After Saul’s rebellion and rejection, God told Samuel he would choose a new king after his own heart. What did God mean by this, what made David such a person, and how can we emulate the heart of David?
(Preaching on this history of early Israel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on April 6, 2025.)
Israel’s first king arrived at the tail end of a sequence of bad leadership in Israel. But while things started out well for Saul, they quickly devolved into similar patterns of failed rule. What can we learn from the first king’s successes and failures, and how much should we relate to his struggles?
(Preaching through the story of early Israel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 30, 2025.)
In our read through the Bible, we have arrived in the books of Samuel. 1-2 Samuel covers the united kingdom from the end of the era of the judges to the tail end of David’s reign, and mostly focuses on the struggles for power between Saul and David, and David and Absalom. I hope this is helpful for your study!
As we transition out of our reading of the Pentateuch and into Joshua and Judges, I thought it would be helpful to put together a timeline of early Israel, from the Exodus to the beginning of the temple construction in 1 Kings 6:1. The two verses that form the backbone of this timeline are Judges 11:26 and 1 Kings 6:1, which impose pretty hard limits on the overall dates of the judges and kings. I hope this is helpful for you!
Our past failures do not have to keep us from having a future with God. In one of Samuel’s last major addresses, he reminds the people of Israel that even though they sinned against their God, He still desired to have a relationship with them.
(Preaching through 1 Samuel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on April 26, 2015.)
The Holy Spirit is a catalyst for amazing transformation. What change did it bring about in Saul, and how can we experience that same transforming power?
(Preaching through 1 Samuel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on April 19, 2015.)
Providence is a tricky thing. Does God know what is going to happen and use that to His and our advantage, or does God want something to happen and then cause it? And what does the answer to that question mean for us?
(Preaching through 1 Samuel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on April 12, 2015.)
Why do we reject God as king over our lives? What can we use to motivate our return to submission to God’s rule?
(Preaching through 1 Samuel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 29, 2015.)
Nobody likes discipline, yet it is a necessary part of any parent-child relationship. How does God discipline His children, and why? How should we feel toward and respond to that discipline?
(Preaching through 1 Samuel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 22, 2015.)
How can we hear God speak to us today, and what is He saying? What is our responsibility with that message?
(Preaching through 1 Samuel. The sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 15, 2015.)
Watts in the Word 