Posts with the tag “week-15”

1 Samuel 20-21; Psalm 34. “Promises Kept” Jonathan and David had a special friendship.  Chapter 20 gives us a little insight into how close the two were.  Unlike his father, Jonathan was not jealous for the throne of Israel, but recognized that the Lord was with David.  Thus, as part of their covenant of friendship, Jonathan asked David to continue to show “faithful love” to his descendants even ...  Read More

1 Samuel 17:32-19:24; Psalm 59.  “Crying Out to the Lord” David never did wrong against Saul, but he was constantly the object of Saul’s jealousy.  Saul made multiple attempts to kill David or to have him killed by others.  However, we recognize that David was innocent in all of this and never lost his integrity.  So why the constant attacks?  Why did David have to call out to the Lord for help an...  Read More

1 Samuel 15:1-17:31.  “Blame-Shifting 101” Saul was caught red-handed.  He had again disobeyed the Lord and was confronted by Samuel for his actions.  His response to Samuel’s confrontation was worthy of an Academy Award.  In verses 15 and 21 Saul declares that ‘the people’ are the ones who spared the animals, and then he further justifies the sin by adding the spiritual benefit of sacrificing the...  Read More

1 Samuel 13-14; 1 Chronicles 9:35-39.  “Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands” Can you picture Saul in the situation described in 1 Samuel 13?  He had gathered Israel’s troops to battle the Philistines, but once they got a glimpse of the Philistine army, they were full of fear.  Sensing the fear in his army, Saul becomes anxious and comes to the conclusion that the offerings to the Lord must be offere...  Read More

1 Samuel 9-12.  “Integrity Restored” In 1 Samuel 8:6-9 the Lord reveals to Samuel that Israel was ultimately rejecting God Himself by asking for a king.  In 12:16-19 Samuel reminds the people of their wrongdoing in asking for a king and then uses a sign to reveal to them the level of God’s anger.Certainly, the people did wrong in asking for a king, but Samuel makes it clear that God had not abando...  Read More

1 Samuel 4:12-8:22. “Leadership Requires Integrity” Samuel was a man of God and a good leader for Israel.  However, for all that he did right, he failed in one area.  He did not learn from the mistake of his predecessor, Eli.  1 Samuel 8:1-3 reveals that Samuel’s sons were lacking in integrity, much the same way that Eli’s sons were.  We then see this lack of integrity result in Israel demanding ...  Read More

1 Samuel 1:9-4:11. “A Legacy of Integrity” The theme for this week is integrity.  This week’s readings will cover the last of the judges, Eli and Samuel.  Following those two leaders we will meet the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David.  All four of these men learned the importance of integrity through their experiences.         Integrity is something that we all can struggle with from time...  Read More

The theme for this week is integrity.  This week’s readings will cover the last of the judges, Eli and Samuel.  Following those two leaders we will meet the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David.  All four of these men learned the importance of integrity through their experiences.          Integrity is something that we all can struggle with from time to time.  Integrity is something that can be easily lost, but is not so easy to regain without God’s help.  As the four men we will read about, they learn it is absolutely essential to being a leader in God’s kingdom.  Read More