noticed causes problems to your daily life. This is not something new. The Bible teaches us that there is nothing new under the sun. Almost 2,000 years ago, during the lifetime of Jesus, the dilemma of taking a stand for the Lord was just as complex as today.

Rebellion, Revolt, and Rejection

As we have been walking through the Old Testament, tracing the promise of the coming of the Messiah, we have seen that God is always faithful to His promises. In the midst of carrying out His eternal plan, God invites people to join Him in His eternal plan. Some people understand the significance of this calling and submit to it. Others chose to reject the Lord’s invitation. God allows people to make their choices. On the other hand, both choices have consequences.

Learn to Respect the Lord

Last week during our Connect Groups, we took a look at how Samuel was taught to hear and answer God’s high calling. The same is true for us today. God has the same high calling and we need to learn to hear it and respond. This week, we are going to continue to look at the ministry of Samuel. We discovered, last week, that Samuel spends the rest of his life taking the Word of the Lord to His people. That does not mean that the people always followed the advice that Samuel gave to them. Like all of us, the children of Israel battled with their sin nature on a daily basis. One of the biggest battles that the Lord warns us of is our battle with idolatry. Anything, even positive things, noble things can be turned into idols.

Hearing and Answering God’s Calling

Here at Southern Calvert Baptist Church we are preparing to study the great calling that the Lord gave to Samuel. We are studying through the entire Bible over a three year period using “The Gospel Project”. In our previous lesson, we looked at how Ruth came under the protection of the Lord God of Israel. The Gospel was extended to the Gentiles long before the Day of Pentecost, even before Acts 10. God extended His great mercy, grace, and salvation to the Gentile, Rahab, who was also a prostitute. Then He extended His message to Ruth. In this lesson, we are going to see God extend His great mercy, grace, and salvation to a little Jewish boy named Samuel. It is a beautiful picture of the holy calling that the Lord extends to every human being. The question is, are we going to answer that calling or not?

Church Discipline is needed

Dear friends, this is a difficult subject that is not covered much in our modern church. I have written on the subject of Biblical correction and you can read it here. The way that you handle correction reveals your heart. Discipline is a major part of our Christians life. God disciplines us for our own good and for His glory. His discipline conforms our character to the character of Jesus Christ. God has given us His Holy Spirit that responds to His discipline. God also places spiritual leaders in our lives who are to apply discipline for the good of the individual and the entire local body of Christ, also known as the Church. The Apostle Paul was one of those spiritual leaders whom God called to discipline the individuals in the body of Christ in Corinth, along with the local church. We learn about this subject in II Corinthians. Let’s take a moment to read the following verses and then, we will examine two examples from the Old Testament, two men whose sins were confronted and the two very different responses. You probably have guessed the two people. One was the first King of Israel, Saul. The second is the second King of Israel, David.

David and Goliath

In the children’s department at Hoffmantown church, we are walking through the entire Bible in 1 year. This week, we are focusing on the story of David and Goliath. I do not know when the last time you read this story was. I am sure you are familiar with it from your childhood. I purposefully went back and studied I Samuel 17, verse by verse in order to familiarize myself with the specifics of the text and not just the overall story. I would like to examine the two main characters of this story. Goliath is the first of the main characters mentioned in the text. Following him is the young man David. As we examine these two main characters, we will also discover much about God and His attributes.